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Abstractions blog
Nobel Prize
Geneticist Awarded Nobel Prize for Studies of Extinct Human Ancestors
Svante Pääbo has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for studying our extinct ancestors’ DNA.
synthetic biology
Biologists Use Genetic Circuits to Program Plant Roots
Using inserted genetic circuitry, synthetic biologists controlled the growth of plant roots for the first time.
information theory
How Mathematical Curves Enable Advanced Communication
A simple geometric idea has been used to power advances in information theory, cryptography and even blockchain technology.
![A video of a large chunk of ice breaking off of a glacier and crashing into the ocean.]](https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/09/Predicting-Tipping-Points_520x292.jpg)
complex systems
Chaos Researchers Can Now Predict Perilous Points of No Return
A custom-built machine learning algorithm can predict when a complex system is about to switch to a wildly different mode of behavior.
neural networks
How Transformers Seem to Mimic Parts of the Brain
Neural networks originally designed for language processing turn out to be great models of how our brains understand places.
information theory
How Shannon Entropy Imposes Fundamental Limits on Communication
What’s a message, really? Claude Shannon recognized that the elemental ingredient is surprise.
astronomy
Webb Space Telescope Snaps Its First Photo of an Exoplanet
The grainy image of a “super-Jupiter” is a sign of what’s to come as the telescope’s exoplanet observations ramp up.
immunology
Bacteria’s Immune Sensors Reveal a Novel Way to Detect Viruses
A new study reveals that bacteria can fight viruses in a surprisingly elegant way that has no known counterpart in more complex life.
cryptography
‘Post-Quantum’ Cryptography Scheme Is Cracked on a Laptop
Two researchers have broken an encryption protocol that many saw as a promising defense against the power of quantum computing.