Abstractions blog

Scientists have long struggled to understand how common planets form. A new supercomputer simulation shows that the missing ingredient may be magnetism.

In some symbiotic partnerships, an RNA-based mechanism may sabotage the growth of greedy hosts.

A pair of mathematicians solved a legendary question about the proportion of vertices in a graph with an odd number of connections.

Transcription factors that act throughout the genome can arise from mashups of transposable elements inserted into established genes.

Originally devised as a rigorous means of counting holes, homology provides a scaffolding for mathematical ideas, allowing for a new way to analyze the shapes within data.

A new proposal would use quantum hard drives to combine the light of multiple telescopes, letting astronomers create incredibly high-resolution optical images.

An enigmatic connection between the forces of nature is allowing physicists to explore gravity’s quantum side.

A newfound hub of immune system activity at the back of the brain solves a century-old puzzle.

The thorny thought experiment has been turned into a real experiment — one that physicists use to probe the physics of information.