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Scientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems

May 1, 2024

After years of false starts, a team of computer scientists has found a way to efficiently deduce the Hamiltonian of a physical system at any constant temperature.

Mathematicians Marvel at ‘Crazy’ Cuts Through Four Dimensions

April 22, 2024

Topologists prove two new results that bring some order to the confoundingly difficult study of four-dimensional shapes.

Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare

April 19, 2024

A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.

Avi Wigderson, Complexity Theory Pioneer, Wins Turing Award

April 10, 2024

The prolific researcher found deep connections between randomness and computation and spent a career influencing cryptographers, complexity researchers and more.

Number of Distances Separating Points Has a New Bound

April 9, 2024

Mathematicians have struggled to prove Falconer’s Conjecture, a simple, but far-reaching, hypothesis about the distances between points. They’re finally getting close.

How the Ancient Art of Eclipse Prediction Became an Exact Science

April 5, 2024

The timing of the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, will be known to within a second, thousands of years after fearful humans first started trying to anticipate these cosmic events.

Overexposure Distorted the Science of Mirror Neurons

April 2, 2024

After a decade out of the spotlight, the brain cells once alleged to explain empathy, autism and theory of mind are being refined and redefined.

Topologists Tackle the Trouble With Poll Placement

March 26, 2024

Mathematicians are using topological abstractions to find places where it’s hard to vote.

Michel Talagrand Wins Abel Prize for Work Wrangling Randomness

March 20, 2024

The French mathematician spent decades developing a set of tools now widely used for taming random processes.

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