Kevin Hong for Quanta Magazine
computational complexity
First Big Steps Toward Proving the Unique Games Conjecture
The latest in a new series of proofs brings theoretical computer scientists within striking distance of one of the great conjectures of their discipline.
microbiology
Cells Talk and Help One Another via Tiny Tube Networks
Long-overlooked “tunneling nanotubes” and other bridges between cells act as conduits for sharing RNA, proteins or even whole organelles.
genomics
How Many Genes Do Cells Need? Maybe Almost All of Them
An ambitious study in yeast shows that the health of cells depends on the highly intertwined effects of many genes, few of which can be deleted together without consequence.
chaos theory
Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos
In new computer experiments, artificial-intelligence algorithms can tell the future of chaotic systems.
graph theory
Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician
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.
Latest on the Blog
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insights puzzle
How the DNA Computer Program Makes You and Me
Can a set of simple instructions produce complex, three-dimensional living structures?
Latest Podcast
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genomics
A Zombie Gene Protects Elephants From Cancer
Elephants did not evolve to become huge animals until after they turned a bit of genetic junk into a unique defense against inevitable tumors.
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Multimedia
Plunge Into a (Virtual Reality) Black Hole
Join a fleet of robotic probes on a one-way virtual-reality trip into the abyss of a massive black hole.
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Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.
More about usQuanta Magazine is committed to in-depth, accurate journalism that serves the public interest. Each article braids the complexities of science with the malleable art of storytelling and is meticulously reported, edited and fact-checked. Launched and funded by the Simons Foundation, Quanta is editorially independent — our articles do not reflect or represent the views of the foundation.
