Plus: Solution to last month's puzzle; First-ever limit on sums of rational cubes; A particle physics program nears twilight; Calculus in the brain

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser QUANTUM GRAVITY | ALL TOPICS   Physicists Create a Holographic Wormhole Using a Quantum Computer Article by NATALIE WOLCHOVER; Video by EMILY BUDER The unprecedented experiment explores the possibility that space-time somehow emerges from quantum information, even as the work's interpretation remains disputed. Read the article | Watch the video NUMBER THEORY   Mathematical Trio Advances Centuries-Old Number Theory Problem By ERICA KLARREICH The work — the first-ever limit on how many whole numbers can be written as the sum of two cubed fractions — ends "a recurring embarrassment for number theorists." Read the article Related:  A Numerical Mystery From the 19th Century Finally Gets Solved By Leila Sloman PARTICLE PHYSICS   Computer Program for Particle Physics at Risk of Obsolescence By MATT VON HIPPEL Maintenance of the software that's used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree. The situation reveals the problematic incentives of academia. Read the blog Related:  The Algorithm That Lets Particle Physicists Count Higher Than Two By Charlie Wood (2021) NEUROSCIENCE   Brains Make Quick Stops With Calculus By KEVIN HARTNETT To hone its control over precise maneuvers, the brain uses comparisons between control signals, not the signals themselves. Read the blog Related:  Brain Chemical Helps Signal to Neurons When to Start a Movement By Allison Whitten INSIGHTS PUZZLE   The Math Behind Wordle Guesses By PRADEEP MUTALIK Wordle is a word game. But you can use math to optimize your chances of winning (without cheating). Read the puzzle solution Related:  How to Win at Wordle (Without Cheating) By Pradeep Mutalik Around the Web A Diplomatic Breakthrough Meta claims that its AI, Cicero, can beat humans at a strategy game called Diplomacy, reports Benj Edwards for Ars Technica. Diplomacy is closer to real-world situations than chess or Go: Players take turns simultaneously and often cooperate with one another. In 2018 Joshua Sokol wrote for Quanta about the difficulties in applying AI's impressive game-playing capabilities to the real world. Someone Caught the Leadership Bug The "mind-controlling" parasite Toxoplasma gondii can seemingly change the behavior of wolves to make them more effective pack leaders, writes Emma Marris for Nature. Parasites are known to alter the behavior of their hosts, often in harmful, reckless ways. But as Elizabeth Svoboda wrote for Quanta in 2017, some parasites can also encourage altruism. Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2022 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation