news

Mathematicians find core mechanism to calculate tipping points Climate change, a pandemic or the coordinated activity of neurons in the brain: In all of these examples, a transition takes place at a certain point from the base state to a new state. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have discovered a universal mathematical structure at these so-called tipping points.

The use of credit cards and other cashless or digital payment methods has become the norm for consumers all over the globe, and the strong surge of online buying during the pandemic has further boosted this decade-long trend. However, behind the convenience of 'click and pay' there are also risks, such as fraud and related losses, which are mostly borne by the card companies.

Mechanical engineers and mathematicians at EPFL have joined forces to gain a better understanding of the geometry and mechanics of two filaments in contact - as in the cases of knots and woven fabrics. Pedro Reis, head of EPFL's Flexible Structures Laboratory, and John Maddocks, head of EPFL's Laboratory for Computation and Visualization in Mathematics and Mechanics, have something in common: a fascination with ropes and knots.

Bernd U. Schipper from the Faculty of Theology and Bruno Klingler from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences receive a total of 4.3 million euros of funding Dr. Bernd U. Schipper, professor for History of Israel in its Ancient Near Eastern Context, and his team receive a total amount of 2.5 million euros for their project DEMBIB through an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC).

How many people would you need at a party to guarantee that at least three individuals know each other, or that at least three do not know each other? Working this out with pen and paper may take a while, but many mathematicians will readily tell you the answer is six. This party scenario, also called the "friends and strangers" theorem, is based on a concept known as Ramsey numbers, named after early 20th-century British Mathematician Frank Ramsey.

Recerca A team of the University of Barcelona and the Computer Vision Center ( CVC ) have carried out CLOTH3D, the first 3D synthetic dataset at a large scale aimed at the development of deep learning to simulate clothes on different body types.

When physicists need to understand the quantum mechanics that describe how atomic clocks work, how your magnet sticks to your refrigerator or how particles flow through a superconductor, they use quantum field theories. When they work through problems in quantum field theories, they do so in "imaginary” time, then map those simulations into real quantities.

How best to evaluate the performance of a group testing strategy for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which involves pooling samples from multiple individuals in order to conduct a single RT-PCR test on the whole group? To do precisely that, scientists from the CNRS, l'université Grenoble Alpes, and l'université Sorbonne Paris Nord 1 have developed a model that evaluates the efficiency of such tests.

For 100 years mathematicians have been trying to solve the question of whether it is possible to fit all four points of a rectangle into any given closed curve shape. Or, more bluntly, can you fit a square peg into a round hole? Research so far had found that it was only possible to fit the proverbial square peg into a round hole if the peg in question was of certain proportions, until now.

New type of optical computing could solve highly complex problems that are out of reach for even the most powerful supercomputers. An important class of challenging computational problems, with applications in graph theory, neural networks, artificial intelligence and error-correcting codes can be solved by multiplying light signals, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia.

Where do the greatest risks of infection lurk? How can you protect yourself and others even better? Scientists all over the world are working to expand knowledge about Covid-19 - including at Empa. Researchers are now using measurements and simulations to take a close look at cable cars and cabins in ski resorts.

Unlike their simple counterparts in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, neurons in the brain use dendrites - their intricate tree-like branches - to find relevant chunks of information. Now, neuroscientists from the University of Bern have discovered a new computational method to make complex dendrite models much simpler.

Official weather forecasts are being produced faster and more efficiently, thanks to revolutionary technology designed by scientists at the University of Bath. Last updated on Tuesday 26 January 2021 Official weather forecasts are being produced faster and more efficiently, thanks to revolutionary technology designed by scientists at the University of Bath.

A mathematical study describes how metastasis starts Research by the UC3M and UCM A scientific study carried out by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) has produced a mathematical description of the way in which a tumor invades the epithelial cells and automatically quantifies the progression of the tumor and the remaining cell islands after its progression.

The swirling currents occur when the rodlike structures that extend inward from the cells' membranes bend in tandem, like stalks of wheat caught in a strong breeze, according to a study from the University of Cambridge and the Flatiron Institute. The mechanism of the swirling instability is disarmingly simple, and the agreement between our calculations and experimental observations supports the idea that this is indeed the process at work in fruit fly egg cells Raymond Goldstein Egg cells are among the largest cells in the animal kingdom.

For the first time, researchers at ETH Zurich have successfully automated the modelling of turbulence. Their project relies on fusing reinforcement learning algorithms with turbulent flow simulations on the CSCS supercomputer "Piz Daint". The modelling and simulation of turbulent flows is crucial for designing cars and heart valves, predicting the weather, and even retracing the birth of a galaxy.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow's College of Science & Engineering are sharing in new funding for adventurous, high-risk research. Four projects from three Schools have received support from the £25.5m New Horizons fund, administered by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC).

Computational design of novel protein structures is a promising tool to make superior biological materials with tailor-made properties, new pharmaceuticals or complex fine chemicals. Over the last two years research in my group focused on developing methods to design and functionalize de novo proteins.

By Cornelia Kröpfl BA MA 30 years ago, data security was a niche topic. Today, researchers at TU Graz are laying the foundations for a completely new way of thinking about security. Including future developments. Not so long ago, the mobile phone was primarily used to store contact data. Today, smartphones know where we are and what media we read.

The world's smallest primate reveals the incredible preservation of our visual system through millions of years of evolution. Primates process visual information in front of their eyes, similar to pixels in a digital camera, using small computing units located in the visual cortex of their brains.