Nautilus Magazine

10/31/2025

You've probably heard about the loneliness epidemic. But is that an accurate description of the current state of loneliness?

The answer to that question could influence how the problem is addressed—and whether the efforts to combat it are successful.

Writing in the Conversation, Brendan Kelly, a professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, says that the proportion of people feeling lonely is actually quite stable over time. An epidemic is a rapid increase in the number of people afflicted by a particular disease or condition within a specific community or region. But, argues Kelly, “Loneliness is not a sudden crisis that needs a short-term fix. It is a long-term challenge that requires a sustained response.”

Is Loneliness Really an Epidemic? Social isolation is a health problem, but how we talk about it matters

10/31/2025

At the end of the Earth there’s a record of sorts, preserved in layers of layers of Antarctic ice—you could even call it our planet’s memory. Now, scientists have unearthed a new chapter in this prehistoric record.

Drilling through ancient glaciers in the Allan Hills region of southeastern Antarctica, researchers from the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX) retrieved an ice core dating to 6 million years old—more than twice as old as the oldest similar ice core on record.

Antarctic Team Drills 6 Million Years Into Earth’s Past: The recovery of the ancient ice core to date reveals key insights into our changing climate

10/31/2025

Issue 19 cover art – March/April 2017 by ⁠

Issue avialable for purchase at link in comments.

10/31/2025

Daylight Savings Time is a hot button issue. Whether you love the futzing with the clocks or hate it, there is one historical figure who was a key proponent of the annual springing forward and falling back.

Meet George Hudson–an amateur entomologist in New Zealand hoping for a couple more hours of daylight to find and catch his insect quarry.

The 19th-Century Entomologist Who Dreamed Up Daylight Savings: Hungry for more light to find insects, this scientist championed changing time

10/31/2025

Our centuries-long fascination with Frankenstein’s monster—which has inspired dozens of films, including the recent Guillermo del Toro movie—might have been sparked by a scholarly feud over frogs.

Yup. Frogs. Read about this odd origin story at 🔗 in comments.

10/31/2025

Our centuries-long fascination with Frankenstein’s monster—which has inspired dozens of films, including the recent Guillermo del Toro movie—might have been sparked by a scholarly feud over frogs.

Meet the Real Dr. Frankenstein: The Italian scientist who sparked an electric revolution that led to the beloved horror story—and the battery

10/31/2025

Researchers have recorded the lightning-quickness of snake bites with two high-speed cameras recording at 1,000 frames per second.

They used 3-D coordinates to compare the style and motion of the strikes as measured by several variables, including velocity, acceleration, contact angle, and gape angle, to name a few.

Check out the slow motion video.

The Secrets of Deadly Snake Bites: Slow-motion video reveals how these strikes could kill you, in surprisingly different ways

10/31/2025

To understand the role of magic in spurring scientific progress, it helps to understand the state of learning in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Throughout, many scholars were fixated on the idea that knowledge could only be gleaned from ancient texts. Universities taught from incomplete, often poorly translated copies of Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Galen.

To stray from the giants was a crime: In 14th-century Oxford, scholars could be charged 5 shillings for contradicting Aristotle. Curiosity was considered a sin on par with lust.

A powerful motivator was needed to shuck off ancient thinking...

For scientists of yore anything—from mermaids to alchemy—was on the table.

10/31/2025

Researchers have recorded the lightning-quickness of snake bites with two high-speed cameras recording at 1,000 frames per second.

They used 3-D coordinates to compare the style and motion of the strikes as measured by several variables, including velocity, acceleration, contact angle, and gape angle, to name a few.

Check out the slow motion video at link in comments.

10/31/2025

To understand the role of magic in spurring scientific progress, it helps to understand the state of learning in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Throughout, many scholars were fixated on the idea that knowledge could only be gleaned from ancient texts. Universities taught from incomplete, often poorly translated copies of Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Galen.

To stray from the giants was a crime: In 14th-century Oxford, scholars could be charged 5 shillings for contradicting Aristotle. Curiosity was considered a sin on par with lust. A powerful motivator was needed to shuck off ancient thinking.

Read about all about that motivator at 🔗 in comments.

10/30/2025

Behold, the monsters of the mind!

If you want some mood-setting stories for tomorrow, check out our FREE ebook at link in comments.

Freakish stories about the sublime grotesqueries of science await.

10/29/2025

Issue 18 cover art – Jan/Feb 2017 by Julia Breckenreid