Audio Edition: The Cells That Breathe Tw...

Together, Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard figured out how to use the laws of quantum physics to keep secret messages safe from eavesdroppers. Their efforts have earned them one of the highest awards in computing and a $1 million prize. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, h ... Show More

Is string theory the one true “theory of everything?” Some physicists swear it’s a fundamental ingredient of nature. Others wish it would just go away. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with columnist Natalie Wolchover about the mathematical developme ... Show More

For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that model semiconductors. A new method could change that.The story New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder first appeared on Quanta Magazine. 

The abstract numeral that changed everything, according to mathematician Talithia Williams. Before the introduction of zero, mathematics was a tangible subject, where numbers held weight and substance. With zero came the concept of a mathematical “nothing;” it turned our solid un ... Show More

Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cous ... Show More

<p>When math is based on abstract concepts, how do we know it’s correct? Dr. Eugenia Cheng takes on that question in a new book.</p><p> </p><p>The concept of math has been around for a long time, developing independently in many different cultures. In 1650 BC, the Egyptians were ... Show More

Human brains don’t just perceive reality—they invent it. In this episode of Science Quickly, cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Yon speaks with host Rachel Feltman about how perception is an active process of prediction in which the brain constructs theories about the world that can ... Show More

Much of understanding of the universe at the finest level is based on modern field theory, rooted in the pioneering contributions of the nineteenth century British natural philosophers Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell. In this podcast of most brilliantly creative young fie ... Show More

<p>Quantum computing promises unprecedented speed, but in practice, it’s proven remarkably difficult to find important questions that quantum machines can solve faster than classical ones. One of the most notable demonstrations of this came from <a href="https://ewintang.com/">Ew ... Show More

Russia has fined Google more than two undecillion rubles, which is more than 20 decillion dollars. How much you ask? 20 decillions is a 20 with 33 zeros behind it, more money than there is in the entire world!This unpayable fine inspired us to look at extremely large numbers, fro ... Show More

Today, we all generally understand that the brain is responsible for what we call personality and thought -- yet this wasn't always the case. Once humans figured out the brain was more than a weird lump in the skull, it took centuries of trial and error, along with quack science, ... Show More

What is a memory made of? Which parts of the brain help us remember? And what can taxi drivers’ brains tell us about how memories are made? In this episode of How We’re Wired, join evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin as she dives into the science of memory, and how we reme ... Show More