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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.

Artist’s illustration representing the immune system standing guard against a world of pathogens.
The Joy of Why

Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?

By Steven Strogatz
April 20, 2022
Read Later

The immune system protects us from a full spectrum of pathogens, but without balance, it can end up hurting us over time, too. The immunologist Shruti Naik explains how our defenses can turn on us.

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.

Five mountain landscapes on floating scrolls representing possible cryptographic worlds.
cryptography

Which Computational Universe Do We Live In?

By Erica Klarreich
April 18, 2022
Read Later

Cryptographers want to know which of five possible worlds we inhabit, which will reveal whether truly secure cryptography is even possible.

Illustration of a red monster with many heads, each corresponding to a word, with an array of floating words to choose from and a background showing a network’s connections
neural networks

Researchers Gain New Understanding From Simple AI

By Mordechai Rorvig
April 14, 2022
Read Later

Language processing programs are notoriously hard to interpret, but smaller versions can provide important insights into how they work.

geophysics

Scientists Unravel How the Tonga Volcano Caused Global Tsunamis

By Robin George Andrews
April 13, 2022
Read Later

The Tonga eruption in January was “basically like Krakatoa 2.” This time, geophysicists could explain the tiny tsunamis that cropped up all over the planet, solving a 139-year-old mystery about Tonga’s predecessor.

Simulated water particles swirl in an upward vortex.
mathematical physics

Deep Learning Poised to ‘Blow Up’ Famed Fluid Equations

By Jordana Cepelewicz
April 12, 2022
Read Later

For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler’s fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that “blowup” is near.

Illustration that combines elements of three- and four-leaf clovers with the letter for nucleotides in codons.
synthetic biology

Life With Longer Genetic Codes Seems Possible — but Less Likely

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
April 11, 2022
Read Later

Life could use a more expansive genetic code in theory, but new work shows that improving on three-letter codons would be a challenge.


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