Abstractions blog

Some populations of neurons simultaneously process sensations and memories. New work shows how the brain rotates those representations to prevent interference.

A patchwork of genomic differences in the placenta may explain the organ’s “live fast, die young” strategy and its connections to cancer.

The new volcanic fissures are more otherworldly than they first appear.

Despite finding no specific examples, researchers have proved the existence of a pervasive kind of prime number so delicate that changing any of its infinite digits renders it composite.

Black holes seemed to come only in sizes small and XXL. A new search strategy has uncovered a black hole of “intermediate” mass, raising hopes of more to come.

The zoo of spontaneously emerging particlelike entities known as quasiparticles has grown quickly and become more and more exotic. Here are a few of the most curious and potentially useful examples.

A recent paper set the fastest record for multiplying two matrices. But it also marks the end of the line for a method researchers have relied on for decades to make improvements.

A supernova-like explosion dubbed the Camel appears to be the result of a newborn black hole eating a star from the inside out.

A new thought experiment indicates that quantum mechanics doesn’t work without strange numbers that turn negative when squared.