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A new research study has examined the mathematical principles governing creativity and innovation, shedding light on how novel ideas emerge. By analysing data across different domains, researchers have identified patterns that could refine the understanding of how individuals and societies generate new concepts. The study investigates two types of novelty—discovering an entirely new element and forming unique combinations of existing elements. The findings could be crucial in fields such as science, literature, and technology, where innovation plays a vital role in advancement.

Mathematical Framework for Creativity

According to the study published in Nature Communications, researchers introduced a framework to model how new ideas emerge. Led by Professor Vito Latora from Queen Mary University of London, the team focused on higher-order novelties—combinations of familiar elements that create something new. Speaking to Phys.org, Prof. Latora stated that the study is part of a broader effort to understand the mechanisms underlying creativity, aiming to identify factors that contribute to the success of ideas, products, and technologies.

A mathematical model called Edge-Reinforced Random Walk with Triggering (ERRWT) was developed to simulate how people discover and combine elements. Unlike traditional random walks, which assume equal probability for each step, ERRWT strengthens frequently used connections and triggers new links when novel combinations occur. This process mirrors real-world discovery, where repeated exposure to certain elements increases the likelihood of making new associations.

Analysing Patterns Across Domains

The research team applied the ERRWT model to three distinct datasets—music listening habits from Last.fm, literary texts from Project Gutenberg, and scientific publications from Semantic Scholar. The findings revealed that while individuals might have similar rates of discovering new elements, the sequences in which they arrange them differ significantly.

For music listeners, certain users developed unique listening patterns despite discovering the same number of new songs. In literature, writers frequently created new word pairings rather than introducing entirely new words. Scientific papers, particularly titles, demonstrated a higher tendency for novel word combinations compared to narrative texts.

Predicting Innovation with Heaps’ Law

The study also highlighted that the process of novelty creation follows Heaps’ law, a power-law relationship describing how new elements and combinations emerge over time. By applying this principle, researchers could predict different rates of innovation across disciplines. The results indicated that while some fields prioritise the discovery of individual elements, others focus on recombining existing ones in unique ways.

Implications for Future Research

The findings suggest that understanding how creative processes unfold could help refine strategies for fostering innovation. Prof. Latora noted that studying novelty creation is essential for identifying factors that contribute to the rise and decline of trends, products, and ideas. Future research aims to expand the model by incorporating a social component, which could provide insights into how external influences shape creative developments.

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New Study Finds Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall Bigger and Nearer Than Thought

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April 23, 2025

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New Study Finds Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall Bigger and Nearer Than Thought

Astronomers have revealed that the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, a massive network of galaxies, might be bigger than they realised. By mapping the cosmos with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)—the brightest explosions in the universe—astronomers found that this structure is even bigger than previously estimated. Surprisingly, portions of it also lie significantly closer to Earth than previously believed, challenging fundamental assumptions about how the universe is structured and evolves.
This cosmic structure was first observed in 2014 — a dense galaxy forming a filament of a supercluster.

A new study now extends the researchers’ previous work, but with a wider GRB sample. Hakkila and Zsolt Bagoly, authors of the study, have refined the measurements. They detected a number of relatively nearby GRBs in their sample. The evidence also shows the Great Wall is larger and wider than previously predicted.

Gamma-Ray Bursts Expose Structure Too Large for Current Models

According to a Space.com report, the GRBs figure prominently in the early discovery and more recent growth of the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall. These explosive outbursts — from either collapsing massive stars or colliding neutron stars — produce powerful jets that can be spotted over cosmological distances. Hakkila told the publication that GRBs act as another bright beacon for identifying galaxies, even those too faint to see directly. Because of their brightness, scientists can follow matter throughout the universe more distinctly than ever.

The Great Wall, over 10 billion light-years long, challenges the cosmological principle of uniform universe appearance. Its massive size indicates gaps in current theories and implies that the universe’s formation time was insufficient for such massive structures.

THESEUS May Reveal Full Scale of Cosmic Great Wall

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Burst observations reveal 542 GRB events, but more data is needed to fully understand the Great Wall’s scope due to misidentified origins and sparse sampling. Hakkila points toward the upcoming ESA mission THESEUS — the Transient High Energy Sources and Early Universe Surveyor — as the next major leap.

The mission aims to dramatically expand the catalogue of known GRBs, particularly at extreme distances. “It could finally provide the observational leverage needed to map the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall to its full extent,” Hakkila told Space.com, emphasising its role in refining our understanding of the universe’s large-scale structure.

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Ancient Greenland Rocks Found in Iceland Sheds Light on Late Antique Ice Age

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April 23, 2025

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Ancient Greenland Rocks Found in Iceland Sheds Light on Late Antique Ice Age

A study published in April 2025 provides new insight into one of the mysterious historical climate change periods known as LALIA (the Late Antique Ice Age). This period is known to last from 536 to 660 AD. The trio of scientists, namely, Christopher Spencer, Ross Mitchell and Thomas Gernon, published in a journal describing the analysis of misplaced Greenland rocks found lodged in the cliffs of Iceland, offering direct evidence of iceberg activity connected to this period of an ice age.

Discovery of the LALIA

The study was published in the journal Geology. As per Phys.org, the earlier research has depicted that the Earth’s northern hemisphere had undergone a chilly spell beginning around 540 AD because of the eruption of huge volcanoes, which led to the rise in debris in the atmosphere, leading to the darkening of the skies. A few historians speculated that the sudden cold weather led the Goths to attack the Romans in Europe, as they moved toward the south, warmer regions led to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Understanding the Misplaced Rocks

The researchers studied some cliffs on the western coast when they noticed that the rocks actually looked out of place. They collected a few rocks to study in the lab. The team crushed the rocks in the lab to study their remnants under a microscope. They pulled the zircon crystals from the centre of these rocks.

In their lab, the team crushed the rocks and looked at their remnants under a microscope, allowing them to pull out zircon crystals from their centres. These crystals can be used as a time capsule. After studying their age and composition, the scientists could trace the original place of these rocks across Greenland. This predicts that these rocks were moved by someone more than 1500 years ago.

The scientists studied the rocks’ age placed at the LALIA, depicting that the rocks were moved after breaking the ice from the large glaciers of Greenland that formed as per the colder scenarios formed during that period.

Scope of the Study

The research stands as a major step forward in understanding the Earth’s climate in the past. These rocks have given clear proof of increased glacial activity at the time of LALIA, indicating the outcomes of modern and future climatic changes.

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SpaceX Sends Europe’s First Reentry Capsule into Orbit on Bandwagon-3 Rideshare Mission

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April 23, 2025

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SpaceX Sends Europe’s First Reentry Capsule into Orbit on Bandwagon-3 Rideshare Mission

A Falcon 9 rocket soared into space from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on April 21 at 8:48 p.m. EDT (0048 GMT, April 22), carrying multiple payloads on SpaceX’s latest rideshare mission, Bandwagon-3. Among the diverse cargo onboard was Phoenix 1, a European-built reentry capsule developed by the German company Atmos Space Cargo. History will be made here in European aerospace with this launch, as Phoenix 1 becomes the first capsule from Europe intending to return from space and splash down on Earth after just one orbit, barely 1,200 miles offshore of Brazil.

Phoenix 1 Debuts as Europe’s First Private Reentry Capsule on SpaceX Bandwagon-3 Flight

According to Atmos Space Cargo, this mission is the first-ever atmospheric reentry attempt of a European private entity. Phoenix 1 is meant to test out essential technologies, including the company’s inflatable heat shield needed to return high-value cargo from space safely, the company noted. “Our mission is to revolutionise space logistics by enabling groundbreaking advancements in microgravity research, in-orbit manufacturing, defence applications, and life sciences,” says the firm’s website. The successful reentry and splashdown will support future commercial applications across these sectors.

Phoenix 1 shared the ride with several other payloads, including 425Sat-3, operated by South Korea’s Agency for Defence Development, and Tomorrow-S7, a weather satellite from the meteorological technology company Tomorrow Companies Inc. These collaborative launches are part of SpaceX’s growing commitment to enabling diverse and cost-effective access to low Earth orbits via its ridesharing programs. The Bandwagon missions, which began in April 2024 and continued with a second flight in December that year, operate alongside the long-established Transporter series, which has completed 13 missions since 2021.

Phoenix 1 Marks Shift Toward Scalable Reentry Missions in European Space Logistics

While the Transporter program is known for launching a large number of satellites—including a record-breaking 143 on a single flight in January 2021—the Bandwagon series focuses on smaller, more flexible ridesharing configurations. The dispatch of Phoenix 1 on Bandwagon 3 is the latest sign of a trend toward greater mission flexibility to develop and operate bespoke space technologies in support of different kinds of space exploration and logistics, and yet another indication of commercial innovation extending the boundaries of the possible in space.

A successful test flight of Phoenix 1 would have significant ramifications for European space companies, being positioned as proof of the Phoenix program—demonstrating mission-critical capabilities regarding return flights and retrofitting, while being the seed for a scalable reaping capability for research institutions and commercial entities.

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