Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Article |
Solid-body trajectoids shaped to roll along desired pathways
An algorithm is developed to design a shape, a trajectoid, that can trace any given infinite periodic trajectory when rolling down a slope, finding unexpected implications for quantum and classical optics.
- Yaroslav I. Sobolev
- , Ruoyu Dong
- & Bartosz A. Grzybowski
-
Article |
Heat-assisted detection and ranging
Heat-assisted detection and ranging is experimentally shown to see texture and depth through darkness as if it were day, and also perceives decluttered physical attributes beyond RGB or thermal vision.
- Fanglin Bao
- , Xueji Wang
- & Zubin Jacob
-
Article
| Open AccessDiscovering faster matrix multiplication algorithms with reinforcement learning
A reinforcement learning approach based on AlphaZero is used to discover efficient and provably correct algorithms for matrix multiplication, finding faster algorithms for a variety of matrix sizes.
- Alhussein Fawzi
- , Matej Balog
- & Pushmeet Kohli
-
Article |
Mechanical integrated circuit materials
A mechanical integrated circuit material based on Boolean mathematics and reconfigurable electrical circuits is created to demonstrate scalable information processing in synthetic, engineered soft matter.
- Charles El Helou
- , Benjamin Grossmann
- & Ryan L. Harne
-
Perspective |
Transitioning organizations to post-quantum cryptography
Standards and recommendations for transitioning organizations to quantum-secure cryptographic protocols are outlined, including a discussion of transition timelines and the leading strategies to protect systems against quantum attacks.
- David Joseph
- , Rafael Misoczki
- & Royal Hansen
-
Article |
Outracing champion Gran Turismo drivers with deep reinforcement learning
Using the game Gran Turismo, an agent was trained with a combination of deep reinforcement learning algorithms and specialized training scenarios, demonstrating success against championship-level human racers.
- Peter R. Wurman
- , Samuel Barrett
- & Hiroaki Kitano
-
Article |
Non-reciprocal phase transitions
A theoretical study of non-reciprocity in collective phenomena reveals the emergence of time-dependent phases heralded by exceptional points in contexts ranging from synchronization and flocking to pattern formation.
- Michel Fruchart
- , Ryo Hanai
- & Vincenzo Vitelli
-
Article |
Loopy Lévy flights enhance tracer diffusion in active suspensions
A theoretical framework describing the hydrodynamic interactions between a passive particle and an active medium in out-of-equilibrium systems predicts long-range Lévy flights for the diffusing particle driven by the density of the active component.
- Kiyoshi Kanazawa
- , Tomohiko G. Sano
- & Adrian Baule
-
Letter |
Information gerrymandering and undemocratic decisions
In a voter game, information gerrymandering can sway the outcome of the vote towards one party, even when both parties have equal sizes and each player has the same influence; and this effect can be exaggerated by strategically placed zealots or automated bots.
- Alexander J. Stewart
- , Mohsen Mosleh
- & Joshua B. Plotkin
-
Letter |
Tissue curvature and apicobasal mechanical tension imbalance instruct cancer morphogenesis
Three-dimensional imaging of mouse pancreatic ducts before and after oncogenic transformation reveals that epithelial tumorigenesis is determined by the relationship between tissue curvature and apical–basal mechanical tension.
- Hendrik A. Messal
- , Silvanus Alt
- & Axel Behrens
-
Letter |
Computational periscopy with an ordinary digital camera
A faint penumbra in a photograph of a diffuse surface enables recovery of the position of the object creating the penumbra and an image of the scene behind it.
- Charles Saunders
- , John Murray-Bruce
- & Vivek K Goyal
-
Letter |
A separated vortex ring underlies the flight of the dandelion
The flight of dandelion seeds is enabled by an extraordinary vortex ring, which was revealed by the visualization of the flow around the seed.
- Cathal Cummins
- , Madeleine Seale
- & Naomi Nakayama
-
Letter |
Addressing the minimum fleet problem in on-demand urban mobility
An optimal computationally efficient solution to the problem of finding the minimum taxi fleet size using a vehicle-sharing network is presented.
- M. M. Vazifeh
- , P. Santi
- & C. Ratti
-
Article
| Open AccessMapping local variation in educational attainment across Africa
Local-level analyses show that, despite marked progress in educational attainment from 2000 to 2015 across Africa, substantial differences persist between locations and sexes that have widened in many countries.
- Nicholas Graetz
- , Joseph Friedman
- & Simon I. Hay
-
Letter |
Giga-voxel computational morphogenesis for structural design
Giga-voxel-resolution computational morphogenesis is used to optimize the internal structure of a full-scale aeroplane wing, yielding light-weight designs with more similarities to animal bone structures than to current aeroplane wing designs.
- Niels Aage
- , Erik Andreassen
- & Ole Sigmund
-
Article |
A living mesoscopic cellular automaton made of skin scales
A mesoscopic cellular automaton arising from a microscopic reaction–diffusion system as a function of skin thickness is observed in ocellated lizards, showing that cellular automata are not merely abstract computational systems, but can directly correspond to processes generated by biological evolution.
- Liana Manukyan
- , Sophie A. Montandon
- & Michel C. Milinkovitch
-
Letter |
Evolutionary dynamics on any population structure
The authors derive a condition for how natural selection chooses between two competing strategies on any graph for weak selection, elucidating which population structures promote certain behaviours, such as cooperation.
- Benjamin Allen
- , Gabor Lippner
- & Martin A. Nowak
-
Letter |
Dynamics from noisy data with extreme timing uncertainty
A data-analytical approach that can extract the history and dynamics of complex systems from noisy snapshots on timescales much shorter than the uncertainty with which the data were recorded is described; the approach is demonstrated by extracting the dynamics on the few-femtosecond timescale from experimental data recorded with 300-femtosecond timing uncertainty.
- R. Fung
- , A. M. Hanna
- & A. Ourmazd
-
Letter |
The rise of fully turbulent flow
Experiments, asymptotic theory and computer simulations of wall-bounded shear flow uncover a bifurcation scenario that explains the transition from localized turbulent patches to fully turbulent flow.
- Dwight Barkley
- , Baofang Song
- & Björn Hof
-
Letter |
The disruption of multiplanet systems through resonance with a binary orbit
In a multiplanet system, when orbital precession is fast enough to resonate with the orbital motion of a distant binary companion, the results range from excitation of large planetary eccentricities and mutual inclinations to total disruption.
- Jihad R. Touma
- & S. Sridhar
-
Letter |
Flux-freezing breakdown in high-conductivity magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
A magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a magnetized plasma at high conductivity shows that, whereas the magnetic flux can be considered ‘frozen’ into the medium for laminar flow, in a turbulent medium the motion of the field lines can become indeterministic, leading to a breakdown in flux freezing.
- Gregory Eyink
- , Ethan Vishniac
- & Alexander Szalay
-
Letter |
Shear-driven dynamo waves at high magnetic Reynolds number
High-resolution simulations show that dynamos can generate organized fields at high conductivity in the form of propagating dynamo waves.
- S. M. Tobias
- & F. Cattaneo
-
Letter |
Topological colloids
Topologically distinct colloidal particles introduced into a nematic liquid crystal align and generate topology-constrained three-dimensional director fields and defects in the liquid crystal fluid that can be manipulated with a variety of methods, opening up a new area of exploration in the field of soft matter.
- Bohdan Senyuk
- , Qingkun Liu
- & Ivan I. Smalyukh
-
News |
The astronomical unit gets fixed
Earth–Sun distance changes from slippery equation to single number.
- Geoff Brumfiel
-
News |
Proof claimed for deep connection between primes
If it is true, a solution to the abc conjecture about whole numbers would be an ‘astounding’ achievement.
- Philip Ball
-
Books & Arts |
Q&A: Maths demystifier
Mathematician Glen Whitney left a job in finance to set up the Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), which is due to open in Manhattan, New York, on 15 December. He wants to spread the word that mathematics is a beautiful discipline and all around us, from the geometry of soap bubbles to the algorithms that control traffic lights.
- Jascha Hoffman
-
News |
Mathematician claims breakthrough in Sudoku puzzle
Puzzles must have at least 17 clues to have a valid solution.
- Eugenie Samuel Reich
-
Books & Arts |
Q&A: The mathemagician
Mathematician Persi Diaconis of Stanford University in California ran away from home in his teens to perform card tricks. As he publishes a book on the mathematics of magic, co-authored with juggler and fellow mathematician Ron Graham, he explains what makes a good trick.
- Jascha Hoffman
-
Books & Arts |
Mathematics: Life models
Biology is too complex to be unified by mathematics, finds Marc Feldman.
- Marc Feldman
-
-
News |
Testing the expanding Universe
A model of the cosmological constant invokes alternate realities.
- Kate McAlpine
-
News & Views |
Beyond Feynman's diagrams
Generations of physicists have spent much of their lives using Richard Feynman's famous diagrams to calculate how particles interact. New mathematical tools are simplifying the results and suggesting improved underlying principles.
- Neil Turok
-
-
Obituary |
Benoît Mandelbrot (1924–2010)
Mathematician, and father of fractal geometry, who described the roughness of nature.
- Ralph Gomory
-
News Feature |
Metrics: Do metrics matter?
Many researchers believe that quantitative metrics determine who gets hired and who gets promoted at their institutions. With an exclusive poll and interviews, Nature probes to what extent metrics are really used that way.
- Alison Abbott
- , David Cyranoski
- & Richard Van Noorden
-
Opinion |
How to improve the use of metrics
Since the invention of the science citation index in the 1960s, quantitative measuring of the performance of researchers has become ever more prevalent, controversial and influential. Six commentators tell Nature what changes might ensure that individuals are assessed more fairly.
-
News Feature |
Metrics: A profusion of measures
Scientific performance indicators are proliferating — leading researchers to ask afresh what they are measuring and why. Richard Van Noorden surveys the rapidly evolving ecosystem.
- Richard Van Noorden
-
News & Views |
The statistics of style
A mathematical method has been developed that distinguishes between the paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and those of his imitators. But can the approach be used to spot imitations of works by any artist?
- Bruno A. Olshausen
- & Michael R. DeWeese