Holidays bring celebration, rest and, for many families, long stretches of indoor time. For some, this means tabletop games quickly reappear on kitchen tables. Games provide opportunities for learning mathematics actively.
Math students may not blink at calculating probabilities, measuring the area beneath curves or evaluating matrices, yet they often find themselves at sea when first confronted with writing proofs.
A new study published in the Journal of World Prehistory reveals that some of humanity's earliest artistic representations of botanical figures were far more than decorative; they were mathematical.
Researchers at University of Tsukuba have demonstrated, through multi-agent simulations in a two-dimensional space, that the combination of environmental variability and human migration may foster the evolution of human cooperative...
You saw it here first UPDATE: Read the solution here There are many contenders for “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine. According to a new book, however, that title should go to the mechanised...
New findings challenge the widespread belief that AI is an environmental villain. By analyzing U.S. economic data and AI usage across industries, researchers discovered that AI’s energy consumption—while significant locally—barely...
A researcher from the University of Tokyo and a U.S.-based structural engineer developed a new computational form-finding method that could change how architects and engineers design lightweight and free-form structures covering large...
Human languages are complex phenomena. Around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, some with only a handful of remaining speakers, while others, such as Chinese, English, Spanish and Hindi, are spoken by billions. Despite their profound...
Researchers unveiled a new technique that validates quantum computer results—especially those from GBS devices—in minutes instead of millennia. Their findings expose unexpected errors in a landmark experiment, offering a crucial step...
Quantum communication is edging closer to reality thanks to a breakthrough in teleporting information between photons from different quantum dots—one of the biggest challenges in building a quantum internet. By creating nearly identical...
How do opinions form and change in large groups of people? That's not just a sociological question, it's a mathematical one. Ph.D. candidate Federico Capannoli studied opinion dynamics. He defended his thesis on November 19.
Whether it is a whole friendship group migrating to using iPhones or a swath of classmates wanting the latest Lululemon waterbottle, network scientists have uncovered the hidden mechanics behind social trends.
The “solution” to today’s puzzle Earlier today I set a puzzle which is extremely hard to answer if you are not a soap bubble. The four towns Continue reading...
As the artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing industries explode, trained STEM professionals are in high demand. Mathematics is foundational to these fields.
When Old Town High School Math Teacher Kristen Thompson uses TriO—a virtual reality environment developed by researchers at the University of Maine—she envisions a scenario that every teacher dreams about for their students: constant...
If there's one thing that's certain in a digital world, it's that we are surrounded by ever-increasing amounts of data. From your daily step counts to weather reports to global market trends, data is everywhere.
Move comes after French scientists issued urgent appeal to prevent La Pascaline from leaving the country A rare example of the first functioning calculating machine in history looks likely to stay in France after Christie’s withdrew it...
Determining the least expensive path for a new subway line underneath a metropolis like New York City is a colossal planning challenge—involving thousands of potential routes through hundreds of city blocks, each with uncertain...
With AFL clubs preparing for the Draft, Victoria University (VU) researchers are proposing a new approach to trade draft picks based on their true value according to teams' future performances.
Researchers combined deep learning with high-resolution physics to create the first Milky Way model that tracks over 100 billion stars individually. Their AI learned how gas behaves after supernovae, removing one of the biggest...
Chimps may revise their beliefs in surprisingly human-like ways. Experiments showed they switched choices when presented with stronger clues, demonstrating flexible reasoning. Computational modeling confirmed these decisions weren’t just...
Aalto University researchers have developed a method to execute AI tensor operations using just one pass of light. By encoding data directly into light waves, they enable calculations to occur naturally and simultaneously. The approach...
At the 2024 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), one competitor did so well that it would have been awarded the Silver Prize, except for one thing: it was an AI system. This was the first time AI had achieved a medal-level...
Researchers have created a prediction method that comes startlingly close to real-world results. It works by aiming for strong alignment with actual values rather than simply reducing mistakes. Tests on medical and health data showed it...
In an era driven by complex data, scientists are increasingly encountering information that doesn't lie neatly on flat, Euclidean surfaces. From 3D medical scans to robot orientations and AI transformations, much of today's data lives on...
Particles as different as soap bubbles and ball bearings can be made to arrange themselves in exactly the same way, according to a new study that could unlock the creation of brand new materials—including those with promising biomedical...
The evolution of the so-called dread risk response has been explained by new research. People often respond to low-probability, high-consequence events like terror attacks or nuclear accidents with a dread risk response. This intense...
Most of us have little trouble working out how many milliliters are in 2.4 liters of water (it's 2,400). But the same can't be said when we're asked how many minutes are in 2.4 hours (it's 144).
UC Santa Barbara physicists have engineered entangled spin systems in diamond that surpass classical sensing limits through quantum squeezing. Their breakthrough enables next-generation quantum sensors that are powerful, compact, and...
The solution to today’s poison puzzler Earlier today I set you the following puzzle. Here it is again with the solution. Two dead at the drink-off Continue reading...
Who poisoned who? Today’s puzzle is credited to Michael Rabin, the legendary computer scientist, who in the late 1980s posted it to an electronic bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. It has recently been brought to light by a...
Teacher education often receives criticism for being too theoretical. Many students lack more training in how to teach in practice when they enter schools. They now receive this at the University of Agder (UiA) through Amalie Sødal's...
Some of the models used to forecast everything from financial trends to animal populations in an ecosystem are incorrect, according to an Idaho State University statistician.
USC researchers built artificial neurons that replicate real brain processes using ion-based diffusive memristors. These devices emulate how neurons use chemicals to transmit and process signals, offering massive energy and size...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly prevalent, integrated into phone apps, search engines and social media platforms as well as supporting myriad research applications. Of particular interest in recent decades is a type of AI...
More screen time among children and teens is linked to higher risks of heart and metabolic problems, particularly when combined with insufficient sleep. Danish researchers discovered a measurable rise in cardiometabolic risk scores and a...
Scientists have developed a groundbreaking tool called Effort.jl that lets them simulate the structure of the universe using just a laptop. The team created a system that dramatically speeds up how researchers study cosmic data, turning...
Machine learning models are designed to take in data, to find patterns or relationships within those data, and to use what they have learned to make predictions or to create new content. The quality of those outputs depends not only on...
Researchers at Tsinghua University developed the Optical Feature Extraction Engine (OFE2), an optical engine that processes data at 12.5 GHz using light rather than electricity. Its integrated diffraction and data preparation modules...
Conundrums for the crossword connoisseur Today’s teasers come from pub quiz legend, Only Connect champion, and wizard of wordplay Frank Paul . One of his fortes is puzzles based on letter or word patterns, such as the ones below....
The Maya Civilization, from Central America, was one of the most advanced ancient civilizations, known for its significant achievements in astronomy and mathematics. This includes accurate calendars and detailed celestial records, but...
Life’s origin story just became even more mysterious. Using mathematics and information theory, Robert G. Endres of Imperial College London found that the spontaneous emergence of life from nonliving matter may be far more difficult than...
How many coins can touch one coin, or how many basketballs can "kiss" one basketball at the same time? This seemingly playful question lies at the heart of the famous kissing number problem, a mathematical riddle that becomes almost...
Researchers at the University of Surrey developed an AI that predicts what a person’s knee X-ray will look like in a year, helping track osteoarthritis progression. The tool provides both a visual forecast and a risk score, offering...
As artificial intelligence (AI) takes on increasingly critical roles—from managing power grids to piloting autonomous vehicles—making sure these systems are safe has never been more important. But how can we be certain that the AI...
Algorithms that identify influential people in social networks can help maximize the reach of messages, but a modeling study published in PNAS Nexus shows that those same algorithms can disseminate information inequitably, potentially...
Penn Engineers have developed a mathematical "Rosetta Stone" that translates atomic and molecular movements into predictions of larger-scale effects, like proteins unfolding, crystals forming and ice melting, without the need for costly,...