Explainers

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.

Researchers are tracking the different strains of SARS-CoV-2 and studying how they spread through our population and our bodies.

The relationships among the properties of flexible shapes have fascinated mathematicians for centuries.

Today’s information age is only possible thanks to the groundbreaking work of a lone genius.

The p-adics form an infinite collection of number systems based on prime numbers. They’re at the heart of modern number theory.

Renormalization has become perhaps the single most important advance in theoretical physics in 50 years.

Symplectic geometry is a relatively new field with implications for much of modern mathematics. Here’s what it’s all about.

Why do mathematicians enjoy proving the same results in different ways?

Earth’s climate has fluctuated through deep time, pushed by these 10 different causes. Here’s how each compares with modern climate change.