News by Subject Mathematics

Sometimes, what seems like a good way to explain the world--a model--turns out to be wrong. CSHL machine learning researchers developed a way to find the best answers to complicated questions, rather than answers that only appear to be right when tested in a few ways.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers used a model to understand airborne transmission that is designed to be accessible to a wide range of people, including nonscientists. Employing concepts of fluid dynamics and factors in airborne transmission, they propose the Contagion Airborne Transmission inequality model. While not all factors may be known, it can still be used to assess relative risks. The researchers determined protection from transmission increases with physical distancing in an approximately linear proportion.

Study confirms bats adopt multiple strategies to reduce pro-inflammatory responses, thus mitigating potential immune-mediated tissue damage and disease. Findings provide important insights for medical research on human diseases.

Time crystals sound like something out of science fiction, but they may be the next major leap in quantum network research. A team based in Japan has proposed a method to use time crystals to simulate massive networks with very little computing power. They published their results on October 16 Science Advances.

The new model, created by computational social scientist Ivan Smirnov of HSE University, predicts the academic success of Russian high school students with an accuracy of 94%. The model generates its predictions based on users' distinctive vocabulary and speech patterns, and the predictions have strongly correlated with students' Unified State Exam (USE) scores.