A 'Lobby' Where a Molecule Mob Tells Genes What to Do

By PHILIP BALL

Highly repetitive regions of junk DNA may be the key to a newly discovered mechanism for gene regulation.

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If you love math puzzles, you'll love Hyperjumps, a daily arithmetic game from Quanta. We're relaunching the game today with fun new features and simplified gameplay.

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Play the game

THE JOY OF WHY

How Did Altruism Evolve?

Podcast hosted by JANNA LEVIN

If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, where did the impulse to help others come from? Host Janna Levin speaks with Stephanie Preston, a neuropsychologist who studies the biology of altruism.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

How Quickly Do LLMs Learn Unexpected Skills?

By STEPHEN ORNES

A new study posits that "emergent abilities" actually develop gradually and predictably, depending on how you measure them.

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Related:
New Theory Suggests Chatbots
Can Understand Text
By Anil Ananthaswamy

QUANTIZED COLUMNS

Unfolding the Mysteries of Polygonal Billiards

By DAVID S. RICHESON

The surprisingly subtle geometry of a familiar game shows how quickly math gets complicated.

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Related:
A Tenacious Explorer
of Abstract Surfaces
By Erica Klarreich (2014)

Q&A

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

Interview by MICHAEL GRESHKO;
Video by EMILY BUDER and CHRISTOPHER WEBB YOUNG

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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Watch the video