The dawn of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized numerous fields, including cryptography. This advanced technology has demonstrated remarkable prowess in deciphering complex cryptographic ...

NARRATOR: Up next on NOVA, Cracking the Maya Code. NARRATOR: In the 16th century, the flames of the Spanish Inquisition scorched the New World, decimating the Maya civilization. One blaze was ignited ...

The Inca Empire managed vast territories without a written alphabet, relying instead on a mysterious system of knotted strings known as the khipu. Once dismissed as simple accounting tools, new ...

On the outskirts of the Mexican resort town of Tulum, overlooking the Caribbean sea from a densely jungled hilltop, are the remains of a Mayan city known as Zama, or “Dawn.” The ruins look similar to ...

The encrypted initiation rite of an ancient German secret society preoccupied with ophthalmology has fallen to modern language analysis tools including an online automatic translator. The 19th Century ...

NPR's Melissa Block talks to Oliver and Sheila Lawn, former code-breakers in World War II who have been called in to try to decipher the meaning of mysterious letters carved into a monument at ...

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts. There are ...

From bizarre ancient markings to random numbers and letters, codes and ciphers have been used for millennia to send secret messages, hide identities and operate outside the law. Unravelling these ...

Though it was no beauty, the black walnut tree that shaded our family’s Indiana backyard still looms large over my childhood. SO MANY memories ride into our consciousness on the backs of taste and ...

New research introduces metamaterial concrete for the development of smart civil infrastructure systems. Researchers present a new concept for lightweight and mechanically-tunable concrete systems ...