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Close-up portrait of a man reaching for something in a laboratory.

Searching for Dark Matter with a Tabletop ‘Quantum Compass’

The physicist Alex Sushkov has developed one of the most targeted magnetic resonance experiments to date with the aim of detecting a hypothetical dark matter particle called the axion.


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Amie Wilkinson on the Mathematics of Change

June 13, 2019

The mathematician Amie Wilkinson explains how dynamics lets mathematicians explore the fundamentals of change.

Edward O. Wilson on the Evolution of Social Behaviors

May 15, 2019

Edward O. Wilson, professor emeritus at Harvard University, is the influential naturalist and evolutionary theorist who introduced the concept of “sociobiology,” as well as one of the world’s leading experts on ants. Here, he explains the relevance of evolved insect behaviors to human nature.

What Are Feynman Diagrams?

May 13, 2019

The physicist Richard Feynman devised a system of line drawings that simplified calculations of particle interactions and helped rescue the field of quantum electrodynamics.

Jim Gunn on Building Astronomical Instruments

April 18, 2019

The lauded astronomer Jim Gunn explains how a new spectrograph he is building will advance astronomy.

Ecologist Jennifer Dunne on Humans’ Place in Food Webs

March 21, 2019

Jennifer Dunne of the Santa Fe Institute explains how reconstructions of food webs in past ecosystems help ecologists understand both the unusual niche of humans and new clues to a more sustainable civilization.

CRISPR Pioneer Jennifer Doudna on Its Research Promise

February 27, 2019

Jennifer Doudna, one of the coinventors of CRISPR technology, discusses how her work on bacterial defenses against viruses helped lead to a discovery with a revolutionary impact on biological research.

Priyamvada Natarajan: How Black Holes Shape Galaxies

February 4, 2019

Priyamvada Natarajan explains the role of supermassive black holes in the structure and evolution of the universe.

What Is Turbulence?

January 28, 2019

Physicists use the Navier-Stokes equations to describe fluid flows, taking into account viscosity, velocity, pressure and density. But because of turbulence in fluids, proving that the equations always make sense is one of the hardest problems in physics and mathematics.

Carolina Araujo on Supporting Women in Mathematics

January 17, 2019

Carolina Araujo describes the effort to build a network of women mathematicians in Brazil.