To quote an astrophysicist’s answer to a young student’s question, a wormhole is “like a tunnel between two distant points in our universe that cuts the travel time from one point to the other.” If wormholes exist, they could be like a time machine, or, if you’re a scientist, answer some of the most challenging questions about the true nature of our universe. But in reality, scientists have yet to find any actual wormholes—assuming that they’re still trying to find one.

Here at Giz, we’re all about bringing the Y2K revival to theoretical physics. As per a previous Giz Asks about string theory, an apparent “cold case” in popular science doesn’t necessarily mean the scientists themselves have given up on the idea. Sure, not everything might be as sexy as the stuff in old documentaries and sci-fi novels—but progress takes on many forms.

For this Giz Asks, we asked scientists if the inquiry into wormholes has run into a scientific dead end. That is, regardless of whether we think wormholes exist, do we currently have the means to explore this concept fully? What kind of theoretical or experimental advances would we need to overcome those challenges?

Or has the research branched out into related yet distinct fields, like quantum gravity. And maybe the phrase “dead end” is an unfair way to describe an otherwise thriving field. If so, what are some notable developments for us to keep an eye out for?

The following responses may have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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