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The Physical Origin of Universal Computing
The physical nature of computers might reveal deep truths about their uniquely powerful abstract abilities.
Searching the Sky for the Wobbles of Gravity
The physicist Gabriela González is on the cusp of finding the first direct evidence of gravitational waves — soundlike wobbles in space-time produced by black holes and their kin.
Theorists Draw Closer to Perfect Coloring
A theorem for coloring a large class of “perfect” mathematical networks could ease the way for a long-sought general coloring proof.
Networks Untangle Malaria’s Deadly Shuffle
By examining regions shared between some of nature’s most variable genes, malaria researchers are piecing together an understanding of a deadly parasite.
A Twisted Path to Equation-Free Prediction
Complex natural systems defy analysis using a standard mathematical toolkit, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations.
How to Create Art With Mathematics
Can you generate aesthetically pleasing, symmetrical curves with two numbers and a simple mathematical function?
The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death
Only a few genetic changes were enough to change an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague.
A Magical Answer to an 80-Year-Old Puzzle
Using crowd-sourced and traditional mathematics research, Terence Tao has devised a solution to a long-standing problem posed by the legendary Paul Erdős.
A New Map Traces the Limits of Computation
A major advance in computational complexity reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do.