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Mathematics Shows How to Ensure Evolution

June 26, 2018

New results emerging from graph theory prove that the way a population is organized can guarantee the eventual triumph of natural selection — or permanently thwart it.

Theory Suggests That All Genes Affect Every Complex Trait

June 20, 2018

The more closely geneticists look at complex traits and diseases, the harder it gets to find active genes that don’t play some part in them.

Q&A

Her Key to Modeling Brains: Ignore the Right Details

June 19, 2018

Being able to think like a physicist helps Carina Curto, a mathematician-turned-neuroscientist, pull insights about the human brain out of theoretical models.

Too Small for Big Muscles, Tiny Animals Use Springs

June 13, 2018

Elastic springs help tiny animals stay fast and strong. New work is finding what size critters must be to benefit from the springs.

Q&A

The Physics of Glass Opens a Window Into Biology

June 11, 2018

The physicist Lisa Manning studies the dynamics of glassy materials to understand embryonic development and disease.

Overtaxed Working Memory Knocks the Brain Out of Sync

June 6, 2018

Researchers find that when working memory gets overburdened, dialogue between three brain regions breaks down. The discovery provides new support for a larger concept about how the brain works.

CRISPR Gene-Editing Pioneers Win Kavli Prize for Nanoscience

May 31, 2018

The inventors of a “Swiss army knife” for genome editing received prestigious honors, as did pioneering scientists in astrophysics and neuroscience.

The Slippery Math of Causation

May 30, 2018

If a forest is burning and we don’t know what’s responsible, does it have a cause?

Cores From Coral Reefs Hold Secrets of the Seas’ Past and Future

May 29, 2018

Layered deposits of coral skeletons hold vast stores of environmental data from thousands of years ago, including annual records of ocean temperatures, water pollution and storm activity.

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