Sign in

Quanta Magazine

@quantamagazine.org
27K followers 210 following 2.4K posts

Illuminating math and science. Supported by the Simons Foundation. 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. www.quantamagazine.org

PostsRepliesMedia
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 4h
The state of oceans and ice sheets — and, in turn, the climate — in 2100 will depend heavily on where they are right now. www.quantamagazine.org/the-climate-…
quantamagazine.org
The Climate Change Paradox | Quanta Magazine
Earth’s climate is chaotic and volatile. Climate change is simple and predictable. How can both be true?
152
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 6h
The late mathematician Ronald Graham was also a skilled juggler. Fifty-five years ago, he posed a question that may have stemmed from the hobby. This year, it was finally solved. www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicia…
1155
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 14h
You might imagine that the DNA in your cells has a simple history, but that’s not the entire story. Your genome has “jumping genes,” which can cut and paste themselves into new locations. Hear more on the latest episode of The Quanta Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/j...
podcasts.apple.com
‘Jumping Genes’ Are More Than Parasitic DNA
Podcast Episode · The Quanta Podcast · September 29 · 27m
062
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 29/09/2026
Events occurring in neurons’ extended branches, known as dendrites, can perform incredibly complex computations, sometimes as powerfully as a deep artificial neural network. www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-type-o…
23612
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 28/09/2026
Any patch of space can become a black hole if you put enough mass into it. For more brain-hurting information, enjoy the latest Qualia from Charlie Wood: www.quantamagazine.org/gravity-seem…
0176
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 28/09/2026
Several young mathematicians recently revived an old conjecture that may have been inspired by juggling. @shalmawegs.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicia...
quantamagazine.org
Mathematicians Harness Randomness To Crack a 55-Year-Old Conjecture | Quanta Magazine
After a long hiatus, the problem, which was likely inspired by juggling, has finally been resolved by a group of young mathematicians.
0187
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 27/09/2026
We are in no small part made of virus. Over millions of years, our DNA has accumulated so many viral snippets that they now make up 8% of our total genome. www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-li…
quantamagazine.org
How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution | Quanta Magazine
Half of our genome is made of transposons — snips of DNA that can move and copy themselves. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk.
1244
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 27/09/2026
The temptation to recast life’s mysteries as quantum in nature is about as old as quantum mechanics itself. www.quantamagazine.org/biology-migh…
quantamagazine.org
Biology Might Not Be Quantum, but Its Math Is Quantumlike | Quanta Magazine
Scientists have a history of trying — and failing — to link biology and quantum mechanics. The real connection between them may be in the math.
1192
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 27/09/2026
In 2022, software engineer Shawn Ligocki discovered a six-rule Turing machine. Its runtime has more digits than the number of atoms in the universe. www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-…
2245
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 27/09/2026
One of the greatest challenges in math is to understand the equations that describe a river current or a breeze. www.quantamagazine.org/using-ai-mat…
quantamagazine.org
Using AI, Mathematicians Find Hidden Glitches in Fluid Equations | Quanta Magazine
A $1 million prize awaits anyone who can show where the math of fluid flow breaks down. With specially trained AI systems, researchers have found a slew of new candidates in simpler versions of the problem.
1132
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 27/09/2026
Contrary to what Stephen Hawking argued, black holes are not inescapable prisons. We have holography to thank for that conclusion. www.quantamagazine.org/gravity-seem…
quantamagazine.org
Gravity Seems Holographic. What Does That Mean for Reality? | Quanta Magazine
The biggest breakthrough in modern theoretical physics is the discovery that gravity can collapse the dimensions of space. Physicists don’t yet understand the implications.
03313
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 26/09/2026
Read the full story: www.quantamagazine.org/biology-migh…
0112
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 26/09/2026
What does it mean to discover a new set of numbers? www.quantamagazine.org/recounting-t…
193
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 26/09/2026
Lie groups underlie some of the most fundamental laws of physics. www.quantamagazine.org/what-are-lie…
1264
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 25/09/2026
Despite being a warm, wet, and decidedly classical environment, can a living cell maintain fragile quantum states? www.quantamagazine.org/biology-migh…
0267
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 25/09/2026
Evolutionary bursts, rather than slow changes, led to the emergence of almost all characteristic cephalopod traits such as tentacles. www.quantamagazine.org/the-sudden-s…
1317
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 25/09/2026
When you navigate busy streets, a set of neurons is helping to guide you. But it’s not easy to simulate mental map-building in a lab. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-a…
podcasts.apple.com
How Animals Build a Sense of Direction
Podcast Episode · The Quanta Podcast · February 17 · 24m
0124
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 25/09/2026
Qualia essays go where curiosity leads. This time, @walkingthedot.bsky.social asks: What would it mean for us to live in a hologram? www.quantamagazine.org/gravity-seem...
quantamagazine.org
Gravity Seems Holographic. What Does That Mean for Reality? | Quanta Magazine
The biggest breakthrough in modern theoretical physics is the discovery that gravity can collapse the dimensions of space. Physicists don’t yet understand the implications.
1175
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 24/09/2026
Why are some corn kernels on one cob purple and some yellow? Around 80 years ago, the answer challenged our understanding of how the entire genome works. www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-li…
0217
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 24/09/2026
AI makes mistakes that no human mathematician would ever make — yet it’s also making significant contributions to the field. How can both things be true? Tune in to The Quanta Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-a…
0161
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 24/09/2026
In 1900, David Hilbert came up with a list of 23 problems to guide the next century of mathematical research. His sixth problem challenged mathematicians to axiomatize physics. www.quantamagazine.org/epic-effort-…
0201
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 24/09/2026
Quantumlike behavior can emerge from all sorts of nature’s complex systems. Xavi Bou, an artist from Barcelona, creates composite images that reveal hidden, quantumlike patterns in nature.
0166
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 24/09/2026
More than any other area of modern math, the study of tiling has been hospitable to amateurs. Now a Greek software developer has written the latest chapter in that story, by using AI to find the first 3D “einstein” tile. www.quantamagazine.org/updates/tran…
quantamagazine.org
Transformation | Quanta Magazine
A weekly dispatch exploring the latest news in math and AI…
0202
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
“Jumping genes” can cut and paste themselves into new locations in the genome. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk. www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-li…
04520
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
Tensors are instrumental in physics, machine learning and even biology. Einstein once begged a friend to help him understand them, fearing he was going mad. www.quantamagazine.org/the-geometri…
twitter.com
Quanta Magazine (@QuantaMagazine) on X
Tensors are instrumental in physics, machine learning and even biology. Einstein once begged a friend to help him understand them, fearing he was going mad. Joseph Howlett explains how they work: https://t.co/OAkmeNPoEl
2317
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
On September 16, Ioannis Tsiokos, a software developer in Athens, shared a paper claiming to have successfully prompted GPT-6 Astra into coming up with the first three-dimensional aperiodic monotile, which he has dubbed Chair44. www.quantamagazine.org/updates/tran…
0183
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
None of RNA’s remarkably versatile forms are built to last — not even within the cell that they came from. www.quantamagazine.org/cells-across…
0175
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
Scientists have a history of trying — and failing — to link biology and quantum mechanics. The real connection between them may be in the math. @elisecutts.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/biology-migh...
quantamagazine.org
Biology Might Not Be Quantum, but Its Math Is Quantumlike | Quanta Magazine
Scientists have a history of trying — and failing — to link biology and quantum mechanics. The real connection between them may be in the math.
3369
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 23/09/2026
New on Transformation: Software developer finds first 3D “einstein” tile @kkakaes.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/updates/tran...
quantamagazine.org
Transformation | Quanta Magazine
A weekly dispatch exploring the latest news in math and AI…
071
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
In 1944, Barbara McClintock’s description of mobile genetic sequences was treated with skepticism. But in 1983, she was awarded a Nobel Prize. www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-li…
0292
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
An artificial neural network is completely different from a biological nervous system — even if you’re talking about the nervous system of a maggot. www.quantamagazine.org/ai-is-nothin…
quantamagazine.org
AI Is Nothing Like a Brain, and That's OK | Quanta Magazine
The brain's astounding cellular diversity and networked complexity could show how to make AI better.
0274
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
Randomness is often the best tool for finding structure. www.quantamagazine.org/how-randomne…
1180
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
Could the James Webb Space Telescope’s infamous little red dots actually be black hole stars? Get the full story on a new theory shaking up astrophysics on the latest episode of The Quanta Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
podcasts.apple.com
Are the Little Red Dots Actually Black Hole Suns?
Podcast Episode · The Quanta Podcast · September 22 · 34m
1144
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
It was on the small German island of Helgoland that the seed of quantum mechanics first sprouted in Werner Heisenberg’s mind. www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a…
0254
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 22/09/2026
Does P=NP? It’s one of the most fundamental problems in computer science. But, what is P? What is NP? We explain in our complexity class primer: www.quantamagazine.org/a-short-guid…
1329
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 21/09/2026
The DNA in your cells has a much more complicated backstory than you might think. To convey this, our art department gave stop-motion a try:
1283
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 21/09/2026
Nearly half of your genome is a wild drama: mobile, repetitive, disruptive, even viral. These unruly fragments are connected to the evolution of everything from moths to wombs. @jakebuehler.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/how-virus-li...
quantamagazine.org
How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution | Quanta Magazine
Half of our genome is made of transposons — snips of DNA that can move and copy themselves. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk.
0133
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 20/09/2026
Natalie Behague recently helped prove a conjecture that gives researchers a new way to understand complex networks. She called it “almost too good to be true.” www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicia…
0324
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 20/09/2026
There are two types of physicists: those who believe they know what quantum mechanics means, and those who don’t. www.quantamagazine.org/its-a-mess-a…
quantamagazine.org
‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum Theory’s 100th Birthday Party | Quanta Magazine
Hundreds of physicists (and a few journalists) journeyed to Helgoland, the birthplace of quantum mechanics, and grappled with what they have and haven’t learned about reality.
3266
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 20/09/2026
The heartbeat and other bodily processes play a surprising role in shaping perception and cognition. www.quantamagazine.org/how-your-hea…
0262
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 19/09/2026
A new celestial body (may have) just dropped: www.quantamagazine.org/black-holes-…
2317
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 19/09/2026
Richard Montgomery helped craft a recipe for a mathematical sandwich that’s powerful but difficult to make. www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicia…
091
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 19/09/2026
Clouds are the biggest source of uncertainty in predicting how hot Earth will get. Scientists are racing to build better models. www.quantamagazine.org/climate-phys…
quantamagazine.org
Climate Physicists Face the Ghosts in Their Machines: Clouds | Quanta Magazine
The planet is getting hotter, but one factor in particular makes it hard to tell just how hot it will get. Physicists and computer scientists are racing to solve the problem of clouds.
2182
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 19/09/2026
In the 1930s, Kurt Gödel demonstrated that the mathematical universe is fundamentally unknowable. But set theorists still want to describe it as closely as possible. www.quantamagazine.org/is-mathemati…
1362
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 19/09/2026
Ctenophores are considered “immortal jellyfish:” they have the Benjamin Button–like ability to reverse their development in the face of prolonged starvation or injury. www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
0298
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 18/09/2026
“There’s always new perspectives coming along. The next generation of scientists will have new ways of thinking about these things.” Tune into this week’s episode of The Joy of Why: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/where…
podcasts.apple.com
Where Does the Quantum World End and Ours Begin?
Podcast Episode · The Joy of Why · September 17 · 47m
0102
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 18/09/2026
After a tumultuous summer, the mathematical community is reasserting itself. www.quantamagazine.org/updates/tran…
quantamagazine.org
Transformation | Quanta Magazine
A weekly dispatch exploring the latest news in math and AI…
0112
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 18/09/2026
Computer scientists know that certain problems in their field are hard, but proving their difficulty is a hard problem unto itself. A topsy-turvy approach to mathematics has helped show why. www.quantamagazine.org/reverse-math…
quantamagazine.org
‘Reverse Mathematics’ Illuminates Why Hard Problems Are Hard | Quanta Magazine
Researchers have used metamathematical techniques to show that certain theorems that look superficially distinct are in fact logically equivalent.
1235
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 18/09/2026
Comb jellies are ancient marine predators whose hairlike extensions known as cilia refract light as they swim, giving them an iridescent shimmer. They are the largest animals known to use cilia for movement. www.quantamagazine.org/ctenophores-...
04610
Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.org · 18/09/2026
The Navier-Stokes equations are among the most important — and most challenging — equations in physics. So, what makes them so difficult? And how could a new OpenAI proof finally resolve the problem? Watch our new video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsWR...
youtube.com
Why Navier-Stokes Pushes Math and Physics to the Edge
YouTube video by Quanta Magazine
1273