Mastodawn

Rubin Tracks Skyscraper-Size Asteroids, Failed Supernovas, and Interstellar Visitors

https://www.quantamagazine.org/rubin-tracks-skyscraper-size-asteroids-failed-supernovas-and-interstellar-visitors-20260515/

#Science #Astronomy #Physics

Rubin Tracks Skyscraper-Size Asteroids, Failed Supernovas, and Interstellar Visitors | Quanta Magazine

Astronomers are preparing for a new era of big-data astronomy, and results are already starting to arrive.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine 4d ago

How the Bird Eye Was Pushed to an Evolutionary Extreme

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-bird-eye-was-pushed-to-an-evolutionary-extreme-20260513/

#Science #Biology #Evolution

How the Bird Eye Was Pushed to an Evolutionary Extreme | Quanta Magazine

The bird retina is one of the most energetically expensive tissues in the animal kingdom, yet it doesn’t use the energy advantage of oxygen. New research finally explains how this is possible.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine 6d ago

How Unknowable Math Can Help Hide Secrets

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-unknowable-math-can-help-hide-secrets-20260511/

#Math #Cryptography #ComputerScience

How Unknowable Math Can Help Hide Secrets | Quanta Magazine

A graduate student recently harnessed the complexity of mathematical proofs to create a powerful new tool in cryptography.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine May 8

Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather?

https://www.quantamagazine.org/will-we-ever-be-able-to-forecast-volcanic-eruptions-like-weather-20260508/

#Science #Geology #Volcano

Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather? | Quanta Magazine

It should be possible, but getting there will require a greater understanding of subsurface physics.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine May 6

What Causes Lightning? The Answer Keeps Getting More Interesting.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-causes-lightning-the-answer-keeps-getting-more-interesting-20260506/

#Science #Physics #AtmosphericScience

What Causes Lightning? The Answer Keeps Getting More Interesting. | Quanta Magazine

Armed with a slew of new instruments, physicists are closing in on one of nature’s oldest mysteries — and finding that storm clouds are seething with violent and unexpected phenomena.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine May 4

The Hidden Mathematical Dance Inside Plant Cells

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-mathematical-dance-inside-plant-cells-20260504/

#Science #Biology #Math

The Hidden Mathematical Dance Inside Plant Cells | Quanta Magazine

The sunlight-collecting organelles known as chloroplasts solve a packing problem: how to optimize photosynthesis without sustaining damage from dangerously intense rays.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine May 1

A Treasure Trove of Cambrian Fossils Rewrites the Story of Early Life

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-treasure-trove-of-cambrian-fossils-rewrites-the-story-of-early-life-20260501/

#Science #Fossils #Evolution

A Treasure Trove of Cambrian Fossils Rewrites the Story of Early Life | Quanta Magazine

Remarkably preserved fossils found in southern China offer a fascinating window into what life looked like at the end of the Cambrian explosion, with half of the species uncovered being new to science.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine Apr 29

Why Math's Final Axiom Proved So Controversial

https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-maths-final-axiom-proved-so-controversial-20260429/

#Mathematics #Science #History

Why Math’s Final Axiom Proved So Controversial | Quanta Magazine

Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory is so widely accepted that modern mathematicians hardly think about it. But believing in its core principles didn’t come easily.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine Apr 29

What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?

https://www.quantamagazine.org/what-can-we-gain-by-losing-infinity-20260429/

#Mathematics #Science #Philosophy

What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity? | Quanta Magazine

Ultrafinitism, a philosophy that rejects the infinite, has long been dismissed as mathematical heresy. But it is also producing new insights in math and beyond.

Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine Apr 24

A New Type of Neuroplasticity Rewires the Brain After a Single Experience

https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-type-of-neuroplasticity-rewires-the-brain-after-a-single-experience-20260424/

#Neuroscience #Brain #Science