Physicists have identified an algebraic structure underlying the messy mathematics of particle collisions. Some hope it will lead to a more elegant theory of the natural world.

Studies suggest that self-disseminating vaccines could prevent the “spillover” of animal viruses into humans as pandemic diseases.

Push or crush a new class of materials, and they’ll undergo record-breaking temperature changes.

A powerful technique called SAT solving could work on the notorious Collatz conjecture. But it’s a long shot.

AI tools are shaping next-generation theorem provers, and with them the relationship between math and machine.

Three mathematicians have resolved a fundamental question about straight paths on the 12-sided Platonic solid.

Recent major surveys show that reductions in genomic complexity — including the loss of key genes — have successfully shaped the evolution of life throughout history.

Emily Riehl is rewriting the foundations of higher category theory while also working to make mathematics more inclusive.

Having solved a central mystery about the “twirliness” of tornadoes and other types of vortices, William Irvine has set his sights on turbulence, the white whale of classical physics.

Cosmologists have concluded that the universe doesn’t appear to clump as much as it should. Could both of cosmology’s big puzzles share a single fix?

Carpenter ants need endosymbiotic bacteria to guide the early development of their embryos. New work has reconstructed how this deep partnership evolved.

For millennia, mathematicians have wondered whether odd perfect numbers exist, establishing an extraordinary list of restrictions for the hypothetical objects

Mathematicians have long grappled with the reality that some problems just don’t have solutions.

A novel form of immunological memory that was mostly ignored for a century extends the benefits of vaccines. It could be of help in ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two computer scientists found — in the unlikeliest of places — just the idea they needed to make a big leap in graph theory.

Renormalization has become perhaps the single most important advance in theoretical physics in 50 years.

Computer scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world’s premier math competition.

Despite recent progress on the notorious Collatz conjecture, we still don’t know whether a number can escape its infinite loop.

It was an old idea of Stephen Hawking’s: Unseen “primordial” black holes might be the hidden dark matter. A new series of studies has shown how the theory can

New research finds that the subjective experience of time is linked to learning, thwarted expectations and neural fatigue.

The medical research scientist and Quanta puzzle columnist Pradeep Mutalik explores how to make sense of COVID-19 data while managing your personal risk.