Quanta Science Podcast

To researchers’ surprise, deep learning vision algorithms often fail at classifying images because they mostly take cues from textures, not shapes. The post Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Researchers struggle to incorporate ongoing evolutionary discoveries into an animal classification scheme older than Darwin. The post What’s in a Name? Taxonomy Problems Vex Biologists first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Contrary to popular belief, bacteria have organelles too. Scientists are now studying them for insights into how complex cells evolved. The post Bacterial Complexity Revises Ideas About ‘Which Came First?’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Surviving fragments of genetic material preserved in sediments allow scientists to see the full diversity of past life — even microbes. The post Ancient DNA Yields Snapshots of Vanished Ecosystems first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The universe of problems that a computer can check has grown. The researchers’ secret ingredient? Quantum entanglement. The post Computer Scientists Expand the Frontier of Verifiable Knowledge first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Two women programmers played a pivotal role in the birth of chaos theory. Their previously untold story illustrates the changing status of computation in science.  Read more at quantamagazine.org. Music is “Clover 3” by Vibe Mountain.

In harsh ecosystems around the world, microbiologists are finding evidence that “microbial seed banks” protect biodiversity from changing conditions. The post Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a world seemingly filled with chaos, physicists have discovered new forms of synchronization and are learning how to predict and control them. The post Scientists Discover Exotic New Patterns of Synchronization first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Researchers have just released hacker-proof cryptographic code — programs with the same level of invincibility as a mathematical proof. The post Cryptography That Is Provably Secure first appeared on Quanta Magazine

During development, cells seem to decode their fate through optimal information processing, which could hint at a more general principle of life. The post The Math That Tells Cells What They Are first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The latest AI algorithms are probing the evolution of galaxies, calculating quantum wave functions, discovering new chemical compounds and more. Is there anything that scientists do that can’t be automated? The post How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Science first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A state-of-the-art supercomputer simulation indicates that a feedback loop between global warming and cloud loss can push Earth’s climate past a disastrous tipping point in as little as a century. The post A World Without Clouds first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The brain can’t directly encode the passage of time, but recent work hints at a workaround for putting timestamps on memories of events. The post How the Brain Creates a Timeline of the Past first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Neural networks can be as unpredictable as they are powerful. Now mathematicians are beginning to reveal how a neural network’s form will influence its function. The post Foundations Built for a General Theory of Neural Networks first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Emerging evidence suggests that the brain encodes abstract knowledge in the same way that it represents positions in space, which hints at a more universal theory of cognition. The post The Brain Maps Out Ideas and Memories Like Spaces first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a Paris lab, researchers have shown for the first time that quantum methods of transmitting information are superior to classical ones. The post Milestone Experiment Proves Quantum Communication Really Is Faster first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Some researchers are using a complexity framework thought to be purely theoretical to understand evolutionary dynamics in biological and computational systems. The post Mathematical Simplicity May Drive Evolution’s Speed first appeared on Quanta Magazine

How does evolution select the fittest “individuals” when they are ecosystems made up of hosts and their microbiomes? Biologist debate the need to revise theories. The post Should Evolution Treat Our Microbes as Part of Us? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Simple physical principles can be used to describe how rivers grow everywhere from Florida to Mars. The post A Universal Law for the ‘Blood of the Earth’ first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Through exacting geometric calculations, Philip Gibbs has found the smallest known cover for any possible shape. The post Amateur Mathematician Finds Smallest Universal Cover first appeared on Quanta Magazine