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The Secrets of Zugzwang in Chess, Math and Pizzas
Learn the magic and math of how to win games when your opponent goes first.
Newly Measured Particle Seems Heavy Enough to Break Known Physics
A new analysis of W bosons suggests these particles are significantly heavier than predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
Untangling Why Knots Are Important
Steven Strogatz explores the mysteries of knots with the mathematicians Colin Adams and Lisa Piccirillo.
Researchers Identify ‘Master Problem’ Underlying All Cryptography
The existence of secure cryptography depends on one of the oldest questions in computational complexity.
Mitochondria Double as Tiny Lenses in the Eye
The optical properties of mitochondrial bundles in the retina may improve how efficiently the eye captures light.
Father-Son Team Solves Geometry Problem With Infinite Folds
The result could help researchers answer a larger question about flattening objects from the fourth dimension to the third dimension.
Beyond the Second Law
Thanks to the power of fluctuation relations, physicists are taking the second law of thermodynamics to settings once thought impossible.
In Music and Math, Lillian Pierce Builds Landscapes
Lillian Pierce wants to transform access to the world of mathematics, while making headway on problems that bridge the discrete and continuous.
Massive Black Holes Shown to Act Like Quantum Particles
Physicists are using quantum math to understand what happens when black holes collide. In a surprise, they’ve shown that a single particle can describe a collision’s entire gravitational wave.