The Enemy Made Visible

An artwork, sculpted with science, defines our times. Plus: the importance of slime; what plants are saying about us; behind the scenes with Amanda Gefter; and more. [View in browser]( | [Become a member]( EDITORS’ CHOICE Newsletter brought to you by: March 12, 2023   Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here](. Good Morning! Here’s some of the latest and most popular stories from Nautilus—and this week’s Behind the Scenes with science writer [Amanda Gefter]( below [READ NAUTILUS](   [ARTS]( [The Enemy Made Visible]( An artwork, sculpted with science, defines our times. BY ELENA KAZAMIA Louis Pasteur rarely shook hands. Why would he? [Continue reading →]( Experience the endless possibilities and deep human connections that science offers [SUBSCRIBE TODAY](   [Investing in Art Supports New Ideas]( Innovation is found at the intersection of art and science. They are [not two different cultures](. Da Vinci’s drawings and ideas led to many practical inventions. [Masterworks](’ exclusive platform allows you to invest in pioneering perspectives from iconic artists. [Buy and sell shares of multi-million-dollar pieces]( by Picasso, Monet, and more. See important Regulation A disclosures at [masterworks.com/cd]( [Invest In Iconic Artwork](   Popular This Week [ZOOLOGY]( [The Importance of Slime]( Nearly every evolutionary question can find an answer in mucus. BY SUSANNE WEDLICH [Continue reading →]( [ENVIRONMENT]( [What Plants Are Saying About Us]( Your brain is not the root of cognition. BY AMANDA GEFTER [Continue reading →]( [MICROBIOLOGY]( [The Secret Life of the North Pole]( A universe of microbes is melting with Arctic ice—with consequences for us all. BY KATHERINE HARMON COURAGE [Continue reading →]( [MICROBIOLOGY]( [The Body Electric]( We are formed by more than DNA. Meet the bioelectric code. BY SALLY ADEE [Continue reading →](   [BEHIND THE SCENES]( [Amanda Gefter Takes Us Behind “What Plants Are Saying About Us”]( Not long ago, Amanda Gefter saw some striking time-lapse footage of a plant. The plant was twirling around, trying, it seemed, to reach for a pole across from it—getting closer and closer with each pass. The philosopher Paco Calvo, who runs the Minimal Intelligence Lab at the University of Murcia, in Spain, where he studies plants, [filmed]( the struggling organism. “It looks like very intentional behavior,” Gefter told me in our recent conversation. “It’s wild to watch.” In “[What Plants Are Saying About Us](,” Gefter uses Calvo’s fascinating findings about plants’ communication, strategic behavior, and “knowledge” about the world as an entry point into the question of whether, in order to think and perceive, an organism needs an animal-like nervous system. “The brain has become this incredibly complex rug under which we sweep all of these philosophical problems, like, How does the brain create consciousness?” Gefter said. “Yet we don’t seem to be any closer. I think exploring alternative ideas feels necessary.” Paco, author of a new book, Planta Sapiens, has “ideas that are really interesting,” Gefter said. His ideas “don't rely so much on comparing brains to computers but instead look at biological systems, going back to single cells and plants—this whole evolutionary history of which we are clearly a part.” It’s the grounding in biology that Gefter finds convincing about Calvo’s approach. “But to be honest, I had never thought about it in terms of plants,” she said. “To really think about plants being ‘aware’ of what’s going on was pretty radical, and definitely changed how I look at my house plants.” We also discussed the idea that scientists should be cautious to not anthropomorphize plants and animals. “Of course, you want to be super careful and not anthropomorphize,” Gefter said. “At the same time, you don’t want to go so far the other way that you just build in all these assumptions about how humans work, and what belongs to humans alone, and then say we can’t link that to other animals, when clearly we come from a long line of evolutionary descent where surely we have things in common with other living systems. We like to think we’re special but maybe we’re not.” [Watch here.](   [“It’s a shimmering ode to a killer agent.”]( [Elena Kazamia writes about the interesting paradoxes of a captivating sculpture of the coronavirus plaguing us all.](   More in Arts [Encouraging Conservation Through Communication]( Two Jackson Wild fellows on what we can learn from the birds. BY MARY ELLEN HANNIBAL [Continue reading →]( [The Human Story at the Heart of Science]( How Tangled Bank Studios learned to make science documentaries that feel like feature films. BY KRISTEN FRENCH [Continue reading →](   P.S. In a new essay in Wired, philosopher Justin E.H. Smith [forthrightly confesses]( “an interest, of late, in psychedelic experimentation, and I find that my experiments have significantly widened the range of accounts of the nature of reality that I am disposed to take seriously.” That makes perfect sense—at least if you think of the brain as a “prediction engine.” If true, Anil Ananthaswamy wrote, it would mean psychedelics relax our beliefs. [The benefit? More cognitive flexibility.](   Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher   BECOME A SUBSCRIBER [The Most Awe-Inspiring Stories in Science]( [Nautilus]( is a different kind of science magazine. Science is brought to life through narrative storytelling, taking you into the depths of science to highlight today's most vital conversations. Enjoy the wonder and awe of science, distilled into captivating reads. [Subscribe to Nautilus Print + Digital]( today for only $89/year and save 50% annually. 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