A new quantum-inspired algorithm has cracked a problem so massive that conventional supercomputers struggle to even approach it. Researchers used the method to simulate extraordinarily complex quantum ...

Penn researchers have developed a smarter AI method for solving notoriously difficult inverse equations, which help scientists uncover hidden causes behind observable effects. By introducing ...

Liam Price just cracked a 60-year-old problem that world-class mathematicians have tried and failed to solve. He’s 23 years old and has no advanced mathematics training. What he does have is a ChatGPT ...

One idle evening last October, Mehtaab Sawhney took up an old pastime. He began perusing the website erdosproblems.com, an updated record of the 1,179 conjectures left behind by the eccentric and ...

What are the most pressing global crises in 2026? Each year, the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Emergency Watchlist identifies the countries at greatest risk of new or worsening humanitarian ...

Determining the least expensive path for a new subway line underneath a metropolis like New York City is a colossal planning challenge—involving thousands of potential routes through hundreds of city ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle ...

If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle the easiest pieces first. But this kind of sorting has a cost.

Consider someone who’s perfectly content with their office chair. It’s not ergonomic, it doesn’t have lumbar support, but it works. Then, during a meeting or a visit to a friend’s office, they sit in ...

Sven, a sales leader, received a call from a major customer who was furious. Their order arrived late, the product was damaged, and to top it off, their invoice didn’t reflect the volume discount ...