A Q&A with a veteran knot theorist discusses the strange origins of the discipline, as well as its modern-day applications. This field of mathematics, rich in aesthetic beauty and intellectual ...

Copper and lutetium metal ions chaperone this molecular strand into a three-twist knot. Credit: Credit: Stuart Jantzen, Biocinematics It’s annoyingly easy to tangle your headphones into a mess of ...

Tangled telephone cords and electronic cables that come to resemble bird nests can frazzle even the most stoic person. Now researchers have unraveled the mystery behind how such knots form. Two ...

SMALL PRINT:MOST OF us curse knots – in our shoe laces, in long tresses, in our ties and in streams of traffic. But some people celebrate them, studying them with delight and disecting them with a ...

From our experiences with shoelaces, we tend to think that tying a knot requires both dexterity and intent. As proteins lack both of these qualities, it was assumed for many years that there would be ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — You may not have heard of knot theory. But take it from Bill Menasco, a knot theorist of 35 years: This field of mathematics, rich in aesthetic beauty and intellectual challenges, has ...