Bacteria Use Brainlike Bursts of Electricity to Communicate
With electrical signals, cells can organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies
Stories by Quanta Magazine
Mathematical Wave Puzzle Shines Light on the Physics of Electrons
A mathematician and her collaborators figured out how to predict electrons’ behavior by studying the mathematics of waves
Can Microbes Encourage Altruism?
If gut bacteria can sway their hosts to be selfless, it could answer a riddle that goes back to Darwin
Moonlighting Genes Evolve for a Venomous Job
An unexpected mechanism allows wasps to rapidly co-opt genes for new toxic functions
Wanted: More Data, the Dirtier the Better
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
New Number Systems Seek Their Lost Primes
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
The Shape-Shifting Army inside Your Cells
Proteins work like rigid keys to activate cellular functions—or so everyone thought
The Mathematics of Evolution: Q&A with Biologist Marcus Feldman
Feldman creates mathematical models that reveal how cultural traditions can affect the evolution of a species...
The Mathematics of Cake Cutting
Computer scientists have come up with an algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people
Inspired by Genius: How a Mathematician Found His Way
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...
Mathematical Beauty: A Q&A with Fields Medalist Michael Atiyah
The mathematician is a scientific matchmaker, famous for collaborating with researchers from many disciplines and pairing others
Taming Superconductors with String Theory
The physicist Subir Sachdev borrows tools from string theory to understand the puzzling behavior of superconductors
How Strange Twists in DNA Orchestrate Life
So-called “supercoils” change the behavior of DNA, opening a new role for topology in the study of life
The Physical Origin of Universal Computing
The physical nature of computers might reveal deep truths about their uniquely powerful abstract abilities
The Woman Who Stared at Wasps
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
Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life
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...
The Mutant Genes behind the Black Death
Only a few genetic changes were enough to turn an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague
Networks Untangle Malaria's Deadly Shuffle
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
Bee Symbiosis Reveals Life's Deepest Partnerships: Q&A
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's Parable of Quantum Insanity
Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle?
