How (and Where) the Brain Analyzes Math and Language When Spoken
Math and language processed by separate networks even if heard together. Separate math and language networks segregate naturally when listeners pay attention to one type…
Mathematics News
Incredible 3700-Year-Old Babylonian Clay Tablet Is World’s Oldest Example of Applied Geometry
A UNSW mathematician has revealed the origins of applied geometry on a 3700-year-old clay tablet that has been hiding in plain sight in a museum…
Century-Old Mysterious Puzzle Solved: How Sex Cells Get the Right Genetic Mix
A new discovery explains what determines the number and position of genetic exchanges that occur in sex cells, such as pollen and eggs in plants,…
Scientists Solve the Mystery of Romanesco Cauliflower Formation
Where does the shape of the Romanesco cauliflower come from? The mystery of the formation of one of the most peculiar plant forms — the…
Scientists Model “True Prevalence” of COVID-19 in the United States Throughout Pandemic
Government officials and policymakers have tried to use numbers to grasp COVID-19’s impact. Figures like the number of hospitalizations or deaths reflect part of this…
Remarkable Structures of Deep-Sea Venus Flower Sponges Useful for Design of Ships, Planes and Skyscrapers
Published in the journal Nature the first-ever simulation of the deep-sea Venus flower sponge and how it responds to and influences the flow of nearby…
Bigon Rings: Technique Inspired by Lace Making Could Someday Weave Structures in Space
Lauren Dreier was paging through a 19th century book by the German architect Gottfried Semper when she spotted some intriguing patterns inspired by lace. A…
Surprising Stripes: Turing Patterns Link Tropical Fish and Bismuth Crystal Growth
Scientists prove Turing patterns, usually studied in living organisms and chemical systems, also manifest at the nanoscale in monoatomic bismuth layers. One of the things…
Archaeologists Discover That Ancient Islamic Tombs Cluster Like Galaxies
Statistical methods designed for cosmology reveal tomb distribution in Sudan over millennia governed by environment and social factors. Sudanese Islamic burial sites are distributed according…
When Did the First COVID-19 Case Arise? New Analysis With Surprising Findings
Novel analysis suggests much earlier, more rapid spread of COVID-19 than confirmed cases imply. Using methods from conservation science, a new analysis suggests that the…
Quantum Magic Squares Cannot Be As Easily Characterized As Their “Classical” Cousins
The magic of mathematics is particularly reflected in magic squares. Recently, quantum physicist Gemma De las Cuevas and mathematicians Tim Netzer and Tom Drescher introduced…
A New Bridge Between the Geometry of Fractals and the Dynamics of Partial Synchronization
In mathematics, simple equations can generate a complex evolution in time and intriguing patterns in space. One famous example of this is the Mandelbrot set,…
Pathogenic Invasions: Changing Community Networks Impact Disease Spread
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the importance of understanding precisely how diseases spread throughout networks of transportation. However, rigorously determining the connection between disease…
Spacetime Crystals: New Mathematical Formula May Solve Old Problem in Understanding the Fabric of the Universe
A Penn State scientist studying crystal structures has developed a new mathematical formula that may solve a decades-old problem in understanding spacetime, the fabric of…
Will COVID-19 Eventually Become Just a Seasonal Nuisance? Scientists Model Possible COVID-19 Futures
Within the next decade, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 could become little more than a nuisance, causing no more than common cold-like coughs and…
Evolving Periodicity: Starlight, Star Bright…As Explained by Math
The evolving periodicity of the brightness of certain types of stars can now be described mathematically. Not all stars shine brightly all the time. Some…
How to Cloak an Object to Become Invisible to a Thermal Camera
Theoretical method can make objects invisible to a thermal camera, or mimic a different object. Can you feel the heat? To a thermal camera, which…
“Gobsmacked” – Harvard’s Melanie Wood Becomes First Woman to Win $1M Waterman Award in Math
Recognized for contributions in number theory, algebraic geometry, topology. The voicemail was extremely unusual. It was from the director of the National Science Foundation, who…
