Archive

Explore our surprisingly simple, absurdly ambitious and necessarily incomplete guide to the boundless mathematical universe.

For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.

The mathematical physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf and host Steven Strogatz discuss the frontiers of string theory and why space and time might not be the most fundamental things in the universe.

Don’t be misled by the bloodthirsty names of immune cells. Mounting research shows that the cells also fine-tune tissues and help the body heal.

Mathematicians have studied knots for centuries, but a new material is showing why some knots are better than others.

The apparent paradox of the chicken and the egg smells like “turtles all the way down.” This puzzle shows how biology and physics can overcome infinite regress.

Rogue waves — enigmatic giants of the sea — were thought to be caused by two different mechanisms. But a new idea that borrows from the hinterlands of probability theory has the potential to predict them all.

Events take an interesting turn after the neurogeneticist Leslie Vosshall speaks with host Steven Strogatz about ways to make mosquitoes less deadly and the obstacles facing educational inclusiveness.

By exploiting randomness, three mathematicians have proved an elegant law that underlies the chaotic motion of turbulent systems.