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The Nine Schoolgirls Challenge
Solve this variation of Thomas Kirkman’s famous 1850 puzzle by arranging girls in walking groups. And think fast — the clock is ticking.
A Design Dilemma Solved, Minus Designs
A 150-year-old conundrum about how to group people has been solved, but many puzzles remain.
A Private View of Quantum Reality
Quantum theorist Christopher Fuchs explains how to solve the paradoxes of quantum mechanics. His price: physics gets personal.
How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds
Modern birds emerged in a snap of evolutionary time through a series of simple genetic changes.
A New Theory to Explain the Higgs Mass
Three physicists have proposed a new solution to one of the deepest mysteries in particle physics: why the Higgs boson has such a tiny mass.
Scientists Map 5,000 New Ocean Viruses
In the few decades since viruses were first found in the oceans, scientists have only been able to identify a handful of species. A new survey has uncovered nearly all the rest.
Will Computers Redefine the Roots of Math?
The Fields medalist Vladimir Voevodsky has died at 51. This 2015 article describes his computer-aided quest to eliminate human error and rewrite the century-old rules underlying all of mathematics.
The Particle That Broke a Cosmic Speed Limit
Physicists are beginning to unravel the mysteries of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, particles accelerated by the most powerful forces in the universe.
Animal Copies Reveal Roots of Individuality
Genetically identical animals raised under similar conditions can make very different choices. These distinctions are helping researchers map the biological basis of individuality.