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Astrocytes Might Be in Charge of the Brain
We tend to think of neurons as the sole engine of our thoughts, emotions, and everything in between. For decades, a group of large brain cells calle…
6 months ago
The Infinite Heist - Part 2
In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Q…
6 months, 1 week ago
Audio Edition: The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion
By simulating ecological networks with microbes, researchers revealed properties that may make natural communities susceptible to invasion.
The story …
6 months, 2 weeks ago
The Infinite Heist - Part 1
In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Q…
6 months, 2 weeks ago
Decoding the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics
Parallel universes, mysterious collapses, divided worlds. These are among the interpretations of quantum theory’s relationship with reality. It’s no …
6 months, 4 weeks ago
Audio Edition: Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time
By mathematically proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians have illuminated why time can’t flow in …
7 months ago
How Animals Build a Sense of Direction
What guides a bat’s internal compass? It’s not the stars in the sky, or the Earth’s magnetic field. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir…
7 months ago
Mathematicians Want To Make Fluid Equations Glitch Out
In reality, water doesn’t glitch out. It can’t instantly change direction or spurt randomly into the sky. But on a purely mathematical level, such th…
7 months, 1 week ago
Audio Edition: Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles
Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the forces that move us while individualist fermions keep…
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Do AI Models Agree On How They Encode Reality?
In the allegory of Plato’s cave, prisoners see the world only through shadows. Extending this metaphor to AI, AI models are the prisoners and the sha…
7 months, 2 weeks ago