Why do humanoid robots still struggle with the small stuff?

Plus: Disorder drives one of nature's most complex machines; Seeing a space-time made of fractals; New episode of The Quanta Podcast

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser QUALIA | ALL TOPICS   Why Do Humanoid Robots Still Struggle With the Small Stuff? By JOHN PAVLUS The last decade has seen vast improvements in humanoid robots, but graduating to widespread use might require going back to the fundamentals. Read the article MOLECULAR BIOLOGY   Disorder Drives One of Nature's Most Complex Machines By YASEMIN SAPLAKOGLU Every second, hundreds to thousands of molecules move through thousands of nuclear pores in each of your cells. A new high-definition view reveals the machine in action. Read the article Q&A   Where Some See Strings, She Sees a Space-Time Made of Fractals By CHARLIE WOOD Pushed down to a certain scale, the laws of physics seem to fall apart. Astrid Eichhorn, a leader in an area of study called asymptotic safety, thinks we just need to push a little further. Read the article THE QUANTA PODCAST   The Infinite Heist - Part 2 Podcast hosted by SAMIR PATEL with JORDANA CEPELEWICZ The effort to change math with the concept of infinity hit several snags along the way. In the second of a two-part episode, we pick up the story of Georg Cantor and follow the quest for the hidden truth about his most famous paper. Listen (Apple) | Listen (Spotify) Read the article Follow Quanta Unsubscribe | About Quanta | My Bookmarks Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2025 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010