💡 How Life Really Works

The latest from Nautilus, the top science news, your question of the day, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with: Hello Nautilus readers, and thanks for dropping in. Today we have underwater harmony and chaos. Plus, in the news: What signs of life were just found on Venus, and how did the Queen’s death affect her British subjects? And more. I once helped my girlfriend study for her bar exam while our tiny New York apartment was prepped for a bed-bug extermination, so our living room was crowded with trash bags stuffed with our clothes, dozens of books, and other items. Check out your question today (on something foolish) and free story (on how life really works) below. My wife is starting labor as I write this, so while I’m on paternity leave you’ll be hearing from my colleague, Liz. Until next time! — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus Underwater Harmony and Chaos These birds are diving fools. [Continue Reading](→ Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( What THIS Solo Vitamin Does for Your Brain, Bone, & Heart Health Is calcium actually good for your bone health? Bad news… In one of the largest bone health studies ever, women who took calcium and vitamin D every day did not see a difference in bone health risks. Meanwhile, a recent study found that women who ate [THIS protein]( for 6 months gained 7% more bone density… Which is how much density the average person loses in SIX YEARS! Here are 7 reasons everyone over 50 should be taking a particular kind of protein. ⇒ [Read this short article]( before you spend another penny on Calcium supplements… (You are probably being misled). [Read more]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The top science news this week - Two different teams found evidence of phosphine and ammonia, potential biomarkers, on Venus, the surface of which is hot enough to melt lead and zinc. [Read on The Guardian→]( - After spending about $450 million, NASA put its water-seeking moon rover, VIPER, on the proverbial shelf. [Read on AP→]( - Shared suffering, researchers found, bonded Britons witnessing the Queen’s funeral in a manner called “identity fusion.” [Read on Scientific Reports→]( - Accidentally exposed yellowish-green crystals revealed a “mind-blowing” finding on Mars. [Read on CNN→]( - A galaxy from the early universe, 650 million years after the Big Bang, went quiet, apparently forming no stars for 20 million years, then came alive in a burst of activity. [Read on arXiv→]( *Indicates sponsor/partner content. Thank you for supporting our sponsors. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What is the most foolish thing you’ve ever witnessed someone—including yourself— do (in person)? Send us your answer! Reply to this newsletter with a brief explanation of your response, and we’ll reveal the top answers in a future newsletter. This question was inspired by “Underwater Harmony and Chaos.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On a Memorable Experience of Offer Someone Help • I’ve been intentional about teaching my kids to be proactively helpful. Some of the things we’ve done include leaving money for snacks inside of a Redbox DVD case when we returned movies we liked. Sometimes, we'd slip money inside unopened, still for sale packages at the grocery store, such as inside a box of diapers or under the plastic lid of a baby formula canister (obviously we did not disturb the seal). – Anna W.

 • I was grocery shopping with my four-year old son Kyle. We were in the frozen food section and he walked to the other side of an open cooler to find something. Suddenly the power went out in the entire store due to a raging thunderstorm outside. It was pitch black and suddenly quiet. I didn’t want him to panic, so in a rather loud but low voice, I said, “Kyle, just freeze where you are. The emergency lights will come on in a few seconds.” Sure enough, I heard a generator kick on. I stood still until my son could see me. He was a tad nervous but relieved to rejoin me. An older lady approached and thanked me—she said my calm voice was reassuring in a frantic situation. – B.P. The Smart Way to Secure Your Home The [Yale Smart Lock]( connects to your home WiFi so you can unlock your house with a keycode or your personal cell phone. [Buy on Amazon]( Today’s unlocked free story GENETICS How Life Really Works Just as I uncovered a new way to understand life, I got news about my own. BY PHILIP BALL The irony seemed a bit heavy-handed, frankly. Just as I was about to publish a book called How Life Works, my own life stopped working as it should. [Continue reading]( P.S. The American theoretical physicist Steven Weinberg died on this day in 2021. He famously said that the more we understand the universe, “the more it also seems pointless”: It has no meaning. “But that is to misunderstand what meaning is: an attribute produced by living things, not one inscribed in the laws of physics,” wrote Philip Ball. “[It is no more useful to say that the more we understand the universe, the more humorless it seems](. (Some might wryly suspect the opposite, I suppose.) These are not attributes we should seek in the cosmos at large.” Thanks for reading! What did you think of today's note? Inspire a friend to [sign up for the Nautilus newsletter](. Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](