Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure. The finding may explain climate change better than any computer model.

The post Physicists Pinpoint the Quantum Origin of the Greenhouse Effect first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Neuroscience research into people with aphantasia, who don’t experience mental imagery, is revealing how imagination works and demonstrating the sweeping variety in our subjective experiences.

The post What Happens in a Mind That Can’t ‘See’ Mental Images first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Physicists have ruled out a mundane explanation for the strange findings of an old Soviet experiment, leaving open the possibility that the results point to a new fundamental particle.

The post What Could Explain the Gallium Anomaly? first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems.

The post Cryptographers Discover a New Foundation for Quantum Secrecy first appeared on Quanta Magazine

New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.

The post Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Using machine learning, string theorists are finally showing how microscopic configurations of extra dimensions translate into sets of elementary particles — though not yet those of our universe.

The post AI Starts to Sift Through String Theory’s Near-Endless Possibilities first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.

The post Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare first appeared on Quanta Magazine

A generation of physicists has referred to the dark energy that permeates the universe as “the cosmological constant.” Now the largest map of the cosmos to date hints that this mysterious energy has been changing over billions of years.

The post Dark Energy May Be Weakening, Major Astrophysics Study Finds first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Electroconvulsive therapy is highly effective in treating major depressive disorder, but no one knows why it works. New research suggests it may restore balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain.

The post Brain’s ‘Background Noise’ May Explain Value of Shock Therapy first appeared on Quanta Magazine

Long-anticipated experiments that use light to mimic gravity are revealing the distribution of energies, forces and pressures inside a subatomic particle for the first time.

The post Swirling Forces, Crushing Pressures Measured in the Proton first appeared on Quanta Magazine