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Women in Science & Engineering
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How Super Recognizers See What the Rest of Us Miss
The secret to their extraordinary ability lies not in the brain but the eyes
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Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Houseplants?
It might not be good for us to go overboard with indoor greenery
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The Secret of the Triangle Weaver’s Springy Web
The simple shape belies some complex chemistry that could be the key to advances in biomaterials
The Porthole
Short sharp looks at science
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Why We Love Horror Stories
From ancient monsters to modern slashers, our fascination with horror may be an evolutionary gift
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What Happens in Space Matters on Earth
Dagomar Degroot’s three greatest revelations while writing Ripples on a Cosmic Ocean
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The Trees That Remember the Pyramids
Dendrochronologist Valerie Trouet on what tree rings reveal about climate, fire, and human history
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The Nautilus Reading List About the Cosmos
Our writers have read a universe of books on space and astronomy. Here are their favorites.
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Seeking Signs of Life on Venus
The first private mission to the morning star will sample for traces of biological activity in the planet’s clouds
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Naked Clams and Sunken Ships
A brazen plan to grow an animal that has been the bane of sailors for centuries—to feed the world
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The Problem with Farmed Seafood
We’re decimating the ocean to feed farmed fish. But an innovative solution has surfaced.
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How “Plant Math” Can Help Predict the Climate’s Future
Researchers are building equations for vegetation processes that might improve climate models
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The Hidden Landscape Holding Back the Sea
The fate of our planet’s coasts rests on Antarctic bedrock
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The Power Grid Is Struggling. Can AI Fix It?
Renewables, EVs, and AI itself are straining the grid. These researchers have ideas to evolve it.
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High-Tech Lollipops That Detect Disease
This researcher crosses disciplines for unexpected innovations
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A Pediatrician’s Lament
How the blustery rhetoric of Trump and Kennedy makes life harder for local physicians
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Will Trump’s Immigration Policies Hurt US Nobel Chances?
Drastic cuts to science funding and immigration restrictions could hobble the country’s research enterprise
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The Periscope: Book Weeding, Fact-Checking, and Imperiled Fruit Fly Data
What Nautilus executive editor Katherine Courage has been tuning into recently
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The Pretense of Political Debate
Grandstanding acts of persuasion restrict free speech and real learning. Just ask Socrates.
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What Is Intelligence?
At a church in Italy, we sought to shed an old definition for one that could save us
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What Is Your Brain Doing on Psychedelics?
Something is happening here, but neuroscientists don’t know what it is
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In the Land of the Eyeless Dragons
The cave-dwelling olm is a canary in the coal mine for environmental change
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Visit the 7 Most Extreme Planets in the Universe
From molten glass rain to oceans of lava, an intergalactic tour of the most terrifying and beautiful climates out there
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The Sean Carrolls Explain the Universe
Why are we here? Is there life on other planets? The renowned scientists who share a name share their answers to life’s big questions.
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The Soviet Rebel of Music
He composed on a computer in a dangerous time. His echo is still heard today.
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How Whales Could Help Us Speak to Aliens
Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.
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A Pretty Anemone Makes Space and Eats Waste
This newly discovered sea creature has built a “faithful” relationship with hermit crabs -
Medieval Medical Misinformation Persists
A 14th-century tale still promotes dubious origins behind the deadliest known pandemic -
The Mystery of 111,000 Spiders Living in a Giant Subterranean Web
The first known supercolony of its kind -
Should Teenagers Take Psychedelics for Mental Health?
The potential risks are high, but scientists say we need to study the possible benefits -
Octopus Camouflage Could Give Us Better Sunscreen
A clever trick to churn out a natural color-changing pigment in the lab could lead to more effective SPF -
Can Lichen Light the Way to Dinosaur Finds?
The bold idea to enlist satellites in the search for fossils -
Fish Forensics Yield Surprising Results
New study fills in the gaps in our understanding of marine life -
When Do People Speak Out Against Tyranny?
What a mathematical model can tell us about self-censorship -
Have We Learned King Tut’s Lessons?
Just over a century ago today, British archaeologists discovered the entrance to the Ancient Egyptian monarch’s tomb … eventually scattering its treasures far and wide -
Are We Trashing Earth’s Loneliest Spot?
Point Nemo, the most remote location on the planet, is serving as humanity’s cosmic junkyard -
Chimps Can Change Their Minds. Why Can’t We?
New evidence that rationality is wider than humanity -
“Tiny T. Rex” Makes Big Waves in Paleontology Community
The discovery marks the end of an “acrimonious” debate -
Ode to the Jellyfish
A look at some of the strange creatures, in celebration of World Jellyfish Day -
Your Exclamation Points Speak Volumes!
Employing this most excitable of punctuation marks changes how its writer is perceived -
The Most Fascinating Findings After A Quarter Century of Science in the ISS
This lab is out of this world -
How Giraffes Got Their Very Long Legs
Which came first, the neck or the legs? -
Neanderthals May Have Invented the Original Crayon
The most concrete evidence of the tools this human ancestor used to doodle -
How Junk Science Threatens Maternal Health
The abortion pill is under attack, again -
Why Do Spiders Decorate Their Webs? A New Piece of the Puzzle
Scientists take another step toward unraveling a tangled web
