Art+Science
Biology + Beyond
Catalysts of Discovery
Cosmos
Culture
Currents
Earth
Life
Mind
Ocean
One Question
Quanta Abstractions
Rewilding
Science at the Ballot Box
Science Philanthropy Alliance
Spark of Science
The Animal Issue
The Climates Issue
The Food Issue
The Kinship Issue
The Porthole
The Reality Issue
The Rebel Issue
Women in Science & Engineering
-
How Animal Suffering Can Ruin Lab Experiments
Larry Carbone on his 3 greatest revelations while writing The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals
-
Giant Pythons Once Roamed Prehistoric Taiwan
The discovery of a vertebra is another piece of the puzzle of missing apex predators
-
Here’s What the Whiskers on an Elephant’s Trunk Do
It’s an elephant’s way of getting a feel for their surroundings
-
This Forest Rodent Serves as a Reservoir for the Deadly Mpox Virus
Maybe we should call mpox “squirrelpox”
Get the best of Nautilus. Become a member today.
Join nowThe Porthole
Short sharp looks at science
-
Can Morality Survive Climate Collapse?
Megha Majumdar’s acclaimed novel A Guardian and a Thief explores a near-future where scarcity forces hard choices
-
Space Exploration Speaks to the Core of Who We Are
Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf’s 3 greatest revelations while writing his latest book, The Giant Leap
-
Crick and Watson Did Not Steal Franklin’s Data
Matthew Cobb’s 3 greatest revelations while writing his book Crick: A Mind in Motion
-
Recreating the Smells of History
Using chemistry, archival records and AI, scientists are reviving the aromas of old libraries, mummies, and battlefields
-
What Would Richard Feynman Make of AI Today?
The scientific sage was always suspicious of grand promises delivered before details were understood
-
Ann Druyan on How NASA’s Golden Records Got Made
A comic about humanity’s love letter to interstellar space
-
We’re Evolving Beyond This Rock Right Now
Life is already busy making its transition to being interplanetary
-
The Confabulations of Oliver Sacks
A neurologist reckons with recent revelations about the celebrated doctor and author
-
He Erased Memory in Mice. Then Thought About Erasing His Own
Sunk in grief and alcoholism, this neuroscientist discovered the power of memory in himself
-
To Be More Creative, Immigrate
Creativity flourishes when people cross borders—and when those borders blur through deep, human connection
-
Naked Clams and Sunken Ships
A brazen plan to grow an animal that has been the bane of sailors for centuries—to feed the world
-
The Problem with Farmed Seafood
We’re decimating the ocean to feed farmed fish. But an innovative solution has surfaced.
-
Genetic Ancestry Doesn’t Tell Your Whole Story
If you’re looking for your genetic origin story, your DNA will only take you so far.
-
AI’s Innate Bias Against Animals
Chatbots and robots are a setback to animal welfare—but have the potential to be a step forward
-
The Psychedelic Scientist
High on ayahuasca, Bruce Damer saw how life on Earth began. He may very well be right.
-
The Hidden Landscape Holding Back the Sea
The fate of our planet’s coasts rests on Antarctic bedrock
-
Gaia’s Got a Fever
An aging Earth, like an aging body, is increasingly vulnerable to heat’s fatal strikes
-
In the Land of the Eyeless Dragons
The cave-dwelling olm is a canary in the coal mine for environmental change
-
Visit the 7 Most Extreme Planets in the Universe
From molten glass rain to oceans of lava, an intergalactic tour of the most terrifying and beautiful climates out there
-
The Sean Carrolls Explain the Universe
Why are we here? Is there life on other planets? The renowned scientists who share a name share their answers to life’s big questions.
-
The Soviet Rebel of Music
He composed on a computer in a dangerous time. His echo is still heard today.
-
How Whales Could Help Us Speak to Aliens
Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.
-
Pulsar Found Near the Center of the Milky Way Could Test Einstein’s Theories
A cosmic timekeeper near a supermassive black hole has astrophysicists salivating -
Dogs Can Have Dementia, Too
Like their owners, many of them face diminished mental capacity in their old age -
ChatGPT Gave Out My Office Address. Then Someone Showed Up.
AI consciousness expert Susan Schneider on being stalked by chatbot users, the Moltbook meltdown, and why agentic AI isn’t ready for prime time -
The Cosmic Collision That Formed Saturn’s Rings
Computer simulations offer new insights into the oddities of the ringed planet’s moons -
How the Fastest Land Animal in North America Got Its Need for Speed
Their speediness was likely an adaptation to dashing around increasingly patchy habitats -
Is the Supervolcano in Yellowstone About to Erupt?
Weird things are happening in Yellowstone National Park -
When Galileo’s Cosmic Convictions Landed Him in Court
More than 300 years later, the astronomer was finally vindicated -
This Is What an Egyptian Mummy Smells Like
Every smell tells a unique story -
The Tourist Draw of Melting Glaciers
Glacier tourism tends to do more harm than good, and when the glaciers are gone, local economies will have to adapt -
Hubble Captures the Egg Nebula in Stunning Detail
New images from the Hubble Space Telescope show a nebula in transition -
How Charles Darwin Inherited His World-shifting Ideas on Evolution
His grandfather’s influence on his revolutionary thinking has finally come to light -
A Peek Inside the Minds of Honeybees
New research reveals the neurochemical cocktail brewing in bee brains when they learn -
The Spy Who Found T. Rex
Pioneering paleontologist Barnum Brown took on some curious gigs outside of his digs -
Bird Poop Powered the Success of This Ancient Kingdom
“In ancient Andean cultures, fertilizer was power” -
How This Delicious Fruit Hampers Reforestation in Madagascar
It nourishes endangered lemurs while destroying their habitats -
The Pressure Moms Feel to Solve the World’s Problems
In a time of perpetual crisis, more and more mothers are trying to find the solutions that their governments seem unwilling to provide -
The Major Milk Controversy That Quickly Dried Up
A synthetic hormone once sparked a supermarket showdown, but today it has all but disappeared from dairy farms -
New Smart Underwear Unlocks the Serious Science of Human Flatulence
It’s giving researchers insights into the microbiome—and you can help -
Edward Teller Tried to Move Mountains With Nuclear Bombs
The father of the H-bomb hoped to put these blasts toward civilian infrastructure -
Your Boss Could Monitor Your Heart Rate With Spy Tech
The surveillance arms race between employers and employees is heating up
