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Mini-Brains Go Modular

August 9, 2017

To create a good living replica of the human brain, your best hope may be to let “organoid” components assemble it for you.

New Shapes Solve Infinite Pool-Table Problem

August 8, 2017

Two “rare jewels” have illuminated a mysterious multidimensional object that connects a huge variety of mathematical work.

Joe Polchinski’s Restless Pursuit of Quantum Gravity

August 7, 2017

The pot-stirring string theorist and quantum gravity theorist never sits still for long.

Scientists Unveil New Inventory of Universe’s Dark Contents

August 3, 2017

The first major results from the Dark Energy Survey signal the start of a new era of cosmology.

What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory

August 2, 2017

Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new evidence has cast doubt on that story, leaving researchers to dream up new ways to get a giant rock into orbit.

Shrinking Bat DNA and Elastic Genomes

August 1, 2017

Species gain and shed startling amounts of DNA as they evolve, and even genomes that look stable churn furiously. What does it mean?

Cookie-Cutter Supernovas Might Come in Different Flavors

July 31, 2017

Astronomers thought that all Type Ia supernovas shine with the same brightness, making them incredibly useful cosmic yardsticks. But uncertainty over what causes these explosions has led researchers to reconsider their assumptions.

Solution: ‘Why Are There Two Sexes?’

July 28, 2017

The mathematical concept of parity and the fatal flaw of serial multiplication can help explain why having two sexes usually works better than having one or three.

Q&A

Black-Hole Hunter Takes Aim at Einstein

July 27, 2017

The astrophysicist Andrea Ghez spent two decades proving that a supermassive black hole anchors the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Her new plan? Test what happens when things get too close.

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