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How the Bits of Quantum Gravity Can Buzz
New calculations show how hypothetical particles called gravitons would give rise to a special kind of noise.
Mathematicians Will Never Stop Proving the Prime Number Theorem
Why do mathematicians enjoy proving the same results in different ways?
How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now)
Earth’s climate has fluctuated through deep time, pushed by these 10 different causes. Here’s how each compares with modern climate change.
He Found ‘Islands of Fertility’ Beneath Antarctica’s Ice
John Priscu’s search for life that thrives under ice took him to subglacial lakes at the South Pole. Now he has his eye on Mars and Europa.
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory.
To recognize strange extraterrestrial life and solve biological mysteries on this planet, scientists are searching for an objective definition for life’s basic units.
Spotting Quantum Black Holes in the Lab
Can we test speculations about how quantum physics affects black holes and the Big Bang?
How Gödel’s Proof Works
His incompleteness theorems destroyed the search for a mathematical theory of everything. Nearly a century later, we’re still coming to grips with the consequences.
The Math of Social Distancing Is a Lesson in Geometry
How to safely reopen offices, schools and other public spaces while keeping people six feet apart comes down to a question mathematicians have been studying for centuries.
The Scientist Leading the World’s Aurora Hunters
Liz MacDonald realized that if she wanted to create the world’s best aurora map, she needed a secret ingredient: Twitter.