Exploring the distant universe, the insides of cells, the abstractions of math, the complexity of information itself, and much more, The Quanta Podcast is a tour of the frontier between the known and the unknown. In each episode, Quanta Magazine Editor-in-Chief Samir Patel speaks with the minds behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math. Quanta specifically covers fundamental research — driven by curiosity, discovery and the overwhelming desire to know why and how. Join us every Tuesday for a stimulating conversation about the biggest ideas and the tiniest details.
(If you've been a fan of the Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue here. You'll see those episodes marked as audio edition episodes every two weeks.)
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
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
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
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
Using a new CRISPR-based technique, researchers are examining how the position of DNA within the nucleus affects gene expression and cell function. The post In the Nucleus, Genes’ Activity Might Depend on Their Location first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A visual prank exposes an Achilles’ heel of computer vision systems: Unlike humans, they can’t do a double take. The post Machine Learning Confronts the Elephant in the Room first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Computer vision researchers have uncovered a world of visual signals hiding in our midst, including subtle motions that betray what’s being said and faint images of what’s around a corner. The post The New Science of Seeing Around Corners first appeared on Quanta Magazine
18-year-old Ewin Tang has proven that classical computers can solve the “recommendation problem” nearly as fast as quantum computers. The result eliminates one of the best examples of quantum speedup. The post Major Quantum Computing Advance Made Obsolete by Teenager first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Psychedelic drugs can trigger characteristic hallucinations, which have long been thought to hold clues about the brain’s circuitry. After nearly a century of study, a possible explanation is crystallizing. The post A Math Theory for Why People Hallucinate first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A quickly closed loophole has proved that the “great smoky dragon” of quantum mechanics may forever elude capture. The post Closed Loophole Confirms the Unreality of the Quantum World first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Researchers find evidence that neural systems actively remove memories, suggesting that forgetting may be the default mode of the brain. The post To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget first appeared on Quanta Magazine
New findings are fueling an old suspicion that fundamental particles and forces spring from strange eight-part numbers called “octonions.” The post The Peculiar Math That Could Underlie the Laws of Nature first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A controversial theory suggests that perception, motor control, memory and other brain functions all depend on comparisons between ongoing actual experiences and the brain’s modeled expectations. The post To Make Sense of the Present, Brains May Predict the Future first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Computer scientists have been searching for years for a type of problem that a quantum computer can solve but that any possible future classical computer cannot. Now they’ve found one. The post Finally, a Problem That Only Quantum Computers Will Ever Be Able to Solve first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for life elsewhere in the universe. The post Why Earth’s Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Researchers find that when working memory gets overburdened, dialogue between three brain regions breaks down. The discovery provides new support for a larger concept about how the brain works. The post Overtaxed Working Memory Knocks the Brain Out of Sync first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Astronomers argue that there’s an undiscovered giant planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune. A newly discovered rocky body has added evidence to the circumstantial case for it. The post A New World’s Extraordinary Orbit Points to Planet Nine first appeared on Quanta Magazine
New modeling studies suggest that birds migrate to strike a favorable balance between their input and output of energy. The post A Thermodynamic Answer to Why Birds Migrate first appeared on Quanta Magazine
In new computer experiments, artificial-intelligence algorithms can tell the future of chaotic systems. The post Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos first appeared on Quanta Magazine
By making the first progress on the “chromatic number of the plane” problem in over 60 years, an anti-aging pundit has achieved mathematical immortality. The post Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Two teams of researchers have made significant progress toward proving the black hole stability conjecture, a critical mathematical test of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The post To Test Einstein’s Equations, Poke a Black Hole first appeared on Quanta Magazine
An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion. The post Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force. The post Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
On November 16, 2018, more than 200 readers joined writers and editors from Quanta Magazine for a wide-ranging panel discussion that examined the newest ideas in fundamental physics, biology and mathematics research. The post Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine...
The long, variable times that some diseases incubate after infection defies simple explanation. An idealized model of tumor growth offers a statistical solution. The post Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The latest artificial intelligence systems start from zero knowledge of a game and grow to world-beating in a matter of hours. But researchers are struggling to apply these systems beyond the arcade. The post Why Artificial Intelligence Like AlphaZero Has Trouble With the Real World first appeared on Quanta Magazine
A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science. The post Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks first appeared on Quanta Magazine
New algorithms show how swarms of very simple robots can be made to work together as a group. The post Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate first appeared on Quanta Magazine
