💡 Today’s 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 [Scientists Watch Electrons Move in Real-Time for the First Time]( A new technique reveals what an electron does attoseconds (a billionth of a billionth of a second) after being bonked by an X-ray. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory→]( [The Evolutionary Forces That Shaped Ancient Europeans]( Natural selection turned out to not matter that much, in a new analysis. Gene flow among certain populations, and drift between others, explained most of the genetic changes ancient Europeans experienced. [PNAS→]( [Online Images Amplify Gender Bias]( We’re experiencing an unprecedented shift toward visual content over text in the media we consume. How does that affect the way we “see” the world? [Nature→]( [How the Brain Encodes Melody]( Are there parts of the brain that specialize in understanding music and language? [Science Advances→]( [Astronomers Find Quasar That Shines 500 Trillion Times Brighter Than Our Sun]( It may be the universe’s brightest object, devouring a sun a day. [AP→]( [How NASA Would Alert the Public About a Potentially Apocalyptic Asteroid Strike on Earth]( It wouldn’t look like what happened in Don’t Look Up. [New York Post→]( [Pulled from the Deep]( Scientists found a “lost” deep-sea mining site off the South Carolina coast. What secrets does it hold? [The Post and Courier→]( [Secrecy in Everyday Life]( Researchers explore people’s experience with secrets across hours and days, rather than weeks, months, or years. [Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin→]( There’s an E-Bike for Everyone Not sure if you want to commit to a new e-bike yet? You can turn your current bike into an e-bike with [the BAFANG conversion kit](. Rated Best Overall by Treehugger, it’s perfect for DIY enthusiasts. Wirecutter’s pick for best folding bike, [the Dahon Mariner D8](, packs the same punch as a full e-bike and folds up for easy storage. It’s a great option for city-dwellers and commuters. If you want to try an e-bike but don’t want to break the bank, [the Ancheer Blue Spark]( is for you. Popular Science rated it the Best Budget Bike of 2024 and it’s a steal at $350. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... Assuming it happens at some point, which animal do you think will be granted legal rights first, and when? 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 [“Attorney for the Animals, Your Honor.”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On What We Should Do After Discovering Martian Life) • Leave it untouched except for samples that could be returned for further study in a controlled environment. – Cameron C. • If we do find any kind of life forms at all, we should run away back to Earth and never go back to Mars again. – Chris M. • If our results at helping life, of any kind, here, on our own planet is any indication of the answer to this question—the obvious answer is to leave it alone! – Daniel S. • We have already demonstrated how “good” we are at destroying what we have. – Torben R. From The Porthole—short sharp looks at science [PHILOSOPHY]( [Attorney for the Animals, Your Honor]( In memory of Steve Wise, a tireless defender of animal rights. BY BRANDON KEIM What is a person? Is it determined by what someone is able to think, feel, and do? Or by something else, such as the category into which they were born? This is a profound question, central to how we see ourselves and the rest of the living world. Steven Wise, who passed away last week at the age of 73 from brain cancer, devoted his life to it. [Keep on reading]( Your free story this Tuesday! [PHYSICS]( [Laser Physicists, Including Third Woman Ever, Win Physics Nobel]( Three researchers shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for advances in laser physics. The winners include a woman for the first time in 55 years. BY MICHAEL MOYER & NATALIE WOLCHOVER The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three researchers for advances in laser physics. [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. Join Nautilus by following the link below and enjoy their full discussion. [JOIN NAUTILUS]( P.S. The theoretical physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer—the second woman to win a Nobel Prize in her field—died on this day in 1972. She was part of the Manhattan Project, and would go on to make key advances in nuclear physics, independently working out a model of an atom’s nuclear structure that could explain why some particle configurations are stable. That won her a share of the Nobel in 1963. The next woman to [win a Nobel in physics was Donna Strickland](, in 2018. She said, “We need to celebrate women physicists because we’re out there, and maybe in time it will move forward.” 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? 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