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Mathematics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 15:17 ET (20-Oct-2026 19:17 GMT/UTC)

AI-powered terrain recognition helps cyborg cockroaches navigate faster

The University of Osaka
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Osaka and Diponegoro University developed an AI-powered navigation system for cyborg cockroaches. Using onboard sensors and a multilayer perceptron, the system recognizes flat ground, climbs, descents, and holes in real time, then adapts electrical stimulation accordingly. By supporting natural climbing while reducing unnecessary steering, the approach shortened obstacle-crossing and total navigation times, reduced travel distance and stimulation, and significantly improved efficient movement across complex terrain.

Journal: Device
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency

More than half of adults in US say they lack basic statistical understanding

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Many people in the U.S. believe that their statistical knowledge is limited, but they would rely on statistics for decision-making more if they understood statistics better, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher.

Journal: PLOS One

Spectacle lenses with highly aspherical lenslets for myopia control

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: In this randomized clinical trial of US children, spectacle lenses with HAL provided a reduction in myopia progression and axial elongation over 24 months. While longer-term data are needed to evaluate sustained treatment efficacy, these findings support HAL as a safe and effective myopia control intervention and underlie US Food and Drug Administration authorization of the study device.

Journal: JAMA Ophthalmology

Symptom worsening in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: This meta-analysis evaluates individual participant data from randomized clinical trials to investigate whether mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is associated with worsening symptoms of depression.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers design magnetically levitated quantum bit

Florida State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have designed new quantum computing architecture that uses magnetic levitation to smooth over design flaws in the intricate bits necessary to run a quantum computer.

Journal: PRX Quantum
Funder: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Florida State University Quantum Initiative Program

Can Earthly microbes survive on the moon? Scientists say yes (in the shade)

University of Maryland
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The moon is a hostile place for life as we know it. Extreme temperatures aside, intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation pummels the lunar surface with deadly rays. A new study pinpoints shaded nooks and crannies around the lunar south pole where bacteria and fungi from Earth can survive for at least a week, with implications for crewed space missions in the future.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: NASA, NASA Goddard Science Task Group Program

New AI model combines physics and observations to reconstruct the history of the earth's mantle

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A researcher at University of Tsukuba has developed an artificial intelligence model that integrates observational data with the physical laws governing mantle convection. The approach may enable researchers to reconstruct past temperatures and flow patterns deep inside the Earth, which cannot be directly observed, using only limited information on the mantle motion near the Earth's surface and the present-day temperature distribution within the mantle. The model was validated by directly comparing the reconstructed mantle history from controlled numerical experiments with a known reference solution.

Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Machine Learning and Computation

Daily zinc supplementation for infection prevention in children with sickle cell anemia

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About the Study: In a randomized clinical trial of 100 children younger than 5 years with sickle cell anemia in Uganda, daily zinc supplementation at 20 mg reduced all-cause infections over 6 months compared with placebo. No adverse events requiring discontinuation of the study intervention were observed, although the authors note that multisite trials are needed to validate the findings.

Journal: JAMA

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