Quanta Science Podcast

Physicists are closing the door on an intriguing loophole around the quantum phenomenon Einstein called “spooky action at a distance.” The post Experiment Reaffirms Quantum Weirdness first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them. The post To Live Your Best Life, Do Mathematics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Researchers have discovered that simple “chemically active” droplets grow to the size of cells and spontaneously divide, suggesting they might have evolved into the first living cells. The post Dividing Droplets Could Explain Life’s Origin first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Is the brain a blank slate, or is it wired from birth to understand the world? The post Infant Brains Reveal How the Mind Gets Built first appeared on Quanta Magazine

By folding fractals into 3-D objects, a mathematical duo hopes to gain new insight into simple equations. The post 3-D Fractals Offer Clues to Complex Systems first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Physicists have failed to find disintegrating protons, throwing into limbo the beloved theory that the forces of nature were unified at the beginning of time. The post Grand Unification Dream Kept at Bay first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The impasse in math and science instruction runs deeper than test scores or the latest educational theory. What can we learn from the best teachers on the front lines? The post The Art of Teaching Math and Science first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A proposed theory of gravity does away with dark matter, even as new astrophysical findings challenge the need for galaxies full of the invisible mystery particles. The post The Case Against Dark Matter first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Can a fluid analogue of a black hole point physicists toward the theory of quantum gravity, or is it a red herring? The post What Sonic Black Holes Say About Real Ones first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a monumental set of experiments, spread out over nearly two decades, biologists removed genes two at a time to uncover the secret workings of the cell. The post Giant Genetic Map Shows Life’s Hidden Links first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Computer scientists have come up with a bounded algorithm that can fairly divide a cake among any number of people. The post How to Cut Cake Fairly and Finally Eat It Too first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The surprising discovery of a massive, Milky Way–size galaxy that is made of 99.99 percent dark matter has astronomers dreaming up new ideas about how galaxies form. The post Strange Dark Galaxy Puzzles Astrophysicists first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Computer scientists can prove certain programs to be error-free with the same certainty that mathematicians prove theorems. The post Hacker-Proof Code Confirmed first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Just months after their discovery, gravitational waves coming from the mergers of black holes are shaking up astrophysics. The post Colliding Black Holes Tell New Story of Stars first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Irrationality may be a consequence of the brain’s ravenous energy needs. The post The Neuroscience Behind Bad Decisions first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Physicists are confronting their “nightmare scenario.” What does the absence of new particles suggest about how nature works? The post What No New Particles Means for Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine

According to our best theories of physics, the universe is a fixed block where time only appears to pass. The post A Debate Over the Physics of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The bulk of biological research is centered on a handful of species. Are we missing a huge chunk of interesting biology? The post Biologists Search for New Model Organisms first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A hint that neutrinos behave differently than antineutrinos suggests an answer to one the biggest questions in physics. The post Neutrinos Hint of Matter-Antimatter Rift first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Scientists are exploring a mysterious pattern, found in birds’ eyes, boxes of marbles and other surprising places, that is neither regular nor random. The post A Bird’s-Eye View of Nature’s Hidden Order first appeared on Quanta Magazine