To truly understand what an asteroid is made of, we need to send a probe to it. Remote sensing from ground-based telescopes, or even orbiting observatories, can only do so much. A new white paper submitted to the U.K. Space Agency's 2035 Space Frontiers program (available on
Most people have experienced a heat wave on land. But heat waves can strike in the ocean too. And as the planet continues to warm, marine heat waves are growing longer and deadlier, hurting the seafood supply that billions of people worldwide rely on for their food and
During an abrupt global cold snap nearly 13,000 years ago, the Gulf Stream ocean current shifted farther north, temporarily disrupting eastern Canada's oceanic ecosystems, a process that could happen again as the climate changes, a new study by UCL researchers finds.
Two of these mysterious sharks were recorded by deep-sea submersibles The post Goblin Sharks Caught on Camera in Their Natural Habitat for the First Time appeared first on Nautilus .
NASA’s X-59 research aircraft reached its target speed and altitude for the first time on Friday
Pomacea canaliculata, commonly known as the apple snail, is a pest commonly found in Hong Kong's wetlands and farmlands. It feeds on aquatic plants and produces toxic pink egg masses resembling miniature grapes that adhere to plants or stone bunds. It is listed by the
Two-thousand-year-old grape seeds yield viticultural insight in the Chianti wine region The post The Ancient Roots of Modern Winemaking appeared first on Nautilus .
A study finding that even one drink a day causes health risks was deliberately sidelined by the Trump administration, a former federal public health official alleges
The FDA will allow bemotrizinol in sunscreen. The chemical is long-lasting and defends against solar radiation that ages skin.
A research team with the participation of the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP) has described a new species of extinct carnivore from fossil remains recovered at the Els Casots site (Subirats, Alt Penedès). The study, published in the Journal of Mammalian
A University of Birmingham scientist has built a "mini-universe" that takes a step toward answering one of science's biggest questions: "What is time?" Publishing his findings in Physical Review Research, Professor Giovanni Barontini shows how it is possible to measure the flow
Hilly and mountainous landscapes have a much greater ability to store carbon in the soil than previously thought, according to a new study co-led by scientists at the University of Oregon.
It's intuitive to think that if a tree is photosynthesizing, it's also growing. But that's not necessarily so—and a new study of oak trees, published in the journal Science Advances, found that even as they photosynthesize late into the year, their growth stops by midsummer.
A conversation with Harvard philosopher Ian Marcus Corbin on material, biological, and spiritual belonging The post How to Feel at Home in the Modern World appeared first on Nautilus .
Melting permafrost is releasing carbon into the atmosphere, but scientists may have underestimated just how bad the situation may be, a new analysis finds
A model built by researchers from the University of Liverpool's Management School predicts an England-Spain FIFA World Cup 2026 final, with Spain the favorite to lift the trophy—a repeat of recent major tournament history. The supercomputer correctly predicted England's
Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria and are not considered human pathogens. Yet researchers at the Translational Microbiology Laboratory of the Institute of Biochemistry, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, have shown that some gut phages can
Mechanoluminescent materials convert mechanical energy such as stress, strain and vibration directly into light, making them attractive as self-powered sensors that require no batteries or wiring. From biomedical sensors to self-powered infrastructure monitoring sensors,
The temperature of rivers is something most people think about only if they plan to go swimming, kayaking or spend a day fishing. Few consider how it could potentially affect their electricity bill.
We know that members of Gen Z are less likely to be in a steady relationship than millennials were at their age, but previous research missed out an important factor that actually widens the relationship recession
Nitrate pollution is a growing global environmental challenge due to the extensive use of fertilizer. A study published in Science, led by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) with the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), shows
Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock. The devices, developed by Beichen Huang and colleagues at Tsinghua University and by Luca Toscani De Col and colleagues at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and
Researchers used machine learning to help predict chemical signatures for over 1 billion possible fentanyls, including variants never seen before.
We can no longer ignore the growing threat of fully autonomous weapons. The world must either act to ban them or accept that they are the future of war
Oxidation reactions are indispensable to the chemical industry, but from a process safety perspective, they are among the most challenging transformations. A research team at the University of Bayreuth, working in collaboration with international partners, has now introduced a
A new study shows that horse owners' psychological characteristics, including their attachment styles and personality traits, are systematically linked to how frequently they ride, train, and spend quality time with their horses, as well as the equipment they choose to use. The
Every year, hundreds of millions of tons of petrochemical-based plastics are produced, much of which ends up in the environment or is incinerated. This exacerbates greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution. Now, a study led by the
Migration flights of dragonflies and damselflies crisscross much of our planet, new research reveals. Scientists from the universities of Exeter and Lund reviewed global evidence and found 100 dragonfly and damselfly species that migrate, and a further 85 possible migratory
The Ice Age rodents left behind a lot to study The post The Surprising Things You Find Digging Through Frozen Prehistoric Squirrel Poop appeared first on Nautilus .
Solve the crossword from our July 2026 issue, in which we raise our solving skills to the next level.
Around the world, ocean warming is causing fish to move poleward in search of cooler water.
Artificial intelligence is often used to generate images. In research, specialized AI models are used for scientific applications—for example, to predict the positions of atoms in materials. The MatterGen model developed by Microsoft can generate complex crystal structures from
Astronomers may have uncovered new details about one of the Milky Way's most important ancient collisions. Using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and a new clustering algorithm, researchers have found evidence suggesting the famous
Long before vertebrates walked on land, millipedes had the place to themselves. Hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs arrived, these early decomposers were helping establish Earth's terrestrial ecosystems. But despite their ancient history, scientists still hadn't
This March 20, 2026, image of Messier 64, or the Black Eye Galaxy, is a composite view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. It shows Messier 64 captured at near- and mid-infrared wavelengths by Webb, while Hubble's image shows the galaxy in
A mathematical model shows that attempting to sever a fundamental particle of light could conjure new ones out of thin air.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket loaded with Starlink satellites Friday less than an hour before Elon Musk's company was set to lift off for what would be the largest IPO in Wall Street history.
Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the
In a new study, Professor Shin Sugiyama of Hokkaido University and his team have directly confirmed for the first time that water from melting snow and ice, or meltwater, found at the surface of a glacier can drain to its base, causing glaciers in Antarctica to speed up and
Elon Musk's SpaceX began its first day as a public company on Wall Street on Friday after the biggest initial public offering in history, with the polarizing entrepreneur promising he will take humanity to Mars.
The 24 alien books the Scientific American staff love, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Contact and beyond
As temperatures rise, New Zealand's dairy farmers face a growing challenge: keeping cows cool enough to remain productive. Heat stress can reduce milk production, harm animals and lower the environmental efficiency of dairy farming. For an economy so heavily reliant on dairy
Birds in flocks, bacteria and cells: In many collective systems, individual elements respond to only part of their surroundings, seemingly defying Newton's third law of motion—action equals reaction. These exceptions are known as nonreciprocal interactions. A Dresden physics
The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a marvel of nature, a highly effective killer that doesn't have to move an inch to capture and kill its prey. It releases a fruity nectar scent to attract flies and other insects. After they land in the trap, tiny hairs are triggered and
At first, scientists thought Earth’s water came from comets. Then, asteroids. Now, they wonder if Earth’s water is homegrown. The post Where Did Earth Get Its Oceans? Maybe It Made Them Itself. first appeared on Quanta Magazine
The United States government's recent release of hundreds of previously classified unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) cases spanning the 1940s to the present, along with the new Steven Spielberg movie, "Disclosure Day," about extraterrestrial life, has fueled the idea that
From snow white and jet black to golden brown, domestic chickens display a wider range of plumage colors than almost any other livestock species. A new international study, with researchers from Leipzig University playing a key role, explains why: A single gene is capable of
The two-toed sloth genome provides some definitive answers The post What Makes Sloths So Slow? appeared first on Nautilus .
Alaska’s glaciers are proving to be highly sensitive to warming temperatures. Using radar satellites to monitor more than 3,000 glaciers, researchers found that every 1°C (1.8°F) increase in average summer temperature extends glacier melting by about three weeks. The study also
The emerging infectious bacterium Escherichia albertii has caused outbreaks of severe food poisoning and hospitalized people through contaminated water and foods, such as salad ingredients. Now, a new study from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has gathered evidence from
