💡 The Tiny Ant and the Mighty Lion

What’s popular 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—plus your free story of the day below [READ NAUTILUS]( [ENVIRONMENT]( [The Tiny Ant and the Mighty Lion]( How one insect is reshaping the ecosystem of the African savannah. BY SUMMER RYLANDER Few animals are more synonymous with the African savannah than the lion. [Continue reading →]( Harness the Power of the Sun Rated Best Portable Solar Charger by Wirecutter, [the Allpowers charger]( keeps your phone and laptop charged as long as the sun is shining and folds into a compact case when you’re done. No wires, no batteries, no problem! [Popular Science’s pick for Best Solar Path Lights]( turn on automatically to light up your outdoor paths at night while staying virtually invisible during the day. [The Jackery Portable Power Station]( is a personal generator that only takes two hours to fully charge in the sunlight. With enough juice to power any appliance or gadget, it’s a lifesaver in an emergency and the perfect addition to any RV. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... Is there a collection that you’ve kept going since childhood up to today? 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 [“The Hidden Butterfly Trade.”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On Whether You’d Feel Comfortable Letting Your Car Drive You) • Let my car drive me? Ha! I am an octogenarian and driving my car is one of the things I can still do well enough to get me here and there with ease. Why would I want to give that up? – Louise M. • Yes, I would, if it was like the taxi driver in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1990 film Total Recall. Despite the driver being an obvious “cartoon”-type character, the presence of a “person” who takes control would be very reassuring; a silent empty seat, on the other hand, would be very disconcerting. – Martin A. • I would love my car to drive for me. I could sit back and read or really enjoy looking at the countryside. Would I feel safe? Yes. I have driven for over 50 years and seeing how many people actually drive, talk on the phone, text, eat, drink, look in their mirrors, deal with children, drive when they are too tired or even intoxicated makes me believe we would all be better off with automated vehicles. – Rita R. • Not in my lifetime. I spent 30 years as an engineer working on the interface between hardware, software, and the real world. Much of that time was spent in testing and working with customers on issues with our products, our software, and their specs. Despite our joint best efforts, serious issues with widely varying causes were way too common. I am grateful for driving aids, like lane-drift warnings, but give control to a clearly under tested system? Hard no. – Carolyn S. • Can’t wait for autonomous vehicles. Anyone who drives can see how irrational, irresponsible, emotional, and reckless humans are. There will be issues, but nothing on the scale of human error. – Lori N. Popular This Week [ENVIRONMENT]( [So Much Depends Upon Antarctica]( The magnificence of the continent that’s changing our world. BY LIZ GREENE [Continue reading →]( [PSYCHOLOGY]( [Why People Feel Like Victims]( Getting to the core of today’s social acrimony. BY MARK MACNAMARA [Continue reading →]( The latest from Nautilus [ZOOLOGY]( [Tools of the Wild: Unveiling the Crafty Side of Nature]( It’s time to rethink what tools reveal about animal intelligence and evolution. BY MICHAEL HASLAM & ABIGAIL DESMOND [Continue reading →]( [PSYCHOLOGY]( [Cary Grant Made LSD Therapy Fashionable]( Benjamin Breen on his 3 greatest revelations while writing Tripping on Utopia, about the birth of psychedelic science. BY BENJAMIN BREEN [Continue reading →]( [“There’s a need to step back and remember that the Earth itself is one huge ecosystem.”]( [Liz Greene writes about her journey to Antarctica.]( Decode Your Dog's DNA [The Embark Dog DNA Breed & Health Kit]( tells you your dog’s breed and whether they have any genetic health markers to be concerned about—you can even find their relatives. Get yours for 30% off now. [BUY ON AMAZON]( Your free story this Sunday! [ENVIRONMENT]( [What Plants Are Saying About Us]( Your brain is not the root of cognition. BY AMANDA GEFTER I was never into house plants until I bought one on a whim—a prayer plant, it was called, a lush, leafy thing with painterly green spots and ribs of bright red veins. [Continue reading for free→]( EXCLUSIVE MEMBER CONTENT | [Explore Memberships→]( Love Demystified by Science Find out what happens in your head when there’s love in your heart. Download a FREE copy of our latest eBook, [The Brave New Science of Love](. And don’t forget, Nautilus members get access to our entire library of eBooks for free. Happy Valentine’s Day! [DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY]( P.S. The 17th-century French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”) died on this day in 1650. He invented our modern notion of consciousness and confined it to the interior of the skull. The mind and brain were, for Descartes, separate substances with no direct access to the world. Amanda Gefter noted that, according to cognitive scientist Ezequiel Di Paolo, because of Descartes, most assume “one cannot have knowledge of what is outside oneself [except through the ideas one has inside oneself.](” P.P.S. A reader responds to last Sunday’s World Cancer Day note: Greetings from New Zealand. As a cancer survivor speaking seven years distance from surgery, I’d like to share a little of my journey. To maybe help others. My prostate cancer diagnosis (invasive and aggressive) came as a shock. I’d done all the right things; regular checkups with PSA blood tests and digital examinations. But problems persisted, especially at night. So, the GP referred me to the urology clinic at the public hospital. Many tests did I endure resulting in, well, no result. All clear, and the official letter advised me that I had been “...taken off our books.” Back to the GP, who wasn't satisfied. “What’s next?” was my naive reaction. A biopsy. A few pieces of my prostate for analysis. Which found the “invasive and aggressive” prostate cancer tumor. Back to the hospital—I’m relating the brief version of my journey—to be told that surgery wasn’t an option because the tumor was too close to the bowel. However, quite by chance, a family member tipped us off to robotic surgery. At an expensive, private hospital facility. Radical Robotic Prostatectomy. So, here I am. We’re poorer but I’m still breathing. My message? Ask for a biopsy. It may be a lifesaver. Your life. The consultant tells me I’m likely to enjoy “a normal lifespan.” As I’m now 80 years old, I still have enough time left to complete my postgraduate qualifications, in philosophy. – Michael D. 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, if you find our content valuable, consider [becoming a member]( to support our work, 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](. 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