💡 The Bird Photo of the Year

The latest from Nautilus, the best things we learned today, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for joining us. Today we revel in all the ways our cells—which die by the billions each day—can kick the bucket. Plus, we admire the story behind how this year’s top bird photo came to be. Also, some of the best things we learned today—a full mapping of the fruit fly brain, the reality of dolphin smiles, and more. I was glad to see that the ideas you wrote in with, in response to our last question on communicating with animals, ranged from pragmatic to personal to playful. If I had the power to hold forth with any number of animals for a month, I’d listen to what chimps in our scientific experiments have learned about us, chat with an octopus about the hard problem of consciousness, and ask my 9-year-old dog what it’s been like watching our three kids grow up. Check out today’s question (on a memorable nature sight) and free story (on an immortal cell line) below. Until next time! The latest from Nautilus Your Cells Are Dying. All The Time. Some go gently into the night. Others die in freak accidents or deadly invasions, or after a showy display. [Continue Reading→]( The Bird Photo of the Year This award-winning shot offers a candid look at the cagey turkey vulture. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( How to Start Speaking a New Language in 3 Weeks Speaking more than one language can improve your ability to pay attention, plan, and solve problems, as [this Nautilus story]( explains, but learning a new language can seem daunting. [Babbel]( makes it a snap. With daily lessons, podcasts, and games, [Babbel]( is the fun way to learn a new language. In just 5 minutes a day you could be having actual conversations in 3 weeks. Start your language journey today and [get 60% off](. [Get 60% off]( *Any scientific claims made in advertising content are not researched, verified, or endorsed by Nautilus. Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The best things we learned today • Researchers were once able to save a humpback whale that had made its way into San Francisco Bay by luring it back to the ocean using recordings of humpback whale calls. [Read on Nautilus→]( • The tiny fruit fly brain, about the size of a poppy seed, has at least 8,400 cell types, 139,255 neurons, and around 50 million neuronal connections. [Read on The Guardian→]( • The root-like structure of a fungus, mycelia, has a natural sensitivity to light, which can be engineered to power movement. [Read on Nautilus→]( • The smile-like expression dolphins make when they’re playing with another dolphin could actually be a smile, a gesture akin to a human’s amused grin. [Read on Science News→]( • When tuberculosis strikes lung cells, they lose their color and soften, a kind of death termed “caseous” necrosis, which literally means “cheese-like.” [Read on Nautilus→]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What is the most memorable sight you’ve experienced out in nature? Send us your answer! Reply to this newsletter with a brief explanation of your response, and we’ll reveal the top answers in a future newsletter. This question was inspired by “The Bird Photo of the Year.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On How You’d Use the Power to Talk to Animals I would use that power to have a Merry Morning Breakfast Gossip Club on my back porch. I live in a beautiful woodsy area, so I would invite the raccoons, foxes, deer, opossums, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, geese, ducks (they fly in for a swim in my pond early every morning), turkeys, and the rest of the cast who wants to join in. I would let them know they can stay in my garden safe, always, and we would have a sing-along everyday with my two best kitties, Fanta and Miles, hosting. The snake will need special permission to attend. The trees are welcome to stay. – Nina W. At first I thought it might be nice to talk to coral reefs. Knowing how to improve their plight from a primary source might be helpful. But it is a hallmark of human arrogance to suppose that any animal would want to talk to us, rather than to just be left alone, and I fear that the feedback from coral reefs would be a cacophony of tiny tortured screams. Until we can statistically account for 100 percent no negative impacts of human hubris, best to keep things theoretical. – Ingrid W. I would talk to as many neglected and abused animals as I could get to and find out exactly what they need and how to help, and find out what’s going on with their owners as well and report as much as I could. I would try to see if there was a bigger problem that I could help fix before I would lose the power to talk with them anymore. – Simona C. I would talk with my dog. I would like to know what she thinks of us. I would like to know how she is feeling. She is 13 and hard of hearing, and maybe other things. I would like to know if she ever thinks about death. – Michael B. If I could talk to animals for a month, I would try to convince my cat to sleep at night instead of being noisy. I would like to ask about her time on the street before being adopted. I would also talk to any animals I could find in my area just to hear whatever they have to say. – Autumn G. I’d spend it in conversation with my neighborhood crows. It’s been a slow process getting them to trust me, and now they follow me every day on my walks in hope of getting peanuts in the shell, but I’d love to be able to tell them that they’re safe and loved and don’t ever need to fear me. I think they’d have a lot to say in return! – Caro E. Start Speaking a New Language in 3 Weeks With daily lessons, podcasts and games, [Babbel]( makes it fun and easy to learn. Start your language journey today and [get 60% off](. [Get 60% off]( Today’s unlocked free story HEALTH Why the Ethical Rules of Human-Subjects Research Need a Fresh Look A revised law could prevent another Henrietta Lacks situation. BY MATTHEW SEDACCA When HBO released its television film drama The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, earlier this year, it may have reawakened some Americans to a dark chapter of scientific research. [Continue reading]( P.S. The Black American medical patient Henrietta Lacks died on this day in 1951. While receiving treatment for her cervical cancer, at Johns Hopkins University, her doctor biopsied her tumor and cultured the cancer cells without Lacks’ consent. These HeLa cells, derived from her name, were remarkable—they didn’t die after being cultured but [kept reproducing and living on: an immortal cell line](. This became a boon to biomedical research, generating billions in profits, which were not initially shared with Lacks’ family. Last year, the Lacks’ family settled a lawsuit with Thermo Fisher Scientific, for an undisclosed amount, after suing the life science research company for the “full amount” of its net profits resulting from the HeLa cells. “Lacks,” wrote science writer Matthew Sedacca, “could not have fathomed that her cancer cells would go on to make life-saving discoveries like the polio vaccine, among other things—all without her consent.” Thanks for reading! What did you think of today's note? Inspire a friend to [sign up for the Nautilus newsletter](. Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](