What a 300,000-year-old throwing stick reveals about our near-human ancestors. The post A New Look at One of the Oldest Weapons appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
New results break with decades of conventional wisdom for the gradient descent algorithm. The post Risky Giant Steps Can Solve Optimization Problems Faster appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Our reporter joins scientists in Mozambique to understand how bats communicate with one another. The post The Social Life of Bats appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
When science is a source of spirituality in people’s lives, they feel happy and engaged. The post The Holiness in Reality appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Spikes in alopecia puzzle scientists—and may be a symptom of ecological disruption. The post Why Are Marine Mammals Losing Their Hair? appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Scientists monitoring emperor penguins in Antarctica recorded an unprecedented tragedy. The post Thousands of Penguin Chicks Lost at Sea appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Why we need to study the microbiology of disasters. The post The Invisible Impacts of Calamities appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
A young scientist’s quest to transform a dying way of life. The post The Last of the Fungus appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Francoise Barre-Sinoussi on her Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the viral origins of AIDS, the emotional toll of her work, and her relationship with doubt. The post Why a Scientist Must Always Doubt appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
The spot-on imitations of other birds by the Australian lyrebird exemplify what Darwin missed about female birdsong. The post Call of the Liar appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
Many people around the world fear spiders. But in the Philippines, the tradition of spider wrestling often brings people and arachnids in close proximity. The post What Spider Games Say About Arachnophobia appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
For a half century, mathematicians have tried to define the exact circumstances under which a black hole is destined to exist. The post Math Proof Draws New Boundaries Around Black Hole Formation appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
This artificial nose can sniff out epileptic attacks. The post A New Way to Predict Seizures Before They Happen appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
A social psychologist on how Trump’s speech links to the Jan. 6 attack. The post Trump’s Role in the Capitol Riot appeared first on Nautilus. | Continue reading
On Sunday, October 9, Judith Racusin was 35,000 feet in the air, en route to a high-energy astrophysics conference, when the biggest cosmic explosion in history took place. “I landed, looked at my phone, and had dozens of messages,” said Racusin, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Godda … | Continue reading
The arXiv preprint service is trying to answer an age-old question. | Continue reading
New studies reinforce the hypothesis that grandmothers fostered our evolutionary success. | Continue reading
One question for Jennifer Carlson, a sociologist at the University of Arizona. | Continue reading
Today’s brain-computer interfaces perform medical miracles. Beyond the clinic is another story. | Continue reading
If only the 18th-century hoaxer could see his “Mechanical Turk” now. | Continue reading
Illegal fishing is too big a problem for humans to handle alone. | Continue reading
It’s time to admit quantum theory has reached a dead end. Can we please go back to the math? | Continue reading
Neuroscientists can now explore the “wild west” in our heads in incredible detail—a boon to medicine and understanding what makes us tick. | Continue reading
Shouldn’t we respect our animal elders, too? | Continue reading
What would it take for artificial intelligence to make real progress? | Continue reading
A medicine that disrupts the DNA replication of cancer cells may be within reach. | Continue reading
This year’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics were driven by curiosity, skill, and tenacity. | Continue reading
The real meaning of near-death experiences. | Continue reading
An astrobiologist says non-fungible tokens do not bode well for our species’s future. | Continue reading
High-frequency oscillations that ripple through our brains may generate memory and conscious experience. | Continue reading
The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of the vacuum. | Continue reading
New insights into mitochondria reveal how life expends energy. | Continue reading
First the oceans boil off. Then things really get serious. | Continue reading
One question for Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at UC Riverside. | Continue reading
When it comes to physics, says Sean Carroll, you need the math. | Continue reading
This simple model of the universe shows how one natural law points toward order. | Continue reading
8 waste products that come back to haunt us. | Continue reading
The key to understanding the origin and fate of the universe may be a more complete understanding of the vacuum. | Continue reading
Alien communication could utilize quantum physics, so SETI needs a new way to listen. | Continue reading
Our neurocircuitry is profoundly shaped by a lifetime of learning. | Continue reading
How massive parallelism lifts the brain’s performance above that of AI. | Continue reading
The origins of the universe may be hidden in the voids of space. | Continue reading
A medical student confronts the history of surgery. | Continue reading
Our sensory systems for hearing and touch overlap to stir a wealth of emotions. | Continue reading
Our appetite is destroying a natural bulwark against climate change. | Continue reading
The private life of the African giant offers a remarkable view on evolution. | Continue reading
In Contact, the great science advocate posed a religious question about the cosmos. | Continue reading