"Unbeatable" Poker Algorithm

Game theorists have developed a computer algorithm known as counterfactual regret minimization for the heads-up limit hold’em (HULHE) poker variant that is "virtually unbeatable," rendering this particular strategy so close to perfect as to consider the game solved.

Testing Cope's Rule

Scientists using statistical modeling methods to compare dinosaur femurs have verified Cope's Rule that smaller animals always evolve into larger sizes with no upper limit, with exceptions for structural function between clades such as theropods (two legs) versus sauropods and ornithopods (four legs).

Da Vinci's Rule for Trees

The natural shape of trees has been demonstrated in mathematical models to follow a simple rule first proposed by Leonardo da Vinci, that at any height the total cross-sectional area of all branches is roughly the same as that of the trunk, with such a design proving to resist wind breakage.

Benford's Law

Researchers have extended the number of natural phenomena that are known to follow the curious mathematical rule known as Benford's law, demonstrating that it applies to such varied events as depth of earthquakes, brightness of gamma rays that reach Earth, rotation rates of pulsars and infectious disease numbers reported to the World Health Organization.

Social Data from Social Networks

Modern electronic participation such as cellphone usage and online social networking websites are providing the first real-time statistical data for social scientists, transforming previously "soft" social research filled with subjective fact collection into a true data-drivien, mathematical science.

Tetrahedral Dice Packing

Experiments with dice of various numbers of sides and shapes reveal that tetrahedral (four-sided) dice yield the greatest packing factor of all shapes tested, filling roughly 76% of available space and packing more efficiently than even spheres (64%).

Light Tied in Knots

Using specialized holograms to create and manipulate optical vortices, physicists were able to literally tie knots in beams of light using the science of knot theory, an abstract mathematics specialty that previously had no physical application.

Record Calculation of Pi

The mathematical value of the constant pi has been calculated to almost 2.7 trillion decimal places, a leap of some 123 billion digits more than the previous record, using a desktop computer and an algorithm that is 20 times more efficient.

Game Theory Predicts Behavior

For the first time, scientists have used the mathematics of modern game theory to predict the behavior of a group of juvenile ravens in North Wales.