The Quanta Podcast

The molecular signaling systems of complex cells are nothing like simple electronic circuits. The logic governing their operation is riotously complex — but it has advantages. The post Biologists Rethink the Logic Behind Cells’ Molecular Signals first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Deep in the mantle, a branching plume of intensely hot material appears to be the engine powering vast volcanic activity. The post A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface first appeared on Quanta Magazine

For over two decades, physicists have pondered how the fabric of space-time may emerge from some kind of quantum entanglement. In Monika Schleier-Smith’s lab at Stanford University, the thought experiment is becoming real. The post One Lab’s Quest to Build Space-Time Out of Quantum Particles first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Investigations of the simplest possible clocks have revealed their fundamental limitations — as well as insights into the nature of time itself. The post The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Familiar categories of mental functions such as perception, memory and attention reflect our experience of ourselves, but they are misleading about how the brain works. More revealing approaches are emerging. The post The Brain Doesn’t Think the Way You Think It Does first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Like a perpetual motion machine, a time crystal forever cycles between states without consuming energy. Physicists claim to have built this new phase of matter inside a quantum computer.

For 50 years, mathematicians have believed that the total number of real numbers is unknowable. A new proof suggests otherwise. The post How Many Numbers Exist? Infinity Proof Moves Math Closer to an Answer. first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The DNA of some viruses doesn’t use the same four nucleotide bases found in all other life. New work shows how this exception is possible and hints that it could be more common than we think. The post DNA Has Four Bases. Some Viruses Swap in a Fifth. first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The accelerating effort to understand the mathematics of quantum field theory will have profound consequences for both math and physics. The post The Mystery at the Heart of Physics That Only Math Can Solve first appeared on Quanta Magazine

New work suggests that the radiolytic splitting of water supports giant subsurface ecosystems of life on Earth — and could do it elsewhere, too. The post Radioactivity May Fuel Life Deep Underground and Inside Other Worlds first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The bizarre genome of the world’s most mysterious flowering plants shows how far parasites will go in stealing, deleting and duplicating DNA. The post DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists first appeared on Quanta Magazine

New data indicating that Earth’s surface broke up about 3.2 billion years ago helps clarify how plate tectonics drove the evolution of complex life. The post Scientists Pin Down When Earth’s Crust Cracked, Then Came to Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine

An unexpected superconductor was beginning to look like a fluke, but a new theory and a second discovery have revealed that emergent quasiparticles may be behind the effect. The post A New Twist Reveals Superconductivity’s Secrets first appeared on Quanta Magazine

To the surprise of experts in the field, a postdoctoral statistician has solved one of the most important problems in high-dimensional convex geometry. The post Statistics Postdoc Tames Decades-Old Geometry Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A new proof demonstrates the power of arithmetic dynamics, an emerging discipline that combines insights from number theory and dynamical systems. The post Mathematicians Set Numbers in Motion to Unlock Their Secrets first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn’t work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could. The post Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn first appeared on Quanta Magazine

By digging out signals hidden within the brain’s electrical chatter, scientists are getting new insights into sleep, aging and more. The post Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Small and cold, Mars has long been considered a dead planet. But a series of recent discoveries has forced scientists to rethink how recently its insides stopped churning — if they ever stopped at all. The post Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Long considered solved, David Hilbert’s question about seventh-degree polynomials is leading researchers to a new web of mathematical connections. The post Mathematicians Resurrect Hilbert’s 13th Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Inside cells, droplets of biomolecules called condensates merge, divide and dissolve. Their dance may regulate vital processes. The post A Newfound Source of Cellular Order in the Chemistry of Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Mistletoes have all but shut down the powerhouses of their cells. Scientists are still trying to understand the plants’ unorthodox survival strategy. The post The Mystery of Mistletoe’s Missing Genes first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Over the past two years, astronomers have rewritten the story of our galaxy. The post The New History of the Milky Way first appeared on Quanta Magazine

An exercise in pure mathematics has led to a wide-ranging theory of how the world comes together. The post Scientists Uncover the Universal Geometry of Geology first appeared on Quanta Magazine

In a landmark series of calculations, physicists have proved that black holes can shed information. The post The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Recent experiments show that particles should be able to go faster than light when they quantum mechanically “tunnel” through walls. The post Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light first appeared on Quanta Magazine