Traffic flow can be improved through research into card shuffling

Mathematics proves turbulence's chaos creates super diffusion

Turbulent flow is responsible for the rapid scattering of dandelion seeds, volcanic ash, and untied balloons. Its swirling behavior accelerates particle scattering faster than other mixing methods, as particles acquire energy from the interactions of eddies.

NSF-funded research into matching algorithms improved the success of organ transplants

Investigations in game theory, including concepts focused on creating mutually beneficial partnerships—matching theory—led to the design of computer systems that efficiently matched kidney recipients and live donors, resulting in higher-quality matches. By 2019, these matching algorithms were used for multi-organ exchanges.

Visualize how data becomes organized through a variety of sorting algorithms

This interactive shows how different algorithms shift elements in a randomized set to order them from smallest to largest. By comparing the different procedures and their corresponding functions, users can explore how runtimes vary across algorithms that complete the same task.

Advance genetic research by playing these scientific video games

Computers produce so much information that researchers can’t properly analyze all the data produced, and the overload can also lead computers to make mistakes. Researchers are increasingly turning to citizen scientists—members of the public who are willing to volunteer—to help them make sense of data when computers can’t. This article details a few of the ways you can contribute to genetics research by playing video games.

Computational and biological systems share fundamental principles, like randomness

Proposed by Alan Turing and John von Neumann, the concept originates from how DNA and computers run by executing encoded instructions in parallel. The advent of AI and the temperature parameter has seen neural networks mimic the randomness of protein encoding.

Emergency room evaluations may be improved with AI algorithms

Emergency room care teams must make fast and crucial decisions. They must determine if patients need to be admitted or discharged and when to order more tests or not. Researchers have been exploring how often patients died in the week after they were sent home and evaluating how this and other aspects of emergency care decision-making could be improved with AI algorithms to assist decision-makers.

Connected technology improves infrastructure efficiency in smart cities

Through information and communication technologies, smart cities can provide enhanced public services and improved quality of life by managing traffic and dynamic safety policies. They can also promote sustainability by automating energy use and redirecting resources according to need.

Randomly boarding passengers onto a plane is often faster than using boarding groups

Although boarding back to front or windows to aisles appear to be sensible approaches to quickly filling a plane, these methods still suffer from passengers stowing away their luggage, which too often halts the boarding flow. Research has shown that the ideal process, called the Steffen method, optimized efficiency by allowing boarding to continue even while stowing is underway.

Microchips in payment cards improve security by generating unique transaction codes

Magnetic strips store unchanging data that is easily cloned, but microchips act as miniature computers that encrypt sensitive data. They also resist fraud by creating data unique to each transaction, preventing duplication.

How quantum computers can empower Shor's algorithm to break digital encryption

Secure communications largely rely on numeric keys generated by multiplying two enormous prime numbers together, and it is computationally impractical to determine these primes by trying to divide by every possible one. While Shor's algorithm can provide better guesses for this brute-force approach, it relies on a number that is difficult to determine on classical computers but much easier to calculate using the simultaneous computations enabled by quantum superposition.

The origin of shortest-path algorithms and how they became optimized for navigation apps

In 1956, Dutch programmer Edsger Dijkstra spent about 20 minutes developing an algorithm to demonstrate how computers could quickly determine the shortest route between Rotterdam and Groningen. Since then, modified versions of Dijkstra's formulation comprise the processing backbone of systems such as Google Maps and Apple Maps.

Cells modify their internal spacing to improve biochemical reaction efficiencies

Studies involving microscopy and genetic engineering tools in yeast and human cells show ribosomes act as crowding agents—much like packing peanuts—and their concentrations are actively tuned to alter the rate of cellular functions. However, these concentrations and cell crowding levels vary across different tissues and cell types.

How the number 15 solved a longstanding math challenge

The “packing coloring” problem asks how many numbers are needed to fill an infinite grid so that identical numbers never get too close to one another. A new computer-assisted proof finds a surprisingly straightforward answer—only 15. While...

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Grace Hopper warned against prioritizing hardware purchases in future computing

Foreseeing the rising volume of data and the increasing demand for its processing and access, she advocated that organizations first map the total flow of information they require and then choose infrastructure to support it, rather than wastefully spending on the fastest computing technology and forcing software to compensate for unnecessary hardware or incorrect data.

There are more chess game variations than observable atoms in the universe

Mathematician Claude Shannon estimated there are 10 to the 120th power variations of chess games possible. Known as the "Shannon number," this is more than the estimated number of atoms in the cosmos.

NFL Draft decisions are shaped by brain science, data, and office culture

Carnegie Mellon researchers say Draft-room choices are influenced by the "jackpot effect"—where higher stakes can impair performance—as well as by groupthink, the limits of data, and whether scouts feel safe speaking up.

Microbial research suggests shifts in diverse populations may help an invasive species establish itself

In 1958, English ecologist Charles Elton suggested that diverse ecosystems should be more resistant to invasive species because gaining a foothold would be more challenging when resources are more thinly spread. However, in lab-grown microbial ecosystems with greater biodiversity, population volatility opened more ecological roles that invasive species could easily fill.

Face and neck massages improve the removal of brain cell waste products in mice

A study identified that massaging mice and monkeys' faces and necks enhanced the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Because CSF has been shown to flush out proteins linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, the research hints at non-invasive treatments to reduce the severity of these diseases.

How math whizzes exploit sportsbooks

Chris Dirkus is a professional sports bettor who approaches the hobby as a math problem, not from a fan's perspective. He focuses on mispriced odds in popular games where many fans are betting for high liquidity. He's one of a rare segment of sports bettors exploiting slow models and human mistakes.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Researchers found that 2020 redistricting tactics created safer districts and reduced competition

Studies of the 2020 redistricting cycle show that map-drawing strategies locked in predictable outcomes. The result was fewer competitive races, more incumbents shielded from challengers, and representatives less responsive to broader voter preferences.

The research pipelines being explored by the RIPE Project to improve photosynthesis

These include engineering plants with faster stomata, which would allow photosynthesis to resume more quickly amid fluctuations in available light due to clouds or shading from other plants, and resolving bottlenecks in the regeneration of RuBP, the molecule to which carbon dioxide is fixed during photosynthesis to initiate the Calvin cycle. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Wikiracing involves moving between two articles in the fewest clicks

The quirky pastime has evolved into a competitive event at yearly Wikimedia conferences, highlighting the interconnectedness of human knowledge. Neuroscientific research suggests lateral thinking is a crucial skill found in successful Wikiracers.

Magic: the Gathering was inspired by baseball cards

Richard Garfield originally pitched a game publisher on a more complex game about programming robots, but he was told that they were looking for something less expensive and more portable. Inspired by the way baseball cards were collected and traded, he came up with the idea for Magic: the Gathering, which gave players packets of random cards, effectively pieces of the whole game, rather than the entire deck.

Nvidia’s RTX graphics chips support ray tracing, which, the company says, can boost performance in games by 25%

Ray tracing allows developers to add more realistic-looking lighting and shadows to video games, and Nvidia continues to improve the tech in newer chips. Rendering light realistically in video games requires immense computing power, and ray tracing “cheats” the process with a little guesswork.

Cryptocurrency is reshaping finance, but its environmental impact often sparks debate

Behind the scenes, mining operations consume vast amounts of energy, comparable to the emissions of small nations. What drives this surprising environmental footprint, and can the industry evolve?

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.