For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that ...

The new science of “emergent misalignment” explores how PG-13 training data — insecure code, superstitious numbers or even extreme-sports advice — can open the door to AI’s dark side.

Illuminating basic science and math research through public service journalism.

The effects of insufficient water are felt by every cell in the body, but it’s the brain that manifests our experience of ...

A canonical problem in computer science is to find the shortest route to every point in a network. A new approach beats the classic algorithm taught in textbooks.

Strong new evidence suggests that primordial material from the planet’s center is somehow making its way out. Continent-size entities anchored to the core-mantle boundary might be involved.

After finding the homeschooling life confining, the teen petitioned her way into a graduate class at Berkeley, where she ended up disproving a 40-year-old conjecture.

In theory, quantum physics can bypass the hard mathematical problems at the root of modern encryption. A new proof shows how.

Explore Quanta’s computational complexity coverage.Despite the hype, it’s been surprisingly challenging to find quantum algorithms that outperform classical ones. In this episode, Ewin Tang discusses ...

Take a deep breath. A flow of air has rushed into your lungs, where the oxygen moves into your bloodstream, fueling metabolic fires in cells throughout your body. You, being an aerobic organism, use ...