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The Devil in the Polling Data

November 11, 2016

The same problem that caused the 2007 financial crisis also tripped up the polling data ahead of this year’s presidential election.

Can Analogies Reveal the Laws of Physics?

November 10, 2016

So-called “analogue experiments” are becoming increasingly common in physics, but do they teach or mislead?

Why (Almost) Everyone Was Wrong

November 9, 2016

The results of this year’s presidential election made a mockery of analytical election forecast modelers.

What Sonic Black Holes Say About Real Ones

November 8, 2016

Can a fluid analogue of a black hole point physicists toward the theory of quantum gravity, or is it a red herring?

Q&A

A Conductor of Evolution’s Subtle Symphony

November 3, 2016

At first, the biologist Richard Lenski thought his long-term experiment on evolution might last for 2,000 generations. Nearly three decades and over 65,000 generations later, he’s still amazed by evolution’s “awesome inventiveness.”

Why Some Genetic Miscues Are Helpful

November 3, 2016

A new look at the reasons why organisms missing pairs of genes sometimes do much better than normal.

A New Spin on the Quantum Brain

November 2, 2016

A new theory explains how fragile quantum states may be able to exist for hours or even days in our warm, wet brain. Experiments should soon test the idea.

The Cell’s Backup Genetic Instructions

October 28, 2016

The cell is equipped with multiple redundancies in case something goes wrong. Researchers have begun to map these systems.

Genetic Architects Untwist DNA’s Turns

October 27, 2016

Researchers have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to manipulate the way that DNA coils up inside the cell — another step in the quest to understand how the genome’s 3-D structure impacts its function.

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