In sports leagues and playoffs, the strongest teams often don't triumph, but redesigning the schedule of games can improve their chances.

A mathematical optimization strategy for pairing patients who need kidneys with willing donors could increase the number and quality of transplants.

Mathematics, not brain development, explains why toddlers begin to pick up words quickly after a slow start.

A combination of mathematical analysis and supercomputer number-crunching proves that any Rubik's Cube can be solved in 26 moves or fewer.

Computer programs that model climate may be so complex that global warming predictions will never settle on a single, definitive answer.

The twisted, single-sided loop known as a Möbius band, when made from a stiff material such as paper, takes on a complicated shape that researchers have finally calculated.

A longtime activist in the civil rights movement now teaches that mathematical literacy is the key to full participation in the country's economy.

Solving sudoku puzzles may not require mathematics, but mathematicians have found plenty to say about the popular brainteasers.

A design incorporating the golden ratio makes blue jeans aesthetically pleasing, or so the manufacturer claims.

Statistical analyses of literary texts provide new insights about novels.

Statistical analyses of literary texts provide new insights about novels.

An auditory phenomenon that resembles a familiar optical illusion sheds light on how our brains process sound.

A paper-folding technique can solve a classic math problem.