EurekAlert! - Mathematics and Statistics

More than powerful! German research computer QPACE is the most energy efficient in the world

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) At the 2009 Supercomputing Conference in Portland, Ore., the high-performance computer QPACE (QCD Parallel Computing on the Cell) was recognized today as the most energy-efficient supercomputer in the world. QPACE is at the head of the Green500 list, which provides a global ranking of energy-efficient supercomputers.

Novel K-anonymity algorithm safeguards access to data

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute) As electronic health records become more widely deployed, increasing amounts of health information are being collected. This data has many beneficial applications, such as research, public health, and health system planning. In a recent study, Dr. Khaled El Emam, the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the CHEO Research Institute argues that there is a need for robust de-identification of patient data to avoid the negative impact that individual consent requirements have on studies using health record data for secondary purposes.

Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. The technique has been experimentally validated in both the mouse genome and the fruit fly genome.

Finding more in 'most'

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) Prof. Mira Ariel of Tel Aviv University has scientifically quanitifed the common interpretation of the word "most," finding it to be a measurement of 80 to 95 percent of a sample.

Active hearing process in mosquitoes

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Bristol) A mathematical model has explained some of the remarkable features of mosquito hearing. In particular, the male can hear the faintest beats of the female's wings and yet is not deafened by loud noises.

'Hobbits' are a new human species -- according to the statistical analysis of fossils

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Wiley-Blackwell) Researchers from Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York have confirmed that Homo floresiensis is a genuine ancient human species and not a descendant of healthy humans dwarfed by disease. Using statistical analysis on skeletal remains of a well-preserved female specimen, researchers determined the "hobbit" to be a distinct species and not a genetically flawed version of modern humans. Details of the study appear in the December issue of Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society, published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Nanyang Technological University professor wins 8th Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing in China

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Nanyang Technological University) Associate Professor Tai Xue-Cheng, from Nanyang Technological University's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has been awarded the 8th Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing. The Feng Kang Prize in Scientific Computing honors Chinese scientists in China and abroad for significant contributions in scientific computing. The award is presented biennially and recognizes Chinese mathematicians for their achievements in numerical linear algebra, computer aided geometric design, and numerical partial differential equations and scientific computing.

Beyond genomics, biologists and engineers decode the next frontier

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Princeton University, Engineering School) A team of biologists and engineers has dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring histones, an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and tissues function. The new method offers a long-sought tool for studying stem cells, cancer and other problems of fundamental importance to biology and medicine.

Future for Internet retailers: Compete on niche products advises management insights study

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) In their competition with brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers will do best if they promote the ability to search out and obtain niche products online, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

Rice ties in race for atomic-scale breakthrough

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Rice University) Everybody loves a race to the wire, even when the result is a tie. The great irony is the ultraprecise clocks that could result from this competition could probably break any tie.The Rice lab of physicist Tom Killian published a paper online this month demonstrating the long-sought creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of strontium atoms.

Spotting evidence of directed percolation

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Physical Society) Convincing experimental evidence has finally been found for directed percolation, a phenomenon that turns up in computer models of the ways diseases spread through a population or how water soaks through loose soil.

Petascale computing tools could provide deeper insight into genomic evolution

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Georgia Institute of Technology Research News) Research recently funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aims to develop computational tools that will utilize next-generation petascale computers to understand genomic evolution.

The challenge for biostatistics is in measuring the quality of life as regards health

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Elhuyar Fundazioa) The biostatistics research team at the Department of Applied Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research of the University of the Basque Country is working on applied statistics based on health sciences and experimental sciences under the leadership of Inma Arostegui.

Immediate, aggressive spending on HIV/AIDS could end epidemic

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(BioMed Central) Money available to treat HIV/AIDS is sufficient to end the epidemic globally, but only if we act immediately to control the spread of the disease, according to research published in BMC Public Health. This approach defies conventional thinking, which recommends gradual spending over 15-20 years. The study was based on a mathematical model developed by mathematicians and biologists, who recently earned acclaim for a study on how best to handle a planetary invasion by zombies.

Putting math problems in proper order

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Mathematics) The American Institute of Mathematics announces a new online tool for creating and maintaining lists of unsolved mathematics problems. This tool has the potential to change mathematics research by bringing a wider range of people and expertise in contact with research questions. The tool is being released on the same day as a worldwide celebration of the 150th anniversary of the most important problem in mathematics: the Riemann Hypothesis.

K-State patents enabling technology for spread-spectrum systems

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Kansas State University) A pair of engineers at Kansas State University developed and patented an algorithm that enables next generation smart adaptive radios and makes radars more effective by customizing the coding used in transmitting their signals.

UT's Kraken named world's third fastest computer, ORNL's Jaguar is No. 1

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Tennessee at Knoxville) East Tennessee is now home to two of the world's three fastest computers, according to new rankings released today.The Top 500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers places University of Tennessee supercomputer Kraken in third place, where it also holds the title of world's fastest academic supercomputer, while Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jaguar computer took first place overall.

Today's children decide their school and career path early

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Economic & Social Research Council) Children as young as 12 have a strong sense of their personal futures and can reflect thoughtfully on what life might hold for them, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by Professor Paul Croll of Reading University and Professor Gaynor Attwood of the University of the West of England.

Louisiana Tech University honors outstanding faculty inventors

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Louisiana Tech University) Several faculty members from Louisiana Tech University have received recognition for recent inventions, patents and licenses as well as their overall contributions to the institution's commercialization efforts.

Underground mine ventilation subject of study

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Virginia Tech) Virginia Tech researchers will use gas tracers as a means of remotely ascertaining information about ventilation control systems following a mine collapse or explosion.

Underground lines that bypass monuments

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) A team of mathematicians from the Engineering and Architecture Schools of the University of Seville has created a method to design underground lines whereby a city's historical buildings are unaffected. The results of the study, which has just been published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society, offer possible solutions for the future underground line 2 in Seville.

Swarms of ocean robots will drift in synch, monitor oil spills, thanks to advanced controls systems

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - San Diego) To develop control systems for "swarms" of miniature robotic ocean explorers that could one day help predict where ocean currents will carry oil spills, engineers at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering recently won a nearly $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Implications of past forecasting errors often underestimated

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University at Buffalo) When managers issue a forecast of their firm's earnings, they do not always take into account prior forecasting errors, according to research in the current issue of the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting.

Winners of the 2009 AAAS Kavli science journalism awards

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) A radio broadcast on probability told through a tale about a drifting balloon, a newspaper series on the impact of a devastating genetic disease on a family in rural Montana, and a group of gracefully written stories about genetics and evolution are among the winners of the 2009 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Grant awarded to improve the security of mobile devices and cellular networks

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Georgia Institute of Technology Research News) Georgia Tech computer science faculty members recently received a National Science Foundation grant to develop tools that improve the security of mobile devices and the telecommunications networks on which they operate.