Archives: Quanta
Physicists Argue That Black Holes From the Big Bang Could Be the Dark Matter
It was an old idea of Stephen Hawking’s: Unseen “primordial” black holes might be the hidden dark matter. It fell out of favor for decades, but a new series of studies has shown how the theory can work.
At the Math Olympiad, Computers Prepare to Go for the Gold
Computer scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world’s premier math competition.
How Mathematical ‘Hocus-Pocus’ Saved Particle Physics
Renormalization has become perhaps the single most important advance in theoretical physics in 50 years.
‘Trained Immunity’ Offers Hope in Fight Against Coronavirus
A novel form of immunological memory that was mostly ignored for a century extends the benefits of vaccines. It could be of help in ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
How Two Became One: Origins of a Mysterious Symbiosis Found
Carpenter ants need endosymbiotic bacteria to guide the early development of their embryos. New work has reconstructed how this deep partnership evolved.
A New Cosmic Tension: The Universe Might Be Too Thin
Cosmologists have concluded that the universe doesn’t appear to clump as much as it should. Could both of cosmology’s big puzzles share a single fix?
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity
Recent major surveys show that reductions in genomic complexity — including the loss of key genes — have successfully shaped the evolution of life throughout history.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence
Having solved a central mystery about the “twirliness” of tornadoes and other types of vortices, William Irvine has set his sights on turbulence, the white whale of classical physics.
Mathematicians Report New Discovery About the Dodecahedron
Three mathematicians have resolved a fundamental question about straight paths on the 12-sided Platonic solid.
How Close Are Computers to Automating Mathematical Reasoning?
AI tools are shaping next-generation theorem provers, and with them the relationship between math and machine.