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We Got Lucky as a Species

From an ancient brush with extinction came the big modern brain

The Earthquake Illusion

Why we think quakes are becoming more frequent

Why Penguins Don’t Fly

We have a lot to learn about adaptability from a bird who evolved to swim

Latest Stories

The Science of Cities. 10 Books You Must Read

Nautilus ventures into the urban world to map the mysterious complexity of cities

How Did We Miss the Asteroid That Will Narrowly Miss Us?

Space still harbors surprises aplenty, even with our rapidly evolving technologies

Read Stories from Our Newest Print Issue: Precarious

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Coral Reefs Are at a Tipping Point

My underwater dive to discover whether the beautiful ocean organisms are ever coming back

Stare Into the Heart of an Ancient Iceberg

The beauty of the blue ice belies a fragility exposed by human activity

“Iceland Is Going to Erupt Again Very Soon”

Deep beneath the volcanic island, scientists are trying to predict the next big one

Is This Why Science Advances One Funeral at a Time?

As researchers age, they produce less disruptive work

Chernobyl, 40 Years Later

A lot has changed at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster

Kon-Tiki Set Sail 79 Years Ago Today

The most epic, pseudoscientific adventure ever

The Impossible Strength of the Testosterone Myth

Scientists keep knocking it down but it keeps roaring back

What Your Dream Life Says About You

A conversation with a dream researcher about how dream content and recall may reflect personality and thinking style

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Nobody Could Save Timmy the Whale

Months of rescue efforts by influencers and millionaires may have just prolonged his death

The Tonga Volcano Cleaned Up After Itself

The blast scrubbed some of its own methane emissions from the atmosphere

The Healing Powers of an Accidentally Caught Jellyfish

How jellyfish in bycatch yield collagen for skin care, drug capsules, and nutritional supplements

Garlic: Culinary Staple, Birth Control for Flies

A study finds the pungent bulb to be a real turn-off for them

Can Selective Breeding Save Bulldogs from Their Breathing Problems?

New research is pointing to relief for out flattest-faced dogs

The Bad Seed and the Problem of Blame

A conversation with behavioral geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden about the heritability of vice

A Light in the Dark: Finding the Good in the Natural World

Is it absurd to think that science can inform our values?

How ‘Tiny Shortcuts’ Are Poisoning Science

Seemingly harmless data tweaks are undermining the integrity of the entire field. We must define the problem to prevent it

Mummified Peruvian Hairless Dogs Shed Light on Ancient Companionship

These dogs have been living alongside humans for millennia

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Other Animals Share Human Mothers’ Pain

The widespread trials and tribulations of mammal childbirth

What Lamarck’s Giraffe Got Right

Jessica Riskin’s three greatest revelations while writing Power of Life

Stop Demonizing the Birdwatchers Who Contracted Hantavirus

Landfills are actually excellent places to beef up your lifetime list

Your Brain Can Learn Things When You’re Unconscious

It’s more awake and alive to the outside world under anesthesia than we thought

How Neanderthals Mastered Dentistry

The oldest evidence of successful dental surgery