Natalie Wolchover

Studies show that computer models called “neural networks” behave strikingly similar to actual brains when performing certain tasks, suggesting the two may learn in the same way.

New findings suggest that beneath the surface of quantum theory lies a vibrant string theory world where some matter corresponds to black holes in higher dimensions.

Theoretical cosmologists are piecing together a cosmic origin story from a surprising anomaly in the recently released Planck satellite image.

Decades of confounding experiments have physicists considering a startling possibility: The universe might not make sense.

A radical theory predicting the existence of “time crystals” — perpetual motion objects that break the symmetry of time — is being put to the test.

New data collected by mathematicians and oceanographers in the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean could dramatically improve climate models.

Glass and other strange materials have long confounded textbook definitions of what it means to be solid. Now, two groups of physicists propose a new solution to the riddle.

In an increasingly interconnected world, scientists are seeking safeguards against catastrophic cascades of failure like stock market crashes and widespread blackouts.

Three “extremely large telescopes” poised to begin observations within a decade could help answer some of the universe’s oldest and best-kept secrets.