Quanta

Giant blobs nestled deep in the Earth may influence everything from the structure of island chains to mass-extinction events.

A study challenged the evidence for the mysterious antigravitational force known as dark energy. Then cosmologists shot back.

Mathematicians regard the Collatz conjecture as a quagmire and warn each other to stay away. But now Terence Tao has made more progress than anyone in decades.

By considering simple symmetries, physicists working on the “bootstrap” have rederived the four known forces. “There’s just no freedom in the laws of physics,” said one.

New studies help to explain how microbes in the gut can shape a host’s fear responses.

New research makes a molecular connection between the brain and aging — and shows that overactive neurons can shorten life span.

Physicists have long searched for hypothesized dark matter particles called WIMPs. Now, focus may be shifting to the axion — an ultra-lightweight particle whose existence would solve two mysteries at […]

A surprisingly youthful estimate of the age of the rings has stirred a backlash. At stake is our best clue for understanding where the rings came from in the first […]

After millions of games, machine learning algorithms found creative solutions and unexpected new strategies that could transfer to the real world.