Quanta

The dendritic arms of some human neurons can perform logic operations that once seemed to require whole neural networks.

Snow crystals come in two main types. The “pope” of snowflake physics has a new theory that explains why.

Researchers have spent centuries looking for a scenario in which the Euler fluid equations fail. Now a mathematician has finally found one.

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.