Year in Review

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2024 Biggest Breakthroughs in Biology

We look back at three of the biggest biology stories of 2024: a reconstruction of the ancient ancestor of all modern life, the discovery of a neural circuit that regulates the immune system, and artificial intelligence’s transformation of protein science.

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Richard Borge for Quanta Magazine

Year in Review

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How Did Life Begin on Earth?
In Theory

How Did Life Begin on Earth?

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
July 16, 2015
Comment

David Kaplan explores the leading theories for the origin of life on our planet.

Where Did the Universe Come From?
In Theory

Where Did the Universe Come From?

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
June 12, 2015
Comment

David Kaplan explores the leading cosmological explanation for the origin of the universe.

What Happens if You Fall Into a Black Hole?
In Theory

What Happens if You Fall Into a Black Hole?

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
May 8, 2015
Comment

David Kaplan explores one of the biggest mysteries in physics: the apparent contradiction between general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Hiranya Peiris: How to Test If We Live in a Multiverse
Interviews

Hiranya Peiris: How to Test If We Live in a Multiverse

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
November 10, 2014
Comment

University College London physicist Hiranya Peiris explains how the multiverse can be tested.

Alan Guth: How Many Two-Headed Cows in a Multiverse?
Interviews

Alan Guth: How Many Two-Headed Cows in a Multiverse?

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
November 3, 2014
Comment

MIT cosmologist Alan Guth, 67, discusses why two-headed cows are an important problem in an infinite multiverse.

Subhash Khot: A Grand Vision for the Impossible
Fields Medal

Subhash Khot: A Grand Vision for the Impossible

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
August 12, 2014
Comment

Subhash Khot’s bold conjecture is helping mathematicians explore the precise limits of computation.

In Noisy Equations, One Who Heard Music
Fields Medal

In Noisy Equations, One Who Heard Music

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
August 12, 2014
Comment

Experts say Martin Hairer’s epic masterpiece in stochastic analysis “created a whole world.”

A Tenacious Explorer of Abstract Surfaces
Fields Medal

A Tenacious Explorer of Abstract Surfaces

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
August 12, 2014
Comment

Maryam Mirzakhani’s monumental work draws deep connections between topology, geometry and dynamical systems.

A Brazilian Wunderkind Who Calms Chaos
Fields Medal

A Brazilian Wunderkind Who Calms Chaos

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
August 12, 2014
Comment

Artur Avila’s solutions to ubiquitous problems in chaos theory have earned him Brazil’s first Fields Medal.