Scientific American

Recommended: Probably Approximately Correct

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:30:00 EST

Probably Approximately Correct: Nature's Algorithms for Learning and Prospering in a Complex World [More]

Shocks to the Brain Improve Mathematical Abilities

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:15:00 EST

From Nature magazine

[More]

First Proof That Infinitely Many Prime Numbers Come in Pairs

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:30:00 EST

From Nature magazine

[More]

The Mathematics of Juggling [Video]

Mon, 13 May 2013 09:10:00 EST

From Simons Science News ( find original story here ).

[More]

Physics Gets Frothy as Mathematicians Dissect Mister Bubble [Video]

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

Few of us have not paused at one time or another to marvel at the beauty of a soap bubble. The iridescent, evanescent orbs, which can persist for minutes before vanishing in an instant, have captivated bubble-blowing children and pensive bathtub recliners alike.

[More]

Elephants Better Beat the Heat--or Else

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:37:08 EST

When summer hits, I dread jogging outside. But a study finds that elephants can be in true danger in the heat.

[More]

Follow That Bike!

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:00:00 EST

From Simons Science News ( find original story here ).

[More]

Women Are Earning Greater Share of STEM Degrees, but Doctorates Remain Gender-Skewed

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:00:00 EST

In 2008, for the first time, U.S. women earned more doctorates in biology than men did. But advanced degrees in other core disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) remain stubbornly gender-imbalanced. In chemistry, for instance, women now garner 49 percent of bachelor's degrees but only 39 percent of Ph.D.s. What dissuades so many from further study?

[More]

Obama s 2014 Science Budget Proposal Revitalizes STEM Education, Reduces Environmental Conservation

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:40:00 EST

Among the winners in Pres. Barack Obama’s 2014 federal budget: the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Education and National Science Foundation (NSF). The losers include agribusiness and the Environmental Protection Agency. Obama’s plan, announced April 11, is less a vision for a progressive science agenda than a reflection of political reality--specifically, the fact that he still must work with a conservative Congress. The budget gives a boost to science education and research, long-standing administration priorities. In a nod to fiscal conservatives it trims administrative costs and slashes subsidies for agribusiness. On the matter of fossil fuels, however, it largely maintains the status quo, preserving funding for drilling and fracking. Here’s a quick list of winners, losers and how the new White House budget would affect them.

[More]

Physicists Model Mosh Moves

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:44:08 EST

A heavy metal concert might be a tough place to think about physics, especially in the mosh pit, where some audience members dance violently. But the mosh pit itself is actually an interesting place to find physics in action. And not just force equals mass times acceleration.

[More]

Biologists Home in on Tiger Stripes and Turing Patterns [Slide Show]

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:00:00 EST

From Simons Science News ( find original story here ).

[More]

An Arbitrary Number of Years Since Mathematician Paul Erd s s Birth

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:15:00 EST

I take issue with the celebration of Paul Erd s’ 100 th birthday.

[More]

Mathematical Impressions: An Exploration of Symmetric Structures [Video]

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST

From Simons Science News ( find original story here ).

[More]

Strength in Numbers: Mathematicians Unite to Tackle Climate Change and Other Planetary Problems

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:00:00 EST

What do polar ice caps, guinea worm disease and wildfires have in common? All are being modeled with cutting-edge mathematics. Mathematical societies and institutes around the world are participating in " Mathematics of Planet Earth ," or MPE, this year. They aim to study the math that underpins geologic and biological processes on our planet as well as encourage more math researchers to tackle these problems. Events are planned for the year 2013, but the organizers hope that the initiative will have lasting effects.

[More]

Belgian Mathematician Wins Abel Prize for Shaping Algebraic Geometry

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EST

It has been four decades since Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne completed the work for which he became celebrated, but that fertile contribution to number theory has now earned him the Abel Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in mathematics.

[More]

A Quantum Leap for Basketball "Bracketology"

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:00:00 EST

This story was originally published by Inside Science News Service .

[More]

The Existence of Nothing: A Debate [Live Stream]

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST

[More]

Mathematicians Solve Problem of Folding a Pop-up Tent

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST

Camping enthusiasts and aspiring modern sculptors take heed: researchers have achieved a breakthrough in understanding and controlling overcurvature, which is found in such disparate settings as pop-up tents, DNA plasmids and curved origami. Overcurvature occurs when a ring is too curved to lie flat in a plane the way a normal circle does. For example, if you detached a segment of a Slinky and connected its ends to make a closed loop, you would have a hard time getting the whole thing to lie flat on the floor. The intrinsic curvature of the Slinky would cause the ring to buckle and assume a three-dimensional saddle shape.

[More]

How to Make Impossible Wallpaper

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:00:00 EST

From Simons Science News ( find original story here ).

[More]

The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci's Arithmetic Revolution [Excerpt]

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST

[More]