The human visual system exhibits a remarkable ability to decipher the three-dimensional structure of the world from two-dimensional retinal images. Central to this process is the utilisation of shape ...

Astronomers have concluded that an obscure class of galaxies known as Compact Symmetric Objects, or CSOs, are not young as previously thought but rather lead relatively short lives. A new ...

A new study finds the sedimentation of asymmetric objects in liquid is very different from that of symmetrical objects like spheres. The research may have practical applications in improving water ...

The 2008 Abel Prize was awarded to John Griggs Thompson of the University of Florida and Jacques Tits of the Collège de France for their contributions to group theory, the mathematical field that ...

If you thought writing calculations to describe three-dimensional objects in math class was hard, consider doing the same for one with 248 dimensions. Mathematicians call such an object E8 (pronounced ...

Richard Cook receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder. And yet, there are many faces that a majority would find ...

To most people, “symmetry” means the bilateral symmetry exhibited by, say, a butterfly, or the human face. That is, if you take a picture of a butterfly and draw a straight line down the middle of the ...