The Biggest Discoveries of 2023

Our editors' highlights from physics, computer science and biology

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser Quanta's 2023 in Review The Year in Physics By NADIA DRAKE From the smallest scales to the largest, the physical world provided no shortage of surprises this year. Read more | Watch the video The Year in Biology By HANNAH WATERS In a year packed with fascinating discoveries, biologists pushed the limits of synthetic life, probed how organisms keep time, and refined theories about consciousness and emotional health. Read more | Watch the video     The Year in Computer Science By BILL ANDREWS AI learned how to generate text and art better than ever before, while computer scientists developed algorithms that solved long-standing problems. Read more | Watch the video The Year in Math will publish later today — check our site and YouTube channel for updates. Also this week: GRAPH THEORY   A Close-Up View Reveals the 'Melting' Point of an Infinite Graph By KELSEY HOUSTON-EDWARDS Like ice melting into water, graphs undergo phase transitions. Mathematicians showed that they can pinpoint such transitions by examining only local structure. Read the article CHRONOBIOLOGY   How This Marine Worm Can Tell Moonglow From Sunbeams By ELISE CUTTS For the first time, scientists have decoded the molecular structure of a protein that helps to sync a biological clock to the phases of the moon. Read the blog ASTROPHYSICS   New Clues for What Will Happen When the Sun Eats the Earth By JONATHAN O'CALLAGHAN Recent observations of an aging, alien planetary system are helping to answer the question: What will happen to our planet when the sun dies? Read the blog QUANTA SCIENCE PODCAST   Selfish, Virus-Like DNA Can Carry Genes Between Species Podcast hosted by SUSAN VALOT; Story by SAUGHAT BOLAKHE Genetic elements called Mavericks that have some viral features could be responsible for the large-scale smuggling of DNA between species. Listen to the podcast Read the article Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta | My Bookmarks Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2023 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation