Six papers from the Theory and Foundations Research Group and the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications (DIMAP) have been accepted to the 65th IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS 2024), the flagship conference in theoretical computer science that will be held on October 27 - 30, 2024 in Chicago, USA:

• "Reverse Mathematics of Complexity Lower Bounds" by Lijie Chen, Jiatu Li and Igor C. Oliveira.

• "Faster (\Delta+1)-Edge Coloring: Breaking the m\sqrt{n} Time Barrier" by Sayan Bhattacharya, Din Carmon, Martin Costa, Shay Solomon and Tianyi Zhang.
• "Fully Dynamic k-Clustering with Fast Update Time and Small Recourse" by Sayan Bhattacharya, Martin Costa, Naveen Garg, Silvio Lattanzi and Nikos Parotsidis.
• "The Tractability Border of Reachability in Simple Vector Addition Systems with States" by Dmitry Chistikov, Wojciech Czerwiński, Łukasz Orlikowski, Filip Mazowiecki, Henry Sinclair-Banks and Karol Węgrzycki.

• "Optimal Coding Theorems for Randomized Kolmogorov Complexity and Its Applications" by Shuichi Hirahara, Zhenjian Lu and Mikito Nanashima.
• "On the Complexity of Avoiding Heavy Elements" by Zhenjian Lu, Igor C. Oliveira, Hanlin Ren and Rahul Santhanam.

Professor Reinhard MaurerLink opens in a new window has recently published his paper in Physical Review Letters titledStructure of graphene grown on Cu(111): X-ray Standing Wave Measurement and Density Functional Theory Prediction'Link opens in a new window

The recently published BBSRC Impact Showcase 2023 presents a collection of impact stories arising from BBSRC investments. The showcase highlights the vital role bioscience has in addressing key strategic global challenges and features research by Professor Eric Holub to develop new varieties of beans compatible with the British Climate.
Find out more (Scroll down the homepage to find 'Homegrown production of designer dry beans').

WMG at the University of Warwick and Cadbury have used powerful X-ray scanning equipment to uncover the secrets of how the structure of biscuits, which is essential for the perfect ‘crunch’, forms.

The discoveries have been released to mark National Biscuit Day this Wednesday, 29th May. Biscuits are the UK’s favourite sweet treat, with the average person in the UK eating around six a week.

WMG researchers scanned biscuits in a bespoke oven as they baked, imaging the inside of the biscuit to reveal how the porous structure, essential for the perfect ‘crunch’, forms during the baking process.

Associate Professor at WMG’s Centre for Imaging, Metrology and Additive Technologies, Jay Warnett, said that this was just the beginning for the technology:

“Joining forces with Cadbury, we're cracking the code to the perfect biscuit. Through our X-rays, we're helping uncover the ideal baking time, thickness, and recipe for the ultimate eating experience”.

“But our research doesn't stop there; we're diving deeper into the world of biscuits and baked food and hope to continue working with Cadbury for a long time to come”.

Researchers at WMG, who were approached by Cadbury, constructed an oven from scratch inside an X-ray CT scanner – a similar machine to what you might find in a hospital.

Using the latest algorithms, the imaging process was sped up to scan the biscuit every 20 seconds throughout the baking process. When put together, the WMG and Cadbury teams could observe the biscuit baking over time.

Principal Scientist at Cadbury, Thomas Curwen, is excited for the future of biscuit development:

“The latest algorithms have allowed us to watch and quantify the baking process inside the biscuit in greater detail than ever before. This capability will help us determine the function of different ingredients in more detail and how the structure that forms controls the eating experience. I am excited by what we can learn and how this will help us deliver the great tasting biscuits of the future.”

The research process, which was led by Dr Warnett and Research Fellow Dr Evelien Zwanenburg, has proved the concept possible, and is therefore likely to be the first step before a larger project later this year.

This future work aims to extend the work across other biscuit varieties and baked goods.

Dr Martin Winter and Dr Kawa Manmi have been awarded the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine Postdoctoral Prize.

Last month, the Met Office reported that July was the UK’s sixth wettest on record, and unsurprisingly the UK had 19% fewer hours of sunshine than average over the month, with 140.3 hours in total.

Researchers at Warwick Medical School say that light is the most important environmental cue for synchronising our biological clock and regulating sleep, which if interrupted can have a detrimental effect on our mood and wellbeing.

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