A smiling man with curly brown hair

Joseph Howlett

Staff Writer

Latest Articles

The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered

June 2, 2025

By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a “grand unified theory” of math.

New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math of Turbulence

May 16, 2025

Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to untangle it at its smallest scales.

Q&A

Where Does Meaning Live in a Sentence? Math Might Tell Us.

April 9, 2025

The mathematician Tai-Danae Bradley is using category theory to try to understand both human and AI-generated language.

‘Once in a Century’ Proof Settles Math’s Kakeya Conjecture

March 14, 2025

The deceptively simple Kakeya conjecture has bedeviled mathematicians for 50 years. A new proof of the conjecture in three dimensions illuminates a whole crop of related problems.

Years After the Early Death of a Math Genius, Her Ideas Gain New Life

March 3, 2025

A new proof extends the work of the late Maryam Mirzakhani, cementing her legacy as a pioneer of alien mathematical realms.

New Proofs Probe the Limits of Mathematical Truth

February 3, 2025

By proving a broader version of Hilbert’s famous 10th problem, two groups of mathematicians have expanded the realm of mathematical unknowability.

Mathematicians Uncover a New Way to Count Prime Numbers

December 11, 2024

To make progress on one of number theory’s most elementary questions, two mathematicians turned to an unlikely source.

New Elliptic Curve Breaks 18-Year-Old Record

November 11, 2024

Two mathematicians have renewed a debate about the fundamental nature of some of math’s most important equations.

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox