Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Mathematical modeling suggests U.S. counties are still unprepared for COVID spikes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

America was unprepared for the magnitude of the pandemic, which overwhelmed many counties and filled some hospitals to capacity. A new study suggests there may have been a mathematical method, of sorts, to the madness of those early COVID days.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Statistical oversight could explain inconsistencies in nutritional research      (via sciencedaily.com) 

People often wonder why one nutritional study tells them that eating too many eggs, for instance, will lead to heart disease and another tells them the opposite. The answer to this and other conflicting food studies may lie in the use of statistics, according to a new report.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Biomarkers used to track benefits of anti-aging therapies can be misleading, suggests nematode study      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers followed the birth and death of tens of thousands of nematode worms using the 'Lifespan Machine', which collects lifespan data at unprecedented statistical resolution. They found that worms have at least two distinct 'biological ages', and that these have consistent correlations between each other, suggesting the existence of an invisible hierarchical structure that regulates the ageing process. The findings challenge the idea of living organisms having a single, universal biological age. It also means mean that biomarkers used to assess biological age can be changed by interventions such as diet, exercise, or drug treatments without actually turning a 'fast ager' into a 'slow ager'. The study calls into question the use of ageing biomarkers -- what exactly are they measuring?

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

New software platform advances understanding of the surface finish of manufactured components      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The contact.engineering platform enables users to create a digital twin of a surface and thus to help predict, for example, how quickly it wears out, how well it conducts heat, or how well it adheres to other materials.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Healthcare researchers must be wary of misusing AI      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A commentary advocates the proper application of artificial intelligence in healthcare and warns of the dangers when machine learning algorithms are misused.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

New method to identify symmetries in data using Bayesian statistics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed a method to identify symmetries in multi-dimensional data using Bayesian statistical techniques. Bayesian statistics has been in the spotlight in recent years due to improvements in computer performance and its potential applications in artificial intelligence. However, this statistical approach requires complex calculations of integrals, which are often considered approximations only. In their new study, the research team successfully derived new exact integral formulas. Their findings contribute to improving the accuracy of methods to identify data symmetries, possibly extending their applications to wider areas of interest, such as genetic analysis.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

New method to systematically find optimal quantum operation sequences for quantum computers developed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer scientists have succeeded in developing a method for systematically finding the optimal quantum operation sequence for a quantum computer. They have developed a systematic method that applies optimal control theory (GRAPE algorithm) to identify the theoretically optimal sequence from among all conceivable quantum operation sequences. This method is expected to become a useful tool for medium-scale quantum computers and is expected to contribute to improving the performance of quantum computers and reducing environmental impact in the near future.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

From bits to p-bits: One step closer to probabilistic computing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed a mathematical description of what happens within tiny magnets as they fluctuate between states when an electric current and magnetic field are applied. Their findings could act as the foundation for engineering more advanced computers that can quantify uncertainty while interpreting complex data.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Thinking like a cyber-attacker to protect user data      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have shown that a component of modern computer processors that enables different areas of the chip to communicate with each other is susceptible to a side-channel attack. An attacker can monitor how traffic from two different cores on a processor interferes with each other to extract secret information, like a cryptographic key.

Computer Science: Encryption Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

A key role for quantum entanglement      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A method known as quantum key distribution has long held the promise of communication security unattainable in conventional cryptography. An international team of scientists has now demonstrated experimentally, for the first time, an approach to quantum key distribution that is based on high-quality quantum entanglement -- offering much broader security guarantees than previous schemes.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Quantum cryptography: Hacking is futile      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team has successfully implemented an advanced form of quantum cryptography for the first time. Moreover, encryption is independent of the quantum device used and therefore even more secure against hacking attempts.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Idea of ice age 'species pump' in the Philippines boosted by new way of drawing evolutionary trees      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A groundbreaking Bayesian method and new statistical analyses of genomic data from geckos in the Philippines shows that during the ice ages, the timing of gecko diversification gives strong statistical support for the first time to the Pleistocene aggregate island complex (PAIC) model of diversification, or 'species pump.'

Computer Science: Encryption Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

'Pulling back the curtain' to reveal a molecular key to The Wizard of Oz      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Many people and companies worry about sensitive data getting hacked, so encrypting files with digital keys has become more commonplace. Now, researchers have developed a durable molecular encryption key from sequence-defined polymers that are built and deconstructed in a sequential way. They hid their molecular key in the ink of a letter, which was mailed and then used to decrypt a file with text from a classic story.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Topology and machine learning reveal hidden relationship in amorphous silicon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fine-tuning the thermal conductivity of amorphous silicon used in technologies such as solar cells and image sensors should become much easier thanks to the computational topology and machine-learning-assisted discovery of the relationship between nano-scale structures and physical properties.

Computer Science: Encryption Engineering: Biometric
Published

Radio waves for the detection of hardware tampering      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Up to now, protecting hardware against manipulation has been a laborious business: expensive, and only possible on a small scale. And yet, two simple antennas might do the trick.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Secure communication with light particles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

While quantum computers offer many novel possibilities, they also pose a threat to internet security since these supercomputers make common encryption methods vulnerable. Based on the so-called quantum key distribution, researchers have developed a new, tap-proof communication network.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Emulating impossible 'unipolar' laser pulses paves the way for processing quantum information      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A laser pulse that sidesteps the inherent symmetry of light waves could manipulate quantum information, potentially bringing us closer to room temperature quantum computing.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

When quan­tum par­ti­cles fly like bees      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A quantum system with only 51 charged atoms can take on more than two quadrillion different states. Calculating the system's behavior is child's play for a quantum simulator. But verifying the result is almost impossible, even with today's supercomputers. A research team has now shown how these systems can be verified using equations formulated in the 18th century.

Mathematics: Statistics
Published

One particle on two paths: Quantum physics is right      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The famous double slit experiment shows that particles can travel on two paths at the same time -- but only by looking at a lot of particles and analysing the results statistically. Now a two-path-interference experiment has been designed that only has to measure one specific particle to prove that it travelled on two paths.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Self-propelled, endlessly programmable artificial cilia      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a single-material, single-stimuli microstructure that can outmaneuver even living cilia. These programmable, micron-scale structures could be used for a range of applications, including soft robotics, biocompatible medical devices, and even dynamic information encryption.