A UNSW Sydney mathematician has discovered a new method to tackle algebra’s oldest challenge—solving higher polynomial equations.
Polynomials are equations involving a variable raised to powers, such as the degree two polynomial: 1 + 4x – 3x2 = 0.
The equations are fundamental to math as well as science, where they have broad applications, like helping describe the movement of planets or writing computer programs.
Human beings exhibit marked differences in habits, lifestyles and behavioral tendencies. One of these differences, known as chronotype, is the inclination to sleep and wake up early or alternatively to sleep and wake up late.
Changes in society, such as the introduction of portable devices and video streaming services, may have also influenced people’s behavioral patterns, offering them further distractions that could occupy their evenings or late nights. Yet past studies have found that sleeping and waking up late is often linked to a higher risk of being diagnosed with mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders, as well as poorer physical health.
Understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of humans’ chronotypes, as well as the possible implications of being a so-called “morning person” or “night owl,” could thus be beneficial. Specifically, it could inform the development of lifestyle interventions or medical treatments designed to promote healthy sleeping patterns.
A specialized model used by researchers is becoming a valuable tool for studying human brain development, diseases and potential treatments, according to a team of scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Known as chimeric brain models, these laboratory tools provide a unique way to understand human brain functions in a living environment, which may lead to new and better therapies for brain disorders, researchers said in a review article in Neuron.
Scientists create models by transplanting human brain cells culled from stem cells into the brains of animals such as mice, thereby creating a mix of human and animal brain cells in the same brain. This environment is closer to the complexity of a living human brain than what can be simulated in a petri dish study.
Imagine having to find your way with only a compass and the stars and being handed a GPS. This is what David Marpaung and colleagues have just done for designers of light-based chips. Through their discovery of steering light with sound, the UT researchers have made available a powerful new tool to expand the scope and performance of this up-and-coming technology that’s quickly moving beyond its traditional use in low-power optical communication.
Detailed in Science Advances, Marpaung has essentially molded the precision and versatility of a well-known physical phenomenon called Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) into a form that’s ready for mass manufacturing.
A theoretical study by RIKEN physicists, published in Physics Letters B, has accurately determined the interaction between a charmonium and a proton or neutron for the first time.
From two galaxies colliding to an electron jettisoned from a nucleus, all interactions in the universe can be described in terms of just four fundamental forces.
Gravity and the electromagnetic force are the two we are familiar with in everyday life, while the weak and strong forces operate over minuscule distances—roughly the size of an atomic nucleus or smaller.
Scientists have long been trying to determine how elements heavier than iron, including gold and platinum, were first created and scattered through the Universe, and new research may give us another part of the answer: magnetars.
Rare, giant flares erupting from these highly magnetized neutron stars could contribute to the production of the heavy elements, based on a fresh analysis of a magnetar burst captured in 2004.
The full story of that burst wasn’t understood at the time. The latest work, from an international team of scientists, suggests the flash of gamma ray light captured back then originated from heavy elements being shot out into space.
Tiny pieces of plastic are an increasingly big problem. Known as microplastics, they originate from clothing, kitchen utensils, personal care products, and countless other everyday objects. Their durability makes them persistent in the environment – including in human bodies.
Not only are many people on Earth already contaminated by microplastics, but we’re also still being exposed every day, as there is minimal regulation of these insidious specks.
According to a new literature review, a significant portion of our microplastic exposure may come from drinking water, as wastewater treatment plants are still not effectively removing microplastics.
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