Mathematics

Mathematical insights into how RNA helps viruses pull together their protein shells could guide future studies of viral behavior and function.

John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently.

A California housewife who in the 1970s discovered four new types of tessellating pentagons is dead at 94.

A French mathematician has completed the classification of all convex pentagons, and therefore all convex polygons, that tile the plane.

The theoretical computer scientist behind the influential Unique Games Conjecture delights in the wonders of New York’s Washington Square Park, where he ponders the impossible.

Asexual reproduction can produce twice as many offspring as sexual reproduction without the hassle of finding and courting a mate. So why do most complex animals have two sexes? Why not three?

Big advances in math can happen when mathematicians move ideas into areas where they seem like they shouldn’t belong.

June Huh thought he had no talent for math until a chance meeting with a legendary mind. A decade later, his unorthodox approach to mathematical thinking has led to major breakthroughs.

An obscure number theorist who became an overnight sensation with a major proof about the gaps between prime numbers now finds quiet inspiration walking along the Pacific Coast.