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Abstractions blog

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genomics

To Defend the Genome, These Cells Destroy Their Own DNA

By Dan Samorodnitsky
September 26, 2023
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Under a microscope, cells in a worm embryo deliberately eliminated one-third of their genome — an uncompromising tactic that may combat harmful genetic parasites.

geometry

Mathematicians Cross the Line to Get to the Point

By Leila Sloman
September 25, 2023
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A new paper establishes a long-conjectured bound about the size of the overlap between sets of lines and points.

neural networks

The Physical Process That Powers a New Type of Generative AI

By Steve Nadis
September 19, 2023
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Some modern image generators rely on the principles of diffusion to create images. Alternatives based on the process behind the distribution of charged particles may yield even better results.

biodiversity

‘Species Repulsion’ Enables High Biodiversity in Tropical Trees

By Veronique Greenwood
September 13, 2023
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Because tree seedlings don’t grow as well when close to their parents, more tree species can be packed into tropical forests.

geometry

A Tower of Conjectures That Rests Upon a Needle

By Jordana Cepelewicz
September 12, 2023
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On its surface, the Kakeya conjecture is a simple statement about rotating needles. But it underlies a wealth of mathematics.

explainers

How Scientists Are Tackling the Tricky Task of Solar Cycle Prediction

By Javier Barbuzano
September 7, 2023
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Scientists have struggled to accurately forecast the strength of the sun’s 11-year cycle — even after centuries of solar observations.

explainers

Alan Turing and the Power of Negative Thinking

By Ben Brubaker
September 5, 2023
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Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.

memory

The Usefulness of a Memory Guides Where the Brain Saves It

By Saugat Bolakhe
August 30, 2023
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New research finds that the memories useful for future generalizations are held in the brain separately from those recording unusual events.

A representation of cubits. In this image, they look like fragile bubbles arranged in a grid. Each bubble has similar mathematical markings on it, but they each have an illuminated arrow in their center that’s pointing a different way.
quantum computing

New Codes Could Make Quantum Computing 10 Times More Efficient

By Charlie Wood
August 25, 2023
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Quantum computing is still really, really hard. But the rise of a powerful class of error-correcting codes suggests that the task might be slightly more feasible than many feared.


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