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2026-03-25 14:54:46 UTC

How Writing Changes Mathematical Thought
It’s natural to think of math as being fundamentally abstract. Whether it’s invented or discovered, its truths are so literally universal that even aliens would agree (so the thinking goes) that 2 and 2 make 4. The actual work of mathematics, though, typically involves something utterly earthbound: “making marks on paper or blackboards,” said David E. Dunning, a historian of mathematics and…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-writing-changes-mathematical-thought-20260325/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-writing-changes-mathematical-thought-20260325/

2026-03-25 14:54:41 UTC

In Math, Rigor Is Vital. But Are Digitized Proofs Taking It Too Far?
In ancient Greece, Euclid showed that if you agree on a small list of preliminary principles, or axioms, you can use deductive reasoning to reveal all sorts of new mathematical truths. But although these early proofs, as mathematicians call them, were derived using the laws of logic, they sometimes also contained hidden, unstated assumptions or relied on misleading intuitions. In these cases…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-math-rigor-is-vital-but-are-digitized-proofs-taking-it-too-far-20260325/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-math-rigor-is-vital-but-are-digitized-proofs-taking-it-too-far-20260325/

2026-03-23 15:01:38 UTC

Are Strings Still Our Best Hope for a Theory of Everything?
Fifty-eight years after it first appeared, string theory remains the most popular candidate for the “theory of everything,” the unified mathematical framework for all matter and forces in the universe. This is much to the chagrin of its rather vocal critics. “String theory is not dead; it’s undead and now walks around like a zombie eating people’s brains,” the former physicist Sabine Hossenfelder…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-strings-still-our-best-hope-for-a-theory-of-everything-20260323/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-strings-still-our-best-hope-for-a-theory-of-everything-20260323/

2026-03-20 14:29:51 UTC

The Jellies That Evolved a Different Way To Keep Time
The passage of the sun across the sky — dawn, day, dusk, night — drives the clock of life. Some species wake with the sun and sleep with the moon. Others do the opposite, and a few keep odd hours. These naturally driven, 24-hour biological cycles are known as circadian rhythms, and they do more than cue bedtime: They regulate hormones, metabolism, DNA repair, and more. When life falls out of sync…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-jellies-that-evolved-a-different-way-to-keep-time-20260320/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-jellies-that-evolved-a-different-way-to-keep-time-20260320/

2026-03-18 09:03:17 UTC

Quantum Cryptography Pioneers Win Turing Award
One afternoon in October 1979, Gilles Brassard was swimming outside a beachfront hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, when a stranger swam up to him and changed the course of his career. Without so much as an introduction, the man began describing a way to create currency that couldn’t be forged. The scheme was based on the laws of quantum physics — a subject Brassard, a computer scientist…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-cryptography-pioneers-win-turing-award-20260318/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-cryptography-pioneers-win-turing-award-20260318/

2026-03-16 13:52:33 UTC

The Math That Explains Why Bell Curves Are Everywhere
No matter where you look, a bell curve is close by. Place a measuring cup in your backyard every time it rains and note the height of the water when it stops: Your data will conform to a bell curve. Record 100 people’s guesses at the number of jelly beans in a jar, and they’ll follow a bell curve. Measure enough women’s heights, men’s weights, SAT scores, marathon times — you’ll always get the…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-math-that-explains-why-bell-curves-are-everywhere-20260316/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-math-that-explains-why-bell-curves-are-everywhere-20260316/

2026-03-13 14:39:23 UTC

Why Do Humanoid Robots Still Struggle With the Small Stuff?
The last time I covered the science of humanoid robots, the state of the art looked downright Orwellian — by which I mean, “four legs good, two legs bad.” It was 2015. Boston Dynamics’ first “Spot” quadruped had taken YouTube by storm, confidently trotting up stairs and recovering from vicious kicks. Also popular at the time: humanoids falling down. Constantly. I felt sorrier for those tottering…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-humanoid-robots-still-struggle-with-the-small-stuff-20260313/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-humanoid-robots-still-struggle-with-the-small-stuff-20260313/

2026-03-11 14:08:31 UTC

Where Some See Strings, She Sees a Space-Time Made of Fractals
Astrid Eichhorn spends her days thinking about how the laws of physics change at the tiniest scales. Imagine zooming in closer and closer to the device on which you’re reading this article. Its apparently smooth screen quickly dissolves into a jiggling lattice of molecules, which in turn resolve into clouds of electrons buzzing around atomic nuclei. You dive into a nucleus…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/where-some-see-strings-she-sees-a-space-time-made-of-fractals-20260311/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/where-some-see-strings-she-sees-a-space-time-made-of-fractals-20260311/

2026-03-09 14:23:16 UTC

Disorder Drives One of Nature’s Most Complex Machines
At the dawn of complex life, evolution created a container for DNA, its most treasured item. A few billion years later, 20th-century microscopists looked at this container — the nucleus — up close and saw that it was covered in tiny openings. At the time, they didn’t know what to make of these structures, but as microscopy improved, something grand came into focus: what we now call “nuclear pore…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/disorder-drives-one-of-natures-most-complex-machines-20260309/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/disorder-drives-one-of-natures-most-complex-machines-20260309/

2026-03-06 15:00:50 UTC

New Strides Made on Deceptively Simple ‘Lonely Runner’ Problem
Picture a bizarre training exercise: A group of runners starts jogging around a circular track, with each runner maintaining a unique, constant pace. Will every runner end up “lonely,” or relatively far from everyone else, at least once, no matter their speeds? Mathematicians conjecture that the answer is yes. The “lonely runner” problem might seem simple and inconsequential, but it crops up…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-strides-made-on-deceptively-simple-lonely-runner-problem-20260306/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-strides-made-on-deceptively-simple-lonely-runner-problem-20260306/

2026-03-04 15:13:59 UTC

Can the Most Abstract Math Make the World a Better Place?
“I’ve spent a long time exploring the crystalline beauty of traditional mathematics, but now I’m feeling an urge to study something slightly more earthy,” John Baez wrote on his blog in 2011. An influential mathematical physicist who splits his time between the University of California, Riverside and the University of Edinburgh, Baez had grown increasingly concerned about the state of the planet…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-the-most-abstract-math-make-the-world-a-better-place-20260304/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-the-most-abstract-math-make-the-world-a-better-place-20260304/

2026-03-02 15:13:05 UTC

What Crystals Older Than the Sun Reveal About the Start of the Solar System
The standard story of the origin of our solar system has gone like this: 4.6 billion years ago, a giant cloud of dust hung frozen in space. Then the explosion of a nearby star caused part of that dust cloud to collapse. Pulled by gravity toward a central point, the dust coalesced into a radiating ball of hydrogen and helium about 1.4 million kilometers in diameter — what would become our sun.
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260302/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260302/

2026-02-27 17:07:31 UTC

What Crystals Older Than the Sun Reveal About the Start of the Solar System
EXCERPT: shows up on hp and article listings
The post [What Crystals Older Than the Sun Reveal About the Start of the Solar System][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260227/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-crystals-older-than-the-sun-reveal-about-the-start-of-the-solar-system-20260227/

2026-02-27 15:42:14 UTC

Break It To Make It: How Fracturing Sculpts Tissues and Organs
There’s a moment, just before the tight mass of cells that is a developing mouse embryo implants itself in the womb, that it all comes apart. Hundreds of tiny fluid-filled bubbles expand between each of the orb’s few dozen cells. The bubbles grow and press outward on cell membranes — and then, in a moment of fracture, pry them apart. Thin protein stands tether the cells together as the…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/break-it-to-make-it-how-fracturing-sculpts-tissues-and-organs-20260227/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/break-it-to-make-it-how-fracturing-sculpts-tissues-and-organs-20260227/

2026-02-25 16:24:57 UTC

The Man Who Stole Infinity
When Demian Goos followed Karin Richter into her office on March 12 of last year, the first thing he noticed was the bust. It sat atop a tall pedestal in the corner of the room, depicting a bald, elderly gentleman with a stoic countenance. Goos saw no trace of the anxious, lonely man who had obsessed him for over a year. Instead, this was Georg Cantor as history saw him. An intellectual giant…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/

2026-02-23 18:20:47 UTC

How Can Infinity Come in Many Sizes?
Intuition breaks down once we’re dealing with the endless. To begin with: Some infinities are bigger than others.
The post [How Can Infinity Come in Many Sizes?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-infinity-come-in-many-sizes-20260223/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-infinity-come-in-many-sizes-20260223/

2026-02-20 14:48:46 UTC

Climate Physicists Face the Ghosts in Their Machines: Clouds
In October 2008, Chris Bretherton lifted off from the coast of northern Chile in a C-130 turboprop plane. It was too dark to see the sandy hills of the Atacama Desert below, but the darkness suited Bretherton just fine. The researcher wasn’t going sightseeing. Seated directly behind the pilots, he kept his focus entirely on the sky. The plane was stuffed with instruments, and its wings bristled…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/climate-physicists-face-the-ghosts-in-their-machines-clouds-20260220/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/climate-physicists-face-the-ghosts-in-their-machines-clouds-20260220/

2026-02-18 16:12:14 UTC

The Biophysical World Inside a Jam-Packed Cell
It’s a familiar image, reprinted in countless biology textbooks: an illustration of a typical cell, halved like a grapefruit to reveal its innards. Strands of endoplasmic reticulum encircle a nucleus that floats in the center like a raft. RNA molecules wait patiently at ribosomes to deliver recipes for making proteins. A few vacuoles and Golgi bodies bob about. A mostly deserted cytosol offers a…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biophysical-world-inside-a-jam-packed-cell-20260218/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biophysical-world-inside-a-jam-packed-cell-20260218/

2026-02-17 18:12:53 UTC

A New Complexity Theory for the Quantum Age
Computer science, at its most fundamental, is all about inputs and outputs. Consider the simple case of multiplying two numbers on a pocket calculator. You punch in some inputs — the specific numbers you want to multiply — and the screen displays an output representing their product. The reverse problem of breaking a number into its prime factors can be much harder, but it has the same basic…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-complexity-theory-for-the-quantum-age-20260217/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-complexity-theory-for-the-quantum-age-20260217/

2026-02-13 15:49:09 UTC

Are the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics Beginning To Dissolve?
N one of the leading interpretations of quantum theory are very convincing. They ask us to believe, for example, that the world we experience is fundamentally divided from the subatomic realm it’s built from. Or that there is a wild proliferation of parallel universes, or that a mysterious process causes quantumness to spontaneously collapse. This unsatisfying state was a key element of Beyond…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-the-mysteries-of-quantum-mechanics-beginning-to-dissolve-20260213/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/are-the-mysteries-of-quantum-mechanics-beginning-to-dissolve-20260213/

2026-02-11 15:03:59 UTC

Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water
If you were asked to picture how electrons move, you could be forgiven for imagining a stream of particles sluicing down a wire like water rushing through a pipe. After all, we often describe electrons as “flowing” in an “electric current.” In reality, water and electricity flow in completely different ways. Whereas water molecules move together to form a swirly, coherent substance…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-make-electrons-flow-like-water-20260211/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-make-electrons-flow-like-water-20260211/

2026-02-09 15:20:07 UTC

Fed on Reams of Cell Data, AI Maps New Neighborhoods in the Brain
Real estate agents will tell you that a home’s most important feature is “location, location, location.” It’s similar in neuroscience: “Location is everything in the brain,” said Bosiljka Tasic, a self-described “biological cartographer.” Brain injury in one spot could knock out memory; damage in another could interfere with personality. Neuroscientists and doctors are lost without a good map.
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams-of-cell-data-ai-maps-new-neighborhoods-in-the-brain-20260209/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/fed-on-reams-of-cell-data-ai-maps-new-neighborhoods-in-the-brain-20260209/

2026-02-06 14:58:58 UTC

Long-Sought Proof Tames Some of Math’s Unruliest Equations
The trajectory of a storm, the evolution of stock prices, the spread of disease — mathematicians can describe any phenomenon that changes in time or space using what are known as partial differential equations. But there’s a problem: These “PDEs” are often so complicated that it’s impossible to solve them directly. Mathematicians instead rely on a clever workaround. They might not know how to…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/long-sought-proof-tames-some-of-maths-unruliest-equations-20260206/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/long-sought-proof-tames-some-of-maths-unruliest-equations-20260206/

2026-02-04 15:42:01 UTC

Expansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World
When you slip a slide under a microscope, a system of glass lenses magnifies the object of your attention — a microbe, for example. But even with the largest zoom on a classic compound optical system, scientists struggle to make sense of finer details, which can be further obscured when tough cell walls make it difficult to inject dyes that help identify structures. Now, rather than invest in…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-microscopy-has-transformed-how-we-see-the-cellular-world-20260204/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-microscopy-has-transformed-how-we-see-the-cellular-world-20260204/

2026-02-02 16:49:18 UTC

How Modern and Antique Technologies Reveal a Dynamic Cosmos
In early 2007, René Hudec was in Building D of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, thumbing through roomfuls of floor-to-ceiling cabinets that look more like a vast record collection than an academic archive. Each paper sleeve holds a glass plate, most of which are 8 by 10 inches, a historic photographic record of the cosmos from before the age of sophisticated digital detectors.
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-modern-and-antique-technologies-reveal-a-dynamic-cosmos-20260202/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-modern-and-antique-technologies-reveal-a-dynamic-cosmos-20260202/

2026-01-30 15:42:14 UTC

Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge
The human brain is a vast network of billions of neurons. By exchanging signals to depress or excite each other, they generate patterns that ripple across the brain up to 1,000 times per second. For more than a century, that dizzyingly complex neuronal code was thought to be the sole arbiter of perception, thought, emotion, and behavior, as well as related health conditions. If you wanted to…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought-to-support-neurons-astrocytes-turn-out-to-be-in-charge-20260130/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/once-thought-to-support-neurons-astrocytes-turn-out-to-be-in-charge-20260130/

2026-01-28 15:55:22 UTC

Networks Hold the Key to a Decades-Old Problem About Waves
Two centuries ago, Joseph Fourier gave mathematicians a magical technique. He conjectured that it’s possible to write almost any function as a sum of simple waves, a trick now called the Fourier transform. These days, the Fourier transform is used to understand everything from the chemical makeup of distant stars to what’s happening far beneath the Earth’s crust. “Fourier series are everywhere…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/networks-hold-the-key-to-a-decades-old-problem-about-waves-20260128/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/networks-hold-the-key-to-a-decades-old-problem-about-waves-20260128/

2026-01-26 15:37:44 UTC

Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard?
In July 2012, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe triumphantly announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, the long-sought linchpin of the subatomic world. Interacting with Higgs bosons imbues other elementary particles with mass, making them slow down enough to assemble into atoms, which then clump together to make everything else. A couple of months later, I took a job as…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/is-particle-physics-dead-dying-or-just-hard-20260126/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/is-particle-physics-dead-dying-or-just-hard-20260126/

2026-01-23 15:28:36 UTC

Monster Neutrino Could Be a Messenger of Ancient Black Holes
Nearly three years ago, a particle from space slammed into the Mediterranean Sea and lit up the partially complete Cubic Kilometer Neutrino Telescope (KM3NET) detector off the coast of Sicily. The particle was a neutrino, a fundamental component of matter commonly known for its ability to slip through other matter unnoticed. The IceCube observatory in Antarctica, a comparable detector that has…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/monster-neutrino-could-be-a-messenger-of-ancient-black-holes-20260123/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/monster-neutrino-could-be-a-messenger-of-ancient-black-holes-20260123/

2026-01-21 15:19:05 UTC

How Animals Build a Sense of Direction
On a remote island in the Indian Ocean, six closely watched bats took to the star-draped skies. As they flew across the seven-acre speck of land, devices implanted in their brains pinged data back to a group of sleepy-eyed neuroscientists monitoring them from below. The researchers were working to understand how these flying mammals, who have brains not unlike our own, develop a sense of direction…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-build-a-sense-of-direction-20260121/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-animals-build-a-sense-of-direction-20260121/

2026-01-20 16:13:32 UTC

Two Twisty Shapes Resolve a Centuries-Old Topology Puzzle
Imagine if our skies were always filled with a thick layer of opaque clouds. With no way to see the stars, or to view our planet from above, would we have ever discovered that the Earth is round? The answer is yes. By measuring particular distances and angles on the ground, we can determine that the Earth is a sphere and not, say, flat or doughnut-shaped — even without a satellite picture.
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/two-twisty-shapes-resolve-a-centuries-old-topology-puzzle-20260120/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/two-twisty-shapes-resolve-a-centuries-old-topology-puzzle-20260120/

2026-01-16 15:11:52 UTC

Why There’s No Single Best Way To Store Information
Just as there’s no single best way to organize your bookshelf, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to storing information. Consider the simple situation where you create a new digital file. Your computer needs to rapidly find a place to put it. If you later want to delete it, the machine must quickly find the right bits to erase. Researchers aim to design storage systems…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-theres-no-single-best-way-to-store-information-20260116/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-theres-no-single-best-way-to-store-information-20260116/

2026-01-14 14:58:53 UTC

String Theory Can Now Describe a Universe That Has Dark Energy
In 1998, astronomers discovered dark energy. The finding, which transformed our conception of the cosmos, came with a little-known consequence: It threw a wrench into the already daunting task of finding a version of string theory that describes the universe we live in. Dark energy is a “positive” energy that causes our universe to expand at an accelerating rate. But the best-understood models…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/string-theory-can-now-describe-a-universe-that-has-dark-energy-20260114/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/string-theory-can-now-describe-a-universe-that-has-dark-energy-20260114/

2026-01-12 14:59:34 UTC

Cells Use ‘Bioelectricity’ To Coordinate and Make Group Decisions
We’re used to thinking of the brain as an electric organ. The rest of the body? Not so much. But it would be a mistake to dismiss your other tissues as dumb hunks of electrically inert flesh. Even the protective layers of cells that compose your skin and line your organs use electrical signals to make decisions, according to recent research. Results published in Nature show that cells use…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-use-bioelectricity-to-coordinate-and-make-group-decisions-20260112/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/cells-use-bioelectricity-to-coordinate-and-make-group-decisions-20260112/

2026-01-09 15:46:58 UTC

Using AI, Mathematicians Find Hidden Glitches in Fluid Equations
Nearly 200 years ago, the physicists Claude-Louis Navier and George Gabriel Stokes put the finishing touches on a set of equations that describe how fluids swirl. And for nearly 200 years, the Navier-Stokes equations have served as an unimpeachable theory of how fluids in the real world behave — from ocean currents threading their way between the continents to air wrapping around an aircraft’s…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/using-ai-mathematicians-find-hidden-glitches-in-fluid-equations-20260109/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/using-ai-mathematicians-find-hidden-glitches-in-fluid-equations-20260109/

2026-01-07 15:25:01 UTC

Distinct AI Models Seem To Converge On How They Encode Reality
Read a story about dogs, and you may remember it the next time you see one bounding through a park. That’s only possible because you have a unified concept of “dog” that isn’t tied to words or images alone. Bulldog or border collie, barking or getting its belly rubbed, a dog can be many things while still remaining a dog. Artificial intelligence systems aren’t always so lucky.
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/distinct-ai-models-seem-to-converge-on-how-they-encode-reality-20260107/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/distinct-ai-models-seem-to-converge-on-how-they-encode-reality-20260107/

2026-01-05 15:33:17 UTC

In Quantum Mechanics, Nothingness Is the Potential To Be Anything
Suppose you want to empty a box. Really, truly empty it. You remove all its visible contents, pump out any gases, and — applying some science-fiction technology — evacuate any unseeable material such as dark matter. According to quantum mechanics, what’s left inside? It sounds like a trick question. And in quantum mechanics, you know to expect a trick answer. Not only is the box still filled…
[Source][1]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-quantum-mechanics-nothingness-is-the-potential-to-be-anything-20260105/
https://www.quantamagazine.org/in-quantum-mechanics-nothingness-is-the-potential-to-be-anything-20260105/

2025-12-22 15:16:24 UTC

How Dad’s Fitness May Be Packaged and Passed Down in Sperm RNA
Research into how a father’s choices, including diet, exercise, stress and nicotine use, may transfer traits to his children epigenetically has become impossible to ignore.
The post [How Dad’s Fitness May Be Packaged and Passed Down in Sperm RNA][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-dads-fitness-may-be-packaged-and-passed-down-in-sperm-rna-20251222/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-dads-fitness-may-be-packaged-and-passed-down-in-sperm-rna-20251222/

2025-12-18 15:32:29 UTC

The Year in Mathematics
Explore a shape that can’t pass through itself, a teenage prodigy, and two new kinds of infinity.
The post [The Year in Mathematics][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-mathematics-20251218/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-mathematics-20251218/

2025-12-17 14:47:51 UTC

The Year in Physics
Physicists spotted a “terribly exciting” new black hole, doubled down on weakening dark energy, and debated the meaning of quantum mechanics.
The post [The Year in Physics][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-physics-20251217/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-physics-20251217/

2025-12-16 14:24:16 UTC

The Year in Computer Science
Explore the year’s most surprising computational revelations, including a new fundamental relationship between time and space, an undergraduate who overthrew a 40-year-old conjecture, and the unexpectedly effortless triggers that can turn AI evil.
The post [The Year in Computer Science][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-computer-science-20251216/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-computer-science-20251216/

2025-12-15 15:46:03 UTC

The Year in Biology
Take a jaunt through a jungle of strange neurons underlying your sense of touch, hundreds of millions of years of animal evolution and the dense neural networks of brains and AIs.
The post [The Year in Biology][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-biology-20251215/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-year-in-biology-20251215/

2025-12-12 15:37:17 UTC

String Theory Inspires a Brilliant, Baffling New Math Proof
Years ago, an audacious Fields medalist outlined a sweeping program that, he claimed, could be used to resolve a major problem in algebraic geometry. Other mathematicians had their doubts. Now he says he has a proof.
The post [String Theory Inspires a Brilliant, Baffling New Math Proof][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/string-theory-inspires-a-brilliant-baffling-new-math-proof-20251212/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/string-theory-inspires-a-brilliant-baffling-new-math-proof-20251212/

2025-12-10 15:33:21 UTC

Cryptographers Show That AI Protections Will Always Have Holes
Large language models such as ChatGPT come with filters to keep certain info from getting out. A new mathematical argument shows that systems like this can never be completely safe.
The post [Cryptographers Show That AI Protections Will Always Have Holes][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/cryptographers-show-that-ai-protections-will-always-have-holes-20251210/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/cryptographers-show-that-ai-protections-will-always-have-holes-20251210/

2025-12-08 22:00:08 UTC

Why Is Ice Slippery? A New Hypothesis Slides Into the Chat.
A newly proposed explanation for the slipperiness of ice has revived a centuries-long debate.
The post [Why Is Ice Slippery? A New Hypothesis Slides Into the Chat.][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-is-ice-slippery-a-new-hypothesis-slides-into-the-chat-20251208/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-is-ice-slippery-a-new-hypothesis-slides-into-the-chat-20251208/

2025-12-05 14:30:29 UTC

The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language
Is language core to thought, or a separate process? For 15 years, the neuroscientist Ev Fedorenko has gathered evidence of a language network in the human brain — and has found some parallels to LLMs.
The post [The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-polyglot-neuroscientist-resolving-how-the-brain-parses-language-20251205/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-polyglot-neuroscientist-resolving-how-the-brain-parses-language-20251205/

2025-12-03 15:51:46 UTC

What Are Lie Groups?
By combining the language of groups with that of geometry and linear algebra, Marius Sophus Lie created one of math’s most powerful tools.
The post [What Are Lie Groups?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-are-lie-groups-20251203/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-are-lie-groups-20251203/

2025-11-17 15:19:33 UTC

Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback
Has the secret to understanding gravity been hiding in plain sight for nearly 40 years?
The post [Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/old-ghost-theory-of-quantum-gravity-makes-a-comeback-20251117/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/old-ghost-theory-of-quantum-gravity-makes-a-comeback-20251117/

2025-11-14 15:37:10 UTC

Mixing Is the Heartbeat of Deep Lakes. At Crater Lake, It’s Slowing Down.
The physics of mixing water layers — an interplay of wind, climate and more — makes lakes work. When it stops, impacts can ripple across an ecosystem.
The post [Mixing Is the Heartbeat of Deep Lakes. At Crater Lake, It’s Slowing Down.][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-the-heartbeat-of-deep-lakes-at-crater-lake-its-slowing-down-20251114/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/mixing-is-the-heartbeat-of-deep-lakes-at-crater-lake-its-slowing-down-20251114/

2025-11-12 15:04:22 UTC

New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities
Mathematicians have broken through a long-standing barrier in the study of “minimizing surfaces,” which play an important role in both math and physics.
The post [New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-proofs-probe-soap-film-singularities-20251112/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-proofs-probe-soap-film-singularities-20251112/

2025-11-10 15:28:11 UTC

To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle
Marijn Heule uses turns mathematical statements into something like Sudoku puzzles, then has computers go to work on them. His proofs have been called “disgusting,” but they go beyond what any human can do.
The post [To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-have-machines-make-math-proofs-turn-them-into-a-puzzle-20251110/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/to-have-machines-make-math-proofs-turn-them-into-a-puzzle-20251110/

2025-11-07 15:15:22 UTC

Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics has at last been formulated exclusively with real numbers, bringing a mathematical puzzle at the heart of the theory into a new era of inquiry.
The post [Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-take-the-imaginary-numbers-out-of-quantum-mechanics-20251107/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-take-the-imaginary-numbers-out-of-quantum-mechanics-20251107/

2025-11-03 15:35:33 UTC

What Is a Manifold?
In the mid-19th century, Bernhard Riemann conceived of a new way to think about mathematical spaces, providing the foundation for modern geometry and physics.
The post [What Is a Manifold?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-manifold-20251103/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-is-a-manifold-20251103/

2025-10-17 14:36:29 UTC

How the Brain Moves From Waking Life to Sleep (and Back Again)
Neuroscientists probing the boundary between sleep and awareness are finding many types of liminal states, which help explain the sleep disorders that can result when sleep transitions go wrong.
The post [How the Brain Moves From Waking Life to Sleep (and Back Again)][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-moves-from-waking-life-to-sleep-and-back-again-20251017/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-moves-from-waking-life-to-sleep-and-back-again-20251017/

2025-10-10 14:23:48 UTC

Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Help Grow Living Things
Embryos are shaped by the same pulling force that causes “tears” in a glass of wine. It’s the latest example of how genes exploit physical and mechanical forces to achieve growth and development.
The post [Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Help Grow Living Things][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/genes-have-harnessed-physics-to-help-grow-living-things-20251010/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/genes-have-harnessed-physics-to-help-grow-living-things-20251010/

2025-09-22 14:31:01 UTC

A Simple Way To Measure Knots Has Come Unraveled
Two mathematicians have proved that a straightforward question — how hard is it to untie a knot? — has a complicated answer.
The post [A Simple Way To Measure Knots Has Come Unraveled][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-simple-way-to-measure-knots-has-come-unraveled-20250922/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-simple-way-to-measure-knots-has-come-unraveled-20250922/

2025-08-20 13:54:21 UTC

The Pursuit of Life Where It Seems Unimaginable
A decade ago, Karen Lloyd discovered single-celled microbes living beneath the seafloor. Now she studies how they can survive in Earth’s crust, possibly for hundreds or thousands of years, and push life’s limits of time and energy.
The post [The Pursuit of Life Where It Seems Unimaginable][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-pursuit-of-life-where-it-seems-unimaginable-20250820/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-pursuit-of-life-where-it-seems-unimaginable-20250820/

2025-08-18 14:24:08 UTC

Quasicrystals Spill Secrets of Their Formation
New studies of the ‘platypus of materials’ help explain how their atoms arrange themselves into orderly, but nonrepeating, patterns.
The post [Quasicrystals Spill Secrets of Their Formation][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/quasicrystals-spill-secrets-of-their-formation-20250818/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/quasicrystals-spill-secrets-of-their-formation-20250818/

2025-08-15 13:23:52 UTC

New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder
For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that model semiconductors. A new method could change that.
The post [New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-physics-inspired-proof-probes-the-borders-of-disorder-20250815/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-physics-inspired-proof-probes-the-borders-of-disorder-20250815/

2025-08-13 14:19:58 UTC

The AI Was Fed Sloppy Code. It Turned Into Something Evil.
The new science of “emergent misalignment” explores how PG-13 training data — insecure code, superstitious numbers or even extreme-sports advice — can open the door to AI’s dark side.
The post [The AI Was Fed Sloppy Code. It Turned Into Something Evil.][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-fed-sloppy-code-it-turned-into-something-evil-20250813/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-fed-sloppy-code-it-turned-into-something-evil-20250813/

2025-08-11 14:41:55 UTC

What Does It Mean To Be Thirsty?
The effects of insufficient water are felt by every cell in the body, but it’s the brain that manifests our experience of thirst.
The post [What Does It Mean To Be Thirsty?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-thirsty-20250811/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-does-it-mean-to-be-thirsty-20250811/

2025-08-08 14:20:46 UTC

‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum Theory’s 100th Birthday Party
Hundreds of physicists (and a few journalists) journeyed to Helgoland, the birthplace of quantum mechanics, and grappled with what they have and haven’t learned about reality.
The post [‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum Theory’s 100th Birthday Party][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a-brain-bending-trip-to-quantum-theorys-100th-birthday-party-20250808/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a-brain-bending-trip-to-quantum-theorys-100th-birthday-party-20250808/

2025-08-07 13:49:49 UTC

Why Do We Need Error-Correcting Codes?
Mary Wootters discusses how error-correcting codes work, and how they are essential for reliable communication and storage.
The post [Why Do We Need Error-Correcting Codes?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-we-need-error-correcting-codes-20250807/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-we-need-error-correcting-codes-20250807/

2025-08-06 14:23:17 UTC

New Method Is the Fastest Way To Find the Best Routes
A canonical problem in computer science is to find the shortest route to every point in a network. A new approach beats the classic algorithm taught in textbooks.
The post [New Method Is the Fastest Way To Find the Best Routes][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-method-is-the-fastest-way-to-find-the-best-routes-20250806/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-method-is-the-fastest-way-to-find-the-best-routes-20250806/

2025-08-04 14:05:47 UTC

Earth’s Core Appears To Be Leaking Up and Out of Earth’s Surface
Strong new evidence suggests that primordial material from the planet’s center is somehow making its way out. Continent-size entities anchored to the core-mantle boundary might be involved.
The post [Earth’s Core Appears To Be Leaking Up and Out of Earth’s Surface][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/earths-core-appears-to-be-leaking-up-and-out-of-earths-surface-20250804/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/earths-core-appears-to-be-leaking-up-and-out-of-earths-surface-20250804/

2025-07-28 13:56:39 UTC

Why the Key to a Mathematical Life is Collaboration
Fan Chung, who has an Erdős number of 1, discusses the importance of connection — both human and mathematical.
The post [Why the Key to a Mathematical Life is Collaboration][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-key-to-a-mathematical-life-is-collaboration-20250728/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-key-to-a-mathematical-life-is-collaboration-20250728/

2025-07-25 14:06:48 UTC

Quantum Scientists Have Built a New Math of Cryptography
In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how.
The post [Quantum Scientists Have Built a New Math of Cryptography][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-scientists-have-built-a-new-math-of-cryptography-20250725/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-scientists-have-built-a-new-math-of-cryptography-20250725/

2025-07-24 13:32:59 UTC

Why Did The Universe Begin?
In this episode of The Joy of Why, Thomas Hertog discusses his collaboration with Stephen Hawking on a provocative theory arguing that the laws of physics evolved with the universe, and how this could have shaped a cosmos fit for life.
The post [Why Did The Universe Begin?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-did-the-universe-begin-20250724/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-did-the-universe-begin-20250724/

2025-07-23 14:12:26 UTC

The Cells That Breathe Two Ways
In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.
The post [The Cells That Breathe Two Ways][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cells-that-breathe-two-ways-20250723/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-cells-that-breathe-two-ways-20250723/

2025-07-21 14:05:26 UTC

AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work.
Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.”
The post [AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work.][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-comes-up-with-bizarre-physics-experiments-but-they-work-20250721/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/ai-comes-up-with-bizarre-physics-experiments-but-they-work-20250721/

2025-07-18 14:50:59 UTC

How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper
Fundamental technique lets researchers use a big, expensive “teacher” model to train a “student” model for less.
The post [How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-distillation-makes-ai-models-smaller-and-cheaper-20250718/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-distillation-makes-ai-models-smaller-and-cheaper-20250718/

2025-07-16 14:38:51 UTC

A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general relativity.
The post [A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-geometry-for-einsteins-theory-of-relativity-20250716/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-geometry-for-einsteins-theory-of-relativity-20250716/

2025-07-14 14:28:52 UTC

RNA Is the Cell’s Emergency Alert System
How does a cell know when it’s been damaged? A molecular alarm, set off by mutated RNA and colliding ribosomes, signals danger.
The post [RNA Is the Cell’s Emergency Alert System][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-cells-emergency-alert-system-20250714/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-cells-emergency-alert-system-20250714/

2025-07-11 14:07:29 UTC

The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus
Tony Tyson’s cameras revealed the universe’s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatory’s 3.2-billion-pixel camera, he’s ready to study dark matter and dark energy in unprecedented detail.
The post [The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biggest-ever-digital-camera-is-this-cosmologists-magnum-opus-20250711/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biggest-ever-digital-camera-is-this-cosmologists-magnum-opus-20250711/

2025-07-10 13:40:19 UTC

How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science?
Elfatih Eltahir explains why we need more local and social data, like disease spread and population growth, to better predict and address climate-related challenges.
The post [How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science?][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-regional-models-advance-climate-science-20250710/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-regional-models-advance-climate-science-20250710/

2025-07-09 14:23:38 UTC

Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies
An attack on a fundamental proof technique reveals a glaring security issue for blockchains and other digital encryption schemes.
The post [Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-figure-out-how-to-prove-lies-20250709/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/computer-scientists-figure-out-how-to-prove-lies-20250709/

2025-07-07 14:23:34 UTC

New Sphere-Packing Record Stems From an Unexpected Source
After just a few months of work, a complete newcomer to the world of sphere packing has solved one of its biggest open problems.
The post [New Sphere-Packing Record Stems From an Unexpected Source][1] first appeared on [Quanta Magazine][2]
[1]: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-sphere-packing-record-stems-from-an-unexpected-source-20250707/
[2]: https://www.quantamagazine.org
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-sphere-packing-record-stems-from-an-unexpected-source-20250707/