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How tall and short trees can coexist in old growth forests

Forests are shaped by light competition. The trees that grow the tallest have access to the most sunlight, blocking the rays and rendering the shaded space around them inhospitable to shorter trees below. In this stem exclusion phase of forest succession, the shorter trees

Galaxy mergers aren't always obvious

The galaxy Centaurus A is about 11 million light-years away and is the fifth-brightest galaxy in the sky. Because it's so bright, it's been studied extensively by amateur and professional astronomers alike. Also called NGC 5128, it's a starburst galaxy, meaning it's forming

Weak connection: Why influencers sometimes fail to influence

Conventional wisdom holds that targeting the best-connected individuals in a social network is an effective way to nudge a wider group of people to change their behavior. For example, public health officials launching a campaign to improve nutrition might target a community's

Incredible new material makes heat programmable

A newly developed material can control and "program" heat, allowing it to direct thermal radiation, switch modes, and remember its settings without continuous power. The innovation could lead to smarter infrared sensors, better energy technologies, and memory devices that use

The Loving Embrace of the Milky Way

Researchers have discovered that our galaxy’s outermost spiral arms are wide open and farther away than we thought The post The Loving Embrace of the Milky Way appeared first on Nautilus .

Mating strategies shape tropical plants' invasive ability

A recent study from the Center for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has found strong evidence that a plant's ability to reproduce on its own—through self-fertilization—is one of the key traits that helps it become invasive. The findings are