These Three Newly Discovered Mammals Survived the Extinction Event That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs
And we followed in their tiny footsteps
How to Predict an Earthquake
In the trenches with a paleoseismologist
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
Why Did Humans Evolve to Favor One Hand Over the Other?
Whoever heard of a right-handed monkey?
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
See moreCoral 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
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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the brightest living thinkers.
Astronomy
See more AstronomyHistory
See more HistoryIs This Why Science Advances One Funeral at a Time?
As researchers age, they produce less disruptive work
Psychology
See more PsychologyThe Impossible Strength of the Testosterone Myth
Scientists keep knocking it down but it keeps roaring back
Does Sexual Attraction Cloud Our Rejection Detection?
The ability to read signals may be impaired by arousal
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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Environment
See more EnvironmentNobody 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
Zoology
See more ZoologyWhat’s Black and White and Reveals Historic Porpoise Distributions?
Centuries-old newspaper clippings from Sweden
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
Philosophy
See more PhilosophyThe 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
Read more
See all postsNeanderthals Lounged on the Beach Slurping Shellfish
And mostly during months with an “R” in them
Other Animals Share Human Mothers’ Pain
The widespread trials and tribulations of mammal childbirth
Ancient Teeth Hint at Homo Erectus-Denisovan Interbreeding
The human family tree gets more complicated
Meet “The Last Titan,” Southeast Asia’s Most Massive Dinosaur
Its femur was larger than most people
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






































