A group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a potentially more effective way of helping computers solve some of the toughest optimization problems they face. Their ...

For years, quantum computers have carried a bold promise. They could solve problems so complex that even the world’s best classical computers would fail. That promise fueled a global race among ...

Right now, quantum computers are small and error-prone compared to where they’ll likely be in a few years. Even within those limitations, however, there have been regular claims that the hardware can ...

Algorithms are the fundamental procedures that guide computers in solving problems, from simple calculations to complex data analysis. At their core, an algorithm is a set of step-by-step instructions ...

A group of computer gamers are making habit of outshining scientists at their own game. Most of them have no scientific background, but they have a track record of cracking tough scientific puzzles, ...

On October 29, 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall, I was in my Brooklyn apartment, refreshing Twitter. The news on my timeline consisted mostly of grim dispatches from amateur storm spotters ...

Dave Johnson refuses to eat fish farmed near Minneapolis. The retired construction worker, who lives in a rural area 150 miles north of the Twin Cities, claims “tourists’ garbage, salt runoff and ...