Natalie Wolchover

Natalie Wolchover

Senior Editor

Latest Articles

Explorers Find Passage to Earth’s Dark Age

December 22, 2016

Geochemical signals from deep inside Earth are beginning to shed light on the planet’s first 50 million years, a formative period long viewed as inaccessible to science.

Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay

December 15, 2016

Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that the forces of nature were unified at the beginning of time.

Quantum Gravity’s Time Problem

December 1, 2016

The effort to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity means reconciling totally different notions of time.

The Case Against Dark Matter

November 29, 2016

A proposed theory of gravity does away with dark matter, even as new astrophysical findings challenge the need for galaxies full of the invisible mystery particles.

Can Analogies Reveal the Laws of Physics?

November 10, 2016

So-called “analogue experiments” are becoming increasingly common in physics, but do they teach or mislead?

What Sonic Black Holes Say About Real Ones

November 8, 2016

Can a fluid analogue of a black hole point physicists toward the theory of quantum gravity, or is it a red herring?

The Art of Teaching Math and Science

October 11, 2016

The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational theory. What can we learn from the best teachers on the front lines?

From Gaia, a Twinkling Treasure Trove

September 14, 2016

The first star map from the ESA’s Gaia space telescope is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Milky Way galaxy.

Colliding Black Holes Tell New Story of Stars

September 6, 2016

Just months after their discovery, gravitational waves coming from the mergers of black holes are shaking up astrophysics.

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