How to build a big prime number
Prime numbers are tricky things. We learn in school that they’re numbers with no factors other than 1 and themselves,…
Writings
Scientists Grow First Plants in Lunar Soil
Last May, scientists reported that they’d successfully grown plants in moon soil for the first time. At the University of…
Is It Actually Impossible to “Square the Circle?”
Geometry students are taught that squaring the circle — using a compass and straightedge to draw a square with the…
Game theory approach describes how social networks produce “six degrees of separation”
"Six degrees of separation” refers to a long-held notion about social networks—namely, that any two people in a social network…
The Unpredictable Abilities Emerging From Large AI Models
Large language models like ChatGPT are now big enough that they’ve started to display startling, unpredictable behaviors. What movie do…
Secret Messages Can Hide in AI-Generated Media
In steganography, an ordinary message masks the presence of a secret communication. Humans can never do it perfectly, but a…
Can Laws be Medicines?
During a 5-year span between 1970 and 1975, 29 states in the United States lowered the legal age for drinking…
Explore the 10 nearest stars
If you want to study the stars, there’s no better place to start than close to home. After all, the…
Peering inside the black box of AI
Five years ago, computer scientist Alan Fern and his colleagues at Oregon State University, in Corvallis, set out to answer…
Should We Be Testing Everyone’s DNA?
Kelly Kashmer credits genetic testing with saving her life. In 2014, during a routine medical appointment, a physician’s assistant began…