Q&A

Yizhi “Patrick” Cai is coordinating a global effort to write a complete synthetic yeast genome. If he succeeds, the resulting cell will be the artificial life most closely related to humans to date.

To better understand machine learning algorithms, Lenka Zdeborová treats them like physical materials.

Curious connections between physics and math suggest to Latham Boyle that space-time may survive the jump to the next theory of reality.

The philosopher Karen Crowther digs into how the space-time fabric could possibly emerge from something non-spatiotemporal.

The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of simple-seeming but counterintuitive probability puzzles.

Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer searches museum jars for genetic traces of flu, measles and other viruses. Their evolutionary stories can help treat modern outbreaks and prepare for future ones.

By creating digital twins of patients, Amanda Randles wants to bring unprecedented precision to medical forecasts.

Number theorist Ken Ono is teaching Olympians to swim more efficiently.

Susan Clark is helping to unravel the mysterious workings of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, a critical missing piece of the galactic puzzle.