We’ve worked out a way of understanding how microbial communities shape life on Earth

Microbial communities are essential to life, yet their complexity has long puzzled scientists. Now, a new framework aims to unravel how these intricate ecosystems form.

Miguel Lurgi, Associate Professor in Computational Ecology, Swansea University • conversation
Oct. 7, 2024 • ~6 min

Want to solve a complex problem? Applied math can help

Applied mathematicians translate real situations into mathematical terms.

Alan Veliz-Cuba, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Dayton • conversation
Oct. 1, 2024 • ~7 min

Sunflowers make small moves to maximize their Sun exposure − physicists can model them to predict how they grow

Plants don’t just grow straight up. They can move in loopy and zigzagging ways to get more sunshine. And studying these movements goes all the way back to Darwin in the 19th century.

Chantal Nguyen, Postdoctoral Associate at the BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 • ~10 min

The mystic and the mathematician: What the towering 20th-century thinkers Simone and André Weil can teach today’s math educators

André Weil was a mathematician. His sister Simone Weil was a philosopher. They both thought deeply about the nature and value of mathematics and mathematics education.

Scott Taylor, Professor of Mathematics, Colby College • conversation
Aug. 20, 2024 • ~11 min

Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI

Philosophy has been instrumental to AI since its inception.

Brian Ball, Associate Professor of Philosophy AI and Information Ethics, Northeastern University London • conversation
Aug. 1, 2024 • ~8 min

Maths makes finding bat roosts much easier, our research shows

A new algorithm could reduce the amount of time it takes for ecologists to find bat roosts.

Fiona Mathews, Professor of Environmental Biology, University of Sussex • conversation
June 25, 2024 • ~5 min

‘Dancing’ raisins − a simple kitchen experiment reveals how objects can extract energy from their environment and come to life

Want to bring extra life to a glass of champagne or soda water? Physicists will tell you to drop in a small object, such as a berry or raisin.

Saverio Eric Spagnolie, Professor of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin-Madison • conversation
May 13, 2024 • ~9 min

Supercomputers can take months to simulate the climate – but my new algorithm can do it ten times faster

These are some of the most complex and important pieces of software ever written.

Samar Khatiwala, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford • conversation
May 1, 2024 • ~8 min

Climate models can run for months on supercomputers – but my new algorithm can make them ten times faster

These are some of the most complex and important pieces of software ever written.

Samar Khatiwala, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford • conversation
May 1, 2024 • ~7 min

From thousands to millions to billions to trillions to quadrillions and beyond: Do numbers ever end?

Here’s a game: Tell a friend to give you any number and you’ll return one that’s bigger. Just add ‘1’ to whatever number they come up with and you’re sure to win.

Manil Suri, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County • conversation
April 15, 2024 • ~8 min

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