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Crick and Watson Did Not Steal Franklin’s Data
Matthew Cobb’s 3 greatest revelations while writing his book Crick: A Mind in Motion
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Exploding Stars Like We’ve Never Seen Them
A super crisp look at novae suggests they’re far more chaotic than once thought
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You Don’t Need a Big Brain to Fly
New research into the ancestors of pterosaurs reveals surprising clues to the evolution of flight
The Porthole
Short sharp looks at science
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What’s Your City’s Hoofprint?
A new study measures the impact meat eating has on the planet, one city at a time
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Could Virtual Reality Help Doctors Learn Empathy?
Medical schools are testing simulations to bridge the emotional gulf between physicians and their patients
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The Nautilus Reading List About the Cosmos
Our writers have read a universe of books on space and astronomy. Here are their favorites.
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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
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The Problem with Farmed Seafood
We’re decimating the ocean to feed farmed fish. But an innovative solution has surfaced.
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The Hidden Landscape Holding Back the Sea
The fate of our planet’s coasts rests on Antarctic bedrock
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Gaia’s Got a Fever
An aging Earth, like an aging body, is increasingly vulnerable to heat’s fatal strikes
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The Secret Superpowers of Frog Skin
The slime coating frog bodies could hold the key to fighting infections, healings wounds and even curing cancer
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Will Trump’s Immigration Policies Hurt US Nobel Chances?
Drastic cuts to science funding and immigration restrictions could hobble the country’s research enterprise
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The Periscope: Book Weeding, Fact-Checking, and Imperiled Fruit Fly Data
What Nautilus executive editor Katherine Courage has been tuning into recently
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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
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To Be More Creative, Immigrate
Creativity flourishes when people cross borders—and when those borders blur through deep, human connection
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The Pretense of Political Debate
Grandstanding acts of persuasion restrict free speech and real learning. Just ask Socrates.
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In the Land of the Eyeless Dragons
The cave-dwelling olm is a canary in the coal mine for environmental change
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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
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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.
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The Soviet Rebel of Music
He composed on a computer in a dangerous time. His echo is still heard today.
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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.
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Does Anger Aggravate Pain?
The surprising connection between feelings of injustice and bodily aches -
How to Really Convince People to Prepare for Climate Disasters
The most effective messaging hits home -
Potential Deep-Sea Mining Site Harbors Scores of New Species
Troves of invertebrates inhabit the sediments of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone -
How the Breath Guides Memory
Remembering is timed to the rhythms of our lungs -
A Speed Camera for the Universe
Astronomers developed a clever method to measure our universe’s expansion -
Are We Finally Over the “Jaws Effect?”
Most people in a recent survey saw sharks as neutral, coinciding with a global treaty to protect declining species -
When a Chimp Screams, What Do You Hear?
The calls of our closest living evolutionary cousins still hit an ancient target in the human brain -
Satellite Photobombing Is Disrupting Space Telescope Astronomy
Yet another peril of a teeming low Earth orbit -
Watch a Frog Eagerly Munch on a Murder Hornet
Pond frogs nonchalantly dined on the venomous insects, hinting at special mechanisms that help the amphibians avoid pain—and grisly deaths -
Selfies of Endangered Sumatran Tigers Expose a Robust Population
Array of camera traps captures surprising images of tigers in the wild -
An Ancient Earthquake Might Have Unleashed a Sea Turtle Stampede
Potential flipper marks found by free climbers might point to the marks of frightened reptiles -
Why Stress Sparks Hair Loss, According to Mice
Dead hair cells might confuse the immune system and lead to chronic shedding -
We Finally Know the Time of Day on Mars
This deceptively difficult question to answer is vital to exploration -
The Air In Hospitals and On Airplanes Is Cleaner Than You Think
These crowded spots may not be the airborne pathogen cesspools we fear -
Did Volcanoes Spark the Black Death?
New research points the finger for precipitating Europe’s most deadly pandemic at scores of massive eruptions -
This “Cinderella Sense” May Be Tied to More Than 130 Disorders
Researchers give a whiff of why smell matters to health -
Here’s Why Some Insomniacs Can’t Sleep
Downshifting from the noise of the day is easier for some than others -
Living Large: Giant Anacondas Blew Up 12 Million Years Ago
Recently unearthed fossilized vertebrae shows the resilience of the massive snakes -
What Makes a Word Beautiful?
It’s not what we thought -
Behold the Biggest Dinosaur Parade
What the biggest set of trackways ever discovered says about life in the Late Cretaceous