Scientific News
Articles across mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and astronomy.
Science
Component causes
A component cause is an event or condition that contributes to the development of a disease, but is not sufficient on its own to cause the disease. Instead, it is part of a larger set of conditions, known as a "sufficient cause," that together result in the disease.
8/24/2026
Science
Compositional domain
A compositional domain in genetics is a region of DNA with a distinct guanine (G) and cytosine (C) G-C and C-G content (collectively GC content). The homogeneity of compositional domains is compared to that of the chromosome on which they reside. As such, compositional domains can be homogeneous or nonhomogeneous domains. Compositionally homogeneous domains that are sufficiently long (= 300 kb) ar
8/24/2026
Science
Compton scattering
Compton scattering (or the Compton effect) is the quantum theory of scattering of a high-frequency photon through an interaction with a charged particle, usually an electron. Specifically, when the photon interacts with a loosely bound electron, it releases the electron from an outer valence shell of an atom or molecule. The effect was discovered in 1923 by Arthur Holly Compton while researching t
8/24/2026
Science
Computational irreducibility
Computational irreducibility suggests certain computational processes cannot be simplified and the only way to determine the outcome of a process is to go through each step of its computation. It is one of the main ideas proposed by Stephen Wolfram in his 2002 book A New Kind of Science, although the concept goes back to studies from the 1980s.
8/24/2026
Science
Compressor map
A compressor map is a chart which shows the performance of a turbomachinery compressor. This type of compressor is used in gas turbine engines, for supercharging reciprocating engines and for industrial processes, where it is known as a dynamic compressor. A map is created from compressor rig test results or predicted by a special computer program. Alternatively the map of a similar compressor can
8/24/2026
Science
Compound of tetrahedra
A compound of tetrahedra might be: Compound of two tetrahedra – stellated octahedron Compound of two truncated tetrahedra Compound of three tetrahedra Compound of four tetrahedra Compound of five tetrahedra Compound of six tetrahedra Compound of six tetrahedra with rotational freedom Compound of ten tetrahedra Compound of ten truncated tetrahedra Compound of twelve tetrahedra with rotational free
8/24/2026
Science
Computational complexity of mathematical operations
The following tables list the computational complexity of various algorithms for common mathematical operations. Here, complexity refers to the time complexity of performing computations on a multitape Turing machine. See big O notation for an explanation of the notation used. Note: Due to the variety of multiplication algorithms, M ( n )
8/24/2026
Science
Compound heterozygosity
In medical genetics, compound heterozygosity is the condition of having two or more heterogeneous recessive alleles at a particular locus that can cause genetic disease in a heterozygous state; that is, an organism is a compound heterozygote when it has two recessive alleles for the same gene, but with those two alleles being different from each other (for example, both alleles might be mutated bu
8/24/2026
Science
Computational mathematics
Computational mathematics is a field of study that focuses on the interaction of mathematical sciences, computer science, and algorithms. A large part of computational mathematics consists roughly of using mathematics for allowing and improving computer computation in areas of science and engineering where mathematics are useful. This involves in particular algorithm design, computational complex
8/24/2026
Science
Compressed sensing
Compressed sensing (also known as compressive sensing, compressive sampling, or sparse sampling) is a signal processing technique for efficiently acquiring and reconstructing a signal by finding solutions to underdetermined linear systems. This is based on the principle that, through optimization, the sparsity of a signal can be exploited to recover it from far fewer samples than required by the N
8/24/2026
Science
Composition of the human body
Body composition may be analyzed in various ways. This can be done in terms of the chemical elements present, or by molecular structure e.g., water, protein, fats (or lipids), hydroxyapatite (in bones), carbohydrates (such as glycogen and glucose) and DNA. In terms of tissue type, the body may be analyzed into water, fat, connective tissue, muscle, bone, etc. In terms of cell type, the body contai
8/24/2026
Science
Compound of octahedra
A compound of octahedra may be: Compound of two octahedra Compound of three octahedra Also Compound of three triangular antiprisms Compound of four octahedra More generally, Compound of four octahedra with rotational freedom Compound of five octahedra Compound of eight octahedra with rotational freedom Compound of ten octahedra Compound of twenty octahedra More generally, Compound of twenty octah
8/24/2026
Science
Compression of morbidity
The compression of morbidity in public health is a hypothesis put forth by James Fries, professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. The hypothesis was supported by a 1998 study of 1700 University of Pennsylvania alumni over a period of 20 years. Fries' hypothesis is that the burden of lifetime illness may be compressed into a shorter period before the time of death, if the age
8/24/2026
Science
Compressed hydrogen
Compressed hydrogen (CH2, CGH2 or CGH2) is the gaseous state of the element hydrogen kept under pressure. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar (5,000 psi) and 700 bar (10,000 psi) is used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen vehicles. It is used as a fuel gas.
8/24/2026
Science
Computability in Europe
The Association Computability in Europe (ACiE) is an international organization of mathematicians, logicians, computer scientists, philosophers, theoretical physicists and others interested in new developments in computability and in their underlying significance for the real world. ACiE aims to widen understanding and appreciation of the importance of the concepts and techniques of computability
8/24/2026
Science
Compton telescope
A Compton telescope (also known as a Compton camera or Compton imager) is a gamma-ray detector which utilizes Compton scattering to determine the origin of the observed gamma rays. Compton cameras are usually applied to detect gamma rays in the energy range where Compton scattering is the dominating interaction process, from a few hundred keV to several MeV. They are applied in fields such as astr
8/24/2026
Science
Computational astrophysics
Computational astrophysics refers to the methods and computing tools developed and used in astrophysics research. Like computational chemistry or computational physics, it is both a specific branch of theoretical astrophysics and an interdisciplinary field relying on computer science, mathematics, and wider physics. Computational astrophysics is most often studied through an applied mathematics o
8/24/2026
Science
Compound Interest (website)
Compound Interest is a website launched in 2013 by Andy Brunning with infographics on everyday chemistry. The infographics describe, for example, how chemicals found in food and nature give them smell, taste, and color. The website has a monthly collaboration with the American Chemical Society. Content of the website is used as information source by various newspapers and media, including the Wash
8/24/2026
Science
Computational history
Computational History (not to be confused with computation history), sometimes also called Histoinformatics, is a multidisciplinary field that studies history through machine learning and other data-driven, computational approaches.
8/24/2026
Science
Computational gastronomy
Computational gastronomy is an interdisciplinary field combining computational science with culinary studies. It applies data-driven techniques to analyze various aspects of food, including recipes, flavors, nutrition, and sustainability. The field utilizes advancements in data analytics, machine learning, and computational models to systematically study food and optimize culinary practices. Appli
8/24/2026
Science
Comparison of programming languages (strings)
This comparison of programming languages (strings) compares the features of string data structures or text-string processing for over 52 various computer programming languages.
8/24/2026
Science
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body or interstellar object that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or coma surrounding the nucleus, and sometimes a tail of gas and dust gas blown out from the coma. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the outstrea
8/24/2026
Science
Colored dissolved organic matter
Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is the optically measurable component of dissolved organic matter in water. Also known as chromophoric dissolved organic matter, yellow substance, and gelbstoff, CDOM occurs naturally in aquatic environments and is a complex mixture of individual, unique organic matter molecules, which are primarily leached from decaying detritus and organic matter. CDOM mos
8/24/2026
Science
Combustibility and flammability
A combustible material is a material that can burn (i.e. sustain a flame) in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable or inflammable if it ignites easily at room temperature. In other words, a combustible material takes more effort to ignite and a flammable material ignites almost immediately when exposed to a flame. The degree of flammability in air depends largely on how easy the ma
8/24/2026
Science
Combined drug intoxication
Combined drug intoxication (CDI), or multiple drug intake (MDI), is a cause of death by drug overdose from poly drug use, often implicated in polysubstance dependence.
8/24/2026
Science
Colour retention agent
Colour retention agents are food additives that are added to food to prevent the colour from changing. Many of them work by absorbing or binding to oxygen before it can damage food (antioxidants). For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is often added to brightly coloured fruits such as peaches during canning.
8/24/2026
Science
Dimensional analysis
In engineering and science, dimensional analysis of different physical quantities is the analysis of their physical dimension or quantity dimension, defined as a mathematical expression identifying the powers of the base quantities involved (such as length, mass, time, etc.), and tracking these dimensions as calculations or comparisons are performed. The concepts of dimensional analysis and quant
8/24/2026
Science
Commensalism
Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit from each other; amensalism, where one is harmed while the other is unaffected; and parasitism, where one is harmed and the other benefits. The commensal (the
8/24/2026
Science
Combinatorial proof
In mathematics, the term combinatorial proof is often used to mean either of two types of mathematical proof: A proof by double counting. A combinatorial identity is proven by counting the number of elements of some carefully chosen set in two different ways to obtain the different expressions in the identity. Since those expressions count the same objects, they must be equal to each other and t
8/24/2026
Science
Colure
Colure, in astronomy, is either of the two principal meridians of the celestial sphere. The term is now rarely used and may be considered obsolete.
8/24/2026
Science
Combustion analysis
Combustion analysis is a method used in both organic chemistry and analytical chemistry to determine the elemental composition (more precisely empirical formula) of a pure organic compound by combusting the sample under conditions where the resulting combustion products can be quantitatively analyzed. Once the number of moles of each combustion product has been determined the empirical formula or
8/24/2026
Science
Colloid-facilitated transport
Colloid-facilitated transport designates a transport process by which colloidal particles serve as transport vector of diverse contaminants in the surface water (sea water, lakes, rivers, fresh water bodies) and in underground water circulating in fissured rocks (limestone, sandstone, granite, ...). The transport of colloidal particles in surface soils and in the ground can also occur, depending o
8/24/2026
Science
Comminution
Comminution is the reduction of solid materials from one average particle size to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. Comminution is related to pulverization and grinding. All use mechanical devices, and many types of mills have been invented. Concomitant with size reduction, comminution increases the surface area of the solid. For exa
8/24/2026
Science
Colonial American astronomy
Colonial American astronomy can be traced to the time when the English began colonizing in the New World during the 16th century. They brought with them their interest in astronomy. At first, astronomical thought in America was based on Aristotelian philosophy.
8/24/2026
Science
Committee on Widening Participation in Computing Research
The Computing Research Association's Committee on Widening Participation in Computing Research (CRA-WP) is an action-oriented organization dedicated to increasing the number of individuals participating in computer science and engineering (CSE) research and education at all levels. In addition to increasing the number of individuals involved, the organization also seeks to increase the degree of s
8/24/2026
Science
Communication complexity
In theoretical computer science, communication complexity studies the amount of communication required to solve a problem when the input to the problem is distributed among two or more parties. The study of communication complexity was first introduced by Andrew Yao in 1979, while studying the problem of computation distributed among several machines. The problem is usually stated as follows: two
8/24/2026
Science
Colloidal probe technique
The colloidal probe technique is commonly used to measure interaction forces acting between colloidal particles and/or planar surfaces in air or in solution. This technique relies on the use of an atomic force microscope (AFM). However, instead of a cantilever with a sharp AFM tip, one uses the colloidal probe. The colloidal probe consists of a colloidal particle of few micrometers in diameter tha
8/24/2026
Science
Color index (geology)
Color index, as a geological term, is a measure of the ratio between generally dark mafic minerals and generally light felsic minerals in an igneous rock. The color index of an igneous rock is the volume percentage of mafic minerals in the rock, excluding minerals generally regarded as "colorless" such as apatite, muscovite, primary carbonates and similar minerals. Rocks can be sorted into classes
8/24/2026
Science
ColorStack
ColorStack is a nonprofit student organization which offers academic advising and career development opportunities for computer science majors in the United States. The nonprofit was specifically designed for students from minority backgrounds as a means to improve diversity in computing. The nonprofit was founded by Cornell University alumnus Jehron Petty in May 2020, after realizing his success
8/24/2026
Science
Committee of Mathematical Biology
The Committee on Mathematical Biology was a research and PhD-training unit at the University of Chicago, active from 1947 to 1965. It was the successor to the Section on Mathematical Biophysics (1940–1947), the world's first PhD-granting program in mathematical biology. Both were chaired by Nicolas Rashevsky, a Russian-born theoretical physicist who was one of the pioneers in descriptive biology w
8/24/2026
Science
Commutative diagram
In mathematics, and especially in category theory, a commutative diagram is a diagram such that all directed paths in the diagram with the same start and endpoints lead to the same result. It is said that commutative diagrams play the role in category theory that equations play in algebra.
8/24/2026
Science
Communication channel
A communication channel refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel in telecommunications and computer networking. A channel is used for information transfer of, for example, a digital bit stream, from one or several senders to one or several receivers. A channel has a certain capacity for transmitting
8/24/2026
Science
Compact object
In astronomy, the term compact object (or compact star) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It could also include exotic stars if such hypothetical, dense bodies are confirmed to exist. All compact objects have a high mass relative to their radius, giving them a very high density compared to ordinary atomic matter. The term is used as a generalization for cases whe
8/24/2026
Science
Commutative property
In mathematics, a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result. It is a fundamental property of many binary operations, and many mathematical proofs depend on it. Perhaps most familiar as a property of arithmetic, e.g. "3 + 4 = 4 + 3" or "2 × 5 = 5 × 2", the property can also be used in more advanced settings. The name is needed because there are
8/24/2026
Science
Common cause and special cause (statistics)
Common and special causes are the two distinct origins of variation in a process, as defined in the statistical thinking and methods of Walter A. Shewhart and W. Edwards Deming. Briefly, "common causes", also called natural patterns, are the usual, historical, quantifiable variation in a system, while "special causes" are unusual, not previously observed, non-quantifiable variation. The distinctio
8/24/2026
Science
Communication source
A source or sender is one of the basic concepts of communication and information processing. Sources are objects which encode message data and transmit the information, via a channel, to one or more observers (or receivers). In the strictest sense of the word, particularly in information theory, a source is a process that generates message data that one would like to communicate, or reproduce as
8/24/2026
Science
Common Business Communication Language
The Common Business Communication Language (CBCL) is a communications language proposed by John McCarthy that foreshadowed much of XML. The language consists of a basic framework of hierarchical markup derived from S-expressions, coupled with some general principles about use and extensibility. Although written in 1975, the proposal was not published until 1982, and to this day remains relatively
8/24/2026
Science
Communication physics
Communication physics is one of the applied branches of physics. It deals with various kinds of communication systems. These can range from basic ideas such as mobile phone communication to quantum communication via quantum entanglement. Communication physics is also a journal edition created in 2018 published by Nature Research that aims to publish research that involves a different way of think
8/24/2026
Science
Communication software
Communication software is used to provide remote access to systems and exchange files and messages in text, audio and/or video formats between different computers or users. This includes terminal emulators, file transfer programs, chat and instant messaging programs, as well as similar functionality integrated within MUDs. The term is also applied to software operating a bulletin board system, but
8/24/2026
Science
Common misunderstandings of genetics
During the latter half of the 20th century, the fields of genetics and molecular biology matured greatly, significantly increasing understanding of biological heredity. As with other complex and evolving fields of knowledge, the public awareness of these advances has primarily been through the mass media, and a number of common misunderstandings of genetics have arisen.
8/24/2026