News by Subject Mathematics

Although the problem of gender discrimination is already found in the music industry, music recommendation algorithms would be increasing the gender gap. Andrés Ferraro and Xavier Serra, researchers of the Music Technology research group of the UPF, with Christine Bauer, of the University of Utrecht, have recently published a paper on gender balance in music recommendation systems in which they ask themselves how the system should work to avoid gender bias.

One of the promises of new methods of personalized medicine is that individual risks for diseases can be assessed using large DNA datasets. But many diseases are highly multifactorial, meaning that genetic risk factors are spread throughout the DNA. Finding these elusive connections and constructing a reliable and trackable statistical model from them is the goal of Matthew Robinson at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria and his international team.

A new algorithm uses online learning to analyze large single-cell data sets using the amount of memory found on a standard laptop computer.

Using mathematical modeling, researchers considered a time very early in evolution when primordial species reproduced using external fertilization. In the model, bigger reproductive cells, or gametes, presented a competitive edge because they could hold more nutrients for a potential zygote. Smaller gametes, however, required fewer resources to make, which put less stress on the parent. Organisms evolved to specialize in large or small gametes, precursors to eggs and sperm.