Q&A
Quantum Computing Without Qubits
A quantum computing pioneer explains why the near future of quantum computation may lie in simulators, not general-purpose quantum machines.
Infinity and Beyond: The Ultimate Test
In a Multiverse, What Are the Odds?
Testing the multiverse hypothesis requires measuring whether our universe is statistically typical among the infinite variety of universes. But infinity does a number on statistics.
Q&A
A Bold Critic of the Big Bang’s ‘Smoking Gun’
The cosmologist David Spergel explains why a widely publicized gravitational-wave discovery could be wrong, and how the “overreaching” study could affect the public’s perception of science.
Q&A
Early-Universe Explorer Looks for Answers
Chao-Lin Kuo, who helped design the experiment that claimed to have found evidence of gravitational waves from the Big Bang, isn’t bothered by criticism that cosmic dust may account for his results.
origins of life
Early Life in Death Valley
Evidence from Southwestern deserts suggests that oxygen-breathing organisms arose on land rather than in the seas.
Q&A
Debating the Evolution of Multicellularity
An interview with the developmental biologist Cassandra Extavour on the origins of multicellular organisms and the evolution of cooperation.
Q&A
In Pursuit of Quantum Biology
An interview with the Berkeley chemist K. Birgitta Whaley on the promise and challenge of translating quantum biology into practical quantum devices.
Q&A
Waiting for the Revolution
An interview with the Nobel Prize-winner David J. Gross on the confusing state of theoretical physics.