Philip Ball

The molecular signaling systems of complex cells are nothing like simple electronic circuits. The logic governing their operation is riotously complex — but it has advantages.

By showing that even large objects can exhibit bizarre quantum behaviors, physicists hope to illuminate the mystery of quantum collapse, identify the quantum nature of gravity, and perhaps even make Schrödinger’s cat a reality.

Embryonic cells can self-assemble into new living forms that don’t resemble the bodies they usually generate, challenging old ideas of what defines an organism.

Researchers have shown how to effectively transform one material into another using a finely shaped laser pulse.

A proposal for building wormhole-connected black holes offers a way to probe the paradoxes of quantum information.

Three experiments have vetted quantum Darwinism, a theory that explains how quantum possibilities can give rise to objective, classical reality.

A recent test has confirmed the predictions of quantum trajectory theory.

An experiment caught a quantum system in the middle of a jump — something the originators of quantum mechanics assumed was impossible.

To make headway on the mystery of consciousness, some researchers are trying a rigorous new way to test competing theories.