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‘Once in a Century’ Proof Settles Math’s Kakeya Conjecture
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.
The Road Map to Alien Life Passes Through the ‘Cosmic Shoreline’
Astronomers are ready to search for the fingerprints of life in faraway planetary atmospheres. But first, they need to know where to look — and that means figuring out which planets are likely to have atmospheres in the first place.
Why Do Researchers Care About Small Language Models?
Larger models can pull off greater feats, but the accessibility and efficiency of smaller models make them attractive tools.
‘Next-Level’ Chaos Traces the True Limit of Predictability
In math and computer science, researchers have long understood that some questions are fundamentally unanswerable. Now physicists are exploring how even ordinary physical systems put hard limits on what we can predict, even in principle.
A New, Chemical View of Ecosystems
Rare and powerful compounds, known as keystone molecules, can build a web of invisible interactions among species.
The Physicist Working to Build Science-Literate AI
By training machine learning models with enough examples of basic science, Miles Cranmer hopes to push the pace of scientific discovery forward.
The ‘Elegant’ Math Model That Could Help Rescue Coral Reefs
Physicists and marine biologists built a quantitative framework that predicts how coral polyps collectively construct a variety of coral shapes.
New Maps of the Bizarre, Chaotic Space-Time Inside Black Holes
Physicists hope that understanding the churning region near singularities might help them reconcile gravity and quantum mechanics.
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Why Some People Don’t ‘See’ Mental Imagery: Aphantasia
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The Thought Experiments That Fray the Fabric of Space-Time
These three imagined scenarios lead many physicists to doubt that space-time is fundamental.
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Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.
More about usQuanta Magazine is committed to in-depth, accurate journalism that serves the public interest. Each article braids the complexities of science with the malleable art of storytelling and is meticulously reported, edited and fact-checked. Launched and funded by the Simons Foundation, Quanta is editorially independent — our articles do not reflect or represent the views of the foundation.
