Astrocytes Might Be in Charge of the Brain

We tend to think of neurons as the sole engine of our thoughts, emotions, and everything in between.  For decades, a group of large brain cells called astrocytes have been thought of as mere packing peanuts for the brain. But new research suggests otherwise. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Ingrid Wickelgren about these big cells’ big responsibilities, which include controlling brain states like hopelessness, sleep, and hunger. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.Audio Coda by NASA.

In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, the second of a two-parter, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the fate of Cantor, the myths surrounding math history, and one man's search for the truth. These episodes are based on a recent Quanta story. Explore our new special series, “The Evolving Foundations of Math,” on our website.Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.Audio coda courtesy of TheAlpineSisters Alphorn Players.

By simulating ecological networks with microbes, researchers revealed properties that may make natural communities susceptible to invasion.The story The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, the first of a two-parter, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the hard-fought journey to embed the concept of infinity into math’s foundations. The real story is a lot more complicated than the one remembered in math history. These episodes are based on a recent story; stay tuned for the conclusion next week. Explore our new special series, “The Evolving Foundations of Math,” on our website.   Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

Parallel universes, mysterious collapses, divided worlds. These are among the interpretations of quantum theory’s relationship with reality. It’s no wonder that everyone still has questions. But a century after quantum theory emerged, some of its old mysteries may be finally dissolving. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel and contributing writer Philip Ball check in on the age-old question: What 𝘪𝘴 reality? This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.Audio coda courtesy of the Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo.

By mathematically proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians have illuminated why time can’t flow in reverse.The story Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

What guides a bat’s internal compass? It’s not the stars in the sky, or the Earth’s magnetic field. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about how new research into animals’ sense of direction could help explain the feeling of getting “turned around,” or even why some of us are so bad at finding our way. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.Audio Coda from Prat, Y., Taub, M. & Yovel, Y. Everyday bat vocalizations contain information about emitter, addressee, context, and behavior. Sci Rep 6, 39419 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39419

In reality, water doesn’t glitch out. It can’t instantly change direction or spurt randomly into the sky. But on a purely mathematical level, such things are possible. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with staff writer Charlie Wood about the equations that describe our rivers, whirlpools, and breezes — and the “unstable blowups” that mathematicians are probing them for. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

Every elementary particle falls into one of two categories. Collectivist bosons account for the forces that move us while individualist fermions keep our atoms from collapsing.The story Matter vs. Force: Why There Are Exactly Two Types of Particles first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

In the allegory of Plato’s cave, prisoners see the world only through shadows. Extending this metaphor to AI, AI models are the prisoners and the shadows are streams of data. Are all models converging on a singular representation of reality? On this week’s episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with staff writer Ben Brubaker about how, despite being trained on entirely different data types, different models can somehow develop similar internal representations. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.Audio coda: The Cave: A Parable Told By Orson Welles, Produced by Counterpoint Films, directed by Sam Weiss, and illustrated by Dick Oden. https://www.acmi.net.au/works/65888--the-cave-a-parable-told-by-orson-welles/