Explainers

Even though we’ve learned a lot about this relative of smallpox, some mysteries remain due to a lack of political will.

A simple geometric idea has been used to power advances in information theory, cryptography and even blockchain technology.

Robots can surpass the limitations on how high and far animals can jump, but their success only underscores nature’s ingenuity in making the most of what’s available.

What’s a message, really? Claude Shannon recognized that the elemental ingredient is surprise.

Quantum computers may derive their power from the “magical” way that properties of particles change depending on the context.

Why verify every line of a proof, when just a few checks will do?

Several projects are aiming to bring back mammoths and other species that have vanished from the planet. Whether that’s technically possible is beside the point.

While it’s understandable to focus on the diseases affecting humans, it’s important to study how our illnesses may affect animals.

Cryptographers want to know which of five possible worlds we inhabit, which will reveal whether truly secure cryptography is even possible.