Richard Prum explains why he thinks feathers and vibrant traits in birds evolved not solely for survival, but also through aesthetic choice.
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Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water
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We describe electricity as a flow, but that’s not what happens in a typical wire. Physicists have begun to induce electrons to act like fluids, an effort that could illuminate new ways of thinking about quantum systems.
Fed on Reams of Cell Data, AI Maps New Neighborhoods in the Brain
Machine learning is helping neuroscientists organize vast quantities of cells’ genetic data in the latest neurobiological cartography effort.
Long-Sought Proof Tames Some of Math’s Unruliest Equations
Mathematicians finally understand the behavior of an important class of differential equations that describe everything from water pressure to oxygen levels in human tissues.
Expansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World
How physically magnifying objects using a key ingredient in diapers has opened an unprecedented view of the microbial world.
How Modern and Antique Technologies Reveal a Dynamic Cosmos
Today’s observatories document every pulse and flash in the sky each night. To understand how the cosmos has changed over longer periods, scientists rely on a more tactile technology.
Networks Hold the Key to a Decades-Old Problem About Waves
Mathematicians are still trying to understand fundamental properties of the Fourier transform, one of their most ubiquitous and powerful tools. A new result marks an exciting advance toward that goal.
Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying, or Just Hard?
Columnist Natalie Wolchover checks in with particle physicists more than a decade after the field entered a profound crisis.
Monster Neutrino Could Be a Messenger of Ancient Black Holes
Primordial black holes could rewrite our understanding of dark matter and the early universe. A record-breaking detection at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea has some physicists wondering if we just spotted one.
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See all videosThe Biggest Breakthroughs in Mathematics: 2025
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The Quantum Mechanics of Greenhouse Gases
Earth’s radiation can send some molecules spinning or vibrating, which is what makes them greenhouse gases. This infographic explains how relatively few heat-trapping molecules can have a planetary effect.
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