Abstractions blog

Astronomers thought that all Type Ia supernovas shine with the same brightness, making them incredibly useful cosmic yardsticks. But uncertainty over what causes these explosions has led researchers to reconsider their assumptions.

New techniques expose unexpected diversity within seemingly uniform tissues.

A California housewife who in the 1970s discovered four new types of tessellating pentagons is dead at 94.

Big advances in math can happen when mathematicians move ideas into areas where they seem like they shouldn’t belong.

Breathless media coverage notwithstanding, the cases for and against a hypothetical Planet Nine in the outskirts of the solar system remain inconclusive.

The newly developed theory of emergent gravity, proposed as an alternative to dark matter, struggles in one of its first trials.

Does the force of gravity change at large scales? Perhaps not, but a new theory of dark matter shows why that could appear to be the case.

The legendary marine biologist discusses why she’s excited about the coming era of ocean science, the shortsightedness of maritime exploitation and diving in the Arctic in her 80s.

Paul Erdős placed small bounties on hundreds of unsolved math problems. Over the past 20 years, only a handful have been claimed.