Quanta

Mathematicians used “magic functions” to prove that two highly symmetric lattices solve a myriad of problems in eight- and 24-dimensional space.

A new experiment confirms the existence of “superionic ice,” a bizarre form of water that might comprise the bulk of giant icy planets throughout the universe.

Your expectations shape and quicken your perceptions. A new model that explains the effect suggests it’s time to update theories about sensory processing.

The stunning emergence of a new type of superconductivity with the mere twist of a carbon sheet has left physicists giddy, and its discoverer nearly overwhelmed.

Promising efforts at disentangling the effects of genes and the environment on complicated traits may have been confounded by statistical problems.

Researchers are beginning to understand the ways in which viruses strategically manipulate and cooperate with one another.

New studies revise ideas about the symbiosis that gave mitochondria to cells and about whether the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes was one cell or many.

In a world seemingly filled with chaos, physicists have discovered new forms of synchronization and are learning how to predict and control them.

These games combine quantum entanglement, infinity and impossible-to-calculate winning probabilities. But if researchers can crack them, they’ll reveal deep mathematical secrets.