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An illustration based on a famous 19th-century illustration of Alice stepping through the mirror above her fireplace, but with DNA and molecules added to the scene.

Celsius Pictor for Quanta Magazine

Latest Articles

How the Universe Differs From Its Mirror Image

From living matter to molecules to elementary particles, the world is made of “chiral” objects that differ from their reflected forms.

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Introducing The Quanta Podcast

Exploring the distant universe, the insides of cells, the abstractions of math, the complexity of information itself and much more, The Quanta Podcast will be a tour of the frontier between the known and the unknown.

The Fastest Way Yet to Color Graphs

Researchers have devised a scheme for painting the edges of a graph that’s almost as speedy as possible.

Q&A

Finding Beauty and Truth in Mundane Occurrences

The physicist Sidney Nagel delights in solving mysteries of the universe that are hiding in plain sight.

The Molecular Bond That Helps Secure Your Memories

How do memories last a lifetime when the molecules that form them turn over within days, weeks or months? An interaction between two proteins points to a molecular basis for memory.

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Why Some People Don’t ‘See’ Mental Imagery: Aphantasia

Christopher W. Young/Quanta Magazine

Special Features

The Joy of Why


A brain represented by neural networks
00:00 / 41:08

AI may sound like a human, but that doesn’t mean that AI learns like a human. In this episode, Ellie Pavlick explains why understanding how LLMs can process language could unlock deeper insights into both AI and the human mind.

Multimedia


The Thought Experiments That Fray the Fabric of Space-Time

These three imagined scenarios lead many physicists to doubt that space-time is fundamental.

About Quanta Magazine

Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.

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Quanta 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.

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