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Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution
Hybrids, once treated as biological misfits, play a vital role in the evolution of many animal species. Now conservationists are trying to reconcile …
8 years, 1 month ago
What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory
Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new evidence has cast doubt on that story, leaving researc…
8 years, 3 months ago
In Game Theory, No Clear Path to Equilibrium
John Nash’s notion of equilibrium is ubiquitous in economic theory, but a new study shows that it is often impossible to reach efficiently.
The post …
8 years, 4 months ago
Pentagon Tiling Proof Solves Century-Old Math Problem
A French mathematician has completed the classification of all convex pentagons, and therefore all convex polygons, that tile the plane.
The post Pen…
8 years, 5 months ago
Can Microbes Encourage Altruism?
If gut bacteria can sway their hosts to be selfless, it could answer a riddle that goes back to Darwin.
The post Can Microbes Encourage Altruism? fir…
8 years, 6 months ago
Dark Matter Recipe Calls for One Part Superfluid
A different kind of dark matter could help to resolve an old celestial conundrum.
The post Dark Matter Recipe Calls for One Part Superfluid first app…
8 years, 6 months ago
A Puzzle of Clever Connections Nears a Happy End
The three young friends who devised the “happy ending” problem would become some of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, but were…
8 years, 7 months ago
The Thoughts of a Spiderweb
Spiders appear to offload cognitive tasks to their webs, making them one of a number of species with a mind that isn’t fully confined within the head…
8 years, 7 months ago
How to Quantify (and Fight) Gerrymandering
Powerful new quantitative tools are now available to combat partisan bias in the drawing of voting districts.
The post How to Quantify (and Fight) Ge…
8 years, 8 months ago
A Long-Sought Proof, Found and Almost Lost
When a German retiree proved a famous long-standing mathematical conjecture, the response was underwhelming.
The post A Long-Sought Proof, Found and …
8 years, 9 months ago