In Our Nature

20 articles
  • elephant feet hero

    Zoology

    Seeing Electricity, Hearing Magnetism & Other Sensory Feats

    For elephants, feet are sensory organs.Martin Harvey, Getty Images Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . It’s pretty obvious that dogs have sharper ears and cats a keener sense of smell than we do. But as powerful these senses are, they are merely keener versions of the ones we humans […]

  • PodMod Mississippi Cantrell

    Technology

    Humans & Nature Can Co-Exist in “Cyborg” Ecosystems

    An illustration showing how dirt-filled PodMod containers would drift out of the Mississippi DeltaBradley Cantrell, Charlie Pruitt, Brennan Dedon, Rob Herkes Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . Some people gaze at the Mississippi River and see the majesty of nature: a mighty waterway that carved a path through our […]

  • passenger pigeon eggs de-extinction hero

    Genetics

    To Bring Back Extinct Species, We’ll Need to Change Our Own

    Passenger pigeon eggs at the Maine State MuseumBrandon Keim; displayed courtesy of Paula Work, registrar & curator of zoology at the museum Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . The last passenger pigeon died just over a century ago, though they’ve lived on as symbols—of extinction’s awful finality, and also […]

  • Dermatophagoides farinae dust mite

    Zoology

    A Holiday Guest Is Leaving Dangerous Poop in Your Couch

    We have long known that we can catch germs while traveling. Recent years have shown that we can also bring home bed bugs. This holiday season, a PLoS One study informs us that by merely plopping into the seat of a car or airplane, we can unknowingly pick up dust mites—microscopic 8-legged arthropods that eat […]

  • blog-12-19

    Environment

    Take Two Hikes and Call Me in the Morning

      Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . One hundred sixty years ago, Henry David Thoreau published his magnum opus, Walden. In it he detailed his time spent living alongside nature in a cabin adjacent to Walden Pond. In one of the book’s emblematic lines, Thoreau wrote, “We can never […]

  • Gross

    Neuroscience

    These Are Their Brains on Silence

    How silence affects the scientists who study it.