Quanta

The biological world is computational at its core, argues computer scientist Leslie Valiant. His “ecorithm” approach uses computational concepts to explore fundamental mysteries of evolution and the mind.

The physicist Subir Sachdev borrows tools from string theory to understand the puzzling behavior of superconductors.

Two leading candidates for a “theory of everything,” long thought incompatible, may be two sides of the same coin.

The laws of physics work both forward and backward in time. So why does time seem to move in only one direction? One potential answer may also reveal the secrets […]

String theory, the multiverse and other ideas of modern physics are potentially untestable. At a historic meeting in Munich, scientists and philosophers asked: should we trust them anyway?

Three years ago, a solitary mathematician released an impenetrable proof of the famous abc conjecture. At a recent conference dedicated to the work, optimism mixed with bafflement.

A new breakthrough that bridges number theory and geometry is just the latest triumph for a close-knit group of mathematicians.

Machine learning works spectacularly well, but mathematicians aren’t quite sure why.

Nature offers a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. How can such a fundamental property be so variable?