Now, Dillin and his team have expanded that finding by discovering new details about how mitochondria in the brain communicate with cells across the worm’s body to extend life.
First, he had to understand why damage to the brain’s mitochondria could possibly have a beneficial effect on the organism. A mitochondrion’s process for generating energy requires exceedingly complex molecular machinery with dozens of different protein parts. When things go awry, such as when some components are missing or misfolded, mitochondria activate a stress response, known as the unfolded protein response, which delivers repair enzymes to help the complexes assemble properly and restore mitochondrial function. In this way, the unfolded protein response keeps cells healthy.
Dillin expected this process to unfold only inside the neurons with damaged mitochondria. Yet he observed that cells in other tissues of the worm’s body also turned on repair responses even though their mitochondria were intact.
It’s this repair activity that helped the worms live longer. Like taking a car to a mechanic regularly, the unfolded protein response seemed to keep cells in good running order and function as anti-aging detailing. What remained mysterious was how this unfolded protein response was communicated to the rest of the organism.
After some investigation, Dillin’s team discovered that the mitochondria in stressed neurons were using vesicles — bubblelike containers that move materials around the cell or between cells — to carry a signal called Wnt beyond the nerve cells to other cells in the body. Biologists already knew that Wnt plays a role in setting up the body pattern during early embryonic development, during which it also triggers repair processes like the unfolded protein response. Still, how could Wnt signaling, when turned on in an adult, avoid activating the embryonic program?
Dillin suspected that there had to be another signal that Wnt interacted with. After further work, the researchers discovered that a gene expressed in the mitochondria of the germline — and in no other mitochondria — can interrupt Wnt’s developmental processes. That result suggested to him that germline cells play critical roles in relaying the Wnt signal between the nervous system and tissues throughout the rest of the body.
“The germline is absolutely essential for this,” Dillin said. It isn’t clear, however, whether the germline mitochondria act as amplifiers, receiving the signal from the brain’s mitochondria and transmitting it to other tissues, or if the receiving tissues are “listening” for signals from both sources.
Either way, the strength of the germline signal regulates the organism’s life span, Dillin said. As a worm ages, the quality of its eggs or sperm declines — what we refer to as the ticking of a biological clock. The decline is also reflected in the germ cells’ changing ability to transmit signals from the brain’s mitochondria, he suggested. As the worm grows older, its germline transmits the repair signal less effectively, and so its body declines, too.
Scientists don’t yet know whether these findings apply to humans and how we age. Still, the hypothesis makes sense from a broader evolutionary standpoint, Dillin said. As long as the germ cells are healthy, they send pro-survival signals to ensure that their host organism survives to reproduce. But as the quality of the germ cells declines, there is no evolutionary reason to keep extending life span further; from evolution’s perspective, life exists to reproduce itself.
The fact that mitochondria can talk among themselves might seem somewhat alarming, but there is an explanation. Long ago, mitochondria were free-living bacteria that joined forces with another type of primitive cell to work together in what became our modern complex cells. So, their ability to communicate is probably a relic from the free-living bacterial ancestor of mitochondria.
“This little thing that’s been ticking inside of cells for billions of years still retains its bacterial origins,” Dillin said. And if his research in worms holds up in more complex organisms like humans, it’s possible that your mitochondria are talking right now about your age.
n","settings":{"socialLinks":[{"type":"facebook","label":"Facebook","url":"https://www.facebook.com/QuantaNews","__typename":"SocialMediaLink"},{"type":"twitter","label":"Twitter","url":"https://twitter.com/QuantaMagazine","__typename":"SocialMediaLink"},{"type":"youtube","label":"YouTube","url":"https://www.youtube.com/c/QuantaScienceChannel","__typename":"SocialMediaLink"},{"type":"instagram","label":"Instagram","url":"https://instagram.com/quantamag","__typename":"SocialMediaLink"},{"type":"rss","label":"RSS","url":"https://api.quantamagazine.org/feed/","__typename":"SocialMediaLink"}],"newsletterAction":"https://quantamagazine.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=0d6ddf7dc1a0b7297c8e06618&id=f0cb61321c","newsletterUrl":"http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/home/?u=0d6ddf7dc1a0b7297c8e06618&id=f0cb61321c","sfNotice":"An editorially independent publication supported by the Simons Foundation.","commentsHeader":"
n","channels":[{"title":"The Joy of Why","slug":"the-joy-of-why","description":"The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz interviews leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time.","featured_image":{"alt":"","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1.jpg","width":2560,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1-520x293.jpg","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1-160x160.jpg","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1-520x520.jpg","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1-1720x968.jpg","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1-768x432.jpg","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoW_Quanta_2560x1440-1-1.jpg","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"square_image":{"alt":"","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600-520x520.jpg","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600-160x160.jpg","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600-520x520.jpg","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600.jpg","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600.jpg","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/Jaki-King-General-Quanta_600.jpg","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"subscribe_itunes_link":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joy-of-why/id1608948873","subscribe_spotify_link":"https://open.spotify.com/show/2FoxHraQSKwxV2HgUfwLMp","subscribe_android_link":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucXVhbnRhbWFnYXppbmUub3JnL2ZlZWQvdGhlLWpveS1vZi13aHk","subscribe_stitcher_link":"https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-joy-of-why","__typename":"Channel"},{"title":"Quanta Science Podcast","slug":"quanta-podcast","description":"Susan Valot narrates in-depth news episodes based on Quanta Magazine's articles about mathematics, physics, biology and computer science. ","featured_image":{"alt":"text reads Quanta Science Podcast","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-520x293.webp","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-160x160.webp","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-520x520.webp","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-1720x968.webp","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-768x432.webp","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Lede-QSP-scaled.webp","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"square_image":{"alt":"text reads Quanta Science Podcast","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2560,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-520x520.jpg","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-160x160.jpg","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-520x520.jpg","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-1720x1720.jpg","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-768x768.jpg","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/03/Show_Cover-QSP-2880x2880.jpg","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"subscribe_itunes_link":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/quanta-science-podcast/id1021340531?mt=2&ls=1","subscribe_spotify_link":"https://open.spotify.com/show/7oKXOpbHzbICFUcJNbZ5wF?si=jdnj9sTHSD2bj4hDMFLKEA","subscribe_android_link":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucXVhbnRhbWFnYXppbmUub3JnL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdC8","subscribe_stitcher_link":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/quanta-magazine-2/quanta-magazine-podcast","__typename":"Channel"},{"title":"The Joy of x","slug":"the-joy-of-x","description":"The acclaimed mathematician and author Steven Strogatz interviews some of the world’s leading scientists about their lives and work.","featured_image":{"alt":"","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1-520x293.jpg","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1-160x160.jpg","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1-520x520.jpg","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1-1720x968.jpg","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1-768x432.jpg","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JoX_Spheres_1920x1080-1.jpg","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"square_image":{"alt":"","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600-520x520.jpg","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600-160x160.jpg","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600-520x520.jpg","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600.jpg","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600.jpg","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/03/JofX_podcast_logo-NEW-600.jpg","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"},"subscribe_itunes_link":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-joy-of-x/id1495067186","subscribe_spotify_link":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5HcCtKPH5gnOjRiMtTdC07?si=lFzCzat9QfuPU3hWuYibxQ","subscribe_android_link":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkucXVhbnRhbWFnYXppbmUub3JnL2ZlZWQvdGhlLWpveS1vZi14Lw","subscribe_stitcher_link":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-joy-of-x","__typename":"Channel"}],"editors":[{"name":"Bill Andrews - Senior Editor, CS, Columns","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Ben Brubaker - Staff CS Writer","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Matt Carlstrom - Senior Engagement Editor","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Jordana Cepelewicz - Senior Math Writer","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Nadia Drake - Senior Physics Editor","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Konstantin Kakaes - Senior Math Editor","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Thomas Lin - Editor in Chief","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Michael Moyer - Deputy Editor, Physics, Math, CS","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"John Rennie - Deputy Editor, Biology, Podcasts","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Yasemin Saplakoglu - Staff Biology Writer","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Samuel Velasco - Art Director","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Charlie Wood - Staff Physics Writer","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Christopher Young - Director of Video","__typename":"Editor"},{"name":"Hannah Waters - Senior Biology Editor","__typename":"Editor"}],"popularSearches":[{"term":"math","label":"Mathematics","__typename":"PopularSearch"},{"term":"physics","label":"Physics","__typename":"PopularSearch"},{"term":"black holes","label":"Black Holes","__typename":"PopularSearch"},{"term":"evolution","label":"Evolution","__typename":"PopularSearch"}],"searchTopics":[{"type":"Tag","label":"Podcasts","tag":{"name":"Quanta Podcast","slug":"quanta-podcast","term_id":"552","__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Tag","label":"Columns","tag":{"name":"Quantized Columns","slug":"quantized","term_id":"551","__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Series","label":"Series","tag":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Category","label":"Interviews","tag":{"name":"Q&A","slug":"qa","term_id":"567","__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":"Q&A","slug":"qa","term_id":"176","__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Category","label":"Multimedia","tag":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":"Multimedia","slug":"multimedia","term_id":"43","__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Category","label":"Puzzles","tag":{"name":"puzzles","slug":"puzzles","term_id":"542","__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":"Puzzles","slug":"puzzles","term_id":"546","__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"Category","label":"Blog Posts","tag":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":"Abstractions blog","slug":"abstractions","term_id":"619","__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"news","label":"News Articles","tag":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"},{"type":"videos","label":"Videos","tag":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"category":{"name":null,"slug":null,"term_id":null,"__typename":"Term"},"__typename":"SearchTopic"}],"searchSections":[{"name":"Mathematics","slug":"mathematics","term_id":"188","__typename":"Term"},{"name":"Physics","slug":"physics","term_id":"189","__typename":"Term"},{"name":"Biology","slug":"biology","term_id":"191","__typename":"Term"},{"name":"Computer Science","slug":"computer-science","term_id":"190","__typename":"Term"}],"searchAuthors":[{"id":"38171","name":"Adam Becker","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"28087","name":"Adam Mann","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"29794","name":"Alex Kontorovich","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53037","name":"Alex Stone","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"39302","name":"Alexander Hellemans","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"56","name":"Alla Katsnelson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"47249","name":"Allison Parshall","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"29458","name":"Allison Whitten","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"73","name":"Amanda Gefter","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53488","name":"Amos Zeeberg","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"39164","name":"Ana Kova","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"59","name":"Andreas von Bubnoff","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"8728","name":"Anil Ananthaswamy","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"11648","name":"Ann Finkbeiner","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50964","name":"Anna Funk","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50172","name":"Anna Gibbs","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"51678","name":"Anna Kramer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"42689","name":"Annie Melchor","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"95","name":"Ariel Bleicher","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"52094","name":"Arleen Santana","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15493","name":"Ashley Smart","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"450","name":"Ashley Yeager","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"36490","name":"Ben Brubaker","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"16315","name":"Bill Andrews","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"2752","name":"Bob Henderson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15492","name":"Brendan Z. Foster","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"68","name":"Brooke Borel","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54352","name":"C. Brandon Ogbunu","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"62","name":"Carl Zimmer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13684","name":"Caroline Lee","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13691","name":"Caroline Lee","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50","name":"Carrie Arnold","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15142","name":"Chanda Prescod-Weinstein","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"8084","name":"Charlie Wood","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"742","name":"Christie Wilcox","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"51630","name":"Christopher W. Young","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"11543","name":"Claudia Dreifus","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"57","name":"Courtney Humphries","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"7262","name":"Dalmeet Singh Chawla","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"70","name":"Dan Falk","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"55512","name":"Dan Samorodnitsky","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"19918","name":"Dana Najjar","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13695","name":"Daniel Garisto","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"32676","name":"Daniel S. Freed","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13724","name":"David H. Freedman","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"26310","name":"David S. Richeson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"30207","name":"David Tse","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"19266","name":"Devin Powell","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13251","name":"Diana Kwon","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"17000","name":"Elena Renken","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53469","name":"Elise Cutts","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54874","name":"Elizabeth Finkel","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"17149","name":"Elizabeth Landau","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"5279","name":"Elizabeth Preston","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"58","name":"Elizabeth Svoboda","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"32612","name":"Ellen Horne","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53047","name":"Elliot Lichtman","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"27534","name":"Emily Buder","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"25173","name":"Emily Levesque","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"64","name":"Emily Singer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"47","name":"Erica Klarreich","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"14784","name":"Erika K. Carlson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"98","name":"Esther Landhuis","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"5830","name":"Eva Silverstein","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"6793","name":"Evelyn Lamb","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"75","name":"Ferris Jabr","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"52","name":"Frank Wilczek","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"69","name":"Gabriel Popkin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"77","name":"George Musser","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"19092","name":"Grant Sanderson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54635","name":"Hannah Waters","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"20557","name":"Howard Lee","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"66","name":"Ingrid Daubechies","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"46418","name":"Ingrid Wickelgren","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"85","name":"Ivan Amato","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54757","name":"Jackson Ryan","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"37141","name":"Jake Buehler","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"44758","name":"James Dinneen","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"49403","name":"James R. Riordon","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"12170","name":"Janna Levin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54876","name":"Javier Barbuzano","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"32","name":"Jeanette Kazmierczak","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"51","name":"Jennifer Ouellette","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"44787","name":"Joanna Thompson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50541","name":"John M. Beggs","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"72","name":"John Pavlus","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"16475","name":"John Preskill","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"91","name":"John Rennie","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"10351","name":"Jonathan Lambert","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"31716","name":"Jonathan O'Callaghan","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"1241","name":"Jordana Cepelewicz","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"8463","name":"Joshua Roebke","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"49","name":"Joshua Sokol","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"16815","name":"jye","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"67","name":"K.C. Cole","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"37462","name":"Karmela Padavic-Callaghan","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"87","name":"Kat McGowan","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"36139","name":"Katarina Zimmer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"20556","name":"Katherine Harmon Courage","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"90","name":"Katia Moskvitch","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"39551","name":"Katie McCormick","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"27374","name":"Kelsey Houston-Edwards","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"40","name":"Kevin Hartnett","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"47633","name":"Konstantin Kakaes","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"45758","name":"Kristina Armitage","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"38413","name":"Lakshmi Chandrasekaran","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"55855","name":"Laura Dattaro","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"12570","name":"Laura Poppick","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"38699","name":"Leila Sloman","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"23451","name":"Liam Drew","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"79","name":"Liz Kruesi","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"38","name":"Lucy Reading-Ikkanda","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"47180","name":"Lyndie Chiou","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"55532","name":"Madison Goldberg","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"60","name":"Maggie McKee","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"2333","name":"Mallory Locklear","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"3569","name":"Marcus Woo","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"414","name":"Mark Kim-Mulgrew","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50807","name":"Marta Zaraska","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"20495","name":"Matt Carlstrom","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"47830","name":"Matt von Hippel","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"17147","name":"Matthew Hutson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"30953","name":"Max G. Levy","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"32437","name":"Max Kozlov","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"57270","name":"Maya Wei-Haas","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"38705","name":"mcho","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"40613","name":"Melanie Mitchell","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"7186","name":"Melinda Wenner Moyer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"14093","name":"Michael Harris","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"34","name":"Michael Kranz","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"23","name":"Michael Moyer","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"74","name":"Michael Nielsen","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"19093","name":"Michele Bannister","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50861","name":"Mike Orcutt","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"1472","name":"Moira Chas","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"6476","name":"Monique Brouillette","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"42264","name":"Mordechai Rorvig","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"52093","name":"Nadia Drake","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"10","name":"Natalie Wolchover","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"37605","name":"Nick Thieme","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"43298","name":"Nicole Yunger Halpern","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"37428","name":"Nima Arkani-Hamed","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"19962","name":"Nola Taylor Tillman","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"51434","name":"Nona Griffin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"24","name":"Olena Shmahalo","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"1816","name":"Patrick Honner","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"84","name":"Peter Byrne","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"55","name":"Philip Ball","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"50804","name":"Polly Stryker","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"31","name":"Pradeep Mutalik","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"24011","name":"Puja Changoiwala","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"100","name":"Quanta Magazine","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"2784","name":"R. Douglas Fields","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"26114","name":"Rachel Crowell","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"9412","name":"Raleigh McElvery","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"820","name":"Ramin Skibba","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"1666","name":"Rebecca Boyle","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"20950","name":"Richard Masland","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"48","name":"Robbert Dijkgraaf","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"80","name":"Roberta Kwok","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15681","name":"Robin George Andrews","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"51187","name":"Robin Lloyd","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"24577","name":"Rodrigo Pérez Ortega","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"78","name":"Sabine Hossenfelder","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"23845","name":"Samuel Velasco","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"83","name":"Sarah Lewin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"55385","name":"Sarah Scoles","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53621","name":"Saugat Bolakhe","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"35441","name":"Scott Aaronson","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"76","name":"Sean B. Carroll","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15680","name":"Sean Carroll","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"7239","name":"Shannon Hall","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"44197","name":"Sheon Han","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"65","name":"Siobhan Roberts","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"39028","name":"skhaled","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"5944","name":"Sophia Chen","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"61","name":"Steph Yin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"63","name":"Stephanie Bucklin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"26311","name":"Stephanie DeMarco","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"71","name":"Stephen Ornes","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"17148","name":"Steve Nadis","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"13356","name":"Steven Strogatz","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"17150","name":"Susan D'Agostino","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"39768","name":"Tamar Lichter Blanks","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"2960","name":"Tara C. Smith","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"52224","name":"Theo Nicitopoulos","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"14785","name":"Thomas Lewton","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"3","name":"Thomas Lin","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"54","name":"Tim Vernimmen","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"88","name":"Tom Siegfried","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"12964","name":"Vanessa Schipani","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"53","name":"Veronique Greenwood","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"86","name":"Virginia Hughes","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"3244","name":"Viviane Callier","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"89","name":"Wynne Parry","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"15913","name":"XiaoZhi Lim","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"42263","name":"Yasemin Saplakoglu","__typename":"AuthorList"},{"id":"45757","name":"Zack Savitsky","__typename":"AuthorList"}],"adBehavior":"everywhere","adUrl":"https://www.quantamagazine.org/gift-store","adImageHome":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/12/ShopAds-2023-WebDefault.gif","adImageArticle":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/12/ShopAds-2023-Article.gif","adImageTablet":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/12/ShopAds-2023-Tablet.gif","adImageMobile":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2023/12/ShopAds-2023-Mobile.gif","trackingScripts":"rnrnrnrnrnrnrnrn"},"theme":{"page":{"accent":"#ff8600","text":"#1a1a1a","background":"white"},"header":{"type":"default","gradient":{"color":"white"},"solid":{"primary":"#1a1a1a","secondary":"#999999","hover":"#ff8600"},"transparent":{"primary":"white","secondary":"white","hover":"#ff8600"}}},"redirect":null,"fallbackImage":{"alt":"","caption":"","url":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default.gif","width":1200,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default-520x260.gif","square_small":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default-160x160.gif","square_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default-520x520.gif","medium":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default.gif","medium_large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default-768x384.gif","large":"https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/04/default.gif","__typename":"ImageSizes"},"__typename":"Image"}},"modals":{"loginModal":false,"signUpModal":false,"forgotPasswordModal":false,"resetPasswordModal":false,"lightboxModal":false,"callback":null,"props":null},"podcast":{"id":null,"playing":false,"duration":0,"currentTime":0},"user":{"loggedIn":false,"savedArticleIDs":[],"userEmail":"","editor":false},"comments":{"open":false},"cookies":{"acceptedCookie":false}},
env: {
APP_URL: 'https://www.quantamagazine.org',
NODE_ENV: 'production',
WP_URL: 'https://api.quantamagazine.org',
HAS_GOOGLE_ID: true,
HAS_FACEBOOK_ID: true,
},
}
Shambhu Kumar is a science communicator, making complex scientific topics accessible to all. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
