Satellite imagery is revolutionizing the world. But should we always trust what we see?
Geospatial data offers a powerful new way to see the world. But these high-tech images can be misleading or incomplete.
Primary Results
Why prime numbers still fascinate mathematicians, 2,300 years later
Prime numbers are the biggest and oldest data set in mathematics. Why have they captivated mathematicians for millennia?
Genetic mutations can be benign or cancerous – a new method to differentiate between them could lead to better treatments
Tumors contain thousands of genetic changes, but only a few are actually cancer-causing. A quicker way to identify these driver mutations could lead to more targeted cancer treatments.
Why big‑data analysis of police activity is inherently biased
Crime data reflect only what crimes are identified by the police – not all the crimes that occur. So decisions based on crime data are necessarily biased and incompletely informed.
Can scientists learn to make ‘nature forecasts’ just as we forecast the weather?
Big data open-access publishing and other advances offer ecologists the ability to forecast events like pest outbreaks over days and seasons rather than decades. But scholars need to seize this opportunity.
What big data can tell us about how a book becomes a best‑seller
It’s easier to make the list than you might think.
New data tool can help scientists use limited funds to protect the greatest number of endangered species
How should the US spend limited funds for conserving endangered species? A new data tool lets managers compare different strategies so they can allocate money to protect the most species.
The next big discovery in astronomy? Scientists probably found it years ago – but they don’t know it yet
Astronomers are gathering an exponentially greater amount of data every day – so much that it will take years to uncover all the hidden signals buried in the archives.
Low‑ and middle‑income countries lack access to big data analysis – here’s how to fill the gap
Data science infrastructure is sorely needed in many places. Doctors Without Borders brings medical help to nations in need, but similar efforts are relatively small for statistics.
Archaeological discoveries are happening faster than ever before, helping refine the human story
20 years ago, who could predict how much more researchers would know today about the human past – let alone what they could learn from a thimble of dirt, a scrape of dental plaque, or satellites in space.
Secondary Results
