Skip to Content

Our Planet’s Lungs Are Suffering

Has the Amazon reached the dreaded tipping point?

Behold a Prehistoric Lizard Tail Trapped in Amber

Proof the defense tactic has been used for at least 99 million years

Latest Stories

Vultures Help Eliminate Pathogens. Bird Flu Could Eliminate Them

Dwindling vulture populations are locked in a fight for their lives

The Quest for Wisdom in Turbulent Times

A conversation with three Harvard professors about the practice of wisdom in everyday living


Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: The Stupid Issue

See more

The Elegance of a Stupid Question

Are computers in mathematics rewriting the definitions of stupid and smart?

The Resistance Is Here

They didn’t plan to be activists. But scientists have united to overturn Trump’s drastic cuts to science.

The Return of a Discredited Pseudoscience

Eugenics is rearing its ugly head again in today’s crucible of politics and culture

This Dark Spot on the Moon Might Be a Giant Lunar Cave

NASA wants to explore it—perhaps as a potential moon base?

Was This the Exact Date of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”?

Astronomers look beyond the stars in search of Van Gogh’s inspiration

What Can We Learn About Happiness From the People Who Study It?

Happiness pioneers recently gathered to discuss the good life

Inside the Mind of a Narcissist

Their brains don’t sync the same way when it comes to processing empathy

Get unlimited, ad-free Nautilus. Become a member today.

When Frog Eyes Are Like Fingerprints

The eyes of egg-eating spiny-backed frogs certainly make an impression

How Jumping Spiders Sleep

Remarkably like us with cycles of wakefulness and REM

Could AI Have Consciousness That Isn’t Human-Like?

Philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith on AI consciousness and existential risk

What a Picture of a Dog Has to Do with Reason and Logic

People who can’t see images in their minds challenge an old philosophical standby

What Makes Humans Stupid

It takes intelligence to get things spectacularly wrong. An essay on our undoing.

Read more

See all posts

There’s a New, International Food Pyramid in Town

It’s based on research into dietary guidelines from around the world

The Teenage Girl Who Remembers Everything

A conversation with a scientist about a 16-year-old who has highly superior autobiographical memory

When Texas Bat “Cities” Look Like Thunderstorms

Weather apps generally modify their default settings to remove such scenes from Doppler radarviews. Otherwise, live-feed watchers would think a torrential downpour is imminent

Spike-Thumbed Dino Discovered in the United Kingdom

The swamp-dwelling iguanodon relative may have been dinner for spinosaurs

Why Your Boss Might Live Longer Than You

Entrepreneurship may carry benefits as well as risks

The Bloody Palette of the Animal Kingdom

Red isn’t the only color when it comes to blood—critters produce the vital fluid in a variety of hues

Mother Bats’ Hearts Quicken When They Hear Baby’s Cries

Like humans, bat moms are primed by evolution to spring into action