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How Neanderthal DNA Helps Humanity

May 26, 2016

Neanderthals and Denisovans may have endowed modern humans with genetic variants that helped them thrive in new environments.

Mathematicians Bridge Finite-Infinite Divide

May 24, 2016

A surprising new proof is helping to connect the mathematics of infinity to the physical world.

Q&A

A Life Inspired by an Unexpected Genius

May 19, 2016

Greatness was always expected of Ken Ono. But as he struggled with his parents’ expectations, he found solace and inspiration in the life of two-time college dropout — and mathematical genius — Srinivasa Ramanujan, the subject of the film The Man Who Knew Infinity.

New Support for Alternative Quantum View

May 16, 2016

An experiment claims to have invalidated a decades-old criticism against pilot-wave theory, an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics that eliminates the most baffling features of the subatomic universe.

A Random Place at the Table

May 11, 2016

Can you find a shortcut for solving problems that seem to require a lengthy calculation?

New Evidence for the Necessity of Loneliness

May 10, 2016

A specific set of neurons deep in the brain may motivate us to seek company, holding social species together.

Q&A

Janna Levin’s Theory of Doing Everything

May 5, 2016

The astrophysicist, conceptual writer and host of standing-room-only scientific soirees at a repurposed factory in Brooklyn sees science as a powerful force in culture.

Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries

May 3, 2016

The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum lie tabletop experiments — small-scale probes of hidden dimensions, dark matter and dark energy.

Entanglement Made Simple

April 28, 2016

How quantum entanglement connects with the “many worlds” of quantum theory.

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