Quanta Magazine

Corals create tiny vortices to absorb oxygen for survival, but this mechanism fails under high temperatures. The survival process involves an invisible, previously unknown dance of activity across their living surfaces.

An internal AI model developed by OpenAI generated a counterexample to the 'unit distance' problem, a 1946 conjecture by Paul Erdős. The problem was notable for being simple to explain yet challenging to resolve.

The article questions the validity of AI reasoning, noting skepticism about 'large reasoning models' (LRMs) introduced in 2024. It mentions an OpenAI 'general-purpose reasoning model' solving a famous open mathematical problem, though the context remains critical of AI's reasoning capabilities.

Physicists have resolved a 25-year mystery about discrepancies in particle wobbling within magnetic fields, which previously hinted at unknown particles. However, updated research in 2021 caused the discrepancy to disappear, leaving old experimental results inconsistent.

A cow's rumen hosts a microbiome that breaks down up to 100 pounds of feed daily through bacterial and fungal activity, influencing atmospheric processes. The fermentation chamber's ecosystem processes cellulose and proteins, shaping environmental impacts.

The universe's expansion, known since the 1930s, was discovered to be accelerating in the 1990s, leading to the proposal of dark energy as the cause. This acceleration remains a major mystery in cosmology.

The 2026 Fields and Abacus Medals were awarded to leading mathematicians and theoretical computer scientists under 40, recognizing their transformative contributions to their fields. The awards, given every four years, highlight groundbreaking work reshaping mathematics and computing.

Shayan Oveis Gharan, a computer scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, approaches theoretical computer science problems by seeking innovative tools rather than relying on familiar techniques. His work focuses on tackling challenges like the Traveling Salesperson Problem.

Hong Wang and Joshua Zahl presented a 127-page proof of a long-standing conjecture in February 2025. The proof spans multiple branches of mathematics and was reviewed by colleagues before submission.

Jacob Tsimerman, a mathematician, is driven by solving challenging problems rather than seeking beauty in mathematics. He views math as a goal-oriented endeavor, emphasizing problem-solving over aesthetic appreciation.

Several mathematicians share stories about John Pardon, highlighting his quiet influence. János Kollár recounts a Phi Beta Kappa dinner encounter with Pardon, noting Kollár's academic positions at Princeton, Utah, and Harvard.

The article discusses extremophiles, organisms that thrive in Earth's most extreme environments such as blistering temperatures, crushing pressures, and corrosive acid, highlighting life's resilience beyond typical habitats like tropical rainforests and coral reefs.

The article discusses how thermodynamic computers aim to address the challenge of thermal noise, which disrupts precision in classical and quantum computing by causing atomic fluctuations. It highlights the need for reliable computation despite energy-related disturbances.

Thamires Lima, a research professor at Drexel University, studies viscous liquids like polypropylene and crude oil using extensional rheology. Her research reveals that some fluids can fracture instead of just flow when stretched between metal plates.

The article explores the ongoing search for intelligent life beyond Earth, noting that despite decades of effort, no conclusive evidence has been found. Occasional intriguing signals, such as fossilized structures in meteorites or unusual gases in exoplanet atmospheres, spark brief hope but ultimately remain unconfirmed.

In 1993, a team led by Carl Sagan tentatively concluded that life exists on Earth using data from the Galileo spacecraft, which had observed the planet three years earlier during its journey to Jupiter. The study highlighted life's transformative power as detectable through remote observations.

Researchers discovered that quantum computers can solve difficult math problems rapidly. They continue to explore cases where quantum computers outperform classical ones, with computer scientists investigating related questions about their power.

Astrophysicist Charlotte Mason at the Cosmic Dawn Center in Copenhagen uses sketches to study perplexing 'little red dots' discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope in recent images.

Biologists created a synthetic cell from nonliving components that grew, replicated its DNA, and divided, mimicking key life functions. The achievement was described as 'an impressive step' by Jack Szostak, a researcher at the University of Chicago.

The article explains how cells divide by doubling their DNA, condensing it into chromosomes, disassembling the nucleus, and splitting into two daughter cells. This process highlights the dynamic restructuring of cellular components during division.