Math
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Computing
New computer algorithm plays poker almost perfectly
An algorithm optimized to play heads-up limit Texas Hold’em poker will never lose in the long run against any opponent.
- Health & Medicine
Online favorites of 2014
Science News' website traffic reveals the most-read news stories and blog posts of 2014.
- Math
Math to match pedestrian behavior is all about timing
The best-ever simulation of pedestrians moving through a crowd relies on a new formula that encapsulates people’s ability to anticipate collisions.
- Math
Spirals inspire walking aids for people with disabilities
Long admired for their beauty, spirals have inspired a shoe that may help disabled people walk. The shapes make for a better crutch and an entertaining skateboard as well.
- Math
In science, popularity breeds unreliability
Popularity can mean unreliability both in science news coverage and within research itself.
- Math
Reproducing experiments is more complicated than it seems
Statisticians have devised a new way to measure the evidence that an experimental result has really been reproduced.
- Science & Society
Top 10 science anniversaries in 2014
2014 is a rich year for scientific anniversaries, from the birth of Vesalius to quantum factoring.
- Science & Society
There’s a new way to quantify structure and complexity
A new way to measure structure and complexity can help explain how information sharing among the parts of a system is related to its behaviors on different scales.
- Math
Sharks’ hunting paths may not be driven by math
Penguins, tuna, sharks and other marine hunters have been shown to use math to find food. But simulations suggest the behavior is a result of rough water, not complex calculation.
- Psychology
Simple rules can ease complex financial decisions
Straightforward strategies, known as heuristics, can be indispensable tools for keeping credit card debt in check as well as for making complex business decisions.
- Science & Society
‘Enlightening Symbols’ shows how math’s language arose
From numerals to infinity, symbols have advanced mathematical thinking.
- Health & Medicine
Evidence-based medicine actually isn’t
Demands for evidence-based medicine confront the contradiction that much of the evidence is worthless or skewed.
