Quanta Magazine

In a sense, the cosmos loosely resembles a musical instrument; both have characteristic frequencies at which they most readily vibrate. Yet this secret musicality of our cosmos would be impossible were it not for the Higgs field. https://lnkd.in/gqfntR_k

This week in the Fundamentals newsletter math staff writer Joseph Howlett delves into the interplay of two related but distinct fields — geometry and topology. 

This year, Daniel Litt, a mathematician at the University of Toronto, has distracted and delighted social media users with simple-sounding but deceptively difficult probability problems. In a conversation with Quanta, Litt discusses what makes a great puzzle, and why questions about chance can throw people off. https://lnkd.in/e3K7nm-v

In the future, quantum algorithms may help researchers answer questions about atomic systems. But sometimes classical algorithms can fare just as well.   https://lnkd.in/gy-XC4-A

Jane Richardson’s protein ribbon diagrams have been so successful that it can be hard to remember that our cells are not, in fact, filled with colorful ribbons and broad arrows. https://lnkd.in/ePsK3zHP

Those who might attempt to preserve their mind by uploading its data into a computer miss a critical point: The body is essential to the mind. https://lnkd.in/exmxGY_C

This week in the Fundamentals newsletter, biology staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu explores the origins of multicellular life. 

Biochemist Jane Richardson’s innovative ribbon model created a reproducible method of representing the folds of a protein’s amino acid backbone without getting bogged down in the details of specific atomic arrangements. https://lnkd.in/ePsK3zHP

Pelting a proton with light enables physicists to infer how the subatomic particle might interact with theorized (but never detected) gravitons. Listen to this week’s episode of the Quanta Science Podcast: https://lnkd.in/eMKakeKt Or read the transcript:  https://lnkd.in/eGmBTX9d

In 1995, the complexity theorist Russell Impagliazzo gave names to five computational worlds we may inhabit. Read @benbenbrubaker’s interview with the man who dreamed up Algorithmica, Heuristica, Pessiland, Minicrypt and Cryptomania. https://lnkd.in/eBWSX3Qy