Erica Klarreich

All Stories by Erica Klarreich

  1. Math

    Manuscripts as Fossils

    A new mathematical model estimates how many medieval manuscripts have survived to the present.

  2. Math

    New largest prime discovered

    Computers have discovered a new largest prime number with a whopping 7,816,230 digits.

  3. Math

    Life on the Scales

    A mathematical equation helps explain life processes on all biological scales, from molecules to ecosystems.

  4. Math

    Hospitals motivated to skimp on infection control

    A new mathematical model suggests that the presence of nearby hospitals may give a hospital an economic incentive to relax its infection-control efforts.

  5. Math

    Sizing Up Complex Webs: Close or far, many networks look the same

    Complex networks, including the World Wide Web, have a common architecture with snowflakes and trees.

  6. Math

    When Laziness Pays: Math explains how cooperation and cheating evolve

    Researchers have developed a mathematical model that helps explain how cooperation and cheating evolve among simple organisms.

  7. Math

    Take a Chance

    Researchers are helping to turn the art of generating randomness into a precise science.

  8. Math

    Con Artist: Scanning program can discern true art

    A new mathematical tool distills painting style into an array of statistics as a potential means to spot forgeries.

  9. Math

    Oddballs

    Mathematicians have found that it's easier to pack spheres in some dimensions than it is in others.

  10. Math

    Generous Players

    Game theory is helping to explain how cooperation and other self-sacrificing behaviors fit into natural selection.

  11. Math

    Theorems for Sale

    In April, an eBay auction offered math enthusiasts the rare opportunity of linking their names with one of the most famous mathematicians of the 20th century.

  12. Math

    Glimpses of Genius

    By studying a puzzle that Archimedes pondered 2,200 years ago, mathematicians are obtaining new insights into its intriguing geometric structure.