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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
New mathematical model suggests global population crash by 2064
Mathematics
Mathematicians solve decades-old mystery about the hidden order in high-dimensional randomness
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

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Archaeology
Were Clovis foragers in Late Pleistocene North America big-game hunters, or just big-game scavengers?
Evolution
What made trees possible? New research points to drought
Astronomy
Webb reveals merger scars in galaxies that stopped forming stars 9 billion years ago
Plants & Animals
Himalayan pangolin emerges as distinct species, confirmed with DNA from 19th-century specimen
Polymers
Polymer network reconfigures in sequence, helping elastomers stay tough under strain
Space Exploration
NASA rolls out three robotic moon missions as 2029 lunar base plans take shape
Archaeology
Italy displays paintings from an ancient Etruscan tomb, its latest cultural acquisition
Archaeology
3,000-year-old Irish Bronze Age site may be one of Europe's earliest 'town-like' settlements
Optics & Photonics
Physicists demonstrate Hong–Ou–Mandel interference with more than 10 atoms
Archaeology
An iconic spear-throwing device likely wasn't used by prehistoric hunters until around 10,000 years ago
Analytical Chemistry
Abundant catalyst converts methane into valuable liquid chemicals
Astronomy
Cosmic eruption caught in the act by submillimeter array's new fastest response system
Astrobiology
Nearby 'Super Earth' may be a better candidate for life than previously thought
Astronomy
Open cluster NGC 6134 in Norma is 1.38 billion years old and hosts a core, tidal tail and diffuse halo
Astronomy
Astronomers find an enigmatic source that is most likely a Little Red Dot in formation
Ecology
Grasslands could lose four times more carbon uptake under future drought conditions
Earth Sciences
Super-deep diamond discovery may rewrite Earth's role in preserving the building blocks of life
Cell & Microbiology
Loss of DNA protector gene exposes vulnerabilities in cancerous cells
Archaeology
Medici brothers' remains reveal Renaissance-era malaria strains, closing the book on a murder mystery
Cell & Microbiology
Scientists teach human cells to compute like tiny computers