Category Archives: math

Mixing it up

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Mixing it up. Duke Today, Nov. 7, 2017. To most people, turbulence is a bumpy plane ride. But to one researcher at Duke University, turbulence is a mathematical riddle.

Vital signs

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Vital signs. Duke Today, Nov. 7, 2017. Where some see noisy spikes and dips on an electrocardiogram, one researcher sees hidden mathematical problems.

People far from urban lights, bright screens still skimp on sleep

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People far from urban lights, bright screens still skimp on sleep. Duke Today, Feb. 16, 2017. Screen time before bed can mess with your sleep. But people without TV and laptops skimp on sleep too, researchers say. A Duke University study of people living without electricity or artificial light in a remote farming village in Madagascar finds they get shorter, poorer sleep than people in the U.S. or Europe. But they seem to make up for lost shuteye with a more regular sleep routine, the researchers report. Picked up by Huffington Post.

Analog DNA circuit does math in a test tube

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Analog DNA circuit does math in a test tube. Duke Today, Aug. 23, 2016. Duke University researchers have created strands of synthetic DNA that, when mixed together in a test tube in the right concentrations, form an analog circuit that can add, subtract and multiply as the molecules form and break bonds. While most DNA circuits are digital, their device performs calculations in an analog fashion by measuring the varying concentrations of specific DNA molecules directly, without requiring special circuitry to convert them to zeroes and ones first. Picked up by NPR affiliate WFDD.

Of heartbeats, bones and brushstrokes

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Of heartbeats, bones and brushstrokes. Duke Today, Aug. 1, 2016. It takes a well-trained eye to spot an irregular heartbeat in the peaks and valleys of an electrocardiogram. The same goes for identifying an extinct ape from a single fossilized tooth, or telling an original van Gogh from a fake. But in recent years, applied mathematician Ingrid Daubechies has been training computers to churn through ECG tracings, high-resolution scans of fossils, paintings and other complex digital data and work things out automatically.

Taking math beyond the blackboard

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Taking math beyond the blackboard. Duke Research blog, July 6, 2016. Mix together 80 or so scientists and engineers from industry and academia with bottomless coffee, and stir for a week. That was the recipe for the 32nd annual Mathematical Problems in Industry Workshop held this summer at Duke.

Predicting cancer’s growth when clues are hard to come by

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Predicting cancer’s growth when clues are hard to come by. Duke Today, Nov. 2, 2015. Duke mathematicians are developing ways to help doctors predict how different cancers are likely to progress when measurements of tumor growth are hard to come by. In a new study, they describe a way to compare common models of tumor growth, using only two time-point measurements of tumor size — often the maximum available before patients begin treatment. Determining which models work best for different cancers is key to designing optimum treatment strategies.

Model could help counteract poisoning from popular painkiller

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Model could help counteract poisoning from popular painkiller. Duke Today, June 22, 2015. New research could help reverse deadly side effects caused by excessive doses of the drug acetaminophen, the major ingredient in Tylenol and many other medicines. Duke University researchers have developed a mathematical model of acetaminophen metabolism based on data from rats. The findings suggest that giving patients glutamine — a common amino acid in the body — alongside the standard antidote for acetaminophen overdose could prevent liver damage and boost the body’s ability to recover. Picked up by the Durham Herald-Sun.

Urging HPV vaccine for boys could protect more people for same price

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Urging HPV vaccine for boys could protect more people for same price. Duke Today, March 11, 2015. Whether vaccinating U.S. boys against HPV in addition to girls is worth the cost has been hotly debated. But with HPV-related cancers in men on the rise, and coverage in girls stagnating below the levels needed to ensure that most people are protected, research suggests that devoting a portion of HPV funding to boys — rather than merely attempting to improve female coverage — may protect more people for the same price. Picked up by National Public Radio affiliate WUNC.

Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs

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Predicting superbugs’ countermoves to new drugs. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. With drug-resistant bacteria on the rise, even common infections that were easily controlled for decades are proving trickier to treat with standard antibiotics. New drugs are desperately needed, but so are ways to maximize the effective lifespan of these drugs. To accomplish that, Duke University researchers used software they developed to predict a constantly-evolving infectious bacterium’s countermoves to one of these new drugs ahead of time, before the drug is even tested on patients. Picked up by the Duke Chronicle, The Scientist and Time Magazine.

Same votes, different districts would alter election results in N.C.

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Same votes, different districts would alter election results in N.C. Duke Today, October 29, 2014. Researchers have developed a mathematical model that shows how changes in congressional voting districts affect election outcomes. Focusing on the last election, they show the outcome of the 2012 U.S. House of Representatives elections in North Carolina would have been very different had the state’s congressional districts been drawn with only the legal requirements of redistricting in mind. The researchers hope the study will bolster calls for redistricting reform in 2016. Picked up by The Herald-Sun, the News and Observer, and National Public Radio affiliates WFAE, WUNC and WFDD.

Could suburban sprawl be good for segregation?

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Could suburban sprawl be good for segregation? Duke Today, September 23, 2014. Racially and economically mixed cities are more likely to stay integrated if the density of households stays low, finds a new analysis of a now-famous model of segregation. By simulating the movement of families between neighborhoods in a virtual “city,” Duke University mathematicians show that cities are more likely to become segregated along racial, ethnic or other lines when the proportion of occupied sites rises above a certain critical threshold — as low as 25 percent, regardless of the identity of the people moving in.