science wire

Cambridge, MA - Scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and their colleagues at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) have invented a new computational ap

Stanford physics Professor Shoucheng Zhang has won the prestigious Dirac Medal, in recognition for his work advancing the understanding of an exotic form of matter known as a topological insulator.

Soap bubbles, integrals and geometry: Franz Schuster from the Vienna University of Technology receives an ERC grant for his research in Convex Geometry.

A new programming language for image-processing algorithms yields code that's much shorter and clearer - but also faster. Image-processing software is a hot commodity: Just look at Instagram, a company built around image processing that Facebook is trying to buy for a billion dollars. Image processing is also going mobile, as more and more people are sending cellphone photos directly to the Web, without transferring them to a computer first.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

Can tablets teach children basic math and reading skills' As a professor who studies technology integration in K-12 schools, I can say the answer is yes but with some critical caveats.

Princeton University researchers netted four of the 21 inaugural Simons Investigators awards recently presented to outstanding scientists nationwide in mathematics, physics and computer science.

New understanding of how the brain processes information from inner ear offers hope for sufferers of vertigo If you have ever looked over the edge of a cliff and felt dizzy, you understand the challenges faced by people who suffer from symptoms of vestibular dysfunction such as vertigo and dizziness.

Perhaps Hal from "2001: A Space Odyssey" may not have been wrong when he said: "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that." Machines - even Apple's Siri - cannot yet completely understand our natural language, a Cornell researcher says. For the second installment of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions lecture series, Cornell's Lillian Lee, professor of computer science, drew 225 faculty, students and guests to Kennedy Hall's Call Auditorium July 18.

Laurie helps to figure out the cause of disease Laurie Crossley, from Hollingdean, Brighton, who graduates in Mathematics today (Wednesday afternoon, 18 July 2012), gave up part of her summer holiday

Professor John McNamara John McNamara is made Doctor of Science for his contribution to mathematics (Wednesday afternoon, 18 July 2012).

— Coral Gables — Jennifer Langer-Osuna, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Miami's School of Education and Human Development, has been named a 2012-2013 National Academy of Education Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow.

A wave of excitement is spreading across the world's media today as scientists at the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC ) announce the latest results in their search for the Higgs boson . So has this elusive particle been found? And why is finding it so important? I asked Alan Barr of Oxford University's Department of Physics, UK physics coordinator for LHC's ATLAS experiment, what the world's highest energy particle accelerator saw, what it means for science, and what life might be like once physicists' Most Wanted has been safely consigned to the particle zoo.

'It seems like Nature has some secret that lets it make complicated stuff in an effortless way,' Stephen Wolfram recently told an audience at Oxford University's Mathematical Institute. In his talk, that you can now watch online , Wolfram, the scientist behind Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha , explored how advances in computation could benefit mathematics.

Physics professor Jim Kakalios, a science consultant for the new Sony film The Amazing Spider-Man , explains the real science behind the Decay Rate Algorithm Media Note: "Spider-Man and the Decay Rate Algorithm" can be viewed at: http://z.umn.edu/spiderman.

Workshop Gathers Myriad Success Stories Across Diverse Applications A first-time workshop highlighting the latest advances in the Kepler Scientific Workflow System brought together researchers and co

A mathematical model that has been used for more than 80 years to determine the hunting range of animals in the wild holds promise for mapping the territories of street gangs, a UCLA-led team of social scientists reports in a new study. "The way gangs break up their neighborhoods into unique territories is a lot like the way lions or honey bees break up space," said lead author P. Jeffrey Brantingham , a professor of anthropology at UCLA.

Saturday 23 June marks the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing - mathematical genius, hero of the WWII code breakers of Bletchley Park, and father of modern computing.

Viruses that have two of these mutations are already common in birds, meaning that there are viruses that might have to acquire only three additional mutations in a human to become airborne transmissible.

A new video shows the latest developments on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site. The video, which can be seen on the University's YouTube page, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the refurbishment of the Radcliffe Infirmary building and the view from the new Somerville accommodation buildings.

Collective vibrations in a crystal, called phonons, are a type of Nambu-Goldstone boson.

Spain will win the UEFA European Football Championship with a probability of 25.8 per cent, defeating Germany in the final.

An iPad app developed by ANU researchers is using people's photographs to illustrate complex mathematics.

In a new paper, the researchers describe a mathematical model they created that helps predict pragmatic reasoning and may eventually lead to the manufacture of machines that can better understand inference, context and social rules. Language is so much more than a string of words. To understand what someone means, you need context.

The main technical difficulty in building a quantum computer could soon be the thing that makes it possible to build one, according to new research from The Australian National University. André Carvalho, from the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology and the Research School of Physics and Engineering, part of the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, worked with collaborators from Brazil and Spain to come up with a new proposal for quantum computers.

Building works for a new research centre at UCL will begin later this month, following the formal signing of contracts worth in excess of £70 million with Kier Construction.

A multiyear collaboration among Stanford engineering departments uses some of the world's fastest supercomputers to model the complexities of hypersonic flight.

$300,000 grant will support work on building new computational tools that exploit statistical inference Ryan Adams, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Ap

Renowned UCLA scientists Andrea Ghez, a professor of physics and astronomy, and Terence Tao, a professor of mathematics, have been elected to the American Philosophical Society , the country's oldest learned society, which recognizes extraordinary achievements in science, letters and the arts. Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, the society's members have included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Linus Pauling and Margaret Mead.

Stanford scholar Reviel Netz discusses why some of the greatest mathematicians were also some of classical history's most poetic storytellers. By Corrie Goldman The Humanities at Stanford Like novelists, mathematicians are creative authors. With diagrams, symbolism, metaphor, double entendre and elements of surprise, a good proof reads like a good story.

Doctor Honoris Causa of ENS de Lyon - June 5, 2012 John Norman Mather (June 9, 1942 - January 28, 2017) was a mathematician at Princeton University known for his work on singularity theory and Hamiltonian dynamics.

UCLA mathematics professor Chandrashekhar (Shekhar) Khare has been elected a 2012 fellow of Britain's prestigious Royal Society in recognition of his scientific excellence.

Savvy hackers can steal a computer's secrets by timing its data storage transactions or measuring its power use.

A groundbreaking $60 million award to the University of California, Berkeley, from the Simons Foundation will establish the campus as the worldwide center for theoretical computer science.

Why is a Wharton School professor publishing in neuroscience journals? The University of Pennsylvania business school is renowned for its many strengths, but one might assume a forte in brain science is not one of them. That assumption would be incorrect. Abraham Wyner , associate professor of statistics and chair of the undergraduate program in statistics, is one of several Wharton faculty members to have contributed expertise to studies in life sciences.

Christophe Ancey warns against relying blindly on the output of computational avalanche models to evaluate the safety of alpine areas. Recent events prove him right. Christophe Ancey, head of EPFL's Laboratory for Environmental Hydraulics, is an expert in modeling avalanches and other environmental flows.

Africa’s growth is increasing but they are still struggling to feed their population. Björn Holmquist from the Department of Statistics participated in The focus is on the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving world hunger by 2015. This project engages researchers both at African universities and a number of researchers at Lund University and LUSEM.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-A math professor at the University of Michigan will lead an international, $1 million project examining the links between bipolar disorder and abnormalities in the circadian, or daily, rhythms of a mammal's internal clock.

University of Illinois engineers developed a method to computationally correct aberrations in three-dimensional tissue microscopy.

Sussex mathematician pens a probable winner A University of Sussex statistician's latest book is likely to be a hit - especially among those keen to understand more about risk and chance.

Carnivory is behind the evolutionary success of humankind. When early humans started to eat meat and eventually hunt, their new, higher-quality diet meant that women could wean their children earlier. Women could then give birth to more children during their reproductive life, which is a possible contribution to the population gradually spreading over the world.

Six UCLA professors are among 220 distinguished scholars, scientists, authors, artists, and business and philanthropic leaders elected today to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of their outstanding accomplishments.

Cover was a man of remarkable breadth in his research interests, making landmark contributions in fields ranging from information theory and mathematical statistics to data compression, pattern recognition and stock market investment strategies.