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How languages recycle parts of words to avoid confusion

Many languages recycle words, giving them different meanings. For example, in English, "run" can mean to move quickly but also to manage something, like "run a company." In Spanish, "lengua" is both the word for tongue and ...

S-M-A-R-T! These researchers used math to crack Wordle

Every day, millions of people play Wordle, the popular New York Times game that challenges users to guess a secret five-letter word. Using information theory, a team of researchers at Binghamton University, State University ...

What network science can tell us about the 2026 World Cup

Team Australia kicked it long from the goalkeeper. Switzerland took a slower approach and preferred short passes over long drives. Spain, on the other hand, tended to string the ball with sharp, sideways passes across the ...

'Shoot for the moon?' Aim a bit lower, researchers say

How ambitious should you be? Folk wisdom offers conflicting advice: "Shoot for the moon," but also, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." A new study by researchers at the University of Wyoming, Stanford University ...

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Mathematics
AI makes a major breakthrough in a math problem that had stumped experts for decades
Mathematics
When noisy decision-making becomes a strategic advantage
Mathematics
A physicist's fresh look at the 'prisoner's dilemma' reveals hope for cooperation
Mathematics
Fair matching systems can still produce unequal outcomes, new research finds
Mathematics
Mathematical analysis reveals a hidden 'golden rule' in abstract art
Mathematics
Mathematicians prove existence of Kaleidocycles then unlock their exact motion
Mathematics
Identity traits sharply narrow who becomes friends or marries, model reveals
Mathematics
Q&A: The political calculus—and actual math—of gerrymandering
Mathematics
Theoretical framework can predict how complex networks behave
Mathematics
Study warns cost-cutting use of generative AI could increase cyber-attack risks
Mathematics
AI tackles one of math's most brutal problems: Inverse PDEs
Mathematics
A physics explanation shows why US elections keep ending 50:50—and why more spending won't change that
Mathematics
Western music is getting simpler and more repetitive by the day and data prove it
Mathematics
How can opinions be maximally influenced? New research offers insights
Mathematics
Universal patterns emerge across 22 languages, mapping how vocabularies evolve
Mathematics
We think norms spread by imitation, but one deceptively simple rule tells a more human story
Mathematics
World's largest collection of Olympiad-level math problems now available to everyone
Mathematics
Mental math's shortcut—pupil dilation suggests people start solving before all numbers are in
Mathematics
Crowd flow measurements reveal hidden slowdowns and standstills in dense public spaces
Mathematics
What is the chance of a message in a bottle being found?

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Plants & Animals
How cricket mothers control the developmental timing of their offspring
Cell & Microbiology
How embryonic cells 'read' their boundaries to organize themselves
Astronomy
Solar storms leave their mark on cosmic rays that reach Earth
Biochemistry
Light-activated compound kills antibiotic-resistant bacteria by turning its own defense enzyme against it
Materials Science
Unexpected pathway turns water and CO₂ into climate‑neutral methane on nickel–zirconia
General Physics
Plutonium compound unlocks rare topological quantum behavior with potential nuclear science applications
Plants & Animals
Giraffes combine quantities similarly to addition
Astronomy
New Horizons tracks solar wind slowdown as interstellar atoms add drag
Optics & Photonics
First-of-a-kind laser spring opens up new avenues for plasma control
Condensed Matter
Graphene can hold multiple states of superconductivity, a new study finds
Cell & Microbiology
Rare inner ear cells point to regenerative hearing treatments
Plants & Animals
Deep inside crocodile skulls, 100 million years of brain evolution barely registers
Cell & Microbiology
Cochlea network model reveals how inner ear may sort sound from noise
Condensed Matter
New superconductors identified, unlocking process that could yield thousands more
Bio & Medicine
Why nanoscale droplets don't coalesce and microscale droplets do
Planetary Sciences
Giant exoplanet may hold a magnetic grip on its host star
Condensed Matter
Disorder creates direction-dependent optics in compound semiconductors
Earth Sciences
Great Barrier Reef drilling reveals repeated collapse, regrowth and migration since last ice age
Cell & Microbiology
New cellular model for rare and deadly melanomas enables study of immunotherapy resistance
Polymers
Faster tests reveal six fluoropolymer microplastics, including four rarely tracked types

Megastudy finds a simple way to boost math progress

American students have been falling behind in math for decades—with test scores that consistently rank in the bottom 25% globally compared to students in other developed countries—and the COVID-19 pandemic made the situation ...