💡 What Physicists Have Been Missing

Stories for World Cancer Day and what’s new this week in Nautilus. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( EDITORS' CHOICE Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( This Sunday, read the latest and most popular stories from Nautilus and a selection of stories for World Cancer Day—plus your free story of the day below [READ NAUTILUS]( [PHYSICS]( [What Physicists Have Been Missing]( An exciting new theory reconciles gravity and quantum physics. I think it’s wrong. But I may be too. BY SABINE HOSSENFELDER A century ago, physics breakthroughs came in rapid sequence. [Continue reading →]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... Would you ever consider trying out a brain implant that makes your mind more capable? 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 Nautilus writer and neuroscientist [Anil Seth’s comments about Neuralink’s first human trial]( for its brain implant.) Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On the Scholarly Work That Has Stimulated Your Thinking the Most) - David Abram’s The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World. I found it fascinating to read about how we, as a species, lost the ability to connect emotionally and sensually to the land around us. I hadn't realized just how profound and complete this disconnection has become, and what we have lost in the process. – Tracy F. - Julian Jaynes’ The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. A [controversial idea](, but this book did open my mind to the idea of the evolution of human mentality. I hadn't considered before just how different the human mind might have worked two, three, or more thousands of years ago. His definition of consciousness alone, what it is, what what it is not, is worth the read. – Dave The latest from Nautilus [MICROBIOLOGY]( [How Did Life Begin?]( By imitating early conditions of Earth in the lab, scientists gain new insight into the origin of life. BY TOM METCALFE [Continue reading →]( [ASTRONOMY]( [The Violent Birth of the Moon]( Did a colossal collision with a doomed planet give us our satellite? BY REBECCA BOYLE [Continue reading →]( On World Cancer Day, revisit these classic Nautilus stories on the disease—filled with personal accounts, deep meditations, and promising new areas of research. We hope you’ll enjoy them and consider [joining Nautilus]( for more. [GENETICS]( [How Life Really Works]( Just as I uncovered a new way to understand life, I got news about my own. BY PHILIP BALL [Continue reading →]( [HEALTH]( [Young and Healthy and Waiting to Get Cancer]( The hardest part of living with the BRCA1 gene. BY LYNDSEY WALSH [Continue reading →]( [HEALTH]( [Cancer Shouldn’t Pose a Threat to Our Lives. We Should Find It First]( Identifying the “first cell” could revolutionize the way we treat cancer. BY GAYIL NALLS [Continue reading →]( [MICROBIOLOGY]( [What We Really Are Is an Agglomeration of Cells]( Siddhartha Mukherjee sings the praises of the cell to offer us a holistic portrait of life. BY MICHAEL DENHAM [Continue reading →]( Time to Clear the Air Indoor air is often more polluted than outdoor air, as [this Nautilus interview]( explains. Keep your home’s air clean and fresh with the Coway Airmega air purifier—a Wirecutter top pick for 2024. [BUY ON AMAZON]( Your free story this Sunday! [COMMUNICATION]( [10 Timeless Papers That Challenged Our Thinking]( My favorite readings for my students. BY JOHN HORGAN Ash Jogalekar, a chemist and science writer, recently posted a list of “academic papers” that “stand as timeless testaments to both great thinking and great writing.” [Continue reading for free→]( EXCLUSIVE MEMBER CONTENT | [Explore Memberships→]( Plastic Pollution Is a Nightmare Discarded plastic hurts our climate, ecosystems, agriculture, human health, and the oceans. To help you shop smarter and recycle better, [One5C]( has put together the definitive guide to plastics and plastic pollution. Check it out to begin your journey to a plastic-free future. [READ IT HERE]( P.S. The quantum physicist Satyendra Nath Bose died on this day in 1974. His research inspired further work by Albert Einstein in the development of the concept of “condensates”—a state of matter in which the particles align in the same quantum state, Paul Sutter wrote. “Bose-Einstein condensates”—made up of hypothetical particles called gravitons—could lay the foundation for [the existence of quantum black holes](. 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: NautilusNext 360 W 36th Street, 7S, New York, NY 10018 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](