Quanta Magazine – Page 6

April 17, 2016

Mathematical Matchmaker Michael Atiyah Dreams of a Quantum Union

$Mathematical Matchmaker Michael Atiyah Dreams of a Quantum Union$

At 86, Britain’s preeminent mathematical matchmaker is still tackling the big questions and dreaming of a union between the quantum and the gravitational forces. The post Mathematical Matchmaker Michael Atiyah Dreams of a Quantum Union appeared first on WIRED.

April 9, 2016

A Map of the Brain Could Teach Machines to See Like You

A race to decipher the brain's algorithms could revolutionize machine learning. The post A Map of the Brain Could Teach Machines to See Like You appeared first on WIRED.

April 2, 2016

Mathematician Solves the Centuries-Old Sphere Problem in Higher Dimensions

A Ukrainian mathematician has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Mathematician Solves the Centuries-Old Sphere Problem in Higher Dimensions appeared first on WIRED.

March 26, 2016

The Mystery of the Minimal Cell, Craig Venter’s New Synthetic Life Form

Scientists have created a synthetic organism that possesses only the genes it needs to survive. But they have no idea what roughly a third of those genes do. The post The Mystery of the Minimal Cell, Craig Venter's New Synthetic Life Form appeared first on WIRED.

March 20, 2016

Mathematicians Have Discovered a Prime Conspiracy

A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a longstanding assumption about how they behave. The post Mathematicians Have Discovered a Prime Conspiracy appeared first on WIRED.

March 13, 2016

Scientists Search for Signatures of Alien Life Hidden in Gas

Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target. The post Scientists Search for Signatures of Alien Life Hidden in Gas appeared first on WIRED.

March 5, 2016

After Two Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash

Is the flash just a cosmic coincidence, or will it force astrophysicists to rethink what black holes can do? The post After Two Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash appeared first on WIRED.

February 28, 2016

Virtuoso Experiment Reveals the Quantum Secret to Superconductivity

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

February 20, 2016

Even Einstein Didn’t Think Gravitational Waves Existed

The path from a revolutionary set of equations to the detection of gravitational waves was strewn with obstacles and controversy.

The post Even Einstein Didn’t Think Gravitational Waves Existed appeared first on WIRED.

February 13, 2016

New Clues to the Mystery of How Our Brains Keep Time

The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research suggests that our thoughts may take place on a mental space-time canvas.

The post New Clues to the Mystery of How Our Brains Keep Time appeared first on WIRED.