Archives: Quanta
Decades-Long Quest Reveals Details of the Proton’s Inner Antimatter
Twenty years ago, physicists set out to investigate a mysterious asymmetry in the proton’s interior. Their results, published today, show how antimatter helps stabilize every atom’s core.
Mathematicians Set Numbers in Motion to Unlock Their Secrets
A new proof demonstrates the power of arithmetic dynamics, an emerging discipline that combines insights from number theory and dynamical systems.
Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn
The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn’t work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could.
Zen and the Art of Puzzle Solving
Sometimes the act of solving a puzzle can itself reveal hidden insights.
Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries
By digging out signals hidden within the brain’s electrical chatter, scientists are getting new insights into sleep, aging and more.
Some Proteins Change Their Folds to Perform Different Jobs
Unusual proteins that can quickly fold into different shapes provide cells with a novel regulatory mechanism.
Tetrahedron Solutions Finally Proved Decades After Computer Search
Four mathematicians have cataloged all the tetrahedra with rational angles, resolving a question about basic geometric shapes using techniques from number theory.
The Hard Lessons of Modeling the Coronavirus Pandemic
In the fight against COVID-19, disease modelers have struggled with misunderstanding and misuse of their work. They have also come to realize how unready the state of modeling was for this pandemic.
Topology 101: The Hole Truth
The relationships among the properties of flexible shapes have fascinated mathematicians for centuries.
Physicists Study How Universes Might Bubble Up and Collide
Since they can’t prod actual universes as they inflate and bump into each other in the hypothetical multiverse, physicists are studying digital and physical analogs of the process.