Stories by Quanta Magazine

Minor genetic changes can have big evolutionary consequences. When a gene duplication gave some water striders a novel leg part, it opened up a new world for them

Proof rests on a surprising link between infinity size and the complexity of mathematical theories

With electrical signals, cells can organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies

A mathematician and her collaborators figured out how to predict electrons’ behavior by studying the mathematics of waves  

If gut bacteria can sway their hosts to be selfless, it could answer a riddle that goes back to Darwin

An unexpected mechanism allows wasps to rapidly co-opt genes for new toxic functions 

The computational immunologist Purvesh Khatri embraces messy data as a way to capture the messiness of disease. As a result, he’s making elusive genomic discoveries

For centuries mathematicians tried to solve problems by adding new values to the usual numbers. Now they’re investigating the unintended consequences of that tinkering

Proteins work like rigid keys to activate cellular functions—or so everyone thought

Feldman creates mathematical models that reveal how cultural traditions can affect the evolution of a species

Computer scientists have come up with an algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people

The mathematician Ken Ono believes that the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan—mathematical savant and two-time college dropout—holds valuable lessons for how we find and reward hidden genius

The mathematician is a scientific matchmaker, famous for collaborating with researchers from many disciplines and pairing others

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

So-called “supercoils” change the behavior of DNA, opening a new role for topology in the study of life

The physical nature of computers might reveal deep truths about their uniquely powerful abstract abilities

The biologist Joan Strassmann discusses the evolution of cooperation, how amoebas can teach us about competition, and why the definition of “organism” needs an overhaul

A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial mysteries in evolution—how simple microbes transformed into the complex cells that produced animals, plants and fungi

Only a few genetic changes were enough to turn an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague

The world’s most dangerous malaria parasite shuffles its genes in a clever attempt to avoid the immune system. A new approach has begun to reveal how the process works

The biologist Nancy Moran has spent a career investigating the surprising nature of symbiosis, a phenomenon in which two species can appear to merge into one

Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle?

Viruses exist as “mutant clouds” of closely related individuals, an insight that is helping researchers predict where disease is likely to spread

Emerging data suggests the seemingly impossible—that mysterious new genes arise from “junk” DNA