“Decay” is a word that shows up often in science. 🧵 1/12

The strange way that fluid behaves When it flows in an ocean of waves Stays oddly mysterious  And makes experts delirious  But new findings give math what it craves. www.quantamagazine.org/the-hidden-m...

From methane-eaters to rain-makers, the microbial powers of the Earth’s smallest organisms read like something out of a fantasy novel.

After a long break, my podcast 'Why This Universe?' is starting up again! In our first episode of the season, Nobel prize-winner Adam Riess shares his story of the discovery that dark energy is powering the expansion of space. Listen to the whole episode here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

A photoessay by @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social highlights researchers' labor & collaboration: "Through the haze of doom that shrouds climate science shines the passion behind the quest to understand and solve one of the greatest challenges humanity has faced." www.quantamagazine.org/photos-captu...

Favorite little ditty of social copy that I wrote for our climate series :-)

This summer, staff writer Charlie Wood (@walkingthedot.bsky.social) joined hundreds of physicists on the island of Helgoland, the birthplace of quantum mechanics. There, he encountered a bewildering array of opinions about what quantum mechanics means: 🧵

Strong new evidence suggests that liquid metal from the center of the Earth is making its way up to the planet’s surface, potentially ferried through two monster-size blobs sitting at the core-mantle boundary. @squigglyvolcano.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/earths-core-...

Most organic molecules have a mirror-image twin. This concept is known as chirality. 🧵 1/10

The impacts of climate change will not be distributed evenly across the globe. How can regional models help individual communities adapt? Tune in to “The Joy of Why” from @prx.org and @quantamagazine.bsky.social with co-host @stevenstrogatz.com. www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-regi...

Do you smell that?

Mmmmm, what's that smell? Oh! It's the whiff of a delicious new @yaseminsaplakoglu.bsky.social story, fresh from Quanta Bakery. www.quantamagazine.org/how-smell-gu...

I found an article here yesterday that fascinated me so much it inspired today’s tune. Link to original article included. #originalmusic #composition #composer #music #musician #sheetmusic #originalmusicSky #compositionSky #composerLife #composerSky philipdewalt.substack.com/p/177-monost...

Roses are red, Violets are blue, My friend @mollyherring.bsky.social wrote another banger for you: www.quantamagazine.org/when-did-nat...

Termites build self-ventilating mounds that can be as tall as seven meters. L. Mahadevan digs into the environmental and biological interplay that sets the size and shape of these miraculous structures. Tune in to "The Joy of Why": www.quantamagazine.org/does-form-re...

How do human brains fold? Some of the clues may lie in the palm of your hand — specifically in its creases. Tune in to "The Joy of Why" with L. Mahadevan and co-host @stevenstrogatz.com from @prx.org and @quantamagazine.bsky.social: www.quantamagazine.org/does-form-re...

Nobody asked, but here’s a video of me explaining the Penrose diagram I embroidered on my pants.

Today, we’re launching something new. The Quanta Podcast is your weekly dispatch from the frontiers of science and mathematics. In each episode, editor in chief @pateljournalist.bsky.social will talk to the writers and editors behind our stories.

One of my favorite parts of Quanta's new AI series is @markabelan.bsky.social and @benbenbrubaker.bsky.social's visual explainer on how AI makes heads or tails of the internet's cats: www.quantamagazine.org/how-can-ai-i...

Sunlight powers almost every organism on #Earth, directly or indirectly. Scientists are still uncovering the mysteries of life’s intimate bond with solar radiation. 🧵 Credit: Josue Moura Romao/Nature in Motion

I can't stop soundtracking our stories

Many of the moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn appear to host subsurface oceans. Mysteries abound as to what fills these deep sea worlds. But the hints that we’ve already gathered make them tantalizing targets in the search for life beyond Earth. 🧵

I love my job because I get to write the words "cosmic baked ziti" on social media

Go team!

I love this bit so much www.nytimes.com/2021/06/22/s...

Alas, no dire wolves, but at least white German Shepards like Harper exist

Today is International Beaver Day! The internet tells me it is a great time to lead a hike to a beaver pond. It's also a great time to supplement your doomscrolling with a deep dive into my favorite theoretical computer science breakthrough from last year.

Samples from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu suggest salty water was not rare in the early solar system! So fun reporting on this new research for @AGU_Eos Magazine eos.org/articles/ast...

Quanta’s mission is to illuminate basic science and mathematics. Help us get recognized among the internet’s best in the The Webby Awards. Vote here: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

Quanta has been nominated for Best Science Website in The Webby Awards! Help us win by voting here: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

Severance fans.... hear me out. 🧵

Yessss my thoughts exactly

Today on my way to work I realized I was wearing the exact same outfit I wore for my Frog (of Frog and Toad) halloween costume this year

this morning I feel grateful for the many gentle speckled lads on bluesky's "Reptiles & Amphibians" feed

Bluesky's where it's at if you care about research

Tag yourself

Are you feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning, dear followers? It might be because you were "brainwashed" in your sleep. www.quantamagazine.org/the-mysterio...

Did anyone catch my "Brave" reference

12/16

In chaotic systems, the smallest fluctuations get amplified. As scientist Edward Lorenz put it in the 1960s and 70s, even a seagull flapping its wings might eventually make a big difference to the weather. Here's how scientists came to understand what chaos is, and how to wrangle it: 🧵

Cosmic forces interact with our bodies every day, sometimes in surprising ways. 🧵

In 2017, Maryam Mirzakhani died at age 40. Her legacy lives on in a world of unimaginable shapes.

A study recently combined field work, chemical analysis and community ecology to examine rare and powerful “keystone molecules,” compounds that build invisible webs of interactions among species. @mollyherring.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/a-new-chemic...

Why were the first drawings of neurons defaced? 🧵1/9

New neuroscience research is en route to unlocking a universal human code for recording experiences as memory. What’s their secret weapon? Airport scenes in movies. www.quantamagazine.org/how-event-sc...

The next time you move, consider mathematician Joseph Gerver’s 18-piece sofa. It’s the biggest shape that can slide down an L-shaped hallway… though maybe not the easiest to assemble. www.quantamagazine.org/the-largest-...

Why did sex evolve? 🧵1/7

How do you know a tree when you see it? 🧵1/8