Hannah Waters

Jan 21, 2025 | quantamagazine.org | Yasemin Saplakoglu |Veronique Greenwood |Molly Herring |Hannah Waters

Introduction Imagine you’re on a first date, sipping a martini at a bar. You eat an olive and patiently listen to your date tell you about his job at a bank. Your brain is processing this scene, in part, by breaking it down into concepts. Bar. Date. Martini. Olive. Bank. Deep in your brain, neurons known as concept cells are firing. You might have concept cells that fire for martinis but not for olives. Or ones that fire for bars — perhaps even that specific bar, if you’ve been there before.

Jan 6, 2025 | quantamagazine.org | Veronique Greenwood |Molly Herring |Hannah Waters |Steven Strogatz

Introduction Prochlorococcus bacteria are so small that you’d have to line up around a thousand of them to match the thickness of a human thumbnail. The ocean seethes with them: The microbes are likely the most abundant photosynthetic organism on the planet, and they create a significant portion — 10% to 20% — of the atmosphere’s oxygen. That means that life on Earth depends on the roughly 3 octillion (or 3 × 1027) tiny individual cells toiling away.

Sep 26, 2024 | smithsonianmag.com | Hannah Waters |Emily Frost |Joe Spring

By the time the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) finished an expedition off the coast of Chile earlier this year, its scientists had amassed a slew of amazing deep-sea discoveries. During the cruise, researchers sent an underwater robot capable of descending more than 14,000 feet below the surface to collect video footage and specimens from seamounts. After analyzing what they had gathered, the international team revealed they had likely found more than 100 new species.

Dec 19, 2023 | quantamagazine.org | Hannah Waters

SERIESIntroductionRevolutions in the biological sciences can take many forms. Sometimes they erupt from the use of a novel tool or the invention of a radical theory that suddenly opens so many new avenues for research, it can feel dizzying. Sometimes they take shape slowly, through the slow accumulation of studies, each one representing years of painstaking work, that collectively chip away at the prevailing wisdom and reveal a stronger, better intellectual framework.

Dec 18, 2023 | quantamagazine.org | Hannah Waters

We care about your data, and we'd like to use cookies to give you a smooth browsing experience. Please agree and read more about our privacy policy