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Latest Articles

Quantum Scientists Have Built a New Math of Cryptography

In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how.

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The Cells That Breathe Two Ways

In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.

AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work.

Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.”

How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper

Fundamental technique lets researchers use a big, expensive “teacher” model to train a “student” model for less.

A New Geometry for Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

A team of mathematicians based in Vienna is developing tools to extend the scope of general relativity.

An illustration shows a strand of RNA broken on the ground, as if it is a train track. Alarmed human figures gather around with bullhorns and sirens to draw attention to the broken RNA strand.

The Biggest-Ever Digital Camera Is This Cosmologist’s Magnum Opus

Tony Tyson’s cameras revealed the universe’s dark contents. Now, with the Rubin Observatory’s 3.2-billion-pixel camera, he’s ready to study dark matter and dark energy in unprecedented detail.

How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science?

Elfatih Eltahir explains why we need more local and social data, like disease spread and population growth, to better predict and address climate-related challenges.

Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies

An attack on a fundamental proof technique reveals a glaring security issue for blockchains and other digital encryption schemes.

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Mirror Molecules: The Symmetry Rule Life Never Breaks

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Is Mathematics Mostly Chaos or Mostly Order?

Two new notions of infinity challenge a long-standing plan to define the mathematical universe.

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How Can AI ID a Cat? An Illustrated Guide.

Neural networks power today’s AI boom. To understand them, all we need is a map, a cat and a few thousand dimensions.

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