The Nemesis Redux

The Nemesis of Folly

ing from consequences which were virtually certain to arrive, sooner or later. The exigencies of monthly publication preclude us from quoting figures which vary from day to day, and it must be enough to say that the number of cases at Gloucester Avhich have been diagnosed as small-pox has been so large that the utmost anxiety is reasonably felt as to when, and where, the epidemic will end. Thes...

Nemesis Reconsidered

The hypothesis of a companion object (Nemesis) orbiting the Sun was motivated by the claim of a terrestrial extinction periodicity, thought to be mediated by comet showers. The orbit of a distant companion to the Sun is expected to be perturbed by the Galactic tidal field and encounters with passing stars, which will induce variation in the period. We examine the evidence for the previously pro...

How many neutrophils are enough (redux, redux)?

Many chemotherapeutic regimens produce neutropenia, which predisposes to microbial infection. However, not all neutropenic individuals develop infections, so the ability to predict this outcome would be a powerful clinical tool. In this issue of the JCI, Malka et al. describe a dynamic system model of neutrophil bactericidal activity that confirms and extends the concept of critical neutrophil ...

Medical nemesis?

The Ignorant Monopolist Redux

Abstract. The classical problem of the monopolist faced with an unknown demand curve is considered in a simple stochastic setting. Sequential pricing strategies designed to maximize discounted profits are shown to converge sufficiently rapidly that they leave the monopolist ignorant about all but the most local features of demand. The failure of the monopolist to “learn” his demand curve would ...