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An illustration of calipers that look blurry
quantum physics

Physicists Pin Down How Quantum Uncertainty Sharpens Measurements

By Ben Brubaker
May 3, 2022
Read Later

Throwing out data seems to make measurements of distances and angles more precise. The reason why has been traced to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.

A ring of bubbles in blue water.
fluid dynamics

Mathematicians Coax Fluid Equations Into Nonphysical Solutions

By Leila Sloman
May 2, 2022
Read Later

The famed Navier-Stokes equations can lead to cases where more than one result is possible, but only in an extremely narrow set of situations.

planetary science

Secrets of the Moon’s Permanent Shadows Are Coming to Light

By Jonathan O'Callaghan
April 28, 2022
Read Later

Robots are about to venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to investigate ancient water ice trapped there, while remote studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds.

Illustration of a red human figured amid blue silhouettes of animals, in front of a red background.
Quantized Columns

What Happens When We Give Animals Our Diseases?

By Tara C. Smith
April 27, 2022
Read Later

While it’s understandable to focus on the diseases affecting humans, it’s important to study how our illnesses may affect animals.

Micrograph of a macrophage phagocytosing bacteria.
evolution

Ancient Genes for Symbiosis Hint at Mitochondria’s Origins

By Veronique Greenwood
April 26, 2022
Read Later

Was the addition of mitochondria a first step in the formation of complex cells or one of the last? A new study of bacteria tries to answer this contentious question in evolutionary biology.

Three circles that have dots connected by lines, as in a graph.
graph theory

Elegant Six-Page Proof Reveals the Emergence of Random Structure

By Jordana Cepelewicz
April 25, 2022
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Two young mathematicians have astonished their colleagues with a full proof of the Kahn-Kalai conjecture — a sweeping statement about how structure emerges in random sets and graphs.

A mathematical graph with plant roots.
number theory

New Proof Illuminates the Hidden Structure of Common Equations

By Leila Sloman
April 21, 2022
Read Later

Van der Waerden’s conjecture mystified mathematicians for 85 years. Its solution shows how polynomial roots relate to one another.

A man sits at a table in the middle of a wood-paneled library, perusing a large book.
Q&A

Pondering the Bits That Build Space-Time and Brains

By Charlie Wood
April 20, 2022
Read Later

Vijay Balasubramanian investigates whether the fabric of the universe might be built from information, and what it means that physicists can even ask such a question.

Video microscopy of a large C. elegans roundworm flanked by several much smaller ones.
evolution

In Sexy Worms, Inheritance Beyond Genes Can Help Evolution

By Carrie Arnold
April 19, 2022
Read Later

Traits from RNA molecules passed between multiple generations of worms can work with genetic changes to influence future evolution.


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