UN report declares global state of 'water bankruptcy'
The world is entering an era of "global water bankruptcy" with rivers, lakes and aquifers depleting faster than nature can replenish them, a United Nations research institute said on Tuesday.
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New cryogenic vacuum chamber cuts noise for quantum ion trapping
Even very slight environmental noise, such as microscopic vibrations or magnetic field fluctuations a hundred times smaller than Earth's magnetic field, can be catastrophic for quantum computing experiments with trapped ions.
Rare Florida scrub millipedes reproduce in captivity for the first time
Before scientists even knew how many Florida scrub millipedes were left in the wild, a quiet breakthrough happened in a University of South Florida lab. The rare, giant millipedes reproduced in captivity.
Climate change fuels disasters, but deaths don't add up
Climate change is turbocharging heat waves, wildfires, floods and tropical storms, but how deadly have extreme weather events become for people in their path?
Sculpting complex 3D nanostructures with a focused ion beam
Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have developed a new way to fabricate three-dimensional nanoscale devices from single-crystal materials using a focused ion beam instrument. The group used this new method to carve helical-shaped
NASA astronaut who was stuck at the space station for months retires within a year of returning
NASA's Suni Williams—one of two astronauts stuck for months at the International Space Station—has retired.
Spacecraft captures the "magnetic avalanche" that triggers giant solar explosions
Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic disturbances rapidly multiplied, triggering stronger and stronger explosions that accelerated particles to extreme speeds. The process
This new building material pulls carbon out of the air
A new building material developed by engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute could change how the world builds. Made using an enzyme that turns carbon dioxide into solid minerals, the material cures in hours and locks away carbon instead of releasing it. It’s strong,
Solar flares triggered by cascading magnetic avalanches, new observations reveal
Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become more violent. This rapidly evolving process creates
The human brain may work more like AI than anyone expected
Scientists have discovered that the human brain understands spoken language in a way that closely resembles how advanced AI language models work. By tracking brain activity as people listened to a long podcast, researchers found that meaning unfolds step by step—much like the
Tiny doses of THC show big benefits for HIV treatment
A new study suggests that micro-doses of THC could help counter many long-term side effects of HIV treatment without causing intoxication. In animal models, low-dose THC reduced inflammation, improved gut bacteria, boosted serotonin, and lowered harmful cholesterol and bile
The world’s mountains are warming faster than anyone expected
Mountain regions around the world are heating up faster than the lands below them, triggering dramatic shifts in snow, rain, and water supply that could affect over a billion people. A major global review finds that rising temperatures are turning snowfall into rain, shrinking
Strategic sex: Alaska's beluga whales swap mates for long-term survival
In the icy waters of Alaska's Bristol Bay, a new study reveals how a small population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) survive the long haul through a surprising strategy: they mate with multiple partners over several years. The combination of long-term genetics,
Stanford scientists found a way to regrow cartilage and stop arthritis
Scientists at Stanford Medicine have discovered a treatment that can reverse cartilage loss in aging joints and even prevent arthritis after knee injuries. By blocking a protein linked to aging, the therapy restored healthy, shock-absorbing cartilage in old mice and injured
Patients tried everything for depression then this implant changed their lives
Researchers report that vagus nerve stimulation helped many people with long-standing, treatment-resistant depression feel better—and stay better—for at least two years. Most participants had lived with depression for decades and had exhausted nearly every other option. Those
To sustain prosperity as its population shrinks, China will have to invest big at home
China's economy met the government's official growth target in 2025, with official figures showing real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5%.
By stoking the Greenland debate, the United States may actually be harming itself
As the US administration led by Donald Trump has continued to reassert its interest in owning Greenland, Europe has become more and more concerned about the security situation in the Arctic.
Deep in the Amazon, I discovered this monkey's ingenious survival tactic
Look down at the rainforest floor. Rotting flowers shift under the assault of tiny petal-eating beetles. Vividly colored fungi pop up everywhere like the strange sculptures of a madly productive ceramicist.
The way Earth's surface moves has a bigger impact on shifting the climate than we knew
Our planet has experienced dramatic climate shifts throughout its history, oscillating between freezing "icehouse" periods and warm "greenhouse" states.
Tijuana wastewater pipe repairs completed in 3 days, ending river discharge
Repairs to a collapsed wastewater pipe in Tijuana have been completed, with flows to the Tijuana River now stopped, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission announced on Jan. 19.
Entrepreneurial success under corruption depends on generation and experience, study finds
A new article in the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal offers a nuanced view of how corruption affects entrepreneurial performance by showing that entrepreneurs' generational backgrounds play a critical role in shaping outcomes. Moving beyond debates about whether corruption
Bats use 'acoustic flow velocity' to navigate complex environments in darkness
A long-standing mystery about how wild bats navigate complex environments in complete darkness with remarkable precision, has been solved in a new University of Bristol-led study. The findings are published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Bubble netting knowledge spread by immigrant humpback whales, study finds
New research from the University of St Andrews has found that the social spread of group bubble-net feeding among humpback whales is crucial to the success of the population's ongoing recovery.
Bubble feeding trick spreads through humpback whale social groups
Humpback whales off the west coast of Canada have learned a cooperative hunting technique from whales migrating into the area, and this cultural knowledge may help the population cope as food becomes scarce
Drones reveal how feral horse units keep boundaries
For social animals, encounters between rival groups can often lead to conflict. While some species avoid this by maintaining fixed territories, others, like the feral horses, live in a "multilevel society" where multiple family groups (units) aggregate to form higher level
New AI tool removes bottleneck in animal movement analysis
Researchers from the University of St Andrews have developed an AI tool that reads animal movement from video and turns it into clear, human-readable descriptions, making behavioral analysis faster, cheaper, and scalable across species.
Heartworms Might Be Much More Ancient Than We Thought
Understanding their intricate past could be key to future treatments for pups The post Heartworms Might Be Much More Ancient Than We Thought appeared first on Nautilus .
Cross-training may be the key to a long life
People who combine different types of exercise - such as running, cycling and swimming - seem to live longer than those with less varied workouts
Print Edition 65: The Food Issue
Issue 65 of the Nautilus print edition combines some of the best content from our November and December 2025 online issues, and a special Food section. It includes contributions from animal rights activist Peter Singer, science writer Amanda Gefter, evolutionary biologist David
Indian townships are rebuilding after landslides—but not everyone will benefit
In the early hours of July 30, 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.
International laws alone cannot save the ocean; activists say direct action is also needed
After years of international negotiation and diplomacy, as of January 2026, the High Seas Treaty has come into effect. It has been ratified by 61 states around the world and is intended to protect international waters and marine life.
Your Voice Gives Away Valuable Personal Information
The privacy risks of always-listening voice control systems—and how to protect against them The post Your Voice Gives Away Valuable Personal Information appeared first on Nautilus .
AI-driven ultrafast spectrometer-on-a-chip advances real-time sensing
For decades, the ability to visualize the chemical composition of materials, whether for diagnosing a disease, assessing food quality, or analyzing pollution, depended on large, expensive laboratory instruments called spectrometers. These devices work by taking light, spreading
SunRISE SmallSats ace tests, moving closer to launch
When the six tiny spacecraft of NASA's SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) mission settle into their orbits high above Earth after launching later this year, they'll function as one giant radio dish to track the rumbles of radio bursts coming from deep within
An experimental study reveals the role of natural oils in reducing banana spoilage
One of the major challenges facing the agricultural sector is reserving the post-harvest quality of fruits. Significant economic losses can be caused by rapid ripening and deterioration in tropical fruits, such as bananas, which are among the world's most important staple
Some creeks temporarily run stronger after wildfire, and now we know why
New UBC Okanagan research shows that wildfire can change how much water remains in streams during the driest months of the year.
New details capture 13 years of wage-related laws, show increased protections for workers in the US
For more than a decade, local and state laws have been increasingly focused on providing more protection and agency to workers fighting wage theft, according to new data published on LawAtlas.org and analysis in a new article in the American Journal of Public Health.
How a secret military base helped trigger the silent collapse of an Arctic world
Today, as Greenland once again becomes a strategic prize, history seems poised to repeat itself. Staying with the Polar Inuit means refusing to speak of territory while erasing those who inhabit it.
Q&A: Why Philly has so many sinkholes
In early January, a giant sinkhole formed at an intersection in the West Oak Lane neighborhood of North Philadelphia after a water main break. Just two weeks earlier, the city reopened a section of the Schuylkill River Trail in Center City that had been shut down for two months
North Atlantic deep waters show slower renewal as ocean ventilation weakens
The ocean is continuously ventilated when surface waters sink and transport, for example, oxygen and carbon to greater depths. The efficiency of this process can be estimated using the so-called water age, which describes the time elapsed since a water mass last was in contact
Pūkeko birds combine sound elements to create complex call sequences for communication, study reveals
Pūkeko use sound elements to create calls and combine them to create complex call sequences in order to expand the range of options for expressing themselves—these are the findings of an international team including Konstanz researchers. Until now, this behavior had only been
Get ready for smokier air: Record 2023 wildfire smoke marks long-term shift in North American air quality
A new analysis of air quality data from the past 70 years shows that Canada's record wildfire smoke in 2023 is part of a broader, continent-wide trend toward smokier skies across North America.
How light suppresses virulence in an antibiotic-resistant pathogen
Light is a universal stimulus that influences all living things. Cycles of light and dark help set the biological clocks for organisms ranging from single-celled bacteria to human beings. Some bacteria use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy just like plants, but
This Fish Really Does Need a Hole in Its Head
It’s a resonating chamber for drumming with its ribs The post This Fish Really Does Need a Hole in Its Head appeared first on Nautilus .
Digital media breaks can improve well-being
What effect does it have on our well-being when we put our smartphones aside for a while or otherwise disconnect from digital media? Alicia Gilbert, a research associate at the Department of Communication at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), together with two
Detecting drought stress in trees from the air
Increasing heat and drought are putting our forests under stress. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have used drone imagery to investigate how native tree species are responding to climate change. This measurement method
Failed battery chemistry offers new way to destroy PFAS
Researchers in the lab of Asst. Prof. Chibueze Amanchukwu at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have spent three years looking for failure, scouring the academic literature for tales of battery breakdowns and degraded electrolytes.
Scientists plan deep-sea expedition to probe 'dark oxygen'
A team of scientists announced Tuesday they have developed new deep-sea landers specifically to test their contentious discovery that metallic rocks at the bottom of the ocean are producing "dark oxygen".
It started with a cat: How 100 years of quantum weirdness powers today's tech
A hundred years ago, quantum mechanics was a radical theory that baffled even the brightest minds. Today, it's the backbone of technologies that shape our lives, from lasers and microchips to quantum computers and secure communications.
Political writing retains an important and complex role in the UK's national conversation, new book shows
Political published writing retains an "important and complex role" in the national conversation—despite huge social and technological changes this century, a new book shows.
