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
Quanta Magazine
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
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
