Matter
Posted by Lee Billings on May 15, 2013
Despite their great distance from Earthbound politics, exoplanets were the topic of a joint hearing on May 9th of the House space and research subcommittees. The recent discovery of a trio…
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Ideas
Posted by Michael Segal on May 14, 2013
Is there something special about humanity’s method of understanding the world around us? If there are other intelligent beings in the world, would their knowledge be important in the…
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Culture
Posted by Jennifer Ouellette on May 13, 2013
One of the last things you’d expect to see at a physics conference is a physicist on stage, in a dapper hat, pounding out a few riffs of the blues on a keyboard. But that’s exactly…
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Biology
Posted by Rose Eveleth on May 10, 2013
Last week, we asked you to pick out human eyes from animal eyes that look similar. It was probably harder than you expected. This week’s eyeball challenge, again courtesy of some great…
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Biology
Posted by Jennifer Ouellette on May 09, 2013
Any self-respecting pet owner will confidently claim that their dog or cat (or rabbit, or gerbil) seems sentient, exhibiting a distinct temperament and emotional responses. I know my many…
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Matter
Posted by Lee Billings on May 08, 2013
You are standing on a sandy plain lit only by the harsh, cold light of a blue-white spark flashing overhead in steady metronomic bursts. The pinprick of light almost seems like a distant…
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Matter
Posted by John Steele & Luba Ostashevsky on May 07, 2013
In each issue of Nautilus, we shine a spotlight on one “Ingenious” scientist whose work makes us reconsider our world and ourselves. The Ingenious for our first issue, “What Makes…
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Biology
Posted by Veronique Greenwood on May 06, 2013
When an enormous four-finned fish surfaced in a South African fisherman’s catch in 1938, scientists were fascinated by its resemblance to fossilized creatures that had died out millions…
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Biology
Posted by Rose Eveleth on May 03, 2013
People place incredible importance on their eyes. They’re arguably our default tool for perceiving the world, and one of the primary ways we remember and describe one another. Your eye…
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Culture
Posted by Kat McGowan on May 02, 2013
Human nature is one of those aspects of the world that can seem inexplicable, too varied and complicated to be pinned down by overarching explanations. On the one hand our species includes…
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