Scientists have discovered honeybees can understand the concept of zero, putting them in an elite club of clever animals that can grasp the abstract mathematical notion of nothing.
Plants & Animals
Jun 7, 2018
25
4542
Pigeons aren't so bird-brained after all. New research at the University of Iowa shows that pigeons can discriminate the abstract concepts of space and time—and seem to use a different region of the brain than humans and ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 4, 2017
1
1284
The size of the human brain expanded dramatically during the course of evolution, imparting us with unique capabilities to use abstract language and do complex math. But how did the human brain get larger than that of our ...
Biotechnology
Feb 19, 2015
12
1216
Fermat's Last Theorem—the idea that a certain simple equation had no solutions— went unsolved for nearly 350 years until Oxford mathematician Andrew Wiles created a proof in 1995. Now, Case Western Reserve University's ...
Mathematics
Mar 4, 2013
11
1
The manuscript seems straight out of fiction: a strange handwritten message in abstract symbols and Roman letters meticulously covering 105 yellowing pages, hidden in the depths of an academic archive.
Computer Sciences
Oct 25, 2011
21
0
In a behavioral experiment, crows were able to learn to produce a set number of calls. This involves them planning in advance. From the sound of the first call in a numerical sequence, it is possible to predict how many calls ...
Plants & Animals
May 23, 2024
2
264
A Northwestern University astrophysicist has created the longest time-lapse video of an exoplanet to date.
Astronomy
Aug 10, 2023
0
1347
The animal world is full of different types of intelligence, from the simple bodily coordination of jellyfish to the navigation abilities of bees, the complex songs of birds and the imaginative symbolic thought of humans.
Evolution
Jul 5, 2023
0
112
In science, the explanation with the fewest assumptions is most likely to be true. Called "Occam's Razor," this principle has guided theory and experiment for centuries. But how do you compare between abstract concepts?
Mathematics
Jun 14, 2023
0
1682
A Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led team has developed a scale to measure trustworthiness in biomedical research among minority populations—a landmark tool for researchers to use to improve their own trustworthiness, ...
Social Sciences
Apr 27, 2023
0
14
