A Physicist Bets Against Quantum Gravity

Plus: Microbes survive a fierce desert; A new proof in a sticky problem; An algorithm builds big prime numbers fast; Physics and heart arrhythmia

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser Q&A | ALL TOPICS   The Physicist Who's Challenging the Quantum Orthodoxy Interview by THOMAS LEWTON; Video by CHRISTOPHER WEBB-YOUNG and NOAH HUTTON For decades, physicists have struggled to develop a quantum theory of gravity. But what if gravity — and space-time — are fundamentally classical? Read the article | Watch the video GEOMETRY   New Proof Threads the Needle on a Sticky Geometry Problem By JORDANA CEPELEWICZ A new proof marks major progress toward solving the Kakeya conjecture, a deceptively simple question that underpins a tower of conjectures. Read the article Related:  A Question About a Rotating Line Helps Reveal What Makes Real Numbers Special By Kevin Hartnett (2022) MICROBIOLOGY   In a Fierce Desert, Microbe 'Crusts' Show How Life Tamed the Land By ZACK SAVITSKY Microorganisms carpeting the Atacama Desert in Chile illuminate how life might have first taken hold on Earth's surface. Read the article Related:  Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire By Carrie Arnold (2019) THE JOY OF WHY   Can Math and Physics Save an Arrhythmic Heart? Podcast hosted by STEVEN STROGATZ Abnormal waves of electrical activity can cause a heart's muscle cells to beat out of sync. In this episode, Flavio Fenton, an expert in cardiac dynamics, talks with Steve Strogatz about ways to treat heart arrhythmias without resorting to painful defibrillators. Listen to the podcast Read the transcript COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY   How to Build a Big Prime Number By STEPHEN ORNES Producing a prime number on command shouldn't be difficult, but it is. Lijie Chen and others helped develop a new algorithm that uses randomness and determinism to quickly produce reliable large prime numbers. Read the column Related:  How Randomness Improves Algorithms By Ben Brubaker (2023) Around the Web The Far Side of the Moon Two Chinese orbiters have found a hot spot on the far side of the moon, reports Kenneth Chang for the New York Times. The oddly warm area also contains a large slab of granite, which scientists have considered to be a rarity in our solar system because the rock seems to form through the combined influence of water and plate tectonics. The presence of granite on the moon raises questions about the geochemistry and origins of our natural satellite. In 2017, Rebecca Boyle wrote for Quanta about the state of theories about how the moon formed. Neutral Theory and Genetic Drift Paleoanthropologists typically focus on natural selection when studying the evolution of humans. But Lauren Schroeder is studying how nonadaptive processes such as genetic drift influenced our evolution, writes Anna Gibbs for Science News. Scientist have found that these nonadaptive processes play a much larger role in evolution than was previously thought — perhaps even larger than natural selection in some cases. In 2020, Christie Wilcox explained this neutral theory of evolution for Quanta. Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2023 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation