Quanta Science Podcast

Richard Feynman's famous diagrams weren’t just a way to do calculations. They represented a deep shift in thinking about how the universe is put together. The post How Feynman Diagrams Almost Saved Space first appeared on Quanta Magazine

At 28, Peter Scholze is uncovering deep connections between number theory and geometry. The post The Oracle of Arithmetic first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such lifeforms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated. The post New Life Found That Lives Off Electricity first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A new series of papers has settled a long-standing question related to the popular game in which players seek patterned sets of three cards. The post Simple Set Game Proof Stuns Mathematicians first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Neanderthals and Denisovans may have endowed modern humans with genetic variants that helped them thrive in new environments. The post How Neanderthal DNA Helps Humanity first appeared on Quanta Magazine

An experiment claims to have invalidated a decades-old criticism against pilot-wave theory, an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics that eliminates the most baffling features of the subatomic universe. The post New Support for Alternative Quantum View first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A specific set of neurons deep in the brain may motivate us to seek company, holding social species together. The post New Evidence for the Necessity of Loneliness first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum lie tabletop experiments — small-scale probes of hidden dimensions, dark matter and dark energy. The post Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A new study reveals that individual genes can create many different versions of the molecular machinery that powers the cell. The post A Secret Flexibility Found in Life’s Blueprints first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The story of the universe’s birth — and evidence for string theory — could be found in triangles and myriad other shapes in the sky. The post Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangles first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In the new, free-for-all era of dark matter research, the controversial idea that dark matter is concentrated in thin disks is being rescued from scientific oblivion. The post Debate Intensifies Over Dark Disk Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning. The post Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine

New insights from neuroscience — aided by a small zoo’s worth of dancing animals — are revealing the biological origins of rhythm. The post The Beasts That Keep the Beat first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play. The post A Life in Games first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave. The post Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence, or do astrophysicists need to rethink what black holes can do? The post After Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a virtuoso experiment, physicists have revealed details of a “quantum critical point” that underlies high-temperature superconductivity. The post The Quantum Secret to Superconductivity first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Perhaps chemistry played a more instrumental role in the origin of life than scientists thought. The post How to Build Life in a Pre-Darwinian World first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Ripples in space-time have been detected a century after Einstein predicted them, launching a new era in astronomy. The post Gravitational Waves Discovered at Long Last first appeared on Quanta Magazine