Issue_26
34 articles-
How Can Microscopic Yeast Draw the Nautilus Logo? The New Art of Bio-Pointillism
Behold this magazine’s logo in glorious living color! Each dot of pigment is a cluster of yeast cells growing on the “canvas” of a Petri dish.This organic painting was created by Michael Shen, who’s currently working on his PhD in the NYU synthetic biology lab run by Jef Boeke*. It’s the latest work in a new artistic […] -
Inside the Goth Chicken: Black Bones, Black Meat & a Black Heart
In the historical novel The Black Tulip, written by Alexandre Dumas, an honest and decent Dutch tulip fancier is nearly brought to ruin by his quest to breed a purely black flower. More precisely, his misadventure is due to the dastardly schemes of his neighbor, who, frantic with spite and jealousy over the plants, frames […] -
A Riot of Color Lurking in the Amazon
Imagine a tropical rainforest and the picture that appears in your mind’s eye is probably filled with green and brown. It’s true that those colors dominate the landscape, but a closer look at some of the jungle’s inhabitants reveals tremendous variation. I just returned from a trip to the Amazon, and here are some of […] -
Splotchy Cats Show Why It’s Better to Be Female
If you’ve never really noticed the wide range of colors that can adorn the domestic cat, you might want to spend some time skimming through the official color charts of the Cat Fanciers Association website. According to the association, which claims to maintain the largest registry of pedigreed cats, cats can come in seal lynx […] -
Two Ideas for Predicting the Next Color of the Year
In each of the past 16 Decembers, Pantone has announced a “color of the year.” The company, famous for its system for standardizing colors around the world, has chosen hues as different as vibrant Fuschia Rose (2001) and understated Sand Dollar (2006) to encapsulate the visual and psychic spirit they believe will prevail during the […]
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Is Coloring Within the Lines the New Meditation?
I sit motionless on the hardwood floor. My legs are crossed in a full lotus position and the back of my hands rest on top of my knees with my pointer fingers pressed slightly against my thumbs. My posture reflects the small Buddha statue in front of me. And together, our shadows dance on the […]
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The Powerful Allure of the Deep Azure
There was a place in Iowa in 1995, tucked away in the dark-green fields of soybeans and corn, where a flooded rock quarry shimmered aquamarine. I stood on its edge one hot summer day with two friends. Like most teenagers, we were drawn to the rebelliousness of it. To get there, we had to trespass […]
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The Terrifying Uncertainty in Jeff VanderMeer’s Sci-Fi
How the best-selling author brings his incredibly strange worlds to life.
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Why Ancient Greeks Might Have Had Much Different Colors Than We Do
As a philosopher who studies the meaning of color, Mazviita Chirimuuta is well aware that philosophy can easily get stuck on that topic. In her recent book, Outside Color, Chirimuuta tries to move beyond one of the major hang-ups when thinking about color, arguing that the property should be defined not by the world outside or inside […]
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The Reality of Color Is Perception
An argument for a new definition of color. -
6 Places Where Earth Has Gone Color Crazy
The Grand Prismatic Lake in Yellowstone National Park is rightfully famous for the beautiful colors produced by its unique chemistry. But there are also other places where chemistry and geology combine to create vivid natural colors, in hot springs, rock formations, and even normally monochrome glaciers. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or […] -
Why Red Means Red in Almost Every Language
The confounding consistency of color categories. -
The Ambiguous Colors of Nanotechnology
Kate Nichols’ nanoparticle paints have changed how she sees color. -
A Chemical Attack That Killed a Countryside & Scarred a People
Mangroves are sturdy trees. Recognizable by their extensive root systems, these trees can thrive in muddy soil, sand, peat, even coral. They tolerate water much saltier than most other plants and survive flooding during severe storms. It is perhaps their sturdiness that led mangroves to be one of the most significant targets in the Vietnam […]
