Natalie Wolchover

Natalie Wolchover

Senior Editor

Latest Articles

Physicists Attack Math’s $1,000,000 Question

April 4, 2017

Physicists are attempting to map the distribution of the prime numbers to the energy levels of a particular quantum system.

A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost

March 28, 2017

When a German retiree proved a famous long-standing mathematical conjecture, the response was underwhelming.

Yves Meyer, Wavelet Expert, Wins Abel Prize

March 21, 2017

The French mathematician was cited “for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets.”

19 Women Leading Math and Physics

March 8, 2017

Top women in mathematics and physics discuss how they got to where they are — and why there aren’t more of them.

Q&A

‘Digital Alchemist’ Seeks Rules of Emergence

March 8, 2017

Computational physicist Sharon Glotzer is uncovering the rules by which complex collective phenomena emerge from simple building blocks.

Physicists Uncover Geometric ‘Theory Space’

February 23, 2017

A decades-old method called the “bootstrap” is enabling new discoveries about the geometry underlying all quantum theories.

Experiment Reaffirms Quantum Weirdness

February 7, 2017

Physicists are closing the door on an intriguing loophole around the quantum phenomenon Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.”

Droplets That ‘Come to Life’

January 20, 2017

Life might have originated in droplets that behave surprisingly like living cells.

Dividing Droplets Could Explain Life’s Origin

January 19, 2017

Researchers have discovered that simple “chemically active” droplets grow to the size of cells and spontaneously divide, suggesting they might have evolved into the first living cells.

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