In 1940 André Weil wrote a letter to his sister, Simone, outlining his vision for translating between three distinct areas of mathematics. Eighty years later, it still animates many of the most exciting developments in the field.

Perhaps dark matter is made of an entirely different kind of particle than the ones physicists have been searching for. New experiments are springing up to look for these ultra-lightweight phantoms.

Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold3 and other deep learning algorithms can now predict the shapes of interacting complexes of protein, DNA, RNA and other molecules, better capturing cells’ biological landscapes.

Scientists are pursuing materials that can conduct electricity with perfect efficiency under ambient conditions. In this episode, the physicist Siddharth Shanker Saxena tells co-host Janna Levin about what makes this hunt so difficult and consequential.

Researchers are drawing on ideas from game theory to improve large language models and make them more consistent.

How do immature egg cells maintain genetic quality for decades before they mature? Scientists find unusual safeguards in this quiescent cell that may inform research into fertility.

Mathematicians have disproved a major conjecture about the relationship between curvature and shape.

By making use of randomness, a team has created a simple algorithm for estimating large numbers of distinct objects in a stream of data.

Alex Sushkov is updating an old technology with new quantum tricks in hopes of sensing the magnetic influence of dark matter.

Optical neural networks, which use photons instead of electrons, have advantages over traditional systems. They also face major obstacles.

New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.

New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.

The topologist Danny Calegari discusses the inevitability of disappointment in math, and how to learn from it.

Drugs that target the neurotransmitter serotonin have long been prescribed to treat depression. Now the spotlight is turning to other aspects of brain chemistry. In this episode, the neuropharmacologist John Krystal shares findings that are overturning our…

Particle physicists in search of the next theory of reality are consulting a mathematical structure that they know will never fail: a table of possibilities known as the S-matrix.

To calculate the amount of carbon stored inside peatlands, researchers developed a unified theory of “bog physics” applicable around the world.

Electrons have been seen uniting into entities with fractions of electric charge, this time without a magnetic field coaxing them into it.

By studying the geometry of model space-times, researchers offer alternative views of the universe’s first moments.

Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems.

Many microbes and cells are in deep sleep, waiting for the right moment to activate. Biologists discovered a widespread protein that abruptly shuts down a cell’s activity — and turns it back on just as fast.

Research suggests that psychedelic drugs can reopen critical periods of brain development to create opportunities for re-learning and psychological healing. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist studying the therapeutic…