ScienceDaily: Statistics News

Optics: Statistics light the way

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:10:10 EDT

A revelation of how photoreceptive cells in the eye distinguish between different light sources could pave the way for a novel class of optical devices.

New model to recommend media content according to your preferences

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:31:31 EDT

Researchers have developed a model capable to recommend audiovisual content to each user based on their own media consumption and intrinsic features of images and videos.

People organize daily travel efficiently: Population-level study discovers small-scale details about individuals' choices

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:31:31 EDT

Studies of human mobility usually focus on either the small scale -- determining the origins, destinations and travel modes of individuals' daily commutes -- or the very large scale, such as using air-travel patterns to track the spread of epidemics over time. The large-scale studies, most of which are made possible by the vast data generated and collected by new technologies like sensors and cellphones, are very good at describing the big picture, but don't provide much detail at the individual level. Smaller-scale studies have the opposite characteristic: Their findings generally can't be scaled up from the individual to be applied broadly to populations. But a new study bridges that gap.

Ice Age ancestors might have used words in common with us

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:46:46 EDT

New research shows that Ice Age people living in Europe 15,000 years ago might have used forms of some common words including I, you, we, man and bark, that in some cases could still be recognized today.

Neuroscientists use statistical model to draft fantasy teams of neurons

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:41:41 EDT

This past weekend teams from the National Football League used statistics like height, weight and speed to draft the best college players, and in a few weeks, armchair enthusiasts will use similar measures to select players for their own fantasy football teams. Neuroscientists are taking a similar approach to compile "dream teams" of neurons using a statistics-based method that can evaluate the fitness of individual neurons.

Visitors and residents: Students' attitudes to academic use of social media

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:49:49 EDT

Research has shown that university students behave very differently when using social media as part of their academic learning.

Boosting the powers of genomic science

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:37:37 EDT

Scientists describe novel statistical models that more broadly and deeply identify associations between bits of sequenced DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs and say lead to a more complete and accurate understanding of the genetic underpinnings of many diseases and how best to treat them.

What drives activity on Pinterest?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:57:57 EDT

Researchers have released a new study that uses statistical data to help understand the motivations behind Pinterest activity, the roles gender plays among users and the factors that distinguish Pinterest from other popular social networking sites.

Precision agriculture improves farming efficiency, has important implications on food security

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:07:07 EDT

Precision agriculture promises to make farming more efficient and should have an important impact on the serious issue of food security, according to a new study. A scientist assesses how there is potential to manage land more effectively to improve the farming economy and crop quality, and to ensure food security.

Sporting events: Clear your memory to pick a winner

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:49:49 EDT

Predicting the winner of a sporting event with accuracy close to that of a statistical computer program could be possible with proper training, according to researchers.

New algorithm helps evaluate, rank scientific literature

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:43:43 EDT

Keeping up with current scientific literature is a daunting task, considering that hundreds to thousands of papers are published each day. Now researchers have developed a computer program to help them evaluate and rank scientific articles in their field.

Warmest summers in last two decades in northern latitudes were unprecedented in six centuries

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:48:48 EDT

Through developing a statistical model of Arctic temperature and how it relates to instrumental and proxy records derived from trees, ice cores, and lake sediments, scientists have shown that the warmest summers in the last two decades are unprecedented in the previous six centuries.

Statistical technique identifies all possible causes of severity in a traffic accident

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

Researchers in Spain have created a system to enable a much more accurate analysis of severe accident injuries.

How hard is it to 'de-anonymize' cellphone data?

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Scientists analyzed data on 1.5 million cellphone users in a small European country over a span of 15 months and found that just four points of reference, with fairly low spatial and temporal resolution, was enough to uniquely identify 95 percent of them. This means that to extract the complete location information for a single person from an “anonymized” data set of more than a million people, all you would need to do is place him or her within a couple of hundred yards of a cellphone transmitter, sometime over the course of an hour, four times in one year. A few Twitter posts would probably provide all the information you needed, if they contained specific information about the person’s whereabouts.

Engineers develop techniques to boost efficiency of cloud computing infrastructure

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:57:57 EST

Computer scientists have developed a novel approach that allows the massive infrastructure powering cloud computing to run as much as 15 to 20 percent more efficiently. This novel model has already been applied at Google.

Statistical physics offers a new way to look at climate

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:58:58 EST

New research suggests that statistical simulations rooted in basic physics could make for new climate models that are more useful and require less brute-force computing power. A new article shows how statistical simulations can be applied to fluid jets like the ones in Earth's atmosphere and oceans.

3-D atlas of the human heart drawn using statistics

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:10:10 EST

Researchers in Spain have created a high resolution atlas of the heart with 3-D images taken from 138 people. The study demonstrates that an average image of an organ along with its variations can be obtained for the purposes of comparing individual cases and differentiating healthy forms from pathologies.

Macroweather is what you expect: Should there be a distinct category between weather and climate?

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:16:16 EST

While short-term weather is notoriously volatile, climate is thought to represent a kind of average weather pattern over a long period. This dichotomy provides the analytical framework for scientific thinking about atmospheric variability, including climate change. But the weather-climate dichotomy paints an incomplete picture, according to a physics professor. He argues that statistical analysis shows there is a period between short-term weather and long-term climate that should be recognized as distinct.

Statistics help clear fog for better climate change picture

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:47:47 EST

Statistics is an important tool in sorting through information on how human activities are affecting the climate system, as well as how climate change affects natural and human systems, according to statisticians.

Climate change is not an all-or-nothing proposition

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:45:45 EST

A statistician says that the natural human difficulty with grasping probabilities is preventing Americans from dealing with climate change.

Computerized 'Rosetta Stone' reconstructs ancient languages

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:22:22 EST

Researchers have used a sophisticated new computer system to quickly reconstruct protolanguages -- the rudimentary ancient tongues from which modern languages evolved.

New tool for selecting embryos in fertility treatments

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:30:30 EST

Scientists have developed a new tool, a mathematical model to be exact, to help in the selection of embryos for transfer in fertility treatments. The model is especially useful for transfers of intermediate quality embryos on the second day after fertilization, when it is possible to estimate the probability of implantation in the uterus.

Tool to evaluate genome sequencing method developed

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:45:45 EST

Advances in bio-technologies and computer software have helped make genome sequencing much more common than in the past. But still in question are both the accuracy of different sequencing methods and the best ways to evaluate these efforts. Now, computer scientists have devised a tool to better measure the validity of genome sequencing.

How songbirds learn to sing: Mathematical model explains how birds correct mistakes to stay on key

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:18:18 EST

Scientists studying how songbirds stay on key have developed a statistical explanation for why some things are harder for the brain to learn than others, building the first mathematical model that uses a bird's previous sensorimotor experience to predict its ability to learn. Their results show that adult birds correct small errors in their songs more rapidly and robustly than large errors.

New app provides solution when researching animal behaviour

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:01:01 EST

A primatologist has developed an app that allows accurate logging of animal behaviour for scientific research.

Filtering spam: New method to rid inboxes of unsolicited email

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:20:20 EST

Spammers have recently turned high-tech, using layers of images to fool automatic filters. Thanks to some sophisticated new cyber-sleuthing, researchers are working toward a cure.

A more peaceful world awaits, statistical analysis suggests

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:38:38 EST

Statistical analyses show that the world will be more peaceful in the future. In about 40 years only half as many countries will be in conflict. The decrease will be greatest in the Middle East, a statistical model suggests.

New statistical method offers automatic mitotic cell detection for cancer diagnosis

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:00:00 EST

Scientists have developed a statistical image analysis method which can assist in the grading of breast cancer by automatically segmenting tumour regions and detecting dividing cells in tissue samples.

Origin of Italian wines is controlled better with multivariate statistics

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:56:56 EST

Wine derives its economic value to a large extent from geographical origin, which has a significant impact on the quality of the wine. According to the food legislation, wines can be without geographical origin (table wine) and with origin. Wines with origin must have characteristics which are essentially due to its region of production and must be produced, processed and prepared exclusively within that region.

Common math standards supported with new study

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:04:04 EST

A new study analyzing the previous math standards of each U.S. state provides strong support for adoption of common standards, which US students desperately need to keep pace with their counterparts around the globe, a scholar argues.

Were dinosaurs destined to be big? Testing Cope's rule

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:19:19 EDT

In the evolutionary long run, small critters tend to evolve into bigger beasts -- at least according to the idea attributed to paleontologist Edward Cope, now known as Cope's Rule. Using the latest advanced statistical modeling methods, a new test of this rule as it applies dinosaurs shows that Cope was right -- sometimes.

Predicting what topics will trend on Twitter: Algorithm offers new technique for analyzing data that fluctuate over time

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:06:06 EDT

Twitter's home page features a regularly updated list of topics that are "trending," meaning that tweets about them have suddenly exploded in volume. A position on the list is highly coveted as a source of free publicity, but the selection of topics is automatic, based on a proprietary algorithm that factors in both the number of tweets and recent increases in that number. Researchers have developed a new algorithm that can, with 95 percent accuracy, predict which topics will trend an average of an hour and a half before Twitter's algorithm puts them on the list -- and sometimes as much as four or five hours before.

Data storage: Going with the grain

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:45:45 EDT

Reducing information stored in magnetic thin films to the physical size of single grains could improve computer hard drives.

What number is halfway between 1 and 9? Is it 5 -- or 3?

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:38:38 EDT

A new information-theoretical model of human sensory perception and memory sheds light on some peculiarities of the nervous system.

Computers match humans in understanding art

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:45:45 EDT

Understanding and evaluating art has widely been considered as a task meant for humans, until now. Computer scientists tackled the question "can machines understand art?" The results were very surprising. In fact, an algorithm has been developed that demonstrates computers are able to "understand" art in a fashion very similar to how art historians perform their analysis, mimicking the perception of expert art critiques.

Most European languages in danger of digital extinction, study finds

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:45:45 EDT

More than 20 European languages face digital extinction because of a lack of technological support, a study by Europe's leading language technology experts has found.

Mathematics and fine art: Digitizing paintings through image processing

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:17:17 EDT

A new paper proposes a simple technique for reliable digitization of paintings using fusion of photographs taken from different angles through statistical methods without the need for professional-grade photographic equipment.

New tool for CSI? Geographic software maps distinctive features inside bones

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:39:39 EDT

A common type of geographic mapping software offers a new way to study human remains. In a new study, researchers describe how they used commercially available mapping software to identify features inside a human foot bone -- a new way to study human skeletal variation.

Fast algorithm extracts and compares document meaning

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:15:15 EDT

A computer program could compare two documents and work spot the differences in their meaning using a fast semantic algorithm developed by information scientists in Poland.

Researchers develop rapid method to measure carbon footprints

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:11:11 EDT

Researchers have developed new software that can rapidly calculate the carbon footprints of thousands of products simultaneously, a process that up to now has been time consuming and expensive. The methodology should help companies to accurately label products, and to design ways to reduce their environmental impacts.

New computing approach to materials science under development

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:34:34 EDT

Scientists are using data mining, information theory and statistical learning concepts to develop a new approach to discovering materials.

Identifying aggressive breast cancers by interpreting the mathematical patterns in the cancer genome

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 09:09:09 EDT

It is now possible to identify aggressive breast cancers by interpreting the mathematical patterns in the cancer genome.

Computer program recognizes any language

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:41:41 EDT

New technology that allows computers to recognize any language without pre-learning stands to revolutionize automatic speech recognition.

Quantum cryptography theory has a demonstrated security defect

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:49:49 EDT

Researchers have just demonstrated the incompleteness and limit of the security theory in quantum key distribution. The present theory cannot guarantee unconditional security.

Professor claims that operations management theory is the key to sports success

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:41:41 EDT

The victory of Bradley Wiggins and the expertly assembled Sky cycling team in the Tour de France could be a model for success in many arenas, according to a professor who is pioneering the use of operations management theory in the field of sport.

In search of the key word: Bursts of certain words within a text are what make them keywords

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:26:26 EDT

Human beings have the ability to convert complex phenomena into a one-dimensional sequence of letters and put it down in writing. In this process, keywords serve to convey the content of the text. How letters and words correlate with the subject of a text is the subject of a new study using statistical methods. Researchers discovered that what denotes keywords is not the fact that they appear very frequently in a given text. It is that they are found in greater numbers only at certain points in the text.

Getting to the bottom of statistics: Software utilizes data from the Internet for interpreting statistics

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 09:19:19 EDT

Interpreting the results of statistical surveys, e.g., Transparency International’s corruption indices, is not always a simple matter. As Dr. Heiko Paulheim of the Knowledge Engineering Group at the TU Darmstadt’s Computer Sciences Dept. put it, “Although methods that will unearth explanations for statistics are available, they are confined to utilizing data contained in the statistics involved. Further, background information will not be taken into account. That is what led us to the idea of applying data-mining methods that we had been studying here to the semantic web in order to obtain further, background information that will allow us to learn more from statistics.”

Math experts question key ecological theory

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:31:31 EDT

Mathematicians say they have disproved a widely accepted theory underpinning the operation of complex networks of interactions in the natural world.

Robbing banks: Crime doesn't always pay, econometrics study shows

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:34:34 EDT

Contrary to images of unimaginable wealth in the movies, the takings from the average bank robbery are small, according to a new report. Indeed, they often appear to be lower than the cost of installing some security devices designed to deter them.

Understanding complex relationships: How global properties of networks become apparent locally

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 09:26:26 EDT

Scientists have shown how global properties of networks become apparent in local characteristics. From infections spreading around the globe to the onset of an epileptic seizure in the brain: Many phenomena can be seen as the effects of network activity. Often it is vitally important to understand the properties of these networks. However, they are often too complex to be described completely. Scientists have now been able to show how global features of complex networks can be discovered in local statistical properties – which are much more accessible for scientific investigation.

Ancient jugs hold the secret to practical mathematics in Biblical times

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:56:56 EDT

Archaeologists and mathematicians alike have been puzzled for centuries by the use of spherical jugs in trade in the ancient world, and how merchants measured the volume of the commodities they held. Now researchers have revealed that these ancient cultures had their own unique means of measurement, accurate enough for business and other uses.

New statistical model lets patient's past forecast future ailments

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:26:26 EDT

Analyzing medical records from thousands of patients, statisticians have devised a statistical model for predicting what other medical problems a patient might encounter.

Quantum physicists show a small amount of randomness can be amplified without limit

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:30:30 EDT

Once again quantum physics gives us philosophical implications: physicists have shown how a small amount of randomness can be amplified without limit.

Statistical analysis projects future temperatures in North America

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:16:16 EDT

For the first time, researchers have been able to combine different climate models using spatial statistics -- to project future seasonal temperature changes in regions across North America.

Spurious switching points in traded stock dynamics

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:45:45 EDT

A selection of biased statistical subsets could yield an inaccurate interpretation of market behaviour and financial returns. Physicists have rebuffed the existence of power laws governing the dynamics of traded stock volatility, volume and intertrade times at times of stock price extrema. They did this by demonstrating that what appeared as "switching points" in financial markets trends was due to a bias in the interpretation of market data statistics.

Mitigating disasters by hunting down Dragon Kings: Forecasting natural or economic disasters by identifying statistical anomalies

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:43:43 EDT

Professional Dragon King hunters are exploring the ways in which natural or economic disasters can be predicted by identifying statistical anomalies.

What online social networks may know about non-members

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:49:49 EDT

What can social networks on the internet know about persons who are friends of members, but have no user profile of their own? Researchers have just studied this question. Their work shows that through network analytical and machine learning tools the relationships between members and the connection patterns to non-members can be evaluated with regards to non-member relationships. Using simple contact data, it is possible, under certain conditions, to correctly predict that two non-members know each other with approx. 40 percent probability.

Inequality and investment bubbles: A clearer link is established

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:39:39 EDT

An expert on statistical mechanics shows that the income distributions for the richest 3 percent and the poorer 97 percent conform to different physics principles.

Can social media detect the changes in public mood?

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:05:05 EDT

New research has analyzed the mood of Twitter users in the UK and detected various changes in the mood of the public. In particular, the researchers observed a significant increase in negative mood, anger and fear, coinciding with the announcement of spending cuts and last summer's riots together with a possibly calming effect during the royal wedding.

Game of go: A complex network

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:04:04 EDT

Could computers ever beat the best 'go' players? Although unthinkable at this stage, this could soon become possible, thanks to theorists. For the first time, scientists have applied network theory to a game of strategy.