Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Computer scientists launch counteroffensive against video game cheaters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer scientists have devised a new weapon against video game players who cheat. The researchers developed their approach for detecting cheaters using the popular first-person shooter game Counter-Strike. But the mechanism can work for any massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that sends data traffic to a central server.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Researchers simulate privacy leaks in functional genomics studies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers demonstrate that it's possible to de-identify raw functional genomics data to ensure patient privacy. They also demonstrate how these raw data could be linked back to specific individuals through their gene variants by something as simple as an abandoned coffee cup if these sanitation measures are not put in place.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Random effects key to containing epidemics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered why dividing a large population into multiple subpopulations that do not intermix can help contain outbreaks without imposing contact restrictions within those local communities.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

A new method for directed networks could help multiple levels of science      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers reveal a new method for analyzing hierarchies in complex networks and illustrate it by applications to economics, language and gene expression.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Battery-free Game Boy runs forever      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers develop first-ever battery-free, energy-harvesting, interactive device. And it looks and feels like a retro 8-bit Nintendo Game Boy.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Revolutionary quantum breakthrough paves way for safer online communication      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The world is one step closer to having a totally secure internet and an answer to the growing threat of cyber-attacks, thanks to a team of international scientists who have created a unique prototype which could transform how we communicate online.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Skat and poker: More luck than skill?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Chess requires playing ability and strategic thinking; in roulette, chance determines victory or defeat, gain or loss. But what about skat and poker? Are they games of chance or games of skill in game theory? This classification also determines whether play may involve money. Economists have studied this question and developed a rating system similar to the Elo system used for chess.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Randomness theory could hold key to internet security      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers identified a problem that holds the key to whether all encryption can be broken -- as well as a surprising connection to a mathematical concept that aims to define and measure randomness.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

More realistic computer graphics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New software techniques make lighting in computer-generated images look more realistic for use in video games, extended reality, and scientific visualization tools.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Links between video games and gambling run deeper than previously thought, study reveals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests that a number of practices in video games, such as token wagering, real-money gaming, and social casino spending, are significantly linked to problem gambling.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Consumers prefer round numbers even when the specific number is better news      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Consider this scenario: A vaccine for the novel coronavirus has been developed that is 91.27% effective. If public health officials present this information using the specific number, people are likely to think the vaccine is actually less effective than if it is presented as being 90% effective. This concept is a real-life application of recent findings from Gaurav Jain, an assistant professor of marketing in the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, published recently in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Smokers good at math are more likely to want to quit      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For smokers who are better at math, the decision to quit just adds up, a new study suggests. Researchers found that smokers who scored higher on a test of math ability were more likely than others to say they intended to quit smoking.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Achievement isn't why more men are majoring in physics, engineering and computer science      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that the reason there are more undergraduate men than women majoring in physics, engineering and computer science is not because men are higher achievers. On the contrary, the scholars found that men with very low high-school GPAs in math and science and very low SAT math scores were choosing these math-intensive majors just as often as women with much higher math and science achievement.