The Top Science News

The latest from The Porthole and the wider world of science. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( This Tuesday, check out the top science news—and the latest short sharp looks at science from The Porthole [READ NAUTILUS]( DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week [Why Females Wake Up During Anesthesia More Often]( They have a resistance to anesthetics hidden from EEG scans, but scientists can detect this in brain activity below the cortex. [PNAS→]( [The East Coast Is Sinking]( Cities like New York and Baltimore are seeing a hazardous decline of 2 millimeters per year. [PNAS Nexus→]( [Why Pee Is Yellow]( Scientists identified urobilin as the yellow pigment in urine in the 1800s—yet the key enzyme behind the effect has remained a mystery. [Nature Microbiology→]( [If Evolution Depends on Randomness, How Predictable Can It Be?]( Researchers used machine learning to anticipate which genes natural selection would favor, showing that “some genes are consistently associated with the presence or absence of others.” [PNAS→]( [The Industrial Activity at Sea That’s Not Publicly Tracked]( “Our map of ocean industrialization reveals changes in some of the most extensive and economically important human activities at sea.” [Nature→]( [“Impossible” to Create AI Tools Like ChatGPT Without Copyrighted Material, OpenAI Says]( The company complains that relying solely on material in the public domain wouldn’t cut it. [The Guardian→]( [Navajo Nation Objects to a Plan to Send Human Remains to the Moon]( The Native American group considers the moon sacred—do private space companies offering memorial services have to respect that? [NPR→]( [The Mystery of the Coin That Shouldn’t Exist]( Scientists recently analyzed a Peruvian 10-cent piece with an unexplained origin. [The New York Times→]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What is your most memorable psychedelic experience? Let us know! Reply to this newsletter with your response, briefly explaining your choice, and we’ll reveal the top answers. (This question was inspired by [“Will Psychedelics Replace Antidepressants?](”) Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On the Aspects of Human Nature That Make Addressing Climate Change Hard, and Offer Hope) - I would say the aspect of human nature that makes dealing with climate change so difficult is a combination of our modern belief that we “deserve” to control the things that happen to us/our immediate environments (sound, light, temperature, etc.) and our unconscious fear responses. – Penelope T. - Hard: Gullibility and willingness to accept and expect quick fixes, including easy gratification. Hope: Humans’ care for their progeny and a desire for longevity. – Louise M. - Perhaps much of what we call behavioral modernity, or civilization, is the novel and bizarre behavior that arises when other important species are lost, as perhaps occurred with the megafaunal extinctions in prehistory. If this is the case, we are swept up in the middle of something far beyond our control. Nature, perhaps, is drawing pictures and we are the paint. – Jonty From The Porthole—short sharp looks at science [EVOLUTION]( [Evolution Led Humans into a Trap]( The cultural forces that fueled our success now threaten to end it. BY KRISTEN FRENCH Evolution has led humans into a dark corner, according to a new study. We bonded into groups to solve local problems. Sometimes we shared our solutions with neighboring groups, and they shared theirs with us. The spread of knowledge was a good thing. Culture led to cooperation. [Keep on reading]( Your free story this Tuesday! [PSYCHOLOGY]( [Against Willpower]( Willpower is a dangerous, old idea that needs to be scrapped. BY CARL ERIK FISHER Thomas was a highly successful and mild-mannered lawyer who was worried about his drinking. [Continue reading for free→]( EXCLUSIVE MEMBER CONTENT | [Explore Memberships→]( [Where Art Meets Science]( Our readers often tell us that our commitment to art and illustration is one of the most cherished parts of Nautilus. It’s a key ingredient in the special sauce that makes Nautilus and our community so unique—the recognition that art is another outlet for the creativity that drives our storytelling. With that in mind, we’ve got a gift you’re going to like: our favorite art platform, Colossal, is offering $25 towards a membership to their platform, exclusive to Nautilus members. Colossal is a leading contemporary art platform that celebrates the work of thousands of artists, many of whom are influenced by science. It’s an online gallery, where you’ll find rich stories behind the work and artists. Recently, they’ve featured [puzzles designed to mirror the rare element bismuth’s crystalline network](, [historic glass models of marine invertebrates,]( and [an ambitious project to photograph every edible plant seed in exquisite detail.]( This $25 credit is only available to Nautilus members, so [join Nautilus]( with any membership to claim yours. [JOIN NOW]( P.S. Are self-control and willpower the same thing? Many people treat them as synonyms, but [some psychologists say]( we can tease them apart. For his part, Carl Erik Fisher is against willpower itself. “Ignoring the idea of willpower,” he wrote, “will sound absurd to most patients and therapists, but, as a practicing addiction psychiatrist and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry, I’ve become increasingly skeptical about [the very concept of willpower](, and concerned by the self-help obsession that surrounds it.” Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher Thanks for reading.[Tell us](mailto:brian.gallagher@nautil.us?subject=&body=) your thoughts on today’s note. Plus, [browse our archive]( of past print issues, and inspire a friend to sign up for [the Nautilus newsletter](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2023 NautilusNext, All rights reserved.You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext360 W 36th Street, 7S,New York, NY 10018 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](