[latexpage]

The last few weeks I delved into learning $\LaTeX$, a code language for more aesthetically pleasing article writing, especially in terms of mathematical formulas. As my research has increasingly been focused on the mechanisms underlying collective behaviour, for which I do a lot of mathematical computations, such an advanced yet simple text-editor is very helpful and overcomes the many pains I have with MS word!

\begin{equation}
v_i(t) = |\mathbf v_i(t)| = \sqrt{u_i^2(t)+w_i^2(t)}.
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\mathbf a_i(t)= \frac{\mathbf v_i(t+\Delta t) – \mathbf v_i(t)}{\Delta t} = \frac{\mathbf r_i(t+\Delta t) – \mathbf 2r_i(t)+\mathbf r_i(t-\Delta t)}{\Delta t^2},
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\rho(t)=\frac{1}{n}\sqrt{\left( \sum_{i=1}^{n}\sin(\psi_i(t))\right)^2+\left( \sum_{i=1}^{n}\cos(\psi_i(t))\right)^2}
\end{equation}

It was quite a steep learning curve, but I managed to write my first paper with it last week. The great thing is that it is also possible to use $\LaTeX$ in wordpress (which I used to create this website). It is also the standard language for drafting preprint articles, which is increasingly suggested and done in the biological sciences, thus a very relevant skill to learn.