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FQxI is a nonprofit institution supporting risk-taking research on foundational questions in science
EXPLORING THE FOUNDATIONS AND BOUNDARIES OF PHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY -- FQXi catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of physics and cosmology, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.
Michael Montague won 3rd place in our essay competition, “How Quantum Is Life?”, which awarded $53,000 across anonymously submitted entries.
This is a clip from our interview with Michael. You can listen to his full interview, along with the podcast featuring more of the winners, below.
Podcast: https://qspace.fqxi.org/podcasts/129/2026.05.13
Full video chat with Michael: https://qspace.fqxi.org/videos/567/a-microbiologists-case-for-quantum-biology-%7C-michael-montague
Microbiologist Michael Montague explains: the color of your iris is an aggregate effect. Around 10^17 pigment molecules adding up to a visible signature. Remove one and no one would notice.
What makes life quantum, in his telling, is the opposite. A single molecular event that cascades up to shape an entire cell, an entire organism, an entire life.
He gives the example of a cosmic ray hitting a strand of DNA, altering a nucleotide, which starts a chain that could end in a tumor.
He calls these "scale shifting effects." And he argues they're everywhere in living systems. That, he says, is the real answer to the question "how quantum is life."
Michael won 3rd place in our essay competition for his essay "Scale Shifting: Quantum Biology, Quantum Omics, & a Quantum Biotech Future."
Watch our full chat with Michael here: https://qspace.fqxi.org/videos/567/a-microbiologists-case-for-quantum-biology-%7C-michael-montague
We Interviewed Harry Kumar, co-founder of Moth Quantum, at SXSW after hearing their talk on their new game 'Quantum Backrooms'.
This game runs on a quantum computer! It’s a nod to the Backrooms internet aesthetic, popularised by online communities.
PLAY: https://mothquantum.com/quantumbackrooms
Joshua Deutsch on why FQxI helps make space for fundamental questions that don’t fit the usual funding priorities.
05/21/2026
Nicola Jones spoke to arXiv's steward Greg Morrisett on why arXiv is becoming an independent non-profit after 35 years, and how it aims to tackle AI slop.
Full article on QSpace: https://qspace.fqxi.org/articles/285/arxiv-grows-up
Gabriela Frajtag is twenty years old and recently graduated from Ilum School of Science in Brazil. She's also a winner of FQxI's "How Quantum is Life?" essay competition, a global, anonymously judged contest with a $53,000 prize pool, where she took home the Undergraduate Special Prize.
This is one segment from a longer episode featuring five prize winners from the competition.
Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://qspace.fqxi.org/podcasts/129/2026.05.13
Watch Gabriela's video chat here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN9UcRSmQHk&feature=youtu.be
Read Gabriela's essay here: https://qspace.fqxi.org/competitions/entry/2391
05/11/2026
Why did a US$3-million-winning result leave one physicist feeling like Peanut’s character Charlie Brown, scuppered from kicking the football at the last second by his friend Lucy?
FQxI News: Muon g-2 Experiments Win US$3-million Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics The Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of science, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.
05/06/2026
Four FQxI members have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, joining the 2026 class alongside the likes of Jodie Foster, Rita Moreno, and Sundar Pichai.
Congratulations to Raphael Bousso, Hiranya Peiris, Doris Tsao, and James Owen Weatherall.
Read more:
FQxI News: Four FQxI Members Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences The Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, catalyzes, supports, and disseminates research on questions at the foundations of science, particularly new frontiers and innovative ideas integral to a deep understanding of reality, but unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.
05/02/2026
Funding agencies, AI, and even scientists themselves favor tried-and-tested research avenues over exploring new ideas, to the detriment of progress.
Full piece by George Musser → https://qspace.fqxi.org/articles/284/risky-business-how-science-plays-things-too-safe
Featuring: Carl Bergstrom, C. Brandon Ogbunu and Dashun Wang
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