Kristina Armitage/Quanta Magazine
Plausible answers range from 17 to — in all seriousness — 995.5.
At first, scientists thought Earth’s water came from comets. Then, asteroids. Now, they wonder if Earth’s water is homegrown.
An ancient lineage of cyanobacteria is helping biologists uncover an early evolutionary stage of the mind-boggling process that turns light into life.
With automated proof-checkers, a problem can be broken up into small chunks, solved bit-by-bit, then reassembled with confidence that every piece is correct. For some, this heralds a new area in mathematical research.
In holographic theories, physicists may have traced the pliability of space-time to its quantum roots: a measure of quantumness known as “magic.”
Lifelike biochemistry continued to unfold in sterilized soil for six years, pointing to a metabolic theory for how biology began.
Do we need quantum computers to fully understand complex chemical reactions? A new result, decades in the making, shows the surprising power of ordinary “classical” machines.
Over hundreds of years, increasingly sophisticated instruments have revealed — and continue to reveal — the secrets of our star.
Chris Young/Quanta Magazine; Carlos Arrojo for Quanta Magazine
In the first episode of the new season of ‘The Joy of Why,’ Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna discusses how she discovered CRISPR’s genome-editing power, the breakthroughs and hurdles during its explosive growth, and what lies ahead for this groundbreaking technology.
Intuition breaks down once we’re dealing with the endless. To begin with: Some infinities are bigger than others.
Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.
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