http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/math_puzzles/ Explore a wide range of mathematical research, including surprising discoveries in gaming, math puzzles, prime numbers and encryption. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:05:01 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 16:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/math_puzzles/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724192258.htm We've all heard it. Many of us in fact believe it. Girls just aren't as good at math as boys. But is it true? After sifting through mountains of data - including SAT results and math scores from 7 million students who were tested in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act - a team of scientists says the answer is no. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724192258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718074652.htm Why do humans cooperate in things as diverse as environment conservation or the creation of fairer societies, even when they don't receive anything in exchange or, worst, they might even be penalized? This is a question that has puzzled academics for centuries, especially since in evolution the basis for the "survival of the fittest" is, after all, selfishness. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080718074652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717221609.htm The 2008 All-Star Game was the game of a lifetime, and a math professor can prove it. "What happened Tuesday night was definitely a rare occurrence and one we should not expect to see again in our lifetimes," said the mathematics professor. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717221609.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611095251.htm Citation-based statistics, such as the impact factor, are often used to assess scientific research, but are they the best measures of research quality? Three international mathematics organizations have recently released a report, Citation Statistics, on the use of citations in assessing research quality -- a topic that is of increasing interest throughout the world's scientific community. The report is written from a mathematical perspective and strongly cautions against the over-reliance on citation statistics such as the impact factor and h-index. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611095251.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605181158.htm The mathematicians were trying to extend an illustrious result in their field, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. The astrophysicists were working on a fundamental problem in their field, the problem of gravitational lensing. That the two groups were in fact working on the same question is both expected and unexpected: The "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" is well known throughout the sciences, but every new instance produces welcome insights and sheer delight. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080605181158.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529141344.htm The ability to map numbers onto a line is universal. But for an Amazonian tribe, this mapping is not linear but logarithmic. The finding illuminates both the nature and the limits of the human predisposition to measurement, a foundation for science, engineering, and much of our modern culture. Fri, 30 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529141344.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529124827.htm Researchers have demonstrated a simpler and potentially lower-cost method for distributing cryptographic keys using quantum cryptography, the most secure method of transmitting data. The new method minimizes the required number of detectors, by far the most costly components in quantum cryptography. Fri, 30 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080529124827.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508143107.htm Quantum cryptography has been regarded as 100-percent protection against attacks on sensitive data traffic. But now a research team in Sweden has found a hole in this advanced technology. The risk of illegal accessing of information, for example in money transactions, is necessitating more and more advanced cryptographic techniques. Sun, 11 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508143107.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094232.htm The latest results from the National Science Foundation's Math and Science Partnership program show not only improved proficiency among all elementary and middle school students, but also a closing of the achievement gaps between both African-American and Hispanic students and white students in elementary school math, and between African-American and white students in elementary and middle-school science. Mon, 05 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502094232.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428123555.htm Quantum cryptography may be essentially solved, but getting the funky physics to work on disciplined computer networks is a whole new headache. Cryptography is an arms race, but the finish line may be fast approaching. Up to now, each time the codemakers made a better mousetrap, codebreakers breed a better mouse. But quantum cryptography theoretically could outpace the codebreakers and win the race. Forever. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428123555.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140410.htm A new study challenges the common practice in many classrooms of teaching mathematical concepts by using "real-world," concrete examples. Researchers found that college students who learned a mathematical concept with concrete examples couldn't apply that knowledge to new situations. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140410.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422150652.htm Would you rather support research for a disease that affects 30,000 Americans a year or one that affects just .01 percent of the US population? The numbers represent about the same number of people, but how you answered explains how you understand numerical information, according to a psychology professor. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422150652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331135546.htm NJIT's indefatigable math professor Bruce Bukiet is once again opining on outcomes for this season's Major League Baseball teams. Bukiet's system for recommending wagers has produced positive results for five of the seven years he has posted results. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331135546.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314145039.htm Many people find complex math puzzling, including some mathematicians. Recently, a mathematician has found solutions to a puzzle that has been around for centuries. They have found a way to generate an infinite number of solutions for a puzzle known as 'Euler's Equation of degree four.' The equation is part of a branch of mathematics called number theory. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314145039.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313124415.htm A new mathematical object, long know to exist but never seen, had its first sighting yesterday. Two researchers have exhibited the first example of a third degree transcendental L-function. These L-functions encode deep underlying connections between many different areas of mathematics. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080313124415.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304130751.htm Video games like Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution can play an important role in getting kids off the couch and involved in physical activity. But are they a replacement for traditional exercise? Definitely not, a university wellness coordinator. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304130751.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305104847.htm Physicists have made a discovery that may revolutionize encryption technology while bringing quantum computing one step closer. Consumers, credit card companies and high-tech firms rely on cryptography to protect the transmission of sensitive information. The basis for current encryption systems is that computers would need thousands of years to factor a large number, making it very difficult to do. However, if new observations can be fully understood and applied, scientists may have the basis to create quantum computers -- which could easily break the most complicated encryption in a matter of hours. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080305104847.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303110214.htm A problem which has defeated mathematicians for almost 140 years has now been solved. The breakthrough is in an area of mathematics known as conformal mapping, a key theoretical tool used by mathematicians, engineers and scientists to translate information from a complicated shape to a simpler circular shape so that it is easier to analyze. Key additions have been made to the Schwarz-Christoffel formula. Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303110214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207085618.htm Though girls now take as many math courses as boys in high school, new research finds that one's friends have a stronger influence on girls' decisions to take higher level math classes than on boys. Both girls and boys who had close friends who made good grades took more higher-level math than other teens. However the findings suggest that we should examine the reasons why boys and girls take different paths to the same outcome. Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207085618.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080123131519.htm Children from low-income families in the United States do not have the same access to qualified teachers as do wealthier students, according to a new study. Compared to 46 countries, the United States had the fourth largest opportunity gap, the difference between students of high and low socioeconomic status in their access to qualified teachers. Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080123131519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221225420.htm Serious games are designed not to entertain, but to teach. Students learn by doing, and games range from simulating medical procedures to promoting peace in Palestine. Now researchers are developing a platform to make the concept more accessible to businessmen. You cannot replace experience, but maybe you can acquire it faster. Action learning, learning by doing, is the most effective form of training a company can deploy. Instead of remembering facts or processes, students perform real tasks, employing both the knowledge and the method as they do. It is the difference between reading the manual and building the machine. It is experience over information. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221225420.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221214400.htm Quantum cryptography, or quantum key distribution, enables two communicating parties to produce a shared random bit string know only to them, which can be used as a key to crypt and decrypt messages. An important and unique feature of quantum cryptography is the ability of the two communicating parties to quickly detect the presence of any third party trying to gain access to the key. This third party, the eavesdropper if you like, is commonly known as Eve among cryptographers. Quantum cryptography then is essentially all about cutting Eve out of the equation. Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221214400.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220195643.htm New generation active computer games stimulate greater energy expenditure than sedentary games, but are no substitute for playing real sports, according to a new study. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220195643.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071113150554.htm Parents of school-aged children might want to think of giving their children an enduring holiday gift this year: enrollment in a supplemental mathematics program. While it can cost anywhere from $80 to $110 a month, the results of practicing mathematics nearly daily is rewarding and builds self-esteem. Wed, 14 Nov 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071113150554.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071112091850.htm Computer scientists have found a security vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system. The significance of the loophole: e-mails, passwords, credit card numbers, if they were typed into the computer, and actually all correspondence that emanated from a computer using Windows 2000 is susceptible to tracking. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071112091850.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071019174410.htm Online video games with thousands of simultaneous players, such as "World of Warcraft," have become hugely popular in the last two decades and are now a multibillion dollar industry. Scientists have conducted a randomized trial study of college students contrasting the effects of playing online socially interconnected video games with more traditional single-player or arcade-style games. Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071019174410.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002131140.htm Have you ever felt outnumbered? Like there are just not that many people like you around? One group that may experience this kind of threat is women who participate in math, science and engineering settings -- settings in which the gender ratio is approximately three men to every one woman. New research shows that when women feel outnumbered, their academic performance expectations and actual performance decreases. Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071002131140.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070928104257.htm According to a new article, technological and security issues will stall maximum transmission rates at levels comparable to that of a single broadband connection, such as a cable modem, unless researchers reduce 'dead times' in the detectors that receive quantum-encrypted messages. Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070928104257.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914210905.htm Finding a way to motivate the billion people in the world who are overweight to lose excess pounds can be an overwhelming task, but one professor is meeting that weighty challenge with a challenge of his own. He has developed a computer game that translates physical activity into video games, such as races and logic puzzles. The games can be played on any hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA) with users wearing a lightweight, wearable sensor that detects movement like running, walking, bending over or even foot tapping. A computer science student who was one of the first to try out the devices lost 40 pounds in five months. Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914210905.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070915110957.htm Online multiplayer communities are social networks built around multiplayer online computer games. Members of these communities typically share an interest in online gaming and a great deal of the interaction between them is technologically mediated. It is a playground which can give us clues about the future of social and technological developments, according to the researcher. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070915110957.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823175729.htm Peanut butter and jelly. Wine and cheese. Dinner and a movie. Some things just naturally go together. But national security and video games? At first glance, those two aren't exactly a soft brie and a glass of Merlot in terms of compatibility. If computer scientists have their way, however, perhaps today's video game-loving youth will become our next generation's terrorist-fighting scientist, especially if a prototype project she now has under development fulfills its promise. Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823175729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070813091457.htm A little known school of scholars in southwest India discovered one of the founding principles of modern mathematics hundreds of years before Newton -- according to new research. The "Kerala School" identified the "infinite series" -- one of the basic components of calculus -- in about 1350. Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070813091457.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070809172142.htm Computer scientists developed a new way to simulate and display complex situations very quickly. The algorithm made its high-profile debut this summer when the ESPN sports network used it to show air flowing over racing cars in its NASCAR coverage. Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070809172142.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070807172333.htm Neal Koblitz is a mathematician who, starting in the 1980s, became fascinated by mathematical questions in cryptography. In his article "The Uneasy Relationship Between Mathematics and Cryptography," Koblitz recalls some of the drama and conflict that he witnessed while doing research in mathematical cryptography in the past two decades. Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070807172333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070730111649.htm How many games does it take to ensure that the best team in a sports league ends up with the best record? According to a study by a pair of physicists the answer is an astounding 256 games per team in the case of baseball's National League, well beyond the 162 games each team currently plays in the regular season. Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070730111649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718113900.htm Students' performance on annual math and science assessments improved in almost every age group when their schools were involved in a program that partners K-12 teachers with their colleagues in higher education. Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070718113900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070713131357.htm Two University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professors are studying fantasy sports leagues, including their own, in a new research project aimed at understanding how both expert and novice players approach the game and what it can teach us about how people learn. Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070713131357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711001517.htm Researchers have developed an educational, mobile math lab application for cell phones, providing students with experiential, interactive ways to learn math. Problems, graphs and functions can be sent to others via text messaging. Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070711001517.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070706144701.htm Computer games of the future are easily accessible online games that fit into our busy everyday life. The market has exploded and adult women in particular are taking part in this growth wave. Researchers are gaining an understanding of how computer games, like regular games, appeal to us at least in part because of our basic desire to learn. Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070706144701.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624143002.htm It figures: Dads have a major impact on the degree of interest their daughters develop in math. That's one of the findings of a long-term study that has traced the sources of the continuing gender gap in math and science performance. Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624143002.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070608093815.htm In a recent article, mathematicians explain the use of tools from the branch of mathematics called graph theory to systematically analyze Sudoku puzzles. They also find that analyzing Sudokus leads to some unsolved problems in graph theory. Fri, 08 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070608093815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070524145053.htm Compared to math teachers in the high-achieving nations of Hong Kong and Japan, teachers in the United States offer less of certain supports that could help students learn more. This could contribute to the lower performance among US students on international math tests, according to new research. Fri, 25 May 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070524145053.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521120256.htm Researchers have found a surprising cultural influence on some boys' drive for muscularity. In a new study researchers discovered that exposure to video gaming magazines has a stronger influence on preadolescent boys' drive for muscularity, or desire for muscle mass, than does exposure to magazines that depict a more realistic muscular male-body ideal. Tue, 22 May 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521120256.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521212919.htm Scientists have refuted a longstanding theory of how HIV slowly depletes the body's capacity to fight infection, in new research. The researchers were looking at T helper cells, a class of white blood cells which recognize infection and co-ordinate the body's immune defenses. Tue, 22 May 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521212919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521100535.htm Mathematicians and number buffs have their records. And at last, an international team has broken a long-standing one in an impressive feat of calculation. Mathematicians have just reached the end of eleven months of strenuous calculation, churning out the prime factors of a well-known, hard-to-factor number that is a whopping 307 digits long. Mon, 21 May 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070521100535.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322132931.htm Scientists have, for the first time, induced difficulties with mathematics (dyscalculia) in subjects who normally find math easy. The study, which finds that the right parietal lobe is responsible for dyscalculia, potentially has implications for diagnosis and management through remedial teaching. Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322132931.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070319205733.htm The Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), Xbox and Nintendo Wii have captivated a generation of computer gamers with bold graphics and rapid-fire animation. But these high-tech toys can do a lot more than just play games. At North Carolina State University, Dr. Frank Mueller imagined using the power of the new PS3 to create a high-powered computing environment for a fraction of the cost of the supercomputers on the market. Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070319205733.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145641.htm On February 19 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco, movie lovers got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the physics-based simulations that breathe life into fantasy. Ron Fedkiw, an assistant professor of computer science at Stanford, spoke about computations used to make solids and fluids more realistic in feature films. Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070220145641.htm