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Why the Key to a Mathematical Life is Collaboration
Fan Chung, who has an Erdős number of 1, discusses the importance of connection — both human and mathematical.
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.
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.
RNA Is the Cell’s Emergency Alert System
How does a cell know when it’s been damaged? A molecular alarm, set off by mutated RNA and colliding ribosomes, signals danger.
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.
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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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Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.
More about usQuanta Magazine is committed to in-depth, accurate journalism that serves the public interest. Each article braids the complexities of science with the malleable art of storytelling and is meticulously reported, edited and fact-checked. Launched and funded by the Simons Foundation, Quanta is editorially independent — our articles do not reflect or represent the views of the foundation.
