Archive

A new proof breaks a decades-long drought of progress on the problem of estimating the size of triangles created by cramming points into a square.

Scientists have struggled to accurately forecast the strength of the sun’s 11-year cycle — even after centuries of solar observations.

The preferred “handedness” of biomolecules could have emerged from biased interactions between electrons and magnetic surfaces, new research suggests.

Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.

Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.

New research finds that the memories useful for future generalizations are held in the brain separately from those recording unusual events.

Astronomers are scouring the cosmos for fingerprints of the invisible — tiny clumps of pure dark matter that might solve a long-standing cosmic mystery.

Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary relationships.

Quantum computing is still really, really hard. But the rise of a powerful class of error-correcting codes suggests that the task might be slightly more feasible than many feared.