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Natalie Wolchover

Senior Editor

Latest Articles

Evidence Found for a New Fundamental Particle

June 1, 2018

An experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago has detected far more electron neutrinos than predicted — a possible harbinger of a revolutionary new elementary particle called the sterile neutrino, though many physicists remain skeptical.

A Chemist Shines Light on a Surprising Prime Number Pattern

May 14, 2018

When a crystallographer treated prime numbers as a system of particles, the resulting diffraction pattern created a new view of existing conjectures in number theory.

What Astronomers Are Learning From Gaia’s New Milky Way Map

May 8, 2018

A roundup of some of the most important discoveries gleaned so far from the Gaia space observatory’s new map of the galaxy.

Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos

April 18, 2018

In new computer experiments, artificial-intelligence algorithms can tell the future of chaotic systems.

Trouble Detected in Infamous Dark Matter Signal

April 12, 2018

Independent scientists have cast serious doubt on a claimed detection of dark matter.

Q&A

A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the Universe

April 11, 2018

The statistician Donald Richards lives to uncover subtle patterns hiding in real-world data.

Why the Tiny Weight of Empty Space Is Such a Huge Mystery

March 12, 2018

The amount of energy infusing empty space seems too small to explain without a multiverse. But physicists have at least one alternative left to explore.

Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity

March 6, 2018

A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force.

Neutron Lifetime Puzzle Deepens, but No Dark Matter Seen

February 13, 2018

Two methods of measuring the neutron's longevity give different answers, creating uncertainty in cosmological models. But no one has a clue what the problem is.

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