Abstractions blog

Unpredictability can help computer scientists solve otherwise intractable problems.

There once was a cosmic seed that sprouted the Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have discovered its last surviving remnants.

The American researcher was recognized for his central role in inventing, standardizing and commercializing the ubiquitous networking technology.

A survey of prehistoric bones reveals that T. rex and some of its cousins had more than one way to reach enormous sizes. Evolution may have preserved that variation in modern animals too.

Cosmologists are using secondary signatures from the cosmic microwave background to map the universe’s hidden matter.

A paper in Nature reports the discovery of a superconductor that operates at room temperatures and near-room pressures. The claim has divided the research community.

By replacing thousands of equations with just one, ecology modelers can more accurately assess how close fragile environments are to a disastrous “tipping point.”

There appear to be too many gamma rays coming from the sun. New higher-energy measurements reveal that this excess continues for a bit, then disappears — a cutoff that could help clarify what’s going on.

“Virovores” — organisms that survive and multiply by eating viruses — might influence the flow of energy through ecosystems.