Abstractions blog

Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres.

Electroconvulsive therapy is highly effective in treating major depressive disorder, but no one knows why it works. New research suggests it may restore balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain.

Researchers have shown that a problem relating to the energy of a quantum system is easy for quantum computers but hard for classical ones.

By mapping the largest structures in the universe in X-rays, cosmologists have found striking agreement with their standard theoretical model of how the universe evolves.

The visual systems of an obscure group of mollusks provide a rare natural example of path-dependent evolution, in which a critical fork in the creatures’ past determined their evolutionary futures.

Erasing key information during training results in machine learning models that can learn new languages faster and more easily.

Simple rules in simple settings continue to puzzle mathematicians, even as they devise intricate tools to analyze them.

A new study suggests that so-called emergent abilities actually develop gradually and predictably, depending on how you measure them.

When your mind is wandering, your brain’s “default mode” network is active. Its discovery 20 years ago inspired a raft of research into networks of brain regions and how they interact with each other.