Researchers have developed a powerful computational tool, named iDOMO, to improve the prediction of drug synergy and accelerate the development of combination therapies for complex diseases. The study highlights iDOMO's ability to...
Researchers find large language models process diverse types of data, like different languages, audio inputs, images, etc., similarly to how humans reason about complex problems. Like humans, LLMs integrate data inputs across modalities...
Research scientists in Switzerland have developed and tested a robust AI model that automatically segments major anatomic structures in MRI images, independent of sequence. In the study, the model outperformed other publicly available...
Using mathematical modeling, researchers have discovered that rate-induced tipping, which can happen if an environment changes too fast, can happen even in Daisyworld, a simple daisy-filled ecological model. If the planet heats up or...
Elections are a well-documented example of collective human decision-making, with voting data available for elections globally over several decades. SFI Complexity Postdoctoral Fellow Aanjaneya Kumar, along with former colleagues at the...
The answer to today’s triangular teaser Earlier today I set you the following two problems. Here they are again with solutions. 1. Tricky triangle Continue reading...
A triangle and a rectangle walked into a pub UPDATE: Read the solutions here Today’s two questions test your geometrical smarts. The first is about a triangle, the second about a square. 1. Tricky triangle Continue reading...
Is it possible to tile a surface with a single shape in such a way that the pattern never repeats itself? In 2022, a mathematical solution to this 'Einstein problem' was discovered for the first time. Researchers have now also found a...
A game of chess requires its players to think several moves ahead, a skill that computer programs have mastered over the years. Back in 1996, an IBM supercomputer famously beat the then world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Later, in...
A team of researchers succeeded in adapting an AI system to reliably assist with making nanoparticle measurements which speeds up the research process significantly.
As more consumers turn to subscription-based platforms, the distribution of revenue in streaming services has become a crucial issue in the digital economy. Content creators and artists argue that the current models are opaque,...
The math that describes the branching pattern of trees in nature also holds for trees depicted in art—and may even underlie our ability to recognize artworks as depictions of trees.
An international collaboration sheds new light on the relationship between quantum theory and thermodynamics. The research group demonstrated that while the laws of quantum theory alone do not inherently prevent violations of the second...
My friend Michael Brennan, who has died aged 80, was a teacher and activist, and also tried to unravel the mathematical basis of Celtic interlace – the ornamental knot patterns found in Irish art. As a youth Mike had assisted his father...
During the Super Bowl, every decision matters. With millions of fans watching, the game often comes down to a single play call. And no call is more scrutinized than what a coach decides to do on fourth down. Punt? Attempt a field goal?...
The collective motion of large crowds may be predictable past a certain density of people in a given area, according to a study published in Nature. The findings, based on four years of observations at a traditional Spanish festival,...
Students attending schools that ban the use of phones throughout the school day aren't necessarily experiencing better mental health and wellbeing, as the first worldwide study of its kind has found that just banning smartphones is not...
A study by economists shows a wide gap between the kinds of math problems kids who work in retail markets do well and the kinds of problems kids in school do well.
In India, many kids who work in retail markets have good math skills. They can quickly perform a range of calculations to complete transactions. But as a new study shows, these kids often perform much worse on the same kinds of problems...
New research findings reveal that parents' anxiety about mathematics can have a negative impact on their children's early numeracy skills, influencing their performance in the subject as they progress through school.
So-called Rayleigh–Bloch waves can release an enormous amount of energy that can damage technical systems under certain circumstances. They only exist below a precisely defined cut-off frequency; above this, they disappear abruptly....
The answers to today’s prime teasers Earlier today I set two puzzles involving prime numbers – in particular 3, 7 and 11. Primes are on this month’s cultural radar thanks to the Apple TV+ thriller Prime Target, which stars hunk du jour...
The eternal appeal of prime numbers UPDATE: Read the solutions here Today’s puzzles celebrate prime numbers – those beguiling numbers that divide only by themselves and 1, a sequence that begins 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, and carries on...
Skyrmions are nanometer- to micrometer-sized magnetic whirls that exhibit particle-like properties and can be moved efficiently by electrical currents. These properties make skyrmions an excellent system for new types of data storage or...
By analyzing almost 10,000 pregnancies, researchers discovered previously unidentified combinations of risk factors linked to serious negative pregnancy outcomes, finding that there may be up to a tenfold difference in risk for infants...
Researchers developed a new optical system that uses holograms to encode information, creating a level of encryption that traditional methods cannot penetrate.
Many materials store information about what has happened to them in a sort of material memory, like wrinkles on a once crumpled piece of paper. Now, a team of physicists has uncovered how, under specific conditions, some materials...
The universe is getting more disordered, entropy is growing -- this is the second law of thermodynamics. But according to quantum theory, entropy should actually stay the same. Scientists took a closer look and resolved this apparent...
A new study in Nature Communications explores the dynamics of higher-order novelties, identifying fascinating patterns in how we combine existing elements to create novelty, potentially reshaping our understanding of human creativity and...
Can a computer learn a language the way a child does? A recent study sheds new light on this question. The researchers advocate for a fundamental revision of how artificial intelligence acquires and processes language.
Researchers propose a novel system that uses standing surface acoustic waves to separate circulating tumor cells from red blood cells with unprecedented precision and efficiency. The platform integrates advanced computational modeling,...
Our bodies are made up of around 75 billion cells. But what function does each individual cell perform and how greatly do a healthy person's cells differ from those of someone with a disease? To draw conclusions, enormous quantities of...
How clans form and evolve within human societies has been modeled using a simple computer model developed by a RIKEN researcher and a collaborator. This demonstration opens the way to modeling complex human social phenomena using simple...
A new computational method gleans more information than its predecessors from maps showing how galaxies are clustered and threaded throughout the universe.
The answer to today’s queueing condundrum Earlier today I set you the following logic problem, as a retrospective commemoration of World Logic Day. Here it is again with the solution – and a comment about how it relates to the real...
A head-scratching hat puzzle UPDATE: Read the solutions here Today’s puzzle retrospectively commemorates UNESCO’s World Logic Day, which took place last week. (The date, January 14, is both the day Kurt Gödel died and the day Alfred...
The temperature changes hour to hour and day to day; exchange rates behave no differently. Wherever studies of the variability of similar one-dimensional time series are concerned, analyses based on multifractals have managed to gain...
Researchers applied the mathematical theory of synchronization to clarify how recurrent neural networks (RNNs) generate predictions, revealing a certain map, based on the generalized synchronization, that yields correct target values....
The process of updating deep learning/AI models when they face new tasks or must accommodate changes in data can have significant costs in terms of computational resources and energy consumption. Researchers have developed a novel method...
Western researchers have developed a novel technique using math to understand exactly how neural networks make decisions—a widely recognized but poorly understood process in the field of machine learning.
AI tools are increasingly being used to track and monitor us both online and in-person, yet their effectiveness comes with big risks. Computer scientists have developed a new mathematical model which could help people better understand...
A team has developed a new method that facilitates and improves predictions of tabular data, especially for small data sets with fewer than 10,000 data points. The new AI model TabPFN is trained on synthetically generated data before it...
In the same way that ChatGPT understands human language, a new AI model developed by computational biologists captures the language of cells to accurately predict their activities.
A new study reveals that generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help expedite the search for solutions to reduce enteric methane emissions caused by cows in animal agriculture, which accounts for about 33 percent of U.S. agriculture...
Geometry is an important branch of mathematics, which we use to understand the properties of 2D and 3D space such as distance, shape, size and position. We use geometry every day: cutting paper to wrap a present, calculating the area of...
Researchers focus on enhancing the aerodynamic performance of autonomous vehicles by reducing drag induced by externally mounted sensors such as cameras and light detection and ranging instruments. After establishing an automated...
Researchers from different fields came together to improve our understanding of anti-diffusion , the process behind the distinct bands of Jupiter, that also plays a role in our oceans and in developing plasma fusion reactors.