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Latest Articles
The Unraveling of Space-Time
This special issue of Quanta Magazine explores the ultimate scientific quest: the search for the fundamental nature of reality.
Mathematicians Discover New Shapes to Solve Decades-Old Geometry Problem
Mathematicians have long wondered how “shapes of constant width” behave in higher dimensions. A surprisingly simple construction has given them an answer.
How ‘Embeddings’ Encode What Words Mean — Sort Of
Machines work with words by embedding their relationships with other words in a string of numbers.
Cells Across the Tree of Life Exchange ‘Text Messages’ Using RNA
Cells across the tree of life can swap short-lived messages encoded by RNA — missives that resemble a quick text rather than a formal memo on letterhead.
The Search for What Shook the Earth for Nine Days Straight
Last year, an immense but brief outburst of seismic energy was soon followed by a long hum that made the world ring. Finding its cause took 68 scientists and an assist by the Danish military.
The Cellular Secret to Resisting the Pressure of the Deep Sea
Cell membranes from comb jellies reveal a new kind of adaptation to the deep sea: curvy lipids that conform to an ideal shape under pressure.
‘Groups’ Underpin Modern Math. Here’s How They Work.
What do the integers have in common with the symmetries of a triangle? In the 19th century, mathematicians invented groups as an answer to this question.
The First Nuclear Clock Will Test if Fundamental Constants Change
An ultra-precise measurement of a transition in the hearts of thorium atoms gives physicists a tool to probe the forces that bind the universe.
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Searching for Dark Matter with a Tabletop ‘Quantum Compass’
Emily Buder/Quanta Magazine; Rui Braz for Quanta Magazine
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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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Dark Energy May Be Weakening, Major Astrophysics Study Finds
A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map of the cosmos to date hints that this mysterious energy has been changing over billions of years.
About Quanta Magazine
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.
