EurekAlert! News by Subject: Mathematics - News by Subject: Mathematics

Mathematics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 12-May-2025 09:09 ET (12-May-2025 13:09 GMT/UTC)

A faster way to solve complex planning problems

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reports and Proceedings

MIT researchers developed a machine-learning-guided technique to solve complex, long-horizon planning problems more efficiently than some traditional approaches, while arriving at an optimal solution that better meets a user’s goals.

Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, MIT’s Research Support Committee, Amazon Robotics PhD Fellowship, MathWorks

Immediate skin-to-skin contact in very preterm neonates and early childhood neurodevelopment

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this randomized clinical trial, 2 hours of mother-neonate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) in the delivery room did not enhance neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 to 3 years of age. However, the SSC group demonstrated improved breastfeeding practices up to 12 months compared with standard care, suggesting that the feasible and low-cost SSC intervention should be encouraged in clinical practice.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

‘Cosmic radio’ could find dark matter in 15 years

King's College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have designed a ‘cosmic radio’ detector which could discover dark matter in 15 years.

Journal: Nature

Novel machine learning model can predict material failure before it happens

Lehigh University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of Lehigh University researchers has successfully predicted abnormal grain growth in simulated polycrystalline materials for the first time—a development that could lead to the creation of stronger, more reliable materials for high-stress environments, such as combustion engines. A paper describing their novel machine learning method was recently published in Nature Computational Materials.

Journal: npj Computational Materials
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation, Army Research Office, Army Research Laboratory

While AI could be the game changer in predicting health outcomes it should not be the only method

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), predictive medicine is becoming an important part of healthcare, especially in cancer treatment. Predictive medicine uses algorithms and data to help doctors understand how a cancer might continue to grow or react to specific drugs—making it easier to target precision treatment for individual patients. Now, researchers at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine set a foundation in two commentaries out this week for going beyond AI to find the best treatments for patients, as well as ethically data sharing to promote reproducible science.

Journal: Nature Biotechnology

New study confirms copper-based fungicides as a reliable solution for aerial stem rot in potatoes

American Phytopathological Society
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Previous research has suggested the potential of copper-based fungicides to control ASR, inconsistent results left many growers uncertain about the products’ reliability. Now, a decade-long study provides conclusive evidence that copper fungicides offer a dependable solution.

Journal: Plant Health Progress

Scientists create optical device that mimics black holes

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team of researchers has developed an optical device that mimics the behavior of both black and white holes. The device can either absorb or reject light completely: the first ever demonstration of broadband coherent perfect absorption. Due to the novel geometry, the optical black hole acts by converting light falling on it into a standing wave and absorbs it deterministically in a thin absorber; for the optical white hole, light is rejected. Experimental demonstrations show the device functions as an optical black hole or optical white hole, offering potential applications in energy harvesting, detection systems, and stealth technologies. This breakthrough opens new possibilities for controlling and utilizing light across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Journal: Advanced Photonics

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