Tag: Quantum Stuff

Invisible Electron ‘Demon’ Discovered in Odd Superconductor

A few years ago, the researchers decided to put a superconducting metal called strontium ruthenate in their crosshairs. Its structure is similar to that of a mysterious class of copper-based “cuprate” superconductors, but it can be manufactured in a more pristine way. While the team didn’t learn the secrets of the cuprates, the material responded… Continue reading Invisible Electron ‘Demon’ Discovered in Odd Superconductor

In Our Cellular Clocks, She’s Found a Lifetime of Discoveries

For more than a quarter century, Partch has lived among the orchestrators of the circadian clock, the proteins whose rise and fall control its workings. As a postdoc, she produced the first visualization of the bound pair of proteins at its heart, CLOCK and BMAL1. Since then, she has continued to make visible the whorls… Continue reading In Our Cellular Clocks, She’s Found a Lifetime of Discoveries

We Need to Think about Conservation on a Different Timescale

Time is one of humanity’s greatest blind spots. We experience it as days, months, or years. But nature functions on much grander scales, measured in centuries, millennia and even longer intervals often lumped together as “deep time.” As paleontologists, we were trained to think in deep time. Yet, as conservationists, we’ve come to realize that… Continue reading We Need to Think about Conservation on a Different Timescale

The Deep Link Equating Math Proofs and Computer Programs

Some scientific discoveries matter because they reveal something new — the double helical structure of DNA, for example, or the existence of black holes. However, some revelations are profound because they show that two old concepts, once thought distinct, are in fact the same. Take James Clerk Maxwell’s equations showing that electricity and magnetism are… Continue reading The Deep Link Equating Math Proofs and Computer Programs

Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory

Pairings like that between automorphic forms and Galois groups are called dualities. They suggest that different classes of objects mirror each other, which allows mathematicians to study either one in terms of the other. Generations of mathematicians have worked to prove the existence of Langlands’ hypothesized duality. Though they have only managed to establish it… Continue reading Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory

In the Milky Way’s Stars, a History of Violence

With the cleaving of the cosmos into a home galaxy and a larger universe, the study of our finite home — and how it exists within that universe — could begin in earnest. Now, a century later, astronomers are still making unexpected discoveries about the only cosmic island we’ll ever inhabit. They may be able… Continue reading In the Milky Way’s Stars, a History of Violence

Are Naps Good for You?

It’s midafternoon. You’re full from lunch. The day is warm. You’re starting to feel drowsy. Should you give in to the comfort of a nap? From a health perspective, it may be worth it. Though there is some debate over whether napping benefits everyone, research suggests naps can boost at least some people’s cognitive performance… Continue reading Are Naps Good for You?

Six Ways to Stay Safe Outdoors in Extreme Heat

The summer sun has been anything but fun for many this year. Brutal temperatures torched records across the U.S. as they peaked globally in July. Relentless heat waves baked the Southwest and rolled into the Midwest and South, occasionally enveloping other regions that are completely unaccustomed to such extremes. Exposure to this kind of heat… Continue reading Six Ways to Stay Safe Outdoors in Extreme Heat

Hiroshima’s Anniversary Marks an Injustice Done to Blast Survivors

On August 6, 1945, the U.S. used an atomic bomb for the first time in history, against the city of Hiroshima. The U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki three days later. Experts estimate that the two bombs instantly killed more than 100,000 people. The movie Oppenheimer has rightly received critical acclaim as a masterful… Continue reading Hiroshima’s Anniversary Marks an Injustice Done to Blast Survivors