Behaviors are sometimes described as being "hardwired," but the work of the celebrated neuroscientist Eve Marder of Brandeis University has explored a crucial difference between neural circuits and engineered ones: Neurons need to be resilient in the face of their own ongoing biomolecular transformation. In this episode, host Steven Strogatz talks with Marder about "multiple solutions" as a key feature of life, the similarities between a crab's stomach and our shoulders, and the secret to a satisfying career in science. Read more at https://www.quantamagazine.org/eve-marder-on-the-crucial-resilience-of-neurons-20210517/.

The secret to making a qubit for future quantum computers might depend on knowing how to tie knots in unusual materials, argues the physicist Charlie Marcus. The post Charlie Marcus Knows That Quantum Facts Aren’t Complicated first appeared on Quanta Magazine

To a dynamicist like Amie Wilkinson, understanding the universe is about knowing all the right moves. The post Amie Wilkinson Sees the Dynamic Chaos in Puff Pastry first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Anesthesia is very different from sleep — which is why it offers unique opportunities for studying the human brain, says the physician-researcher and statistician Emery Brown. The post Emery Brown and the Truth About Anesthesia first appeared on Quanta Magazine

To build a general artificial intelligence, we may need to know more about our own minds, argues the computer scientist Melanie Mitchell. The post Melanie Mitchell Takes AI Research Back to Its Roots first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Quantitative models built by the mathematical biologist Trachette Jackson can make cancer therapies safer and more effective. The post Trachette Jackson Fights Cancer With Math first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The computer scientist Rediet Abebe’s passion for applied mathematics closely aligns with her passion to solve problems with poverty and social inequality. The post Rediet Abebe on Using Algorithms for Social Justice first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Federico Ardila, born in Colombia and now a professor mathematics at San Francisco State University, is an expert in the field of combinatorics, the study of all the possible configurations of finite systems. This week, Ardila talks with host Steven Strogatz about the importance of feelings in mathematics, the music of collaboration, imagining higher dimensional spaces, and the art and science of exploring "the space of possibilities." This episode was produced by Dana Bialek. Read more at https://www.quantamagazine.org/federico-ardila-on-math-music-and-the-space-of-possibilities-20210329/. Production and original music by Story Mechanics.

The computational physicist Sharon Glotzer finds unifying principles that structure the chaotic dance of the particles that make up matter. The post Sharon Glotzer’s Deep Curiosity About Order From Chaos first appeared on Quanta Magazine

The theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek explained what holds atomic nuclei together, and he is still pushing at the limits of what the standard model can tell us. The post Frank Wilczek on the Strong Force, Quarks and Dark Matter first appeared on Quanta Magazine