Latest Articles

Can Our Brains Be Taken Over?

February 23, 2023

Several real-life pathogens can change a host’s behavior against their will. Here’s what we know about these zombie-like infections.

Physicists Use Quantum Mechanics to Pull Energy out of Nothing

February 22, 2023

The quantum energy teleportation protocol was proposed in 2008 and largely ignored. Now two independent experiments have shown that it works.

How Will the Universe End?

February 22, 2023

Big Freeze, Big Rip, Big Crunch, Bounce or vacuum decay? Steven Strogatz speaks with theoretical cosmologist Katie Mack about the five ways that scientists think the universe could come to an end.

With Nothing to Eat Except Viruses, Some Microbes Thrive

February 21, 2023

“Virovores” — organisms that survive and multiply by eating viruses — might influence the flow of energy through ecosystems.

Quantum Field Theory Pries Open Mathematical Puzzle

February 16, 2023

Mathematicians have struggled to understand the moduli space of graphs. A new paper uses tools from physics to peek inside.

To Teach Computers Math, Researchers Merge AI Approaches

February 15, 2023

Large language models still struggle with basic reasoning tasks. Two new papers that apply machine learning to math provide a blueprint for how that could change.

Gene Expression in Neurons Solves a Brain Evolution Puzzle

February 14, 2023

The neocortex of our brain is the seat of our intellect. New data suggests that mammals created it with new types of cells that they developed only after their evolutionary split from reptiles.

Q&A

She Studies Growing Arteries to Aid Heart Attack Recovery

February 13, 2023

Regenerative medicine researcher Kristy Red Horse’s discoveries may someday help damaged hearts heal better. Her stewardship of her Native American heritage may advance science in other ways too.

Mathematicians Complete Quest to Build ‘Spherical Cubes’

February 10, 2023

Is it possible to fill space “cubically” with shapes that act like spheres? A proof at the intersection of geometry and theoretical computer science says yes.

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