How we got to Ceres
NASA's Dawn spacecraft recently reached the orbit of Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest object in the asteroid belt.…
Category: Recent Work
Archimedes in the Fence
According to ancient historians, Archimedes spent the last moments of his life drawing figures in the dirt, so deeply entranced…
Mathematics in Metal
A mathematical surface known as the Klein bottle is like a mischievous, mathematical cousin of the Moebius…
Paging Dr. Data
For doctors who treat trauma patients, prediction is key: Will a patient die in the next 30 minutes? Why or…
Numbers and verse
The universe is a grand book, Galileo noted in 1623, written in the language of mathematics. Those poor souls…
Northern Hibernaculum
For years, biologist Susi von Oettingen at the US Fish and Wildlife Service tracked the devastation in New England…
More than a signature
Three days before Christmas in 1995, Linda Horton, a medical researcher in Nashville, Tenn., was diagnosed with a large,…
Just Press Print
A person with a failing vital organ usually has only one treatment option: get a new one. But right now,…
Patents for software?
AT SOME point in their career every mathematician comes up against the question, is mathematics invented or discovered? The…
Cutting Cancer’s Engine
Not every hypothesis in cancer research has the same staying power. Some emerge with fanfare and hype, only to fade…