Quanta Science Podcast

Sitting alongside the neurons in your enteric nervous system are underappreciated glial cells, which play key roles in digestion and disease that scientists are only just starting to understand. ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-the-guts-second-brain-key-agents-of-health-emerge-20231121/

Cells in the placenta have an unusual trick for activating gentle immune defenses and keeping them turned on when no infection is present. It involves crafting and deploying a fake virus. Read mo...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/during-pregnancy-a-fake-infection-protects-the-fetus-20231114/

The discovery that the brain has different systems for representing small and large numbers provokes new questions about memory, attention and mathematics. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-human-brain-perceives-small-numbers-better-20231109/

The Reykjanes Peninsula has entered a new volcanic era. Innovative efforts to map and monitor the subterranean magma are saving lives. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Fire Water” b...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/inside-scientists-life-saving-prediction-of-the-iceland-eruption-20240220/

A new magnum opus posits the existence of a hidden mathematical link akin to the connection between electricity and magnetism. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Clover 3” by Vibe Mou...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/echoes-of-electromagnetism-found-in-number-theory-20231012/

To better understand how neural networks learn to simulate writing, researchers trained simpler versions on synthetic children’s stories. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Thought Bo...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/tiny-language-models-thrive-with-gpt-4-as-a-teacher-20231005/

Scientists have recently discovered scores of free-floating worlds that defy classification. The new observations have forced them to rethink their theories of star and planet formation. Read mor...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/rogue-worlds-throw-planetary-ideas-out-of-orbit-20231113/

Every species develops at its own unique tempo, leaving scientists to wonder what governs their timing. A suite of new findings suggests that cells use basic metabolic processes as clocks. Read m...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-makes-life-tick-mitochondria-may-keep-time-for-cells-20230918/

The telescope conjecture gave mathematicians a handle on ways to map one sphere to another. Now that it has been disproved, the universe of shapes has exploded. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. M...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/an-old-conjecture-falls-making-spheres-a-lot-more-complicated-20230822/

By watching “minimal” cells regain the fitness they lost, researchers are testing whether a genome can be too simple to evolve. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Hidden Agenda” b...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/even-synthetic-life-forms-with-a-tiny-genome-can-evolve-20230809/

Genetic elements called Mavericks that have some viral features could be responsible for the large-scale smuggling of DNA between species. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Clover” b...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/selfish-virus-like-dna-can-carry-genes-between-species-20230803/

New observations of a faraway rocky world that might have its own magnetic field could help astronomers understand the seemingly haphazard magnetic fields in our own solar system. Read more at Qu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/exoplanets-could-help-us-learn-how-planets-make-magnetism-20230807/

Quantum algorithms can find their way out of mazes exponentially faster than classical ones, at the cost of forgetting the paths they took. A new result suggests that the trade-off may be inevita...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-move-fast-quantum-maze-solvers-must-forget-the-past-20230720/

In some deep subterranean aquifers, cells have a chemical trick for making oxygen that could sustain whole underground ecosystems. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Pulse” by Geograp...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/underground-cells-make-dark-oxygen-without-light-20230717/

To buffer the brain against menaces in the blood, a dynamic, multi-tiered system of protection is built into the brain’s blood vessels. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Good Times�...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-protects-itself-from-blood-borne-threats-20230620/

Giant black holes were supposed to be bit players in the early cosmic story. But recent James Webb Space Telescope observations are finding an unexpected abundance of the beasts. Read more at Qua...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/jwst-spots-giant-black-holes-all-over-the-early-universe-20230814/

New experiments show that the brain distinguishes between perceived and imagined mental images by checking whether they cross a “reality threshold.” Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/is-it-real-or-imagined-how-your-brain-tells-the-difference-20230524/

Today’s language models are more sophisticated than ever, but they still struggle with the concept of negation. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-like-chatgpt-are-no-good-at-not-20230512/

The most comprehensive survey of how we share our microbiomes suggests a new way of thinking about the risks of developing some diseases that aren’t usually considered contagious. Read more at ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/global-microbiome-study-gives-new-view-of-shared-health-risks-20230314/

The quantum energy teleportation protocol was proposed in 2008 and largely ignored. Now two independent experiments have shown that it works. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Pulse”...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-use-quantum-mechanics-to-pull-energy-out-of-nothing-20230222/

Feelings of loneliness prompt changes in the brain that further isolate people from social contact. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Slow Burn” by Kevin MacLeod.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-loneliness-reshapes-the-brain-20230228/

The neocortex of our brain is the seat of our intellect. New data suggests that mammals created it with new types of cells that they developed only after their evolutionary split from reptiles. R...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/gene-expression-in-neurons-solves-a-brain-evolution-puzzle-20230214/

A wave of research improves reinforcement learning algorithms by pre-training them as if they were human. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/machines-learn-better-if-we-teach-them-the-basics-20230201/

Depression has often been blamed on low levels of serotonin in the brain. That answer is insufficient, but alternatives are coming into view and changing our understanding of the disease. Read mo...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cause-of-depression-is-probably-not-what-you-think-20230126/

Queen ants live far longer than genetically identical workers. Researchers are learning what their longevity secrets could mean for aging in other species. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/ants-live-10-times-longer-by-altering-their-insulin-responses-20230110/

The neural representations of a perceived image and the memory of it are almost the same. New work shows how and why they are different. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Light Gazing�...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-distinguishes-memories-from-perceptions-20221214/

If plaques of amyloid protein in the brain aren’t the root cause of Alzheimer’s disease, what is? Researchers investigating alternative possibilities have faced resistance from the biomedical...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-causes-alzheimers-scientists-are-rethinking-the-answer-pt-2-20221208/

After decades in the shadow of the reigning model for Alzheimer’s disease, alternative explanations are finally getting the attention they deserve. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-causes-alzheimers-scientists-are-rethinking-the-answer-20221208/

Theory has it that “Population III” stars brought light to the cosmos. The James Webb Space Telescope may have just glimpsed them. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Light Gazing”...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/astronomers-say-they-have-spotted-the-universes-first-stars-20230130/

An energy-efficient chip called NeuRRAM fixes an old design flaw to run large-scale AI algorithms on smaller devices, reaching the same accuracy as wasteful digital computers. Read more at Quanta...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-brain-inspired-chip-can-run-ai-with-far-less-energy-20221110/

Supergenes that lock inherited traits together are widespread in nature. Recent work shows that their blend of genetic benefits and risks for species can be complex. Read more at QuantaMagazine.o...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-supergenes-fuel-evolution-despite-harmful-mutations-20221108/

A recent gamma-ray burst known as the BOAT — “brightest of all time” — appears to have produced a high-energy particle that shouldn’t exist. For some, dark matter provides the explanati...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/brightest-ever-space-explosion-could-help-explain-dark-matter-20221026/

The positively charged particle at the heart of the atom is an object of unspeakable complexity, one that changes its appearance depending on how it is probed. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Mu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/inside-the-proton-the-most-complicated-thing-imaginable-20221019/

A new atomic-scale experiment all but settles the origin of the strong form of superconductivity seen in cuprate crystals, confirming a 35-year-old theory. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/high-temperature-superconductivity-understood-at-last-20220921/

Robots can surpass the limitations on how high and far animals can jump, but their success only underscores nature’s ingenuity in making the most of what’s available. Read more at QuantaMagaz...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/record-breaking-robot-highlights-how-animals-excel-at-jumping-20220914/

When the brain encodes memories as positive or negative, one molecule determines which way they will go. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Retro” by Wayne Jones.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-good-memory-or-a-bad-one-one-brain-molecule-decides-20220907/

Eric Larson and Isabel Vogt have solved the interpolation problem — a centuries-old question about some of the most basic objects in geometry. Some credit goes to the chalkboard in their living...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/old-problem-about-algebraic-curves-falls-to-young-mathematicians-20220825/

The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of the vacuum. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org . Music is “Pulse” by Geographer.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-physics-of-nothing-underlies-everything-20220809/

Partnerships between engineers and biologists have begun to reveal how birds evolved their superb maneuverability. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Running Out” by Patrick Patrikio...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/geometric-analysis-reveals-how-birds-mastered-flight-20220803/

Structural studies of the robust material called sporopollenin reveal how it made plants hardy enough to reproduce on dry land. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org . Music is “Redwood Trail” by A...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-diamond-of-the-plant-world-helped-land-plants-evolve-20220719/

Protein buildups like those seen around neurons in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other brain diseases occur in all aging cells, a new study suggests. Learning their significance may reveal new...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/protein-blobs-linked-to-alzheimers-affect-aging-in-all-cells-20220628/

Neuroscientists uncovered an energy-saving mode in vision-system neurons that works at the cost of being able to see fine-grained details. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Unanswered ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-has-a-low-power-mode-that-blunts-our-senses-20220614/

Computer scientists can now solve a decades-old problem in practically the time it takes to write it down. Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Aimless Amos” by Rondo Brothers.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-achieve-absurdly-fast-algorithm-for-network-flow-20220608/

Jared Duker Lichtman, 26, has proved a longstanding conjecture relating prime numbers to a broad class of “primitive” sets. To his adviser, it came as a “complete shock.” Read more at qua...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/graduate-students-side-project-proves-prime-number-conjecture-20220606/

The second law of thermodynamics is among the most sacred in all of science, but it has always rested on 19th century arguments about probability. New arguments trace its true source to the flows...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-trace-the-rise-in-entropy-to-quantum-information-20220526/

Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds. Read ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/secrets-of-the-moons-permanent-shadows-are-coming-to-light-20220428/

For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is n...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/deep-learning-poised-to-blow-up-famed-fluid-equations-20220412/

The existence of secure cryptography depends on one of the oldest questions in computational complexity. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Transmission” by John Deley and the 41 Play...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-identify-master-problem-underlying-all-cryptography-20220406/

Dopamine, a neurochemical often associated with reward behavior, also seems to help organize precisely when the brain initiates movements. It’s the latest revelation about the power of neuromod...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/brain-chemical-helps-signal-to-neurons-when-to-start-a-movement-20220322/

Biomechanical interactions, rather than neurons, control the movements of one of the simplest animals. The discovery offers a glimpse into how animal behavior worked before neurons evolved. The...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/before-brains-mechanics-may-have-ruled-animal-behavior-20220316/

Dwarf galaxies weren’t supposed to have big black holes. Their surprise discovery has revealed clues about how the universe’s biggest black holes could have formed. Read more at QuantaMagazin...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/tiny-galaxies-reveal-secrets-of-supermassive-black-holes-20220314/

Physicists are reexamining a longstanding assumption: that big stuff consists of smaller stuff. The post A Deepening Crisis Forces Physicists to Rethink Structure of Nature’s Laws first appe...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/crisis-in-particle-physics-forces-a-rethink-of-what-is-natural-20220301/

Researchers have mapped hundreds of semantic categories to the tiny bits of the cortex that represent them in our thoughts and perceptions. What they discovered might change our view of memory. ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-map-of-meaning-in-the-brain-changes-ideas-about-memory-20220208/

Two teams have shown how quantum approaches can solve problems faster than classical computers, bringing physics and computer science closer together. The post Machine Learning Gets a Quantum S...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-gets-a-quantum-computing-speedup-20220204/

Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be. The post Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Ch...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/secrets-of-early-animal-evolution-revealed-by-chromosome-tectonics-20220202/

We might have a past faint sun to owe for life’s existence. This has consequences for the possibility of life outside Earth. The post A Solution to the Faint-Sun Paradox Reveals a Narrow Wind...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-sun-was-dimmer-when-earth-formed-how-did-life-emerge-20220127/

Studies that map the adaptive value of viral mutations hint at how the COVID-19 pandemic might progress next. The post Evolution ‘Landscapes’ Predict What’s Next for COVID Virus first ap...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/evolution-landscapes-predict-whats-next-for-covid-virus-20220111/

New studies reveal the ancient, shared genetic “grammar” underpinning the diverse evolution of fish fins and tetrapod limbs. The post Flying Fish and Aquarium Pets Yield Secrets of Evolutio...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/flying-fish-and-aquarium-pets-yield-secrets-of-evolution-20220105/

Decades ago, a mathematician posed a warmup problem for some of the most difficult questions about prime numbers. It turned out to be just as difficult to solve, until now. The post Mathematici...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-outwit-hidden-number-conspiracy-20220103/

A new paper shows how to create longer disordered strings than mathematicians had thought possible, proving that a well-known recent conjecture is “spectacularly wrong.” The post Mathematic...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/oxford-mathematician-advances-century-old-combinatorics-problem-20211215/

By carefully constructing a multidimensional and well-connected graph, a team of researchers has finally created a long-sought locally testable code that can immediately betray whether it’s bee...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-defeat-randomness-to-create-ideal-code-20211124/

Scientists thought that the brain’s hearing centers might just process speech along with other sounds. But new work suggests that speech gets some special treatment very early on. The post Th...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-processes-speech-in-parallel-with-other-sounds-20211021/

The molecular signaling systems of complex cells are nothing like simple electronic circuits. The logic governing their operation is riotously complex — but it has advantages. The post Biolog...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/biologists-rethink-the-logic-behind-cells-molecular-signals-20210916/

Deep in the mantle, a branching plume of intensely hot material appears to be the engine powering vast volcanic activity. The post A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-massive-subterranean-tree-is-moving-magma-to-earths-surface-20210915/

For over two decades, physicists have pondered how the fabric of space-time may emerge from some kind of quantum entanglement. In Monika Schleier-Smith’s lab at Stanford University, the thought...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/one-labs-quest-to-build-space-time-out-of-quantum-particles-20210907/

Investigations of the simplest possible clocks have revealed their fundamental limitations — as well as insights into the nature of time itself. The post The New Thermodynamic Understanding o...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-new-science-of-clocks-prompts-questions-about-the-nature-of-time-20210831/

Familiar categories of mental functions such as perception, memory and attention reflect our experience of ourselves, but they are misleading about how the brain works. More revealing approaches ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mental-phenomena-dont-map-into-the-brain-as-expected-20210824/

Like a perpetual motion machine, a time crystal forever cycles between states without consuming energy. Physicists claim to have built this new phase of matter inside a quantum computer.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/first-time-crystal-built-using-googles-quantum-computer-20210730/

For 50 years, mathematicians have believed that the total number of real numbers is unknowable. A new proof suggests otherwise. The post How Many Numbers Exist? Infinity Proof Moves Math Closer...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-many-numbers-exist-infinity-proof-moves-math-closer-to-an-answer-20210715/

The DNA of some viruses doesn’t use the same four nucleotide bases found in all other life. New work shows how this exception is possible and hints that it could be more common than we think. ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/dna-has-four-bases-some-viruses-swap-in-a-fifth-20210712/

The accelerating effort to understand the mathematics of quantum field theory will have profound consequences for both math and physics. The post The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only M...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mystery-at-the-heart-of-physics-that-only-math-can-solve-20210610/

New work suggests that the radiolytic splitting of water supports giant subsurface ecosystems of life on Earth — and could do it elsewhere, too. The post Radioactivity May Fuel Life Deep Unde...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/radioactivity-may-fuel-life-deep-underground-and-inside-other-worlds-20210524/

The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA. The post DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasit...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/dna-of-giant-corpse-flower-parasite-surprises-biologists-20210421/

New data indicating that Earth’s surface broke up about 3.2 billion years ago helps clarify how plate tectonics drove the evolution of complex life. The post Scientists Pin Down When Earth’...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-pin-down-when-earths-crust-cracked-then-came-to-life-20210325/

An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect. The post A New Twis...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-twist-reveals-superconductivitys-secrets-20210316/

To the surprise of experts in the field, a postdoctoral statistician has solved one of the most important problems in high-dimensional convex geometry. The post Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/statistics-postdoc-tames-decades-old-geometry-problem-20210301/

A new proof demonstrates the power of arithmetic dynamics, an emerging discipline that combines insights from number theory and dynamical systems. The post Mathematicians Set Numbers in Motion ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-set-numbers-in-motion-to-unlock-their-secrets-20210222/

The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn’t work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could. The post Artificial Neu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/artificial-neural-nets-finally-yield-clues-to-how-brains-learn-20210218/

By digging out signals hidden within the brain’s electrical chatter, scientists are getting new insights into sleep, aging and more. The post Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues t...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/brains-background-noise-may-hold-clues-to-persistent-mysteries-20210208/

Small and cold, Mars has long been considered a dead planet. But a series of recent discoveries has forced scientists to rethink how recently its insides stopped churning — if they ever stopped...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/rumbles-on-mars-raise-hopes-of-underground-magma-flows-20210201/

Long considered solved, David Hilbert’s question about seventh-degree polynomials is leading researchers to a new web of mathematical connections. The post Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-resurrect-hilberts-13th-problem-20210114/

Inside cells, droplets of biomolecules called condensates merge, divide and dissolve. Their dance may regulate vital processes. The post A Newfound Source of Cellular Order in the Chemistry of ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-newfound-source-of-cellular-order-in-the-chemistry-of-life-20210107/

Mistletoes have all but shut down the powerhouses of their cells. Scientists are still trying to understand the plants’ unorthodox survival strategy. The post The Mystery of Mistletoe’s Mis...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mystery-of-mistletoes-missing-genes-20201221/

Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy. The post The New History of the Milky Way first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-new-history-of-the-milky-way-20201215/

An exercise in pure mathematics has led to a wide-ranging theory of how the world comes together. The post Scientists Uncover the Universal Geometry of Geology first appeared on Quanta Magazin...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-uncover-the-universal-geometry-of-geology-20201119/

In a landmark series of calculations, physicists have proved that black holes can shed information. The post The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-most-famous-paradox-in-physics-nears-its-end-20201029/

Recent experiments show that particles should be able to go faster than light when they quantum mechanically “tunnel” through walls. The post Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break th...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-tunnel-shows-particles-can-break-the-speed-of-light-20201020/

After 44 years, there’s finally a better way to find approximate solutions to the notoriously difficult traveling salesperson problem. The post Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-break-traveling-salesperson-record-20201008/

Research hints that the energy-generating organelles of cells may play a surprisingly pivotal role in mediating anxiety and depression. The post Mitochondria May Hold Keys to Anxiety and Mental...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mitochondria-may-hold-keys-to-anxiety-and-mental-health-20200810/

Astronomers are discovering that magnetic fields permeate much of the cosmos. If these fields date back to the Big Bang, they could solve a major cosmological mystery. The post The Hidden Magne...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-magnetic-universe-begins-to-come-into-view-20200702/

It took Lisa Piccirillo less than a week to answer a long-standing question about a strange knot discovered over half a century ago by the legendary John Conway. The post Graduate Student Solve...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/graduate-student-solves-decades-old-conway-knot-problem-20200519/

Rogue waves — enigmatic giants of the sea — were thought to be caused by two different mechanisms. But a new idea that borrows from the hinterlands of probability theory has the potential to ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-grand-unified-theory-of-rogue-waves-20200205/

The dendritic arms of some human neurons can perform logic operations that once seemed to require whole neural networks. The post Hidden Computational Power Found in the Arms of Neurons first ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/neural-dendrites-reveal-their-computational-power-20200114/

Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous objects in math. The post Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math first appeared on...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/neutrinos-lead-to-unexpected-discovery-in-basic-math-20191113/

A tool known as BERT can now beat humans on advanced reading-comprehension tests. But it's also revealed how far AI has to go. The post Machines Beat Humans on a Reading Test. But Do They Under...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/machines-beat-humans-on-a-reading-test-but-do-they-understand-20191017/

Only 170 million years ago, new plankton evolved. Their demand for carbon and calcium permanently transformed the seas as homes for life. The post How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Oce...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-jurassic-plankton-stole-control-of-the-oceans-chemistry-20191001/

A brain circuit that suppresses distracting sensory information holds important clues about attention and other cognitive processes. The post To Pay Attention, the Brain Uses Filters, Not a Spo...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-pay-attention-the-brain-uses-filters-not-a-spotlight-20190924/

Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the genetic flow went both ways. The post Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/fossil-dna-reveals-new-twists-in-modern-human-origins-20190829/

Modeling suggests that many embryonic cells commit to a developmental fate when they become too small to divide unevenly anymore. The post For Embryo’s Cells, Size Can Determine Fate first a...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/for-embryos-cells-size-can-determine-fate-20190812/

Theories about how animals became multicellular are shifting as researchers find greater complexity in our single-celled ancestors. The post Scientists Debate the Origin of Cell Types in the Fi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-debate-the-origin-of-cell-types-in-the-first-animals-20190717/

After an interstellar asteroid shot past the sun, scientists realized that there’s probably a lot of itinerant rocks out there. The post Wandering Space Rocks Help Solve Mysteries of Planet F...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/wandering-space-rocks-help-solve-mysteries-of-planet-formation-20190716/

Mathematicians have proved that a random process applied to a random surface will yield consistent patterns. The post Random Surfaces Hide an Intricate Order first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/random-surfaces-hide-an-intricate-order-20190702/

To researchers’ surprise, deep learning vision algorithms often fail at classifying images because they mostly take cues from textures, not shapes. The post Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/where-we-see-shapes-ai-sees-textures-20190701/

Researchers struggle to incorporate ongoing evolutionary discoveries into an animal classification scheme older than Darwin. The post What’s in a Name? Taxonomy Problems Vex Biologists first...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/phyla-and-other-flawed-taxonomic-categories-vex-biologists-20190624/

Contrary to popular belief, bacteria have organelles too. Scientists are now studying them for insights into how complex cells evolved. The post Bacterial Complexity Revises Ideas About ‘Whic...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/bacterial-organelles-revise-ideas-about-which-came-first-20190612/

Surviving fragments of genetic material preserved in sediments allow scientists to see the full diversity of past life — even microbes. The post Ancient DNA Yields Snapshots of Vanished Ecosy...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/ancient-dna-yields-clues-to-past-biodiversity-20190529/

The universe of problems that a computer can check has grown. The researchers’ secret ingredient? Quantum entanglement. The post Computer Scientists Expand the Frontier of Verifiable Knowledg...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-expand-the-frontier-of-verifiable-knowledge-20190523/

Two women programmers played a pivotal role in the birth of chaos theory. Their previously untold story illustrates the changing status of computation in science.  Read more at quantamagazine.or...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-heroines-of-chaos-20190520/

In harsh ecosystems around the world, microbiologists are finding evidence that “microbial seed banks” protect biodiversity from changing conditions. The post Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dor...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/heat-loving-microbes-once-dormant-thrive-over-decades-old-fire-20190416/

In a world seemingly filled with chaos, physicists have discovered new forms of synchronization and are learning how to predict and control them. The post Scientists Discover Exotic New Pattern...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-discover-exotic-patterns-of-synchronization-20190404/

Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of invincibility as a mathematical proof. The post Cryptography That Is Provably Secure first ap...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-evercrypt-library-creates-hacker-proof-cryptography-20190402/

During development, cells seem to decode their fate through optimal information processing, which could hint at a more general principle of life. The post The Math That Tells Cells What They Ar...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-math-that-tells-cells-what-they-are-20190313/

The latest AI algorithms are probing the evolution of galaxies, calculating quantum wave functions, discovering new chemical compounds and more. Is there anything that scientists do that can’t ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-science-20190311/

A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a centu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/cloud-loss-could-add-8-degrees-to-global-warming-20190225/

The brain can’t directly encode the passage of time, but recent work hints at a workaround for putting timestamps on memories of events. The post How the Brain Creates a Timeline of the Past ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-creates-a-timeline-of-the-past-20190212/

Neural networks can be as unpredictable as they are powerful. Now mathematicians are beginning to reveal how a neural network’s form will influence its function. The post Foundations Built fo...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/foundations-built-for-a-general-theory-of-neural-networks-20190131/

Emerging evidence suggests that the brain encodes abstract knowledge in the same way that it represents positions in space, which hints at a more universal theory of cognition. The post The Bra...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-brain-maps-out-ideas-and-memories-like-spaces-20190114/

In a Paris lab, researchers have shown for the first time that quantum methods of transmitting information are superior to classical ones. The post Milestone Experiment Proves Quantum Communica...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/milestone-experiment-proves-quantum-communication-really-is-faster-20181219/

Some researchers are using a complexity framework thought to be purely theoretical to understand evolutionary dynamics in biological and computational systems. The post Mathematical Simplicity ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-science-and-biology-explore-algorithmic-evolution-20181129/

Simple physical principles can be used to describe how rivers grow everywhere from Florida to Mars. The post A Universal Law for the ‘Blood of the Earth’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-universal-law-for-the-blood-of-the-earth-20181128/

How does evolution select the fittest “individuals” when they are ecosystems made up of hosts and their microbiomes? Biologist debate the need to revise theories. The post Should Evolution ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/should-evolution-treat-our-microbes-as-part-of-us-20181120/

Through exacting geometric calculations, Philip Gibbs has found the smallest known cover for any possible shape. The post Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover first appeared on...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/amateur-mathematician-finds-smallest-universal-cover-20181115/

Using a new CRISPR-based technique, researchers are examining how the position of DNA within the nucleus affects gene expression and cell function. The post In the Nucleus, Genes’ Activity Mi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-the-nucleus-genes-activity-might-depend-on-their-location-20181106/

A visual prank exposes an Achilles’ heel of computer vision systems: Unlike humans, they can’t do a double take. The post Machine Learning Confronts the Elephant in the Room first appeared...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/machine-learning-confronts-the-elephant-in-the-room-20180920/

Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner. ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-new-science-of-seeing-around-corners-20180830/

18-year-old Ewin Tang has proven that classical computers can solve the “recommendation problem” nearly as fast as quantum computers. The result eliminates one of the best examples of quantum...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/teenager-finds-classical-alternative-to-quantum-recommendation-algorithm-20180731/

Psychedelic drugs can trigger characteristic hallucinations, which have long been thought to hold clues about the brain’s circuitry. After nearly a century of study, a possible explanation is c...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-math-theory-for-why-people-hallucinate-20180730/

A quickly closed loophole has proved that the “great smoky dragon” of quantum mechanics may forever elude capture. The post Closed Loophole Confirms the Unreality of the Quantum World firs...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/closed-loophole-confirms-the-unreality-of-the-quantum-world-20180725/

Researchers find evidence that neural systems actively remove memories, suggesting that forgetting may be the default mode of the brain. The post To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget fi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-remember-the-brain-must-actively-forget-20180724/

New findings are fueling an old suspicion that fundamental particles and forces spring from strange eight-part numbers called “octonions.” The post The Peculiar Math That Could Underlie the...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-octonion-math-that-could-underpin-physics-20180720/

A controversial theory suggests that perception, motor control, memory and other brain functions all depend on comparisons between ongoing actual experiences and the brain’s modeled expectation...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-make-sense-of-the-present-brains-may-predict-the-future-20180710/

Computer scientists have been searching for years for a type of problem that a quantum computer can solve but that any possible future classical computer cannot. Now they’ve found one. The po...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/finally-a-problem-that-only-quantum-computers-will-ever-be-able-to-solve-20180621/

Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-earths-cracked-crust-may-be-essential-for-life-20180607/

Researchers find that when working memory gets overburdened, dialogue between three brain regions breaks down. The discovery provides new support for a larger concept about how the brain works. ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/overtaxed-working-memory-knocks-the-brain-out-of-sync-20180606/

Astronomers argue that there’s an undiscovered giant planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune. A newly discovered rocky body has added evidence to the circumstantial case for it. The post A New...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-worlds-extraordinary-orbit-points-to-planet-nine-20180515/

New modeling studies suggest that birds migrate to strike a favorable balance between their input and output of energy. The post A Thermodynamic Answer to Why Birds Migrate first appeared on Q...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-thermodynamic-answer-to-why-birds-migrate-20180507/

In new computer experiments, artificial-intelligence algorithms can tell the future of chaotic systems. The post Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos first appeared on Q...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/machine-learnings-amazing-ability-to-predict-chaos-20180418/

By making the first progress on the “chromatic number of the plane” problem in over 60 years, an anti-aging pundit has achieved mathematical immortality. The post Decades-Old Graph Problem ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/decades-old-graph-problem-yields-to-amateur-mathematician-20180417/

Two teams of researchers have made significant progress toward proving the black hole stability conjecture, a critical mathematical test of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The post T...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-test-einsteins-equations-poke-a-black-hole-20180308/

An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion. The post Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Compl...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/oxygen-and-stem-cells-reshaped-animals-during-the-cambrian-explosion-20180307/

A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-find-a-way-to-see-the-grin-of-quantum-gravity-20180306/

On November 16, 2018, more than 200 readers joined writers and editors from Quanta Magazine for a wide-ranging panel discussion that examined the newest ideas in fundamental physics, biology an...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/quanta-writers-and-editors-discuss-big-ideas-in-science-and-math-20181121/

The long, variable times that some diseases incubate after infection defies simple explanation. An idealized model of tumor growth offers a statistical solution. The post Why Don’t Patients G...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/disease-modelers-seek-statistical-clues-to-the-timing-of-symptoms-20180301/

The latest artificial intelligence systems start from zero knowledge of a game and grow to world-beating in a matter of hours. But researchers are struggling to apply these systems beyond the arc...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-artificial-intelligence-like-alphazero-has-trouble-with-the-real-world-20180221/

A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science. The post Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks first appeared on Quanta Magazi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scant-evidence-of-power-laws-found-in-real-world-networks-20180215/

New algorithms show how swarms of very simple robots can be made to work together as a group. The post Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/smart-swarms-of-robots-seek-better-algorithms-20180214/

Cosmologists have shown that it’s theoretically possible for a contracting universe to bounce and expand. The new work resuscitates an old idea that directly challenges the Big Bang theory of c...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/big-bounce-models-reignite-big-bang-debate-20180131/

Near an Australian desert mining camp, wild dingoes are losing their fear of humans. Their genetic and behavioral changes may echo those from the domestication of dogs. The post A Domesticated ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-domesticated-dingo-no-but-some-are-getting-less-wild-20180123/

A series of fossil finds suggests that life on Earth started earlier than anyone thought, calling into question a widely held theory of the solar system’s beginnings. The post Fossil Discover...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/fossil-discoveries-challenge-ideas-about-earths-start-20180122/

Two mathematicians prove that under certain extreme conditions, the Navier-Stokes equations output nonsense. The post Mathematicians Find Wrinkle in Famed Fluid Equations first appeared on Qua...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-find-wrinkle-in-famed-fluid-equations-20171221/

Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa’s lab is overturning old assumptions about how memories form, how recall works and whether lost memories might be restored from "silent engrams." The post Light...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/light-triggered-genes-reveal-the-hidden-workings-of-memory-20171214/

An eminent mathematician reveals that his advances in the study of millennia-old mathematical questions owe to concepts derived from physics. The post Secret Link Uncovered Between Pure Math an...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/secret-link-uncovered-between-pure-math-and-physics-20171201/

Kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to lower blood pressure after meals. Our understanding of how the symbiotic microbes affect health is becoming much more molecular. The post...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-bacteria-help-regulate-blood-pressure-20171130/

The oldest law of genetics says that gametes combine randomly, but experiments hint that sometimes eggs select sperm actively for their genetic assets. The post Choosy Eggs May Pick Sperm for T...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/choosy-eggs-may-pick-sperm-for-their-genes-defying-mendels-law-20171115/

Elephants did not evolve to become huge animals until after they turned a bit of genetic junk into a unique defense against inevitable tumors. The post A Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Can...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-zombie-gene-protects-elephants-from-cancer-20171107/

To efficiently analyze a firehose of data, scientists first have to break big numbers into bits. The post Best-Ever Algorithm Found for Huge Streams of Data first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/best-ever-algorithm-found-for-huge-streams-of-data-20171024/

Physicists theorize that a new “traversable” kind of wormhole could resolve a baffling paradox and rescue information that falls into black holes. The post Newfound Wormhole Allows Informat...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/newfound-wormhole-allows-information-to-escape-black-holes-20171023/

Researchers are building a case that long before the nervous system works, the brain sends crucial bioelectric signals to guide the growth of embryonic tissues. The post Brainless Embryos Sugge...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/brainless-embryos-suggest-bioelectricity-guides-growth-20180313/

A new idea is helping to explain the puzzling success of today’s artificial-intelligence algorithms — and might also explain how human brains learn. The post New Theory Cracks Open the Blac...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-theory-cracks-open-the-black-box-of-deep-learning-20170921/

Computer scientists are finding ways to code curiosity into intelligent machines. The post Clever Machines Learn How to Be Curious first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/clever-machines-learn-how-to-be-curious-20170919/

The mathematician Svitlana Mayboroda and collaborators have figured out how to predict the behavior of electrons — a mathematical discovery that could have immediate practical effects. The po...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-tame-rogue-waves-lighting-up-future-of-leds-20170822/

Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal species. Now conservationists are trying to reconcile that truth with policies. The post Interspec...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/interspecies-hybrids-play-a-vital-role-in-evolution-20170824/

Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new evidence has cast doubt on that story, leaving researchers to dream up new ways to get a giant rock ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-made-the-moon-new-ideas-try-to-rescue-a-troubled-theory-20170802/

John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently. The post In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibri...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-game-theory-no-clear-path-to-equilibrium-20170718/

A French mathematician has completed the classification of all convex pentagons, and therefore all convex polygons, that tile the plane. The post Pentagon Tiling Proof Solves Century-Old Math P...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/pentagon-tiling-proof-solves-century-old-math-problem-20170711/

If gut bacteria can sway their hosts to be selfless, it could answer a riddle that goes back to Darwin. The post Can Microbes Encourage Altruism? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-microbes-encourage-altruism-20170629/

A different kind of dark matter could help to resolve an old celestial conundrum. The post Dark Matter Recipe Calls for One Part Superfluid first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/dark-matter-recipe-calls-for-one-part-superfluid-20170613/

The three young friends who devised the “happy ending” problem would become some of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, but were never able to solve their own puzzle. Now...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-puzzle-of-clever-connections-nears-a-happy-end-20170530/

Spiders appear to offload cognitive tasks to their webs, making them one of a number of species with a mind that isn’t fully confined within the head. The post The Thoughts of a Spiderweb fi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-thoughts-of-a-spiderweb-20170523/

Powerful new quantitative tools are now available to combat partisan bias in the drawing of voting districts. The post How to Quantify (and Fight) Gerrymandering first appeared on Quanta Magaz...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mathematics-behind-gerrymandering-20170404/

When a German retiree proved a famous long-standing mathematical conjecture, the response was underwhelming. The post A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost first appeared on Quanta Magazi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/statistician-proves-gaussian-correlation-inequality-20170328/

For decades, researchers believed that violent supernovas forged gold and other heavy elements. But many now argue for a different cosmic quarry. The post A New Blast May Have Forged Cosmic Gol...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/did-neutron-stars-or-supernovas-forge-the-universes-supply-of-gold-20170323/

The ancient creatures who first crawled onto land may have been lured by the informational benefit that comes from seeing through air. The post Why Did Life Move to Land? For the View first ap...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-did-life-move-to-land-for-the-view-20170307/

For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering. The post New Number S...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/ideal-numbers-seek-their-lost-primes-20170302/

Powerful new experiments have uncovered some of the molecular underpinnings of sleep. The post Researchers Tap a Sleep Switch in the Brain first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-tap-a-sleep-switch-in-the-brain-20170214/

Physicists are closing the door on an intriguing loophole around the quantum phenomenon Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.” The post Experiment Reaffirms Quantum Weirdness first...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-are-closing-the-bell-test-loophole-20170207/

The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them. The post To Live Your Best Life, ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/math-and-the-best-life-an-interview-with-francis-su-20170202/

Researchers have discovered that simple “chemically active” droplets grow to the size of cells and spontaneously divide, suggesting they might have evolved into the first living cells. The ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/dividing-droplets-could-explain-origin-of-life-20170119/

Is the brain a blank slate, or is it wired from birth to understand the world? The post Infant Brains Reveal How the Mind Gets Built first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/infant-brains-reveal-how-the-mind-gets-built-20170110/

By folding fractals into 3-D objects, a mathematical duo hopes to gain new insight into simple equations. The post 3-D Fractals Offer Clues to Complex Systems first appeared on Quanta Magazine...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/3-d-fractals-offer-clues-to-complex-systems-20170103/

Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that the forces of nature were unified at the beginning of time. The post Grand Unification Dream K...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/no-proton-decay-means-grand-unification-must-wait-20161215/

The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational theory. What can we learn from the best teachers on the front lines? The post The Art of Teach...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/math-and-science-teachers-pencils-down-20161011/

A proposed theory of gravity does away with dark matter, even as new astrophysical findings challenge the need for galaxies full of the invisible mystery particles. The post The Case Against Da...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/erik-verlindes-gravity-minus-dark-matter-20161129/

Can a fluid analogue of a black hole point physicists toward the theory of quantum gravity, or is it a red herring? The post What Sonic Black Holes Say About Real Ones first appeared on Quanta...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-sonic-black-holes-say-about-real-ones-20161108/

In a monumental set of experiments, spread out over nearly two decades, biologists removed genes two at a time to uncover the secret workings of the cell. The post Giant Genetic Map Shows Life�...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/giant-genetic-map-reveals-lifes-hidden-links-20161025/

Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people. The post How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too first appeared on Qua...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-algorithm-solves-cake-cutting-problem-20161006/

The surprising discovery of a massive, Milky Way–size galaxy that is made of 99.99 percent dark matter has astronomers dreaming up new ideas about how galaxies form. The post Strange Dark Gal...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/massive-galaxy-made-of-dark-matter-puzzles-astrophysicists-20160927/

Computer scientists can prove certain programs to be error-free with the same certainty that mathematicians prove theorems. The post Hacker-Proof Code Confirmed first appeared on Quanta Magazi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/formal-verification-creates-hacker-proof-code-20160920/

Just months after their discovery, gravitational waves coming from the mergers of black holes are shaking up astrophysics. The post Colliding Black Holes Tell New Story of Stars first appeare...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/colliding-black-holes-tell-new-story-of-stars-20160906/

Irrationality may be a consequence of the brain’s ravenous energy needs. The post The Neuroscience Behind Bad Decisions first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-neuroscience-behind-bad-decisions-20160823/

Physicists are confronting their “nightmare scenario.” What does the absence of new particles suggest about how nature works? The post What No New Particles Means for Physics first appeare...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-no-new-particles-means-for-physics-20160809/

According to our best theories of physics, the universe is a fixed block where time only appears to pass. The post A Debate Over the Physics of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-debate-over-the-physics-of-time-20160719/

The bulk of biological research is centered on a handful of species. Are we missing a huge chunk of interesting biology? The post Biologists Search for New Model Organisms first appeared on Qu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/biologys-search-for-new-model-organisms-20160726/

A hint that neutrinos behave differently than antineutrinos suggests an answer to one the biggest questions in physics. The post Neutrinos Hint of Matter-Antimatter Rift first appeared on Quan...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/do-neutrinos-explain-matter-antimatter-asymmetry-20160728/

Scientists are exploring a mysterious pattern, found in birds’ eyes, boxes of marbles and other surprising places, that is neither regular nor random. The post A Bird’s-Eye View of Nature�...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/hyperuniformity-found-in-birds-math-and-physics-20160712/

Richard Feynman's famous diagrams weren’t just a way to do calculations. They represented a deep shift in thinking about how the universe is put together. The post How Feynman Diagrams Almost...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-feynman-diagrams-are-so-important-20160705/

At 28, Peter Scholze is uncovering deep connections between number theory and geometry. The post The Oracle of Arithmetic first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/peter-scholze-and-the-future-of-arithmetic-geometry-20160628/

Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such lifeforms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated. The post New Life Found That Lives Off Electricity first a...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/electron-eating-microbes-found-in-odd-places-20160621/

A new series of papers has settled a long-standing question related to the popular game in which players seek patterned sets of three cards. The post Simple Set Game Proof Stuns Mathematicians ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/set-proof-stuns-mathematicians-20160531/

Neanderthals and Denisovans may have endowed modern humans with genetic variants that helped them thrive in new environments. The post How Neanderthal DNA Helps Humanity first appeared on Quan...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-neanderthal-dna-helps-humanity-20160526/

An experiment claims to have invalidated a decades-old criticism against pilot-wave theory, an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics that eliminates the most baffling features of the subat...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/pilot-wave-theory-gains-experimental-support-20160516/

A specific set of neurons deep in the brain may motivate us to seek company, holding social species together. The post New Evidence for the Necessity of Loneliness first appeared on Quanta Mag...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-evidence-for-the-necessity-of-loneliness-20160510/

The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum lie tabletop experiments — small-scale probes ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/tiny-tests-seek-the-universes-big-mysteries-20160503/

A new study reveals that individual genes can create many different versions of the molecular machinery that powers the cell. The post A Secret Flexibility Found in Life’s Blueprints first a...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/one-gene-many-proteins-20160426/

The story of the universe’s birth — and evidence for string theory — could be found in triangles and myriad other shapes in the sky. The post Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangle...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-hunt-for-the-big-bangs-triangles-20160419/

In the new, free-for-all era of dark matter research, the controversial idea that dark matter is concentrated in thin disks is being rescued from scientific oblivion. The post Debate Intensifie...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/debate-intensifies-over-dark-disk-theory-20160412/

A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning. The post Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mapping-the-brain-to-build-better-machines-20160406/

The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions first appeared...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/sphere-packing-solved-in-higher-dimensions-20160330/

New insights from neuroscience — aided by a small zoo’s worth of dancing animals — are revealing the biological origins of rhythm. The post The Beasts That Keep the Beat first appeared o...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-beasts-that-keep-the-beat-20160322/

A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave. The post Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy first appeared on Quanta M...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-discover-prime-conspiracy-20160313/

The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play. The post A Life in Games ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/john-conways-life-in-games-20150828/

A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence, or do astrophysicists need to rethink what bl...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/after-black-holes-collide-a-puzzling-flash-20160302/

In a virtuoso experiment, physicists have revealed details of a “quantum critical point” that underlies high-temperature superconductivity. The post The Quantum Secret to Superconductivity ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mega-magnet-reveals-superconductor-secret-20160222/

Perhaps chemistry played a more instrumental role in the origin of life than scientists thought. The post How to Build Life in a Pre-Darwinian World first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-to-build-life-in-a-pre-darwinian-world-20160216/

Ripples in space-time have been detected a century after Einstein predicted them, launching a new era in astronomy. The post Gravitational Waves Discovered at Long Last first appeared on Quant...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/gravitational-waves-discovered-at-long-last-20160211/

Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target. The post Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life first appeared on Q...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-debate-signatures-of-alien-life-20160202/

The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research suggests that our thoughts may take place on a mental space-time canvas. The post New Clues to...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-clues-to-how-the-brain-maps-time-20160126/

Bizarre quantum bonds connect distinct moments in time, suggesting that quantum links — not space-time — constitute the fundamental structure of the universe. The post Quantum Weirdness Now...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/time-entanglement-raises-quantum-mysteries-20160119/

Two leading candidates for a “theory of everything,” long thought to be incompatible, may be two sides of the same coin. The post String Theory Meets Loop Quantum Gravity first appeared on...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/string-theory-meets-loop-quantum-gravity-20160112/

Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in the field. The post Landmark Algorithm Breaks 30-Year Impasse first appeared on Quanta Magazi...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/algorithm-solves-graph-isomorphism-in-record-time-20151214/

A new breakthrough that bridges number theory and geometry is just the latest triumph for a close-knit group of mathematicians. The post Math Quartet Joins Forces on Unified Theory first appea...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/math-quartet-joins-forces-on-unified-theory-20151208/

Nature offers species a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. That flexibility suggests we need not be concerned about losing sex chromosomes, but it raises the question of why such a...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-incredible-shrinking-sex-chromosome-20151201/

Scientists are homing in on a warning signal that arises in complex systems like ecological food webs, the brain and the Earth’s climate. Could it help prevent future catastrophes? The post N...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/natures-critical-warning-system-20151118/

Scientists have begun to identify the symphony of biological triggers that powered the extraordinary expansion of the human brain. The post How Humans Evolved Supersize Brains first appeared o...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-humans-evolved-supersize-brains-20151110/

A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial mysteries in evolution — how simple microbes transformed into the complex cells that produced...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mongrel-microbe-tests-story-of-complex-life-20151029/

A theorem for coloring a large class of “perfect” mathematical networks could ease the way for a long-sought general coloring proof. The post Theorists Draw Closer to Perfect Coloring firs...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-closer-to-perfect-graph-coloring-theorem-20151020/

Complex natural systems defy analysis using a standard mathematical toolkit, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations. The post A Twisted Path to Equation-Free Prediction first appeared ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/chaos-theory-in-ecology-predicts-future-populations-20151013/

Only a few genetic changes were enough to change an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague. The post The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death first appeared on Quanta...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biology-of-the-plague-20151006/

A major advance in computational complexity reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do. The post A New Map Traces the Limits of ...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/edit-distance-reveals-hard-computational-problems-20150929/

Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as he pursues a new vision of the laws of nature. The post Visions of Future Physics first ap...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/nima-arkani-hamed-and-the-future-of-physics-20150922/

Cellular clocks are almost everywhere. Clues to how they work are coming from the places they’re not. The post How the Body’s Trillions of Clocks Keep Time first appeared on Quanta Magazin...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-bodys-trillions-of-clocks-keep-time-20150915/

Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle? The post Einstein’s Parable of Quantum Insanity first appeared on Qu...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/einsteins-parable-of-quantum-insanity-20150910/

A recent cryptographic breakthrough has proven difficult to put into practice. But new advances show how near-perfect computer security might be surprisingly close at hand. The post A New Desig...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-design-for-cryptographys-black-box-20150902/

A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where disease is likely to spread. The post How Mutant Viral Swarms Spread Disease first appeared...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-mutant-viral-swarms-spread-disease-20150825/

Emerging data suggests the seemingly impossible — that mysterious new genes arise from “junk” DNA. The post A Surprise Source of Life’s Code first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-new-genes-arise-from-scratch-20150818/

Did the minerals on our planet arise in a predictable fashion, or did they result from chance events? The answers could eventually help scientists identify planets likely to harbor life. The po...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/is-mineral-evolution-driven-by-chance-20150811/

A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by almost 50 percent, revealing a hidden world all around us. The post At Tiny Scales, a Giant B...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/newfound-bacteria-expand-tree-of-life-20150728/

Scientists hope that new genetic letters, created in the lab, will endow DNA with new powers. The post New Letters Added to the Genetic Alphabet first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-letters-added-to-the-genetic-alphabet-20150710/

Researchers are uncovering the hidden laws that reveal how the Internet grows, how viruses spread, and how financial bubbles burst. The post The New Laws of Explosive Networks first appeared o...

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-new-laws-of-explosive-networks-20150714/