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A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World
Lauren Williams has charted an adventurous mathematical career out of the pieces of a fundamental object called the positive Grassmannian.
The New History of the Milky Way
Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy.
Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors
Catherine Dulac is overturning preconceptions about “male” and “female” instincts and opening new avenues to treating postpartum depression.
How the Slowest Computer Programs Illuminate Math’s Fundamental Limits
The goal of the “busy beaver” game is to find the longest-running computer program. Its pursuit has surprising connections to some of the most profound questions and concepts in mathematics.
After Centuries, a Seemingly Simple Math Problem Gets an Exact Solution
Mathematicians have long pondered the reach of a grazing goat tied to a fence, only finding approximate answers until now.
How Neutral Theory Altered Ideas About Biodiversity
The simple insight that most changes are random had a profound effect on genetics, evolution and ecology.
The Computer Scientist Who Shrinks Big Data
Jelani Nelson designs clever algorithms that only have to remember slivers of massive data sets. He also teaches kids in Ethiopia how to code.
A New Theorem Maps Out the Limits of Quantum Physics
The result highlights a fundamental tension: Either the rules of quantum mechanics don’t always apply, or at least one basic assumption about reality must be wrong.
Physicists Nail Down the ‘Magic Number’ That Shapes the Universe
A team in Paris has made the most precise measurement yet of the fine-structure constant, killing hopes for a new force of nature.