In a novel use of statistics, researchers estimate the number of unattributed paintings, known as "sleepers," by the famous 20th-century Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani to be at between 20 and 120.
An AI model trained on large amounts of genetic data can predict whether bacteria will become antibiotic-resistant. The new study shows that antibiotic resistance is more easily transmitted between genetically similar bacteria and mainly...
Researchers have developed new AI models that can vastly improve accuracy and discovery within protein science. Potentially, the models will assist the medical sciences in overcoming present challenges within, e.g. personalised medicine,...
The answer to today’s puzzle Earlier today I set you the following problem featuring Albert, Bernard and Cheryl, the protagonists in a viral puzzle from a decade ago . Here it is again with the solution. Cheryl’s house number problem...
Albert, Bernard and Cheryl return Ten years ago I published a maths olympiad question from Singapore on the Guardian website, and it changed my life. ‘Cheryl’s birthday problem’ went viral. Its unexpected success led to the birth of this...
The epidemiologist who advised on Ebola and Covid discusses the value of evidence in light of AI and social media, and how the notion of fact has long been divisive A dam Kucharski is a professor at the London School of Hygiene &...
Leveraging the power of AI and machine learning technologies, researchers developed a more effective model for predicting how patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer will respond to chemotherapy. The model harnesses whole-slide...
Researchers have conducted groundbreaking research on memristor-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). This research presents an innovative approach for implementing energy-efficient adaptive neuromorphic decoders in BCIs that can...
Researchers have developed 'tomoseqr' -- a new software tool that enables easy estimation of the three-dimensional (3D) spatial distribution of gene expression. Tomoseqr is free to use and has been integrated into Bioconductor -- a...
New research has found that employers and policymakers might want to start paying attention to how workers are feeling, because employee happiness contains critical economic information.
If you filled out a March Madness bracket this month, you probably faced the same question with each college match-up: What gives one team an edge over another? Is it a team's record through the regular season? Or the chemistry among its...
Delayed and disorderly energy transitions will threaten economic and financial stability whilst also increasing the economic risks from climate change, according to a new study. Conversely, transitions that are started sooner are likely...
The Abel Prize 2025 has been awarded to Masaki Kashiwara for contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory. Find out what this means with our article!
American students have been falling behind in math for decades—with test scores that consistently rank in the bottom 25% globally compared to students in other developed countries—and the COVID-19 pandemic made the situation worse.
Mathematicians studied the flow of human crowds and developed a way to predict when pedestrian paths will transition from orderly to entangled. Their findings may help inform the design of public spaces that promote safe and efficient...
Pedestrian crossings generally showcase the best in pedestrian behavior, with people naturally forming orderly lanes as they cross the road, smoothly passing those coming from the opposite direction without any bumps or scrapes....
Researchers developed a hybrid AI approach that can generate realistic images with the same or better quality than state-of-the-art diffusion models, but that runs about nine times faster and uses fewer computational resources. The tool...
Virginia Tech researchers say a true revolution in wireless technologies is only possible through endowing the system with the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI) that can think, imagine, and plan akin to humans. Doing so...
Researchers have developed a powerful AI tool, built on the same transformer architecture used by large language models like ChatGPT, to process an entire night's sleep. To date, it is one of the largest studies, analyzing 1,011,192...
A mathematical problem solved by Susanna Heikkilä relates to the classification of quasiregularly elliptic 4-manifolds, asking what four-dimensional shapes can be obtained by deforming four-dimensional Euclidean geometry. The article by...
The answers to today’s triangular teasers Earlier today I set you these mind-mangling puzzles about non-Euclidean geometry, in which the internal angles of triangles do not add up to 180 degrees. 1. Right, Right, Right. Continue reading...
A trio of triangle teasers The ancient Greek geometer Euclid presented a list of five axioms he held to be self-evidently true. They are (or are equivalent to): You can draw a line between any two points. You can extend lines...
Researchers have experimentally recreated another fundamental theoretical model from quantum physics, which goes back to the Nobel Prize laureate Werner Heisenberg. The basis for the successful experiment is made of tiny carbon molecules...
Mathematicians from New York University and the University of British Columbia have resolved a decades-old geometric problem, the Kakeya conjecture in 3D, which studies the shape left behind by a needle moving in multiple directions.
Recent data shows boys in years 5 and 9 in England have scored significantly higher than girls in math and science compared with 2019, report UCL researchers who analyzed the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study...
How will artificial intelligence affect the distribution of income and wealth this century? After falling through much of the 20th century, income inequality, measured as the fraction of income going to the richest 1% of residents, has...
Originally described in the context of particles drifting through liquid, Levy walk has been found to accurately describe a very wide range of phenomena, from cold atom dynamics to swarming bacteria. And now, a new study has found Levy...
Researchers have developed an AI-based learning system that recognizes strengths and weaknesses in mathematics by tracking eye movements with a webcam to generate problem-solving hints. This enables teachers to provide significantly more...
To a nonmathematician, having the letter "i" represent a number that does not quite exist and is "imaginary" can be hard to wrap your head around. If you open your mind to this way of thinking, however, a whole new world becomes possible.
School mathematics in South Africa is often seen as a sign of the health of the education system more generally. Under the racial laws of apartheid, until 1994, African people were severely restricted from learning math. Tracking the...
AI models often rely on 'spurious correlations,' making decisions based on unimportant and potentially misleading information. Researchers have now discovered these learned spurious correlations can be traced to a very small subset of...
In 1907, the English author and mathematician Henry Ernest Dudeney posed a puzzle: Can any equilateral triangle be cut into as few pieces as possible that will fit together to form a perfect square? Four weeks later, he presented an...
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Cologne have developed an AI-based learning system that recognizes strengths and weaknesses in mathematics by tracking eye movements with a webcam to generate...
When it comes to hiring new staff, large companies often have to choose from hundreds of candidates, a process that requires time and resources. Can mathematics help streamline these procedures? At least in the broadest sense, probably yes.
A team of researchers created Morpho, an open-source programmable environment that enables researchers and engineers to conduct shape optimization and design for soft materials. Applications can be for anything from artificial hearts to...
New research from the University of St Andrews has used a database of Loch Ness Monster reports to translate anecdotes into data, shedding light on statistical biases and the importance of defining the right information for analysis.
Engineers have developed a new computational approach to accurately model and predict the properties of a class of magnetic molecules called chiral helimagnets. Their work could accelerate the discovery of new materials for spintronics...
Studying epidemics can help us plan for the future and identify better ways of dealing with them. Now, in a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a multi-institutional research team led by the...
The solutions to today’s grids Earlier today I set you these three Sudokus. They obey the standard rule of having all digits form 1 to 9 in each row, column and 3x3 box, with the extra rule: A cell that contains its position in either...
Get in position Today I unveil a fantastic new type of Sudoku invented by reader Alf Smith. Like all Sudoku, the digits from 1 to 9 must appear in all rows, columns and boxes. What’s different in this new variant, however, is that the...
Different analytical methods have a significant impact on the results of scientific studies. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by an international research team. In the study, more than 300 scientists compared 174 independent...
How many people will travel during a given week between two specific cities? Answering this question is important for many reasons, for example, to design efficient public transport infrastructures, or, as was the case during the...
An engineering student refined a century-old math problem into a simpler, more elegant form, making it easier to use and explore. Divya Tyagi's work expands research in aerodynamics, unlocking new possibilities in wind turbine design...
Researchers have developed a new technique that predicts nuclear properties in record detail. The study revealed how the structure of a nucleus relates to the force that holds it together. This understanding could advance efforts in...
A team of scientists has now created a computer model that can represent and generate human-like goals by learning from how people create games. The work could lead to AI systems that better understand human intentions and more...
When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like you're living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around you. This is...