💡 The Top Science News

The latest from Nautilus 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 from Nautilus—plus your free story of the day [READ NAUTILUS]( DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week [Buried Roman Scrolls “Unrolled” and Read for the First Time Using AI]( The new ability to decipher ancient scrolls has hard-to-fathom implications for anyone studying classical antiquity. [Time→]( [AI Chatbots in Simulated Wargames Make Conflict Worse]( It’s hard to predict when they’ll decide to escalate violence, and their reasoning has researchers worried. [arXiv→]( [The Psychology of Supporting Free Speech]( What motivates people to protect free expression? [Personality and Individual Differences→]( [Moderates Know More About Politics Than Extremists]( Data from 45 countries across six continents suggest that people who lean right or left, but don’t have hard-line views, are more knowledgeable about political matters. [Scientific Reports→]( [A Discovery Near the Dawn of the Time Has Revealed Something Fundamental About the Universe]( What can curb new stars from forming? [Motherboard→]( [Why Tardigrades Are So Indestructible]( Scientists had a eureka moment understanding the role reactive oxygen species play in keeping waterbears alive in places like the vacuum of space. [CNN→]( [CERN Aims to Build $20 Billion Collider to Unlock Secrets of Universe]( Nautilus writer and physicist Sabine Hossenfelder is skeptical it’ll work: “Particle physicists have to accept that their time is over. This is the age of quantum physics.” [The Guardian→]( [The Earth’s Tectonic Plates Made the Himalayas—And Could Rip Them Apart]( There is no scientific consensus yet on how the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates is playing out—or what it means for the planet. [NBC News→]( 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]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... If, for a day, you could see the world through the eyes of one animal, which would it be? 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 [“Seeing Through Animal Eyes.”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On Whether You’d Use a Brain Implant to Make Your Mind More Capable) - I have a brain implant called a Deep Brain Stimulator to treat Parkinson’s disease. Surgeons implanted the electrical components into the middle of my brain, and the battery under my clavicle. This device has helped improve my movement, but it has also improved my cognition, which helped improve other non-motor symptoms. Neuralink and DBS are just part of the evolution of such devices. Of course, DBS has had a rigorous track record of success, which I hope would be true for any new devices. But if Neuralink was safe and effective, I’d decide to have it implanted with no hesitation. – Nick P. - Absolutely. In high school I took AP Chemistry and was a C student despite putting serious effort into it. Being able to straight-A that class would be amazing. – Brett L. - I was looking forward to enhancing my mind through brain augmentation, but will never use something from “a guy” who has so often been so obviously wrong about the capability and safety of his products. – L.W. Brown - I am a neuroscientist, and my answer is never. Or, at least not for decades (or centuries) more of research. There’s still so much we don’t understand about basic brain functioning in “healthy” individuals—implants to make your mind more capable screams “dangerously overstepping.” Hijacking the brain will have unforeseen consequences, and I think it is irresponsible to sell this as cutting-edge science. – Sydney B. - I would never consider a brain implant. In this age of conflict, it would be far too easy to force people to do anything. Go to war, become a slave, jump off a cliff...no, thanks. I will keep my thoughts to myself. – Prescilla C. - In a world of ever-increasing AI capabilities, such brain-power expansion might actually be necessary for continued human flourishing. – Sam L.W. From The Porthole—short sharp looks at science [ZOOLOGY]( [Seeing Through Animal Eyes]( New technology translates animal-eye views of the world into colors humans can see. BY SHRUTI RAVINDRAN When preparing to become a butterfly, the Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar wraps its bright striped body within a leaf. This leaf is its sanctuary, where it will weave its chrysalis. So when the leaf is disturbed by a would-be predator—a bird or insect—the caterpillar stirs into motion, briefly darting out a pair of fleshy, smelly horns. To humans, these horns might appear yellow—a color known to attract birds and many insects—but from a predator’s-eye-view, they appear a livid, almost neon violet, a color of warning and poison for some birds and insects. [Keep on reading]( Your free story this Tuesday! [ASTRONOMY]( [The Enlightening Beauty of an Einstein Ring]( What a trippy gravitational phenomenon can tell us about the universe. BY BRIAN GALLAGHER Not long ago, Pieter van Dokkum received a delightful invitation. [Continue reading for free→]( EXCLUSIVE MEMBER CONTENT | [Explore Memberships→]( Watch the Creative Sparks Fly Between Yo-Yo Ma and Fabiola Gianotti “What’s permanent is how you grow… if you stop growing, you’re dead…” That’s just one quote from the conversation we recorded between world-class cellist Yo-Yo Ma and renowned CERN director Fabiola Gianotti for our video series The Intersection. Although these two brilliant minds come from two very different fields, they’re united by their curiosity—that universal trait that fuels human progress and innovation. When two individuals, each immersed in their own unique field of expertise, come together for a conversation, remarkable things can happen. Check out a preview by following the link below and join Nautilus to unlock their full discussion. [WATCH THE CONVERSATION]( P.S. The 18th-century English chemist and natural philosopher Joseph Priestly died on this day in 1804. He was the first to isolate both nitrous oxide, which he called “dephlogisticated nitrous air,” and oxygen. In Sean Carroll’s article about philosophical zombies—beings that have all the signs of conscious experience yet lack subjectivity—he mentioned Priestly to make a point about [whether the idea of a zombie is even conceivable](: “If you asked [Priestly] whether he could imagine water without any oxygen, he presumably would have had no problem, since he didn’t know that water is made of molecules with one oxygen atom and two hydrogens,” wrote Sean Carroll. “But now we know better, and realize that ‘water without oxygen’ is not conceivable.” 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](