news 2009

Business/Economics - Mathematics - 4.05
Oxford's new datalab for financial research
Oxford researchers trying to improve the understanding of financial systems have new facilities to store and analyse huge volumes of financial data, which should speed up the research process. The Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance (OMI) has established a virtual 'data lab', which mirrors the systems that are being used by commercial financial institutions worldwide.

Mathematics - Literature/Linguistics - 23.04
Online tool can detect patterns in US election news coverage
The US presidential election dominates the global media every four years, with news articles, which are carefully analysed by commentators and campaign strategists, playing a major role in shaping voter opinion.

History/Philosophy - Mathematics - 13.04
History Channel’s Titanic documentary features UW engineers
A hundred years ago this Sunday, a luxury ocean liner billed as “unsinkable” hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage. The Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic, leaving more than 1,500 passengers and crew dead.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Mathematics - 14.03
Anti-smoking campaigns have saved over 800,000 lives
More than 800,000 lives were saved in the United States between 1975 and 2000 thanks to anti-smoking measures, according to a new study that used a Yale mathematical model to quantify for the first time the impact of anti-smoking measures on lung cancer.

Mathematics - 20.02
The beat goes on: the geometry that makes music pleasing
Researchers uncover mathematical formula for rhythm and suggest our brains may be hardwired to respond to it Whether it's Bach or Brubeck, a new study shows that composers repeat rhythmic patterns in their works in such a way that the part is a copy of the larger whole.

Physics/Astronomy - Mathematics - 13.02
Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail
New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.

Mathematics - 7.02
Early warning signals for critical transitions
The world can deliver sudden and nasty shocks. Economies can crash, fisheries can collapse, and climate can pass tipping points. Providing ample warning of such transitions presently requires the collection of enormous - and often prohibitive - amounts of data.

Mathematics - 12.01
Bowlers strike with a hot hand, too
Is the so-called "hot hand" phenomenon in sports a reality or just an illusion based on misperception of random sequences? For the second time in recent months, a Yale study supports the notion that it is real.

Mathematics - Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics - 15.12.2011
Less knowledge, more power: Uninformed can be vital to democracy, study finds
Contrary to the ideal of a completely engaged electorate, individuals who have the least interest in a specific outcome can actually be vital to achieving a democratic consensus. These individuals dilute the influence of powerful minority factions who would otherwise dominate everyone else, according to new research published in Science.

Life Sciences - Mathematics - 14.11.2011
Dramatic diversity of columbine flowers explained by a simple change in cell shape
To match pollinators' probing tongues, cells in floral spurs elongate, driving rapid speciation : Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 - Columbine flowers are recognizable by the long, trailing nectar spurs that extend from the bases of their petals, tempting the taste buds of their insect pollinators.

Mathematics - Life Sciences - 17.10.2011
Computers learn to turn biological processes into equations
Computers learn to turn biological processes into equations First it was chess. Then it was Jeopardy. Now computers are at it again, but this time they are trying to automate the scientific process itself.

Life Sciences - Mathematics - 19.09.2011
Researchers use genome sequences to peer into early human history
Researchers have developed new statistical methods based on the complete genome sequences of people alive today to shed light on events at the dawn of human history. They applied their methods to the genomes of individuals of East Asian, European, and western and southern African descent.

Mathematics - 6.09.2011
Researchers create new Urban Network Analysis toolbox
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - MIT researchers have created a new Urban Network Analysis (UNA) toolbox that enables urban designers and planners to describe the spatial patterns of cities using mathematical network analysis methods.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Mathematics - 8.07.2011
How best to excite brain cells
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Oh, the challenges of being a neuron, responsible for essential things like muscle contraction, gland secretion and sensitivity to touch, sound and light, yet constantly bombarded with signals from here, there and everywhere.

Computer Science/Telecom - Mathematics - 28.06.2011
The math of the Rubik’s cube
New research establishes the relationship between the number of squares in a Rubik?s-cube-type puzzle and the maximum number of moves required to solve it. Last August, 30 years after the Rubik's cube first appeared, an international team of researchers proved that no matter how scrambled a cube got, it could be solved in no more than 20 moves.