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Perplexing the Web, One Probability Puzzle at a Time

August 29, 2024

The mathematician Daniel Litt has driven social media users to distraction with a series of simple-seeming but counterintuitive probability puzzles.

Q&A

With ‘Digital Twins,’ The Doctor Will See You Now

July 26, 2024

By creating digital twins of patients, Amanda Randles wants to bring unprecedented precision to medical forecasts.

He Seeks Mystery Magnetic Fields With His Quantum Compass

May 17, 2024

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

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Does AI Know What an Apple Is? She Aims to Find Out.

April 25, 2024

The computer scientist Ellie Pavlick is translating philosophical concepts such as “meaning” into concrete, testable ideas.

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Pleasure or Pain? He Maps the Neural Circuits That Decide.

The work of the neuroscientist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor has opened up a world of insights into precisely how much pleasure and pain animals experience during different forms of touch.

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The Researcher Who Explores Computation by Conjuring New Worlds

March 27, 2024

Russell Impagliazzo studies hard problems, the limits of cryptography, the nature of randomness and more.

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‘The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity

March 13, 2024

The recipient of the 2024 Crafoord Prize in Mathematics discusses math as art, math as language, and math as abstract thought.

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A Multitalented Scientist Seeks the Origins of Multicellularity

February 21, 2024

The pathbreaking geneticist Cassandra Extavour pursues the secrets of multicellular life while balancing careers in both science and singing.

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To See Black Holes in Stunning Detail, She Uses ‘Echoes’ Like a Bat

February 12, 2024

The astrophysicist Erin Kara measures time lags in black holes’ X-ray glows, which reveal the complexity of the objects’ closest surroundings.

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