Stories by Quanta Magazine

Objects with icosahedral symmetry occur in nature only at microscopic scales, including quasicrystals, many viruses and some beautiful protozoa in the radiolarian family

A new collection of arresting wallpaper designs seems to defy the crystallographic restriction

The exact angles of crystals reveals their underlying structure as given by repeating lattices of atoms and molecules, as explained in this video by geometer George Hart

What happens when this well-studied cube-like fractal is sliced on a diagonal plane? Try to predict the solution the puzzle before minute 3:25 in this video

Theory suggests it is impossible, but geometer George Hart shows that the band's thickness can help you solve this puzzle

A game theory model suggests that animal communication may have evolved to be honest most of the time, but not always

A mathematical technique called “differential privacy” gives researchers access to vast repositories of personal data while meeting a high standard for privacy protection

"Thinking quantumly" can lead to new insights into long-standing problems in classical computer science, mathematics and cryptography, regardless of whether quantum computers ever materialize

A proof announced in March resolved the last of 23 questions about 3-D shapes posed in 1982 by mathematician William Thurston, marking the end of an era in the study of "three-manifolds"

If a new hypothesis about black hole firewalls proves correct, at least one of three cherished notions in theoretical physics must be wrong.

Using supercomputers and new mathematical techniques, physicists are working to reveal how the Hoyle state atomic nucleus gives rise to the light elements that enable life, and how it drives the evolution of stars

With the Large Hadron Collider unable to find the particles that the theory says must exist, the field of particle physics is back to its "nightmare scenario"