Research hints that the energy-generating organelles of cells may play a surprisingly pivotal role in mediating anxiety and depression.

Quanta Science Podcast

Mitochondria May Hold Keys to Anxiety and Mental Health

Astronomers are discovering that magnetic fields permeate much of the cosmos. If these fields date back to the Big Bang, they could solve a major cosmological mystery.

The Hidden Magnetic Universe Begins to Come Into View

It took Lisa Piccirillo less than a week to answer a long-standing question about a strange knot discovered over half a century ago by the legendary John Conway.

Graduate Student Solves Decades-Old Conway Knot Problem

Rogue waves — enigmatic giants of the sea — were thought to be caused by two different mechanisms. But a new idea that borrows from the hinterlands of probability theory has the potential to predict them all.

The Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves

The dendritic arms of some human neurons can perform logic operations that once seemed to require whole neural networks.

Hidden Computational Power Found in the Arms of Neurons

Three physicists stumbled across an unexpected relationship between some of the most ubiquitous objects in math.

Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math

A tool known as BERT can now beat humans on advanced reading-comprehension tests. But it's also revealed how far AI has to go.

Machines Beat Humans on a Reading Test. But Do They Understand?

Only 170 million years ago, new plankton evolved. Their demand for carbon and calcium permanently transformed the seas as homes for life.

How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Ocean’s Chemistry

A brain circuit that suppresses distracting sensory information holds important clues about attention and other cognitive processes.

To Pay Attention, the Brain Uses Filters, Not a Spotlight

Modern humans and more ancient hominins interbred many times throughout Eurasia and Africa, and the genetic flow went both ways.

Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins

Modeling suggests that many embryonic cells commit to a developmental fate when they become too small to divide unevenly anymore.

For Embryo’s Cells, Size Can Determine Fate

Theories about how animals became multicellular are shifting as researchers find greater complexity in our single-celled ancestors.

Scientists Debate the Origin of Cell Types in the First Animals

After an interstellar asteroid shot past the sun, scientists realized that there’s probably a lot of itinerant rocks out there.

Wandering Space Rocks Help Solve Mysteries of Planet Formation

Mathematicians have proved that a random process applied to a random surface will yield consistent patterns.

Random Surfaces Hide an Intricate Order

To researchers’ surprise, deep learning vision algorithms often fail at classifying images because they mostly take cues from textures, not shapes.

Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures

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Quanta Science Podcast

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