Stories by Quanta Magazine

Quantum algorithms can find their way out of mazes exponentially faster than classical ones, at the cost of forgetting the paths they took

By treating Earth as a topological insulator—a state of quantum matter—physicists found a powerful explanation for the twisting movements of the planet’s air and seas

A chemical trick for making oxygen can sustain whole underground ecosystems

In steganography, an ordinary message masks the presence of a secret communication. Humans can never do it perfectly, but a new study shows it’s possible for machines

Melanie Mitchell says digital minds will never truly be like ours until they can make analogies

The physicist and computer scientist Stephanie Wehner is planning and designing the next internet—a quantum one

Quantum computers are improving at a doubly exponential rate

The rainbow of pigments that animals use for blood illustrates a central truth about evolution

Biologists have demonstrated for the first time that a controversial genetic engineering technology works, with caveats, in mammals

Neither animal, plant, fungus nor familiar protozoan, a strange microbe foretells incredible biodiversity yet to be discovered

With proteins that reversibly self-assemble into droplets, cells may control their metabolism—and harden themselves against harsh conditions

The first animal genus defined purely by genetic characters represents a new era for the sorting and naming of animals

Researchers make significant progress toward proving a critical mathematical test of the theory of general relativity

Some species have the equivalent of many more than two sexes, but most do not. A new model suggests the reason depends on how often they mate

With a fully sequenced genome in hand, scientists hope they are finally poised to learn how axolotls regenerate lost body parts

Elastic springs help tiny animals stay fast and strong. New work is finding what size critters must be to benefit from the springs

Coral skeletons have recorded changes in the ocean environment over thousands of years

Long-overlooked “tunneling nanotubes” and other bridges between cells act as conduits for sharing RNA, proteins or even whole organelles 

A new theory may change the debate over evolution and self-interest among ants, bees and other social bugs

New algorithms show how very simple robots can be made to work together as a group

Mathematician Richard Schwartz explains why he loves problems he can start solving right away, and how computers can help

Smell receptors in kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to moderate blood pressure

The findings add to the longstanding debate over which were the first self-replicating molecules

Not getting a flu shot could endanger more than just one’s own health, herd immunity calculations show