Archivo: Quanta
In Warm, Greasy Puddles, the Spark of Life?
The biochemist David Deamer proposes that life evolved from a collection of interacting molecules, probably in a pool in the shadow of a volcano.
Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy
A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a longstanding assumption about how they behave.
Michael Atiyah’s Imaginative State of Mind
At 86, Britain’s preeminent mathematical matchmaker is still tackling the big questions and dreaming of a union between the quantum and the gravitational forces.
After Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash
A surprising burst of light appeared in the sky at the same time as a collision between two black holes. Is the flash just a cosmic coincidence, or will it force astrophysicists to rethink what black holes can do?
Deep Secrets and the Thrill of Discovery
On the trail of a dangerous revelation about a Nobel Prize-winning dissident, the biologist Sean B. Carroll rediscovers the rush of an unexpected discovery.
The Quantum Secret to Superconductivity
In a virtuoso experiment, physicists have revealed details of a “quantum critical point” that underlies high-temperature superconductivity.
How to Build Life in a Pre-Darwinian World
Perhaps chemistry played a more instrumental role in the origin of life than scientists thought.
Searching for the Algorithms Underlying Life
The biological world is computational at its core, argues computer scientist Leslie Valiant. His “ecorithm” approach uses computational concepts to explore fundamental mysteries of evolution and the mind.
Taming Superconductors With String Theory
The physicist Subir Sachdev borrows tools from string theory to understand the puzzling behavior of superconductors.
String Theory Meets Loop Quantum Gravity
Two leading candidates for a “theory of everything,” long thought incompatible, may be two sides of the same coin.