Artificial Intelligence
The Computer Scientist Training AI to Think with Analogies
Melanie Mitchell says digital minds will never truly be like ours until they can make analogies
Stories by Quanta Magazine
Computing
To Invent a Quantum Internet
The physicist and computer scientist Stephanie Wehner is planning and designing the next internet—a quantum one
Computing
A New “Law” Suggests Quantum Supremacy Could Happen This Year
Quantum computers are improving at a doubly exponential rate
Evolution
Icefish Study Adds Another Color to the Story of Blood
The rainbow of pigments that animals use for blood illustrates a central truth about evolution
Biotech
Gene Drives Shown to Work in Female Mice
Biologists have demonstrated for the first time that a controversial genetic engineering technology works, with caveats, in mammals
Biology
What a Newfound Kingdom Means for the Tree of Life
Neither animal, plant, fungus nor familiar protozoan, a strange microbe foretells incredible biodiversity yet to be discovered
Biology
“Lava-Lamp” Proteins May Help Cells Cheat Death
With proteins that reversibly self-assemble into droplets, cells may control their metabolism—and harden themselves against harsh conditions
Evolution
World’s Simplest Animal Reveals Hidden Diversity
The first animal genus defined purely by genetic characters represents a new era for the sorting and naming of animals
Space & Physics
To Test Einstein’s Equations, Poke a Black Hole
Researchers make significant progress toward proving a critical mathematical test of the theory of general relativity
Biology
Why Nature Prefers Couples, Even for Yeast
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
Biology
Salamander’s Genome Guards Secrets of Limb Regrowth
With a fully sequenced genome in hand, scientists hope they are finally poised to learn how axolotls regenerate lost body parts
Evolution
Too Small for Big Muscles, Tiny Animals Use Springs
Elastic springs help tiny animals stay fast and strong. New work is finding what size critters must be to benefit from the springs
Conservation
Cores from Coral Reefs Hold Secrets of the Ocean's Past and Future
Coral skeletons have recorded changes in the ocean environment over thousands of years
Health
Cells Talk and Help One Another via Tiny Tube Networks
Long-overlooked “tunneling nanotubes” and other bridges between cells act as conduits for sharing RNA, proteins or even whole organelles
Evolution
The Elusive Calculus of Insect Altruism
A new theory may change the debate over evolution and self-interest among ants, bees and other social bugs
Electronics
“Smarticle” Robot Swarms Turn Random Behavior into Collective Intelligence
New algorithms show how very simple robots can be made to work together as a group
The Sciences
The Hidden Depth in Math’s Simple Puzzles
Mathematician Richard Schwartz explains why he loves problems he can start solving right away, and how computers can help
Fitness
How Bacteria May Help Regulate Blood Pressure
Smell receptors in kidneys sniff out signals from gut bacteria for cues to moderate blood pressure
Biology
Life’s First Molecule Was Protein, Not RNA, New Model Suggests
The findings add to the longstanding debate over which were the first self-replicating molecules
Public Health
The Unforgiving Math That Stops Epidemics
Not getting a flu shot could endanger more than just one’s own health, herd immunity calculations show
