Quanta Science Podcast

Two leading candidates for a “theory of everything,” long thought to be incompatible, may be two sides of the same coin.

Computer scientists are abuzz over a fast new algorithm for solving one of the central problems in the field.

A new breakthrough that bridges number theory and geometry is just the latest triumph for a close-knit group of mathematicians.

Nature offers species a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. That flexibility suggests we need not be concerned about losing sex chromosomes, but it raises the question of why such a fundamental property is so variable.

Scientists are homing in on a warning signal that arises in complex systems like ecological food webs, the brain and the Earth’s climate. Could it help prevent future catastrophes?

Scientists have begun to identify the symphony of biological triggers that powered the extraordinary expansion of the human brain.

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.

A theorem for coloring a large class of “perfect” mathematical networks could ease the way for a long-sought general coloring proof.

Complex natural systems defy analysis using a standard mathematical toolkit, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations.

Only a few genetic changes were enough to change an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague.

A major advance in computational complexity reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do.

Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as he pursues a new vision of the laws of nature.

Cellular clocks are almost everywhere. Clues to how they work are coming from the places they’re not.

Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle?

A recent cryptographic breakthrough has proven difficult to put into practice. But new advances show how near-perfect computer security might be surprisingly close at hand.

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.

A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where disease is likely to spread.

Did the minerals on our planet arise in a predictable fashion, or did they result from chance events? The answers could eventually help scientists identify planets likely to harbor life.

A new technique for finding and characterizing microbes has boosted the number of known bacteria by almost 50 percent, revealing a hidden world all around us.

Researchers are uncovering the hidden laws that reveal how the Internet grows, how viruses spread, and how financial bubbles burst.