The Four-Color Theorem Gets a Rare New Proof

By revisiting the famous problem — which was controversially solved in the 1970s with the help of computers — mathematicians have gained important new insights into the nature of graphs. The post The Four-Color Theorem Gets a Rare New Proof first appeared on Quanta Magazine

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Gravity Seems Holographic. What Does That Mean for Reality?

The biggest breakthrough in modern theoretical physics is the discovery that gravity can collapse the dimensions of space. Physicists don’t yet understand the implications. The post Gravity Seems Holographic. What Does That Mean for Reality? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Charlie Wood·Sep 25, 2026

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Biology Might Not Be Quantum, but Its Math Is Quantumlike

Scientists have a history of trying — and failing — to link biology and quantum mechanics. The real connection between them may be in the math. The post Biology Might Not Be Quantum, but Its Math Is Quantumlike first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Elise Cutts·Sep 23, 2026

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How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution

Half of our genome is made of transposons — snips of DNA that can move and copy themselves. But they’re more than parasites or genetic junk. The post How Virus-like ‘Jumping Genes’ Became Our Partners in Evolution first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Jake Buehler·Sep 21, 2026

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Mathematicians Build Long-Awaited Graph Sandwich

The proof of a decades-old conjecture has given researchers a new way to understand complex networks. The post Mathematicians Build Long-Awaited Graph Sandwich first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Paulina Rowińska·Sep 18, 2026

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Where Does the Quantum World End and Ours Begin?

Jonathan Halliwell explains how quantum decoherence is key to understanding how we transition from a world with a wave-like nature of matter and energy to the classical macroscopic world that we’re used to. The post Where Does the Quantum World End and Ours Begin? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Steven Strogatz and Janna Levin·Sep 17, 2026

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Ctenophores Aren’t Just Beautiful. They’re Biological Wonders.

Comb jellies are helping answer fundamental questions in biology, from how the earliest nervous systems evolved to how bioluminescence works. The post Ctenophores Aren’t Just Beautiful. They’re Biological Wonders. first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Marlowe Starling·Sep 16, 2026