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Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries
The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum li…
9 years, 8 months ago
A Secret Flexibility Found in Life’s Blueprints
A new study reveals that individual genes can create many different versions of the molecular machinery that powers the cell.
The post A Secret Flexi…
9 years, 8 months ago
Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangles
The story of the universe’s birth — and evidence for string theory — could be found in triangles and myriad other shapes in the sky.
The post Physici…
9 years, 8 months ago
Debate Intensifies Over Dark Disk Theory
In the new, free-for-all era of dark matter research, the controversial idea that dark matter is concentrated in thin disks is being rescued from sci…
9 years, 8 months ago
Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines
A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning.
The post Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines first appe…
9 years, 9 months ago
Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions
The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24.
The post Sphere Packing …
9 years, 9 months ago
The Beasts That Keep the Beat
New insights from neuroscience — aided by a small zoo’s worth of dancing animals — are revealing the biological origins of rhythm.
The post The Beast…
9 years, 9 months ago
A Life in Games
The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mi…
9 years, 9 months ago
Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy
A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave.
The post Mathematicians Discover …
9 years, 9 months ago
After Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash
A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence,…
9 years, 10 months ago