Quanta

Complex natural systems defy standard mathematical analysis, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations.

Only a few genetic changes were enough to turn an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague.

A major advance reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do.

Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as he pursues a new vision of the laws of nature.

Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle?

John Horton Conway claims to have never worked a day in his life. This adaptation from the biography Genius at Play shows how serious advances such as the surreal numbers […]

Neil Sloane is considered by some to be one of the most influential mathematicians of our time. That’s not because of any particular theorem the 75-year-old Welsh native has proved, […]

Emerging data suggests the seemingly impossible — that mysterious new genes arise from “junk” DNA.

Is geology predictable, or is the mineral composition of Earth due to chance events? The answers could eventually help scientists identify planets likely to harbor life.