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AUSTIN, Texas - With an advance that one cryptography expert called a "masterpiece," University of Texas at Austin computer scientists have developed a new method for producing truly random numbers, a breakthrough that could be used to encrypt data, make electronic voting more secure, conduct statistically significant polls and more accurately simulate complex systems such as Earth's climate.

AUSTIN, Texas - With an advance that one cryptography expert called a "masterpiece," University of Texas at Austin computer scientists have developed a new method for producing truly random numbers, a breakthrough that could be used to encrypt data, make electronic voting more secure, conduct statistically significant polls and more accurately simulate complex systems such as Earth's climate.

A link between handedness and mathematical skills exists but is more complex than thought, according to a study by the University of Liverpool. The relationship between handedness and mathematical abilities is controversial. Some studies have claimed that left-handers are gifted in mathematics, and strong right-handers perform the worst in mathematical tasks.

It's not what you say, but how you say it. By analyzing online arguments, Cornell researchers have identified how language and interaction with the other party contribute to winning an argument. Successful arguers start early, stay calm and go into detail. As a spinoff, the research also offers linguistic clues that will show in advance whether your opponent's mind can be changed.

Scientists from Heidelberg University have developed a novel mathematical model to explore cellular processes: with the corresponding software, they now are able to simulate how large collections of cells behave on given geometrical structures. The software supports the evaluation of microscope-based observations of cell behaviour on micropatterned substrates.

Knowing that there is a small chance of getting a painful electric shock can lead to significantly more stress than knowing that you will definitely be shocked, finds a new UCL study funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The study found that situations in which subjects had a 50% chance of receiving a shock were the most stressful while 0% and 100% chances were the least stressful.

Study from Carnegie Mellon Neuroscientists Could Explain Mechanism Behind Optical Illusions By Jocelyn Duffy / 412-268-9982 / jhduffy [a] andrew.cmu (p) edu Ever see something that isn't really there? Could your mind be playing tricks on you? The "tricks" might be your brain reacting to feedback between neurons in different parts of the visual system, according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience by Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Sandra J. Kuhlman and colleagues.

An unfortunate reality for cybersecurity researchers is that real-world data for their research too often comes via a security breach. Now computer scientists have devised a way to let organizations share statistics about their users' passwords without putting those same customers at risk of being hacked.

Crumpled paper and Romanesco cauliflower have one thing in common: they have a fractal form. "Scientists have long been discussing whether the curves of our cerebrum have a fractal form," explains Dr. Marc de Lussanet, a researcher at Münster University. Experts want to know how the brain folds are produced in order to understand the brain, its development and possible disorders.

AUSTIN, Texas - The most dangerous times of year for children with asthma are soon after their schools reopen after a break, and a new study finds that cold viruses are largely to blame. Health experts have observed that children with asthma tend to have the worst symptoms at the same times each year - when school starts in the fall and after extended breaks such as Spring Break.

Courtesy of Bahram Jalali An LED light (left) and an image of the same light produced using the Phase Stretch Transform-based algorithm. A UCLA Engineering research group has made public the computer code for an algorithm that helps computers process images at high speeds and "see" them in ways that human eyes cannot.

Researchers have built the first biologically realistic mathematical model of how the brain plans and learns when faced with a complex decision-making process. By combining planning and learning into one coherent model, we've made what is probably the most comprehensive model of complex decision-making to date Johannes Friedrich Researchers have constructed the first comprehensive model of how neurons in the brain behave when faced with a complex decision-making process, and how they adapt and learn from mistakes.

It has long been argued that women are under-represented and marginalised in relation to men in the world's news media. New research, using artificial intelligence (AI), has analysed over two million articles to find out how gender is represented in online news. The study, which is the largest undertaken to date, found men's views and voices are represented more in online news than women's.

AUSTIN, Texas - The most dangerous times of year for children with asthma are soon after their schools reopen after a break, and a new study finds that cold viruses are largely to blame. Health experts have observed that children with asthma tend to have the worst symptoms at the same times each year - when school starts in the fall and after extended breaks such as Spring Break.

El Niño is fairly well understood, and by now it's a household word. But another huge system in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans, which wreaks similar havoc in world weather, is relatively unknown and is just beginning to be explained. University of Washington scientists have published a mathematical model that could help explain and forecast the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a massive cluster of thunderstorms that plays a role in global weather.

Quantum objects cannot just be understood as the sum of their parts. This is what makes quantum calculations so complicated. Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) have now calculated Bose-Einstein-condensates, revealing the secrets of the particles? collective behaviour. Quantum systems are extremely hard to analyse if they consist of more than just a few parts.

Scientists have discovered how the distinctive piebald patches seen in black and white cats and some horses are formed in the womb. Their insights could shed light on medical conditions that occur early in development, such as holes in the heart, which are caused by cells not moving to the right place as an embryo develops.

A new study led by the University of Oxford suggests that more insecticide-treated malaria nets (ITNs) and improved efficiency in net delivery are needed to achieve universal coverage and make serious headway on the path to the elimination of the disease. Currently, malaria net coverage remains well below the 100% universal coverage target.

The cognitive map for spatial navigation is thought to rely on grid cells. Scientists at LMU and Harvard University have now put forward a mathematical theory that explains key grid-cell features and how these give rise to a neural metric for space. One year ago, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to the discoverers of the mammalian "GPS system" for spatial navigation.

Plasmons, which may be thought of as clouds of electrons that oscillate within a metal nanocluster, could serve as antennae to absorb sunlight more efficiently than semiconductors. Understanding and manipulating them is important for their potential use in photovoltaics, solar cell water splitting, and sunlight-induced fuel production from CO2.