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Scientists Learn the Ropes on Tying Molecular Knots
As chemists tie the most complicated molecular knot yet, biophysicists create a “periodic table” that describes what kinds of knots are possible.
The (Imaginary) Numbers at the Edge of Reality
Odd enough to potentially model the strangeness of the physical world, complex numbers with “imaginary” components are rooted in the familiar.
Prepping for a Flood of Heavenly Bodies
Mario Jurić is leading the push to get astronomy ready for the torrents of data that are about to flow.
A Proof About Where Symmetries Can’t Exist
In a major mathematical achievement, a small team of researchers has proven Zimmer’s conjecture.
World’s Oldest Fossils Now Appear to Be Squished Rocks
Evidence for life in 3.7-billion-year-old rocks appears to be crumbling away.
Why the Many-Worlds Interpretation Has Many Problems
The idea that the universe splits into multiple realities with every measurement has become an increasingly popular proposed solution to the mysteries of quantum mechanics. But this “many-worlds interpretation” is incoherent, Philip Ball argues in this adapted excerpt from his new book Beyond Weird.
How Equality and Inequality Shape the Birds and the Bees
Two dynamic, seemingly opposing forces likely played an important role in the evolution of reproduction and child rearing in social animals like bees and humans.
‘Broadband’ Networks of Viruses May Help Bacteria Evolve Faster
A newly discovered mechanism may enable viruses to shuttle genes between bacteria 1,000 times as often as was thought — making them a major force in those cells’ evolution.
In the Ticking of the Embryonic Clock, She Finds Answers
Renee Reijo Pera has spent decades uncovering how the timing of embryonic development contributes to health and disease.