Friday, January 5, 2024

Mathematicians Identify the Best Versions of Iconic Shapes

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GEOMETRY | ALL TOPICS

 

Mathematicians Identify the Best Versions of Iconic Shapes

By KEVIN HARTNETT

Researchers are discovering the shortest knots and fattest Möbius strips, among other "optimal shapes."

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EVOLUTION

 

Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox.

By CARRIE ARNOLD

Why does natural selection appear to happen slowly on long timescales and quickly on short ones? A study of lizards offers new answers.

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Related: 
Andreas Wagner Pursues
the Secrets to Evolutionary Success

By Veronique Greenwood (2023)

EARTH SCIENCE

 

Deep Beneath Earth's Surface, Clues to Life's Origins

By MAYA WEI-HAAS

Last spring, scientists retrieved a trove of mantle rocks from underneath the Atlantic seafloor — a bounty that could help write the first chapter of life's story on Earth.

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Related: 
Inside Ancient Asteroids,
Gamma Rays Made Building Blocks of Life

By John Rennie and Allison Parshall (2023)

Q&A

 

The 'Accidental Activist' Who Changed the Face of Mathematics

By BEN BRUBAKER

Throughout her 60-year career, Lenore Blum has developed new perspectives on logic and computation while championing women in mathematics and computer science. Now consciousness is on her mind.

Read the interview

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