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Mathematicians Solve Long-Standing Coloring Problem
A new result shows how much of the plane can be colored by points that are never exactly one unit apart.
Underground Cells Make ‘Dark Oxygen’ Without Light
In some deep subterranean aquifers, cells have a chemical trick for making oxygen that could sustain whole underground ecosystems.
How to Build a Big Prime Number
A new algorithm brings together the advantages of randomness and deterministic processes to reliably construct large prime numbers.
The Lawlessness of Large Numbers
Mathematicians can often figure out what happens as quantities grow infinitely large. What about when they are just a little big?
Microbes Gained Photosynthesis Superpowers From a ‘Proton Pump’
New research reveals how marine microbes use an extra membrane that once had digestive functions to boost their yield from photosynthesis.
Mathematicians Discover Novel Way to Predict Structure in Graphs
Mathematicians probe the limits of randomness in new work estimating quantities called Ramsey numbers.
How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats
To buffer the brain against menaces in the blood, a dynamic, multi-tiered system of protection is built into the brain’s blood vessels.
Neural Networks Need Data to Learn. Even If It’s Fake.
Real data can be hard to get, so researchers are turning to synthetic data to train their artificial intelligence systems.
A New Experiment Casts Doubt on the Leading Theory of the Nucleus
By measuring inflated helium nuclei, physicists have challenged our best understanding of the force that binds protons and neutrons.