After figuring out what the dominant risk factors were among the participants who developed breast cancer, scientists designed a prediction model, now called the Gail model.

NPR: Online Calculator Estimates Breast Cancer Risk

By using a discovery platform they were able to use a combination of SQL, text, statistics, and time-series analysis to get a more accurate customer churn prediction model.

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Deviations from the Standard Model prediction, if they are confirmed by more data, can shed light on these unknowns.

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The rough properties of this particle agree with the Standard Model prediction, but there is roughly 50% uncertainty in all the measurements of the largest couplings.

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"We think if we had a quantitative measure of breast density, that might add to the specificity of the model and really improve prediction for the individual woman, " Kerlikowske says.

NPR: Online Calculator Estimates Breast Cancer Risk

In addition to just making predictions, the model also indicates which words in the speech made it most confident about its prediction.

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Prediction Machine, a website that predicts the results of sporting events, has developed a mathematical model that may help settle the question.

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Sagarin, who has one of the older and more respected prediction equations in the business, said a year or two of success does not mean a model will continue to foretell the outcome of the tournament correctly.

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