Uncategorized
- Astronomy
Cosmic Blowout: Black holes spew as much as they consume
Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies can blow out as much material as they swallow, creating high-speed winds that may seed the universe with oxygen, carbon, iron, and other elements essential for life.
- Earth
Wrong Number: Plastic ingredient spurs chromosomal defects
The primary chemical in some plastics causes female mice to produce eggs with abnormal numbers of chromosomes.
- Materials Science
A New Cool: Prototype chills fast and electrifies, too
Researchers have incorporated an efficient thermoelectric material into a prototype device that can cool or produce electricity.
- Math
Zeroing In on Catalan’s Conjecture
Fermat’s last theorem is just one of many examples of innocent-looking problems that can long stymie even the most astute mathematicians. It took about 350 years to prove Fermat’s scribbled conjecture, for instance. Now, Preda Mihailescu of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has proved a theorem that is likely to lead to […]
- Math
Zeroing In on Catalan’s Conjecture
Fermat’s last theorem is just one of many examples of innocent-looking problems that can long stymie even the most astute mathematicians. It took about 350 years to prove Fermat’s scribbled conjecture, for instance. Now, Preda Mihailescu of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has proved a theorem that is likely to lead to […]
- Math
Zeroing In on Catalan’s Conjecture
Fermat’s last theorem is just one of many examples of innocent-looking problems that can long stymie even the most astute mathematicians. It took about 350 years to prove Fermat’s scribbled conjecture, for instance. Now, Preda Mihailescu of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has proved a theorem that is likely to lead to […]
- Math
Zeroing In on Catalan’s Conjecture
Fermat’s last theorem is just one of many examples of innocent-looking problems that can long stymie even the most astute mathematicians. It took about 350 years to prove Fermat’s scribbled conjecture, for instance. Now, Preda Mihailescu of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich has proved a theorem that is likely to lead to […]
- Math
Square of the Hypotenuse
There’s a delightful mathematical moment in the movie Merry Andrew, when Danny Kaye, playing schoolmaster Andrew Larabee, breaks into song to teach the Pythagorean theorem. I was reminded of this scene by a sentence in an article about the Pythagorean theorem in the October issue of Mathematics Magazine. The Pythagorean theorem “is probably the only […]
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Autism Advance: Mutated genes disrupt nerve cell proteins
Two gene mutations that cause autism suggest that nerve cell connections called synapses are key to the disorder.
- Math
Poe’s Secret
Writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) is famous for his short stories of the mysterious and the macabre. His popular tale “The Gold-Bug,” published in 1843, is often cited as one of the best works of fiction that turn upon a secret message. Poe had a longstanding interest in cryptology. When he became editor of Graham’s […]
- Math
Poe’s Secret
Writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) is famous for his short stories of the mysterious and the macabre. His popular tale “The Gold-Bug,” published in 1843, is often cited as one of the best works of fiction that turn upon a secret message. Poe had a longstanding interest in cryptology. When he became editor of Graham’s […]
- Animals
Careful Coots: Do birds count their eggs before they hatch?
A coot may tally the eggs in her nest, a rare example of an animal counting in the wild, suggests a new study.
