Here’s What’s Happening in the Brain When You’re Improvising

It has a surprising cerebral signature The post Here’s What’s Happening in the Brain When You’re Improvising appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 13 days ago

This Robot is Tinier than a Grain of Salt

Engineers had been trying to solve this problem for 40 years The post This Robot is Tinier than a Grain of Salt appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

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. The post Genetic Ancestry Doesn’t Tell Your Whole Story appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

You Might Be Misreading Your Dog

Our own emotions may play a major role when gauging Fido’s feelings The post You Might Be Misreading Your Dog appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

Imagine Your Way to a Better Relationship

Picturing positive encounters can make you like a person more The post Imagine Your Way to a Better Relationship appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

The Portable Ecosystems of Young Manta Rays

Hitchhiking fishes regularly tag along with young mantas in Florida The post The Portable Ecosystems of Young Manta Rays appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

How Does Life Take Hold in Barren Environments?

A series of Iceland volcanic eruptions yields clues The post How Does Life Take Hold in Barren Environments? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 14 days ago

The Very Human Stressor That Causes Rats to Seek Out Weed, Too

Rats: they’re just like us The post The Very Human Stressor That Causes Rats to Seek Out Weed, Too appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 15 days ago

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 post AI’s Innate Bias Against Animals appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 15 days ago

These Slimy Fish May Have Helped Us Hone Our Sense of Smell

Sophisticated scent seems to have evolved earlier than previously thought The post These Slimy Fish May Have Helped Us Hone Our Sense of Smell appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 17 days ago

Call Your Grandparents This Holiday Season—for Their Health

Everyday conversations across generations may boost older adults’ sense of purpose The post Call Your Grandparents This Holiday Season—for Their Health appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 17 days ago

One of World’s Rarest Cats Has Finally Resurfaced

Behold the first sightings of a flat-headed cat in Thailand in 30 Years The post One of World’s Rarest Cats Has Finally Resurfaced appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 18 days ago

Tasting Tomorrow

Can we eat local on a warming planet? The post Tasting Tomorrow appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 18 days ago

The Problem With Vaccination Shortfalls in Livestock

Global rates are too low to prevent disease spread The post The Problem With Vaccination Shortfalls in Livestock appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 19 days ago

What a Mosquito’s Lunch Tells Us About the Ecosystem

A clever trick borrowed from Jurassic Park The post What a Mosquito’s Lunch Tells Us About the Ecosystem appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

The Most Beautiful Science of the Year

Insights from Nautilus in 2025 The post The Most Beautiful Science of the Year appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

This Big Space Sandwich Broke a Record

A particularly massive and chaotic baby planetary system captured in exquisite detail The post This Big Space Sandwich Broke a Record appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

Saturn’s Rings Are Thicker Than We Thought

New research points to a wide band of particles, invisible to telescopes The post Saturn’s Rings Are Thicker Than We Thought appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

Americans Don’t Seem to Enjoy Negotiating

Even when they have to pay more to avoid it The post Americans Don’t Seem to Enjoy Negotiating appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

How All Those Forever Chemicals End Up on Your Plate

Apex predators and people may get the highest doses The post How All Those Forever Chemicals End Up on Your Plate appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

The Stream Animals Thriving After a Megafire

Oregon fish and amphibians are surprisingly resilient The post The Stream Animals Thriving After a Megafire appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 20 days ago

How to Taste More Intensely

A tasting boot camp appeared to boost people’s taste buds The post How to Taste More Intensely appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

The Taste of Prehistory

Three recipes our Neanderthal cousins might have enjoyed The post The Taste of Prehistory appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

Eat Like a Neanderthal

Science-inspired recipes to help you dine like our evolutionary cousins The post Eat Like a Neanderthal appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

How to Tell if Someone’s Really Listening

The eyes adjust to help us focus as we chat The post How to Tell if Someone’s Really Listening appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

Did Humans or Climate Push the Neanderthals Over the Edge?

A new model of what went down in one of the Neanderthals’ last holdouts The post Did Humans or Climate Push the Neanderthals Over the Edge? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

Is the Mistletoe That inspires Holiday Smooching A Menace to Trees?

Study shows that parasitic mistletoe doesn’t hurt host trees in Oregon The post Is the Mistletoe That inspires Holiday Smooching A Menace to Trees? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

What Does Evolutionary Age Have to Do with a Species’ Extinction?

Younger species of sharks and rays were more likely to die out The post What Does Evolutionary Age Have to Do with a Species’ Extinction? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

Why Does My Lettuce Go Bad so Fast?

What happens when nature has a leaky raincoat The post Why Does My Lettuce Go Bad so Fast? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 21 days ago

Did a Rogue Planet Bring Order to Our Solar System?

New models suggest a celestial bypasser left us with the current orbital lineup The post Did a Rogue Planet Bring Order to Our Solar System? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 22 days ago

This Meal Might Bring You to Tears

Experimental psychologist Charles Spence on how our senses shape how we eat The post This Meal Might Bring You to Tears appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 22 days ago

Which Country Is Most Narcissistic?

It’s not the United States The post Which Country Is Most Narcissistic? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

These “Living Rocks” Are Living It Up

Unassuming ancient microbe communities are surprisingly skilled at storing away lots of carbon The post These “Living Rocks” Are Living It Up appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

Monster Stars Roamed the Cosmos at the Dawn of Time

“A bit like dinosaurs on Earth—they were enormous and primitive” The post Monster Stars Roamed the Cosmos at the Dawn of Time appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

The Nautilus Winter Reading List 2025

Ten books we loved to start your new year off right. The post The Nautilus Winter Reading List 2025 appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

Does Your Personality Put You At a Higher Risk of Dying?

Taking stock of your foibles could extend your life The post Does Your Personality Put You At a Higher Risk of Dying? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

These Fatal Gauntlets Kill Thousands of Endangered Seabirds Every Year

Study maps the deadly areas where birds cross paths with fishing vessels The post These Fatal Gauntlets Kill Thousands of Endangered Seabirds Every Year appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 24 days ago

These Baby Stars Have Mysterious Companions

The Gaia telescope peeked through gas and dust to pick out the possible beginnings of new planets around infant stars The post These Baby Stars Have Mysterious Companions appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Why Is Spain Spinning?

It isn’t because the Iberian Peninsula is dizzy The post Why Is Spain Spinning? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

What Makes Someone Good at Reading the Room?

Those who have this special skill may be better at weighing ambiguous cues The post What Makes Someone Good at Reading the Room? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Tiny Hints of Soldier Stomach Troubles in Roman Britain

Sediment from a Roman military settlement revealed traces of parasites that trigger gastrointestinal distress, despite efforts to keep the ancient encampment clean The post Tiny Hints of Soldier Stomach Troubles in Roman Britain appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

When We Were Lunch

How being food for other animals has made us into the humans we are today The post When We Were Lunch appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

The Dark Matter of Food

Exposing the chemicals that affect our health and behavior The post The Dark Matter of Food appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Eat Your Molecules

Food, food, food. Eat salmon, just not farmed. Wine is good for you. No, it’s not. Fasting boosts your immune system. Check that, it gives you migraines. Cottage cheese is the best protein. What do you mean you don’t like kale? It fights cancer. No, really, ice cream protects aga … | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Science Says … Laughter Is Contagious

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha The post Science Says … Laughter Is Contagious appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Cosmic Collision Caught on Camera

Astronomers witnessed the aftermath of not one but two collisions in space The post Cosmic Collision Caught on Camera appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 25 days ago

Parachute Science Continues to Prevail in Global South Biodiversity Studies

The privilege of describing new species is skewed to Global Northerners The post Parachute Science Continues to Prevail in Global South Biodiversity Studies appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 26 days ago

How Animals Navigate Darkness

Mouse brains perform a clever mechanism to count their steps and keep them on track The post How Animals Navigate Darkness appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading


@nautil.us | 26 days ago