One of 2024’s Last Meteor Showers Is About to Reach Its Peak

The astronomical event, which overlaps with the Winter Solstice, is often overlooked because of the winter chill.

A Solstice of the Soul

For his next trick, your cosmic correspondent for the past quarter-century will (try to) retire.

A Mouse That Swims and Dozens More Species Are Discovered in a Peruvian Jungle

A 38-day expedition in the remote Alto Mayo region, where development threatens wild habitats, turned up one previously unknown animal after another.

Popular Arthritis Drug for Dogs May Have Severe Side Effects, F.D.A. Says

The agency recommended that the maker of Librela update its label to reflect the possibility of more serious adverse reactions.

This Brazilian Velvet Ant Is So Dark That It’s Ultrablack

Scientists found that the dark markings on a species of fluffy wasp reflected less than 1 percent of light.

A Grisly Discovery at a Bronze Age Mass Grave: The Victims Were Eaten, Too

“It’s taken us all aback,” said a professor who led a study revealing that 37 people in a prehistoric site in England were likely consumed by their attackers.

Orrin H. Pilkey, Warrior in a Fight to Save Imperiled Beaches, Dies at 90

An eminent geologist, he argued against putting condos and hotels on vulnerable coastal landscapes. Environmentalists applauded; many others didn’t.

For Wild Animals, the Bird Flu Disaster Is Already Here

Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could set off another human pandemic. But it is already putting species under pressure in the wild.

Oldest Human Genomes Reveal How a Small Group Burst Out of Africa

DNA from European fossils dating back 45,000 years offers new clues to how our species spread across the world.

Superflares Erupt From Stars Like Our Sun Once Every 100 Years

New findings suggest that an extraordinarily powerful and dangerous burst of radiation might flare from our sun in the future.

A ‘Second Tree of Life’ Could Wreak Havoc, Scientists Warn

Research on so-called mirror cells, which defy fundamental properties of living organisms, should be prohibited as too dangerous, biologists said.

The Geminids Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch.

The shower forms from the debris of an asteroid and peaks this weekend. But a nearly full moon could interfere with viewing.

It’s Time to Talk About Pornography, Scholars Say

More adolescents than ever are watching it. What’s needed, researchers say, are frank conversations and “porn literacy.”

120 Miles of Russian Forest Couldn’t Keep These Two Tigers Apart

Boris and Svetlaya were raised together as orphaned cubs, and then reintroduced to the wild separately. But Boris went on a trek that surprised the researchers who were monitoring him.

The Plight of the Palestinian Scientist

Four Palestinian researchers describe how conflict in Gaza and the West Bank has hindered their careers in science and medicine.

World’s Oldest Known Wild Bird Lays an Egg at 74

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, has outlived at least three mates and the researcher who outfitted her with a tracking band in 1956.

When They Hear Plants Crying, Moths Make a Decision

A new study suggests that the insects rely on the sounds made by distressed vegetation to guide important reproductive choices.

Motherhood at 74: World’s Oldest Known Wild Bird Lays Egg

Wisdom, a 74-year-old Laysan albatross, laid an egg at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago.

NASA Artemis Moon Missions Delayed Until 2026 and 2027

It is unclear where the program to go back to the lunar surface will head after President-elect Donald J. Trump returns to the White House in January.

How the Messy Process of Milking Cows Can Spread Bird Flu

On America’s large dairy farms, milking is a vast operation, and the potential for disease transmission is worrying, health experts say.

Richard Hamilton, Who Helped Solve a Mathematical Mystery, Dies at 81

He came up with an innovative equation called the Ricci flow that helped mathematicians explore fundamental questions that were once out of reach.

Mammoth: It’s What Was for Dinner

A study of a 12,800-year-old skull of a toddler offers a glimpse at how early Americans found food, and how their hunts may have led to a mass extinction.

Trump Picks Jared Isaacman, an Entrepreneur and Private Astronaut, to Lead NASA

Mr. Isaacman’s company Shift4 Payments made him a billionaire, and he has financed two trips to orbit on SpaceX vehicles, including a daring spacewalk in September.

Google Introduces A.I. Agent That Aces 15-Day Weather Forecasts

GenCast, from the company’s DeepMind division, outperformed the world’s best predictions of deadly storms as well as everyday weather.

Giant Redheaded Centipedes Are Venom Mixologists

The arthropods can tailor their toxins depending on whether they are hunting prey or defending themselves from predators, according to a new study.

Airplane Turbulence Can Start Earlier Than You Expect

This is your captain speaking: When thunderstorms are in the forecast, you may need to buckle those seatbelts a lot sooner than you’re used to.

Killer Whales Hunt and Feast on the Largest Fish on Earth

Whale sharks are gentle, filter-feeding giants, but orcas in Mexican waters were documented attacking the animals and devouring their livers.

Footprints Suggest Different Human Relatives Lived Alongside One Another

A discovery in northern Kenya hints that two extinct species that were our ancient relatives shared the same habitat and possibly interacted.

A Fossil Gets Its Name From a Revived Indigenous Language

After scientists found an extinct burrowing amphibian on Eastern Shoshone land, members of the tribe gave it a name in their language.

Psychedelic Traces Found on Mug From Ancient Egypt

Egyptians may have used hallucinogenic substances as part of a fertility rite, researchers said.

Dinosaur Domination Is Marked in a Timeline of Vomit and Feces Fossils

Studying bromalites helped paleontologists piece together how the reptiles came to rule a part of the prehistoric world.

A Stray Dog Climbed an Egyptian Pyramid. Along Came a Paraglider.

A video of a dog on a pyramid took off on social media — but only after it was appropriated and doctored.

These Wolves Like a Little Treat: Flower Nectar

After Ethiopian wolves feed on their favorite rodents, they may be enjoying a bit of dessert and in the process helping pollinate plants known as torch lilies.

On the Wings of War

Scientists study the flight of hummingbirds to design robots for drone warfare.

Squirting Cucumbers Shoot Their Seeds Like Botanical Bombardiers

Scientists say they’ve worked out how the plant can fire its seeds up to almost 40 feet.

Vast Oceans of Water May Be Hiding Within Uranus and Neptune

A scientist simulated the contents of the ice giant worlds, and found that a fluid layer may explain each planet’s strange magnetic field.

‘DNA Typewriters’ Can Record a Cell’s History

Labs around the world are trying to turn cells into autobiographers, tracking their own development from embryos to adults.

Hundreds More Nazca Lines Emerge in Peru’s Desert

With drones and A.I., researchers managed to double the number of mysterious geoglyphs in a matter of months.

An Asteroid’s Destruction May Have Given Mars Rings, Then Moons

Scientists simulated a situation that may offer an improved explanation for how the Red Planet ended up with small Phobos and tiny Deimos.

From Chimpan-A to Chimpanzee, These Apes May Have Humanlike Culture

Researchers describe a link between genetic relatedness and sophisticated tool use in primates in East and Central Africa, suggesting their culture is cumulative.

First Close-Up of Star Outside Our Galaxy Shows a Giant About to Blow

Astronomers zoomed in on a stellar behemoth in the Larger Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy that orbits about 160,000 light-years from the Milky Way.

What Trump’s Return to Office Could Mean for Animals

A second Trump administration could alter the lives of all sorts of animals, whether they live in laboratories, zoos, fields or forests.

SpaceX Unable to Recover Booster Stage During Sixth Test Flight

President-elect Donald Trump joined Elon Musk in Texas and watched the launch from a nearby location on Tuesday. While the Starship’s giant booster stage was unable to repeat a “chopsticks” landing, the vehicle’s upper stage successfully splashed down in the Indian Ocean.

Physicist Who Made Superconductor Claims Exits University of Rochester

Journals had retracted papers on superconductors that worked at room temperature and materials science that involved Ranga Dias.

SpaceX Starship Launch Ends With a Dramatic Water Landing

President-elect Donald J. Trump joined Elon Musk, as his company’s prototype moon and Mars rocket carried out a sixth test flight that showed a mix of progress and setbacks.

Where Glaciers Melt, the Rivers Run Red

As the glaciers of South America retreat, the supply of freshwater is dwindling and its quality is getting worse.

A Mummified Saber-Toothed Kitten Emerges in Siberia

The Homotherium cub was preserved in Siberian permafrost with its dark fur and flesh intact.

Biden Pledges New Funding to Protect the Amazon

President Biden pledged financial help to protect the Amazon during a visit to Brazil, making one final push to combat climate change before the end of his term.

Barnard’s Star Finally Has a Planet, and Possibly More

For a century, exoplanet hunters have “discovered” planets around a nearby star, only to retract the claims. But the latest find is for real.

How to Watch the Leonids Meteor Shower Peak This Weekend

The event produces some of the year’s fastest meteors, although the nearly full moon may make them challenging to spot.

Can These Ex-Hollywood Chimps Find a Place Among the Apes?

Behind the scenes at a Chicago zoo, chimpanzees who spent years entertaining humans are learning to befriend their own kind.

NASA Says Space Station Astronaut Is in ‘Incredible Health’

The agency’s top medical official was responding to rumors that Suni Williams had lost an unusual amount of weight during an extended stay in orbit.

The Surprising Social Lives of Pythons

Ball pythons were long assumed to be solitary, but scientists discovered the snakes in captivity prefer each others’ company when given the chance to live socially.

‘Devious’ New Deep Sea Creature Hid Its Identity From Scientists

It took nearly 25 years for biologists to discover that a swimming and glowing organism in the ocean’s midnight zone was actually a sea slug.

This ‘Ghost’ Fish Seemed Extinct, Until It Turned Up in Unexpected Places

No one saw a Mekong giant salmon carp for 15 years, but then the species was spotted in areas of Cambodia that suggest it may be found in more locations.

Uranus Might Have Experienced a Freak Event When Voyager 2 Visited

Much of the understanding of the seventh planet comes from a brief flyby nearly 40 years ago, which researchers now say overlapped with an exceptional solar event.

This Elephant Uses a Hose to Give Herself a Shower Every Day

In the Berlin Zoo, Mary demonstrated another example of clever elephantine tool use while another animal exhibited a form of mischief with a hose that resembled a prank.

Church in Egyptian Desert Reveals Early Christian Burial Practices

A basilica from the 4th century held a surprising number of tombs with women and children, researchers found.

Last N.I.H. Chimps to Move From New Mexico Facility

The retired research chimpanzees, which had previously been deemed too frail to move, will be relocated to a Louisiana sanctuary.

A Door Is Unlocked, and 43 Monkeys Make a Bid for Freedom

Dozens of rhesus macaques escaped a research facility in South Carolina. They’re still on the lam.

With DNA, Pompeii Narratives Take a Twist

In 79 A.D., a volcanic eruption engulfed a town’s residents. They weren’t all who scientists thought, newly extracted genetic material suggests.

You May Not Be Able to Outrun a Vampire Bat

Scientists put the bloodsucking mammals on a treadmill to understand how they get the energy to chase down their next meal.

Japanese Scientists Bet on an Ancient Material for Their New Satellite: Wood

Scientists in Japan constructed the first satellite made of wood by blending age-old woodworking techniques with rocket science.

The Science That Makes Baseball Mud ‘Magical’

Scientists dug up the real dirt on the substance applied to all the baseballs used in the major leagues.

Where There’s Joy in a Terror Bird

In Colombia, a fossil-collecting rancher has found a giant, flightless killer from 13 million years ago — and a missing link to the region’s evolutionary history.

Richard A. Cash, Who Saved Millions From Dehydration, Dies at 83

He worked alongside another doctor to show that a simple rehydration therapy could check the ravages of cholera and other diarrhea-inducing diseases.

Exhale Through the Gift Shop

Museums are adding scents as another tool for communicating information about science and other subjects in their exhibits.

Diving to Drink a 19th-Century Shipwreck’s Treasure

A team recently dived deep beneath Lake Huron hoping to harvest grain that may one day be distilled into whiskey with a flavor forgotten to history.

Can Axions Save the Universe?

The hunt for dark matter is shifting from particles to waves named after a laundry detergent.

Two Black Holes Are Giving the Cosmos a Fright

The ghosts of stars are up to their usual mischief.

Fossil Reveals Oldest Known Tadpole That Grew to the Size of a Hot Dog

A 161 million-year-old fossil, linked to a line of extinct frog-like amphibians, is the oldest tadpole ever found.

Instead of Going Boldly on Space, Harris Has Taken a Steady Approach

As chair of the White House’s National Space Council, the vice president largely emphasized continuity with policies set by the Trump administration.

How Many Continents Are There? You May Not Like the Answers.

Recent earth science developments suggest that how we count our planet’s largest land masses is less clear than we learned in school.

Was Stone Age Scandinavia Struck by Plague?

New research by geneticists hints at the deadly work of Yersinia pestis 5,000 years ago.

Can John Green Make You Care About Tuberculosis?

With a forthcoming nonfiction book and an online army of Nerdfighters, the young-adult author aims to eliminate an entirely curable global scourge.

This Toad Is So Tiny That They Call It a Flea

A “toadlet” in Brazil is the second-smallest vertebrate known to exist on the planet.

What Ants and Orcas Can Teach Us About Death

A philosopher journeys into the world of comparative thanatology, which explores how animals of all kinds respond to death and dying.

The Rebellious Scientist Who Made Kamala Harris

The presidential candidate’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a breast cancer researcher whose egalitarian politics often bucked a patriarchal lab culture.

If You Think You Can Hold a Grudge, Consider the Crow

The brainy birds carry big chips on their shoulders, scientists say. And some people who become subjects of their ire may be victims of mistaken identity.

First Images of the Sun’s Flares Released From a New Space Telescope

Forecasters will soon be able to use the instrument, a coronagraph, to better monitor the effects of solar storms.

A Skeleton Bank of Understudied Species

With a new database of medical images, zoo and wildlife vets can finally see what healthy uncommon animals, from rhinos and tamarins to pangolins and sea stars, should look like on the inside.

Leon Cooper Dies at 94; Nobelist Unlocked Secrets of Superconductivity

He shared the 1972 physics prize for showing how some materials could convey electricity without resistance. He also did pioneering research in neuroscience.

NASA Astronaut Leaves Hospital After ‘Medical Issue’ That Followed Return From Space

Three NASA astronauts and a fourth from the Russian space agency returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Friday morning in a SpaceX capsule.

The Early Bird Got the Cicada, Then an Evolutionary Air War Started

Fossils reveal that prehistoric cicadas’ wings evolved to help them evade hungry predators with feathers and beaks, scientists say.

That 800-Year-Old Corpse in the Well? Early Biological Warfare.

Archaeologists in Norway have confirmed that an ancient set of human remains known as the Well Man were intended to make the locals unwell.

Philip Zimbardo, 91, Whose Stanford Prison Experiment Studied Evil, Dies

His provocative research made him a popular figure on campus. But his exploration of how good people can turn evil raised ethical questions.

Grizzly Bear 399, Mother of 18 Cubs, Is Killed by Driver

She lived to 28, roaming the Yellowstone area with her many offspring while becoming a favorite among both residents and visitors.

Unexplained Enigmas in the Orion Nebula May Be Victims of Stellar Bullying

Astronomers offered a new hypothesis for what created pairs of objects nicknamed JuMBOs, while other scientists argue they may not really exist.

Why Democracy Lives and Dies by Math

A documentary filmmaker and a mathematician discuss our fear of numbers and its civic costs.

82 American Nobel Prize Winners Endorse Kamala Harris

The group of scientists and economists said they feared a Trump presidency would impede progress in science and technology and in fighting climate change.

A Feathered Murder Mystery at 10,000 Feet

Scientists say they have observed one of the highest-altitude acts of bird predation ever recorded.

Ancient Cities Unearthed in Mountains of Central Asia

The discovery suggests that trade routes along the Silk Road were far more complex than previously understood.

U.S. Study on Puberty Blockers Goes Unpublished Because of Politics, Doctor Says

The leader of the long-running study said that the drugs did not improve mental health in children with gender distress and that the finding might be weaponized by opponents of the care.

Brazilian Fossil Hints at Older Origin for All Dinosaurs

The discovery may push back the emergence of the reptiles that once ruled the Earth, and clarify how dinosaurs like the Triceratops and Stegosaurus emerged.

Andrew V. Schally, 97, Dies; Scientist Shared Nobel Glory With Rival

His two-decade quest to find elusive brain hormones became a race against Roger Guillemin, a onetime colleague and an eventual fellow prizewinner.

Reinventing Concrete, the Ancient Roman Way

By learning the secrets of 2,000-year-old cement, researchers are trying to devise greener, more durable modern options.

The Orionids Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch.

This event is linked to Halley’s comet, and occurs as another comet, Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, remains visible. But a nearly full moon could interfere with some views.

How Early Humans Evolved to Eat Starch

Two new studies found that ancient human ancestors carried a surprising diversity of genes for amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch.

These Tiny Worms Account for at Least 4 Nobel Prizes

A staple in laboratories worldwide, C. elegans is “an experimental dream,” said one scientist.

Sperm Can’t Unlock an Egg Without This Ancient Molecular Key

Using Google’s AlphaFold, researchers identified the bundle of three sperm proteins that seem to make sexual reproduction possible.

Parachutes Made of Mucus Change How Some Scientists See the Ocean

With a new kind of microscope, researchers got a different view of how marine snow falls to the seafloor.

Columbia Cancer Surgeon Notches 5 More Retractions for Suspicious Data

Dr. Sam Yoon and a collaborator duplicated images across their research studies over many years. The collaborator has left Columbia.

Bumblebee Queens Prefer to Live in a Toxic Home

In an elaborate experiment, scientists discovered that the insects chose to hibernate in soil full of pesticides and other poisons.

A Distant Planet May Host a Moon That’s Spewing a Volcanic Cloud

Astronomers have yet to confirm the existence of exomoons, but a molecular signal around a far away star offers some of the best evidence yet.

NASA Launches Mission to Study Jupiter’s Moon

Europa Clipper will study whether Europa, Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, possesses ingredients and conditions favorable for life.

NASA Launches Europa Clipper to Explore an Ocean Moon’s Habitability

The spacecraft lifted off Monday on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, embarking on a nearly six-year journey to Jupiter.

Texas residents around the SpaceX launch site said they felt shaking during Sunday’s flight.

SpaceX Achieves Its First-Ever ‘Chopsticks’ Landing

SpaceX launched and returned a large rocket booster to its Texas site, catching it with mechanical arms in its first-ever “chopsticks” landing.

Giant rockets other than Starship will be flying to orbit soon.

Trump says SpaceX will reach Mars if he’s elected. Could that really happen?

Here’s why SpaceX has been feuding with the F.A.A.

SpaceX Advances Starship Program With a Launch and a Catch

The company completed a successful test flight of the most powerful rocket ever built. Some residents near the Texas site experienced shaking as the landing vehicle was caught by mechanical arms.

For Sunday’s flight, SpaceX may try an audacious “chopsticks” landing.

Four earlier Starship launches highlighted SpaceX’s “fail fast, learn faster” approach.

What Is SpaceX’s Starship? It’s really a Mars ship.

Bigger than the Statue of Liberty, the SpaceX vehicle is central to NASA’s plans to get to the moon and Elon Musk’s dreams of the red planet.

Here’s what to know about the fifth Starship test flight.

Northern Lights Animate Night Skies Around the Globe

An outburst from elevated solar activity created conditions on Thursday that kept people’s eyes glued to evening views all over the Northern Hemisphere.

Hairballs Shed Light on Man-Eating Lions’ Menu

The Tsavo man-eaters terrorized railroad workers in British East Africa in the 19th century, but their tastes went well beyond human flesh.

What Flying in a Wind Tunnel Reveals About Birds

Some birds migrate thousands of miles every autumn. How exactly do they manage it? Scientists built a flight chamber to find out.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Moves Like the Solar System’s Biggest Kickball

A sequence of images captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showed how much the giant storm changed shape as it traveled within the planet’s atmosphere.

Solar Storm Buffets Earth and Is Likely to Generate Light Show

An explosion of particles arrived at Earth on Thursday, and could lead to visible northern lights in much of the country while also raising power grid concerns.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry Goes to 3 Scientists for Predicting and Creating Proteins

The Nobel, awarded to David Baker of the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind, is the second this week to involve artificial intelligence.

Nobel Physics Prize Awarded for Pioneering A.I. Research by 2 Scientists

With work on machine learning that uses artificial neural networks, John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “showed a completely new way for us to use computers,” the committee said.

An Old Clash Heats Up Over Oppenheimer’s Red Ties

As a group of historians and a top biographer square off, proponents of a middle path see a tangled life in which the superstar of science was, and was not, a true Communist at the same time.

How to See the ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Comet Flaring in Our Night Skies

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is nearing Earth and getting brighter.

When Two Sea Aliens Become One

Primitive animals called comb jellies can fuse their bodies and nervous systems together.

European Space Mission Launches to Investigate an Asteroid Crash Site

The Hera spacecraft, which took flight late Monday morning, is part of a broader effort to bolster humanity’s planetary defense readiness.

Some Scientists May Never Win a Nobel, but They Still Deserve Big Prizes

The Nobel Foundation offers prizes in only three scientific disciplines, but other awards have been created to honor scientists in different fields.

Ex-OceanGate Employee’s Remarks Hint at Titan Disaster Lawsuits to Come

A former Coast Guard specialist’s testimony capped two weeks of hearings into the implosion of a submersible that killed five during an attempt to explore the Titanic.

Scientists Found a Surprising Way to Make Fungus Happy

The discovery that sound improves the growth rate of beneficial fungus suggests that dirges in the dirt may help restore forests.

Researchers Find Cannibalized Victim of 19th-Century Arctic Voyage

A new study offers clues to a 179-year-old mystery that killed more than 100 explorers on the Franklin expedition in the Canadian Arctic.

The World’s Oldest Termite Mound Is 34,000 Years and Counting

Scientists recently found the planet’s longest continuously occupied termite colony in an arid region of South Africa. It dates to the time of the Neanderthals.

DNA Reveals the Origin Stories of America’s Captive Tigers

Scientists have wondered if the many captive tigers in the United States could one day help restore the species in the wild.

The Food of Space Travel Could Be Based on Rocks

Scientists are studying whether future astronauts on deep-space journeys could transform compounds in asteroids into food.

To Build a Nuclear Bomb, Iran Would Need Much More Than Weeks

Nuclear experts see Tehran as facing up to a year of hard work to master the knotty basics of building a deliverable atom bomb.

After a Decade, Scientists Unveil Fly Brain in Stunning Detail

Scientists have mapped out how 140,000 neurons are wired in the brain of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.

‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse Will Be Visible in Parts of South America

Not everyone will be able to see the phenomenon, known as an annular eclipse, on Wednesday, though a partial solar eclipse may be visible in parts of Antarctica and Hawaii.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella, if You’re an Egg-Laying Locust

Male locusts have long been observed shielding mates from other males. Researchers say this behavior may also protect the females from desert temperatures.

Wreck of ‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ Found Off California

The rediscovery of the vessel, which was captured by the Japanese for a time during World War II, highlights the potential of underwater autonomous vehicles to map the ocean floor.

Why Mount Everest Is Growing Taller Every Year

Researchers say that two rivers merged some 89,000 years ago and gave the mightiest peak in the Himalayas a huge growth spurt.

California Passes Law Protecting Consumer Brain Data

The state extended its current personal privacy law to include the neural data increasingly coveted by technology companies.

SpaceX Launches Mission to Bring Back Starliner Astronauts

Two astronauts — one American, one Russian — are headed to the International Space Station with two empty seats for crewmates who are already in orbit.

Titan Sub Tragedy: Coast Guard Hearings Reveal New Insights

Contrary to public reports last year, the passengers probably had no idea that the vessel was about to implode.

Things Are Looking Up for Africa’s Upside-Down Baobab Trees

A researcher followed up on a study warning that the massive trees were in danger, and found many venerable specimens thriving.

A Patchwork of Cannabis Laws Creates Health Risks, Study Finds

A new report calls for public education and closing of legal loopholes to keep the public safe.

This Fish Evolved Legs That It Uses to Taste Stuff on the Seafloor

While the sea robin has legs, it still doesn’t need a bicycle.

The Sun Will Destroy the Earth One Day, Right? Maybe Not.

Astronomers spotted a potential Earth-size rocky world orbiting a white dwarf, suggesting a future in which our planet outlives its star.

A Leggy Tyrannosaur Emerges From a Mexican Desert

Scientists say that the fossil of a close relative of Tyrannosaur rex bolsters their case for a distinctive southern population of the fearsome dinosaurs.

This Cheese Stood Alone for 3,600 Years

The cheese was dug up with mummified human remains in the Xinjiang region of China and offers insights into the origins of the dairy product known as kefir.

This Black Hole Has a Cosmic Wingspan

Astronomers have discovered a black hole emitting energy in jets longer than the width of 140 Milky Way galaxies.

Desert Racers Demolish Art Carved by Ancient People in Chile

Preservationists say governments at all levels have failed to prevent authorized and illegal off-road racers from driving through giant figures of animals, humans and objects.

Punching Octopuses Lead Fish on Hunting Parties

Octopuses and fish are routinely seen working together on the ocean floor, and now scientists say that the cephalopods are the leaders of the pack.

Stalking the Wild Banana

One man’s “never-ending quest” for the least-known varieties of the world’s most-eaten fruit.

This Shark Lives 400 Years. Its DNA May Explain Why.

Scientists have mapped the genome of the Greenland shark, which could offer clues to the animal’s extreme longevity.

Earth’s Fall Equinox Ushers In Astronomical Autumn

During an equinox, places around the globe experience nearly equal amounts of daytime and nighttime. The second occurrence this year happens on Sunday.

The Squishy Truth About Why You’re Seeing Fewer Spotted Lanternflies

Your stomping may have helped trim this invasive insect’s population. But experts say other factors probably explain their reduced numbers around New York City.

Michel Siffre, 85, Dies; Descended Into Caves to Study the Human Mind

He was a pioneer in chronobiology, the study of how our bodies understand the passage of time.

Earth Had a Ring 466 Million Years Ago, Study Says

Impact craters found around the Earth that were made around the same time could be linked to debris falling from a ring, a new study suggests.

Who’s the Dodo Now? A Famously Extinct Bird, Reconsidered.

A comprehensive review of dodo science offers new insights into the biology and behavior of the much-ridiculed bird.

John A. Clements Dies at 101; His Research Saved Thousands of Babies

He identified the cause of a respiratory condition that was killing 10,000 infants a year in the United States. Then he helped design a drug that slashed those mortality rates.

Titan Disaster Hearing Upends Earlier Expert Theories on Crew Deaths

Two days of reporting and testifying by experts during a U.S. Coast Guard inquiry challenge the idea that the submersible’s passengers knew they were facing death.

Coast Guard Releases Video of Titan Submersible Wreck

The U.S. Coast Guard released new footage of the tail cone from the Titan submersible at the bottom of the ocean. A piece of carbon fiber is next to the tail cone.

A Fossilized Creature May Explain a Puzzling Painting on a Rock Wall

The artwork suggests that the San people of South Africa have an Indigenous knowledge of paleontology that predated Western approaches to the field.

Bulletproofing America’s Classrooms

Ballistic armor companies are marketing protective products designed for the military to parents and schools. Some people see the items as unsettling but prudent; others find them infuriating.

Study Reveals Bird-Migration Mystery

By outfitting blackbirds with heart-rate monitors, scientists debunked a long-held assumption about the benefits of spending the winter in warm climates.

Why This Tiny Lizard Dives With a Natural Scuba Tank

Almost every animal in the rainforest enjoys snacking on water anoles, but slippery skin and an ability to carry an air bubble underwater help them survive.

A $5 Billion NASA Mission Looked Doomed. Could Engineers Save It?

Weeks before Europa Clipper was to be shipped for launch, scientists discovered a potentially fatal flaw that might endanger the spacecraft’s ability to study an ocean moon of Jupiter.

A Supermoon and Lunar Eclipse Will Light Up and Darken Tuesday’s Night Sky

Earth’s shadow will partially cover one of the biggest and brightest full moons this year.

A Fungus Decimated American Bats. Now Scientists Are Fighting Back.

Researchers have found several promising ways to thwart the fungus, which causes the deadly white-nose syndrome in bats.

Mapping the Decline of Eelgrass Along Maine’s Coast

Researchers are studying the role of eelgrass beds for carbon capture and the health of the habitat for a variety of species.

There Might Be More Than One Way to Make a Planet

Astronomers have found evidence of a process that supports an alternative, more rapid approach to planetary formation, more top down than bottom up.

Dr. George Berci, Whose Innovations Changed Surgery, Dies at 103

He conceived many of the techniques and tools that have revolutionized minimally invasive operations and procedures.

These Apes Dance Like Someone Is Watching

Gibbons move with rhythm and intention. Dare we say style?

Starliner Astronauts Say What They’ll Miss During Extended Stay in Space

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore of NASA spoke from the International Space Station for the first time since their Boeing orbital transport returned to Earth uncrewed.

A New Mini-Moon Is Being Captured by Planet Earth

It’s just a little guy, and not everyone agrees that it’s actually a mini-moon.

These Monkeys Call One Another by Name

Marmosets are the first nonhuman primates known to use name-like labels for individuals, a new study suggests.

First Private Spacewalk in SpaceX Capsule Achieves New Milestone

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire leading the Polaris Dawn mission, and Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, exited and re-entered their spacecraft in a test of commercial space technologies.

Lloyd Kaufman, Who Saw Answers Behind the ‘Moon Illusion,’ Dies at 97

He advanced the study of a millenniums-old mystery: why the moon appears larger on the horizon than it does high in the night sky.

The ‘Country Doctor’ Who Upended Our Understanding of Dementia

Francisco Lopera defied rebels, cartels and vampire bats to become a pioneering researcher of Alzheimer’s disease.

Europeans Used Cocaine Much Earlier Than Previously Thought, Study Finds

In human remains buried in an Italian crypt, researchers found evidence of cocaine use from the 17th century.

Polaris Dawn Astronauts Reach Record High Orbit Above Earth

After launching early on Tuesday, the billionaire Jared Isaacman and his crew traveled to altitudes not visited by any astronaut since the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and ’70s.

Francisco Lopera, Pioneer in Alzheimer’s Research, Dies at 73

A neurologist in Colombia, he worked with the world’s largest extended family with Alzheimer’s and helped fuel research to prevent or delay dementia symptoms.

Polaris Dawn Astronauts Launch on Ambitious Private Mission

The mission is taking people farther from Earth than anyone has traveled since the end of NASA’s Apollo moon missions.

10,000 Feet Up, Scientists Found Hundreds of Airborne Germs

In 10 flights over Japan, researchers found a host of bacteria and fungi. These high-altitude germs could help spread disease around the world.

The Terrifying Way That Eels Escape a Hungry Fish’s Stomach

X-ray videos showed that some young Japanese eels demonstrated that they were not content to become a predator’s meal.

New Images of Mercury Show Speckled Surface in Sharp Detail

BepiColombo, a joint European-Japanese mission, completed its latest flyby of Mercury, sending back a sneak peek of the cratered planet it will begin to orbit in 2026.

Boeing Starliner’s Future Is Unclear, Even After Safe Landing

Two NASA crew remain on the International Space Station after the troubled vehicle they rode undocked and then landed in the New Mexico desert.

Why Do Apes Make Gestures?

Chimps and other apes have been observed making more than 80 meaningful gestures. Three theories have tried to explain why.

Steve Silberman, 66, Dies; Writer Deepened Understanding of Autism

Prodded by Oliver Sacks, he wrote a humane, award-winning book about the condition. A music maven, he also wrote liner notes for the Grateful Dead and his friend David Crosby.

Boeing Starliner Set to Leave Space Station Without Its Crew

The troubled spacecraft is scheduled to undock on Friday for a trip back to Earth while two NASA astronauts will stay in orbit.

What a Puppy Kindergarten Revealed About Raising Exceptional Dogs

Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods are studying how the canine mind develops and what makes a successful service dog.

New Photos From Titanic Show Long-Lost Statue and Damaged Bow

RMS Titanic Inc., the company that led the expedition, brought back two million photos of the site. The ship’s famed bow has been damaged, the company said.

Eliyahu Rips, Who Claimed to Find Secret Codes in the Torah, Dies at 75

His work provided the basis for the worldwide best seller “The Bible Code,” but he later rejected the book as unscientific.

James Bjorken, 90, Dies; Physicist Who Helped Prove That Quarks Exist

His research enabled the discovery that protons and neutrons are made of smaller particles, contributing to a fuller picture of the subatomic universe.

Imperiled by Volcanic Eruptions, Iceland Scoops Up Answers From the Deep

Earth scientists are working to determine the course of future lava flows in Iceland’s southwestern corner one bucketful at a time.

Mining for Neutrinos, and for Cosmic Answers

In a South Dakota cavern, scientists are working to capture the most elusive particles in the universe.

Scientists Discover Similar Dinosaur Footprints on Opposite Sides of the Atlantic

More than 260 similar footprints found in Brazil and Cameroon help us understand a region that broke apart millions of years ago.

Our Bigger Brains Came With a Downside: Faster Aging

A study comparing chimpanzee and human brains suggests that the regions that grew the most during human evolution are the most susceptible to aging.

Dismantling the Ship That Drilled for the Ocean’s Deepest Secrets

The JOIDES Resolution, which for decades was key to advancing the understanding of the Earth and its innards, concluded what could be its final scientific expedition.

For His Second Trip to Space, Billionaire Has Grander, Riskier Aspirations

Jared Isaacman is leading three other privately trained astronauts on a SpaceX vehicle for Polaris Dawn, a mission that will include a daring spacewalk.

NASA Extends Boeing Starliner Astronauts’ Space Station Stay to 2025

Persistent concerns with the vehicle’s propulsion systems mean Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will return home next year in a SpaceX vehicle.

Ancient Tablets Foretold Doom Awaiting Babylonian Kings

A new translation of cuneiform relics from the second millennium B.C. highlights the warnings that astrologers saw in eclipses.

Helen Fisher, Who Researched the Brain’s Love Circuitry, Dies at 79

A biological anthropologist, she worked with colleagues to confirm for the first time that love is hard-wired in the brain.

Scientists Made a List of Lost Birds and Now They Want Us to Find Them

Some 144 bird species had not been seen in at least a decade, but a project by conservation organizations proposes they all may still be hidden somewhere in the wild.

These Fossils Are Found All Over, but What Made Them Was a Mystery

Scientists in Brazil identified marine worms that made at least some trace fossil burrows called Bifungites.

How Did the First Cells Arise? With a Little Rain, Study Finds.

Researchers stumbled upon an ingredient that can stabilize droplets of genetic material: water.

A ‘Speedy Little Star’ May Be on Course to Escape Our Galaxy

The so-called hypervelocity object, which is either a low-mass star or a brown dwarf, is traveling through the Milky Way at around a million miles an hour.

Under a Frozen Army Base, He Found Incredible Fossils

In a new book, geologist Paul Bierman recounts the moment he found astonishing evidence that Greenland’s ice sheet had melted in the ancient past.

Scientists Seeking Life on Mars Heard a Signal That Hinted at the Future

In 1924, a radio receiver built for the battlefields of World War I tested the idea that humans were not alone in the solar system, heralding a century of searches for extraterrestrial life.

What to Know About the Blue Supermoon

The celestial event, which is visible from Sunday to Wednesday morning, probably won’t happen again until 2037.

This Spider Uses a Light Show to Trick Eager Male Fireflies Into Its Web

In China, the arachnids seem to somehow manipulate the flashing of a caught male firefly to resemble a female’s come-hither signal.

Leonard Hayflick, Who Discovered Why No One Lives Forever, Dies at 96

A biomedical researcher, he found that normal cells can divide only a certain number of times before they age — which, he said, explained aging on a cellular level.

Stranded in Space? NASA Doesn’t See the Starliner Astronauts That Way.

NASA doesn’t say the Boeing Starliner astronauts are ‘stranded’ on the space station, but it’s a word that a lot of people are using.

Fossils Show Giant Predatory Sea Scorpions Were Distance Swimmers

Specimens of what appear to be the largest eurypterid species found in Australia could shed light on the sudden extinction of the massive arthropods.

Ancient Scribes Got Ergonomic Injuries, Too

The scriveners of ancient Egypt were more than papyrus pushers, but they suffered many of the same repetitive ailments as desk jockeys today, a new study suggests.

Unusual Origin Found for Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs

A study adds strong evidence to the hypothesis that the deadly rock came from a family of objects that originally formed well beyond the orbit of the planet Jupiter.

Beware the Toxic and Explosive Blue Backpack This Termite Carries

Scientists studied the unusual chemical reaction used by a species of the insect in an act of self-sacrifice to save nests from invaders.

NASA Says It Needs to Decide Soon How Starliner Astronauts Will Come Home

After agency officials said last week that a decision was pending, they said on Wednesday that deliberations were still taking place.

For Stonehenge’s Altar Stone, an Improbably Long Ancient Journey

A six-ton megalith at the heart of the archaeological site traveled more than 450 miles to get there, a new study concludes.

How the World’s Oldest Humpback Whale Has Survived Is a Mystery

Old Timer, a male first photographed in 1972, was spotted last month near Alaska, enduring in the Pacific Ocean while some other humpbacks have struggled in a changing environment.

Saving Australian Crocodiles by Yucking Their Yum

The aquatic reptiles cannot resist eating invasive toads that are toxic, so scientists gave the crocodiles a dose of nonlethal food poisoning to adjust their behavior.

I Am the Walrus but This Fossil Was Not

Although an extinct animal was from a different group of marine mammals, an examination of fossils showed it evolved a way of eating that was very similar to that of modern walruses.

Salmon Farms in Patagonia Face Growing Opposition

The Chilean industry’s expansion has drawn repeated challenges from environmentalists and Indigenous people of the region, and prompted calls for a moratorium.

When ‘Abortion’ Wasn’t a Dirty Word

The medical term once encompassed any form of pregnancy loss, including miscarriage.

This Is a Picture of the Last Thing Seen by NASA’s Asteroid Hunter

NEOWISE, a spacecraft that studied faraway cosmic objects before shifting its focus closer to home, has reached the end of its life. But its legacy lives on.

The Perseids Meteor Shower Is Peaking. Here’s How to Watch.

Warm summer nights and swift colorful streaks make this meteor shower a crowd favorite, but this year, observers may have to compete with light from the moon.

Ship Brings Rocky Clues to Life’s Origins Up From Ocean’s ‘Lost City’

Scientists in an expedition to the Mid-Atlantic ocean ridge lifted almost a mile of precious rocks from beneath an exotic feature linked to life’s possible beginning.

Engineered Virus Steals Proteins From H.I.V., Pointing to New Therapy

After promising results in monkeys, scientists plan to test the new treatment in a few people with H.I.V.

Move Over, Robots: Sea Lions With Cameras Can Map the Ocean Floor

Daphne, Phoebe, Iris and Pasithea demonstrated how marine mammals can help scientists understand mysterious places that humans may never visit.

NASA Says Boeing Starliner Astronauts May Fly Home on SpaceX in 2025

The agency had insisted for a couple of months that it was confident that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore would return on Starliner.

After Breaking Free, World’s Largest Iceberg Is Stuck Spinning in Circles

Round and round a city-size iceberg goes, stuck in a vortex over an underwater mountain. When it will stop, nobody knows.

How Glue Helps Frogs Out of Sticky Situations

You’ve heard of a “frog in your throat,” but probably not like this.

Scientists Find Arm Bone of Ancient ‘Hobbit’ Human

New fossils from Indonesia, including the smallest humerus ever found from an adult hominin, belonged to the tiny Homo floresiensis species, researchers said.

Tsung-Dao Lee, 97, Physicist Who Challenged a Law of Nature, Dies

At 31, he and a colleague won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering that subatomic particles, contrary to what scientists thought, are not always symmetrical.

Can the Higgs Boson Shine on Broadway?

A musical about particle physics is under development, with David Henry Hwang, the playwright behind “M. Butterfly.”

It’s Lights Out at a Cosmic Restaurant

Palomar Observatory bids farewell to a tradition of napkin rings, cowbells and astronomical table conversation.

Peter C. Theisinger, 78, Dies; Led Mars Rover Missions for NASA

He directed a team of engineers that built Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity, mobile robots that offered astonishing glimpses into the planet’s ancient past.

Archaeologists Find a 2,400-Year-Old ‘Pot of Gold’ in Turkey

An ancient hoard of Persian coins offers insights into the political landscape around the time of the Peloponnesian War.

Joe Engle, Trailblazer as Test Pilot and an Astronaut, Dies at 91

He was the first to touch the edge of space and later to go beyond it in two different aircraft, an X-15 and a shuttle. But the moon, to his disappointment, proved out of reach.

How Did Roses Get Their Thorns?

The “prickles,” as botanists call them, evolved in roses and other plants thanks to a single gene, a new study found.

As Botanists Drop a Racist Plant Name, Some Fear Scientific Confusion

The International Botanical Congress voted to change a scientific name belonging to hundreds of plant species because it was offensive in southern Africa.

Fish That School Together Save Energy, Study Finds

Like Olympic cyclists, fish expend less effort when swimming in tight groups than when alone. The finding could explain why some species evolved to move in schools.

A Test for Life Versus Non-Life

In a new book, physicist Sara Walker argues that assembly theory can explain what life is, and even help scientists create new forms of it.

This Is What Happens When Tigers Try to Sneak Up on Small Bears

Videos in India show that sloth bears seem unaware of being stalked by the ferocious felines. When the tigers try to strike, the bears often get the better of them.

Three Meteor Showers Are Active: How and When to Watch Fireball Season

The Southern Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids are reaching their peak this week. The Perseids, one of the best shows of the year, are also ramping up.

Artificial Intelligence Gives Weather Forecasters a New Edge

The brainy machines are predicting global weather patterns with new speed and precision, doing in minutes and seconds what once took hours.

Science Goes to the Olympics

Six Olympic athletes described the delicate mechanics behind their chosen event. Here’s how they do what they do.

NASA Aims to Restore Space Station Traffic After SpaceX and Boeing Problems

With the Falcon 9 rocket set to fly again, and testing of the Starliner capsule progressing, the agency is seeking to turn the page on a brief, troubled chapter in orbit.

NASA Did Not Say It Found Life on Mars. But It’s Very Excited About This Rock.

The rock, studied by NASA’s Perseverance rover, has been closely analyzed by scientists on Earth who say that nonmicrobial processes could also explain its features.

The Chimps Who Learned to Say ‘Mama’

Old recordings show captive chimps uttering the word, which some scientists believe may offer clues to the origins of human speech.

Move Over, Mathematicians, Here Comes AlphaProof

A.I. is getting good at math — and might soon make a worthy collaborator for humans.

The Moon’s Most Shadowy Places Can’t Hide From NASA’s New Camera

ShadowCam, a NASA instrument aboard a South Korean spacecraft, is taking pictures of the moon where the sun doesn’t shine.

Fossil Hints That Jurassic Mammals Lived Slow and Died Old

Scientists found an unexpected aging pattern in a mostly intact juvenile mammal skeleton from the paleontological period.

Not Afraid of Sharks? Well, Now They’re on Cocaine.

Researchers have confirmed the presence of cocaine in sharks off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, though questions remain about the effects of the drug.

Secrets Emerge From a Fossil’s Taco Shell-Like Cover

An examination of an aquatic, shrimplike creature that lived half a billion years ago offers insight into how arthropods with mandibles became so common.

A tornado in Devol, Okla.

Researchers releasing a weather balloon in Weatherford, Okla.

The Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius Wasn’t Pompeii’s Only Killer

While the volcano’s eruption was deadly, research shows that many people in the ancient Roman city died in building collapses from the earthquake associated with the outburst.

NASA Spent $450 Million on a Moon Rover. Now It’s Canceling the Mission.

Delays and concerns about NASA’s future budgets doomed the VIPER mission, which aimed to search for ice near the moon’s south pole.

A Slap of a Honeybee’s Wings Sends Ant Invaders Flying Away

Asian honeybees protect their hives by making insect intruders go airborne.

She Didn’t Like His Song, So She Tried to Eat Him

It’s not easy being green, golden and male, according to a researcher’s observation of attempted frog cannibalism in Australia.

At Paint Rock, Centuries of Native American Artistry

Glyphs and pictographs at a site in Texas represent generations of settlement by Indigenous peoples.

Bengt Samuelsson, 90, Dies; Nobelist’s Research Led to Medical Advances

A Swedish biochemist, he shared the 1982 prize for breakthrough discoveries that led to drugs that treat inflammation, glaucoma and allergies.

A Fossil Mystery, Solved by a Spin

Scientists could never explain how this fossil might have been a jellyfish. Then they flipped it on its head and discovered another animal.

Colorado Reports Three More Presumed Cases of Bird Flu

The cases, which have yet to be confirmed, were identified in farmworkers culling infected birds. The risk to the public remains low, health officials said.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Fails in Orbit

The second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failed on an attempt to deploy the company’s Starlink internet satellites, ending a streak of more than 300 successful Falcon 9 launches.

SpaceX Rocket Fails in Orbit

The malfunction, the first since 2016, ended a streak of more than 300 successful launches for the Falcon 9 rocket.

Watch These Supernovas Explode Across Time

For the 25th anniversary of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA produced ghostly time-lapse videos of two centuries-old stellar eruptions.

NASA Mission to Europa Imperiled by Chips Aboard Spacecraft

Transistors on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October, may not be able to endure the harsh radiation around the planet Jupiter.

Early Humans Left Africa Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

Scientists have found evidence of several waves of migration by looking at the genetic signatures of human interbreeding with Neanderthals.

A Mammoth First: 52,000-Year-Old DNA, in 3-D

A “fossil chromosome” preserves the structure of a woolly mammoth’s genome — and offers a better grasp of how it once worked.

NASA Says No Plan to Use SpaceX to Rescue Boeing Starliner Astronauts

In a news conference from aboard the International Space Station, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said they had confidence in the troubled spacecraft to get them home.

Maxine Singer, Guiding Force at the Dawn of Biotechnology, Dies at 93

A leading biochemist, she helped shape guidelines in the 1970s for genetic-engineering while calming public fears of a spread of deadly lab-made microbes.

Centuries of Avalanches Are Stored in Tree Rings

Discovering evidence of deadly deluges of snow from the past could help protect people on mountains around the world, researchers say.

Richard M. Goldstein, Who Helped Map the Cosmos, Dies at 97

Using ground-based radars, he pioneered measurement techniques that scientists now use to chart geographical changes on Earth.

Europe Rejoins Space Race but New Rocket’s Flight Ends in Anomaly

Ariane 6 reached orbit on Tuesday. But a problem made the European Space Agency rocket deviate from its flight plan late in the mission.

To Protect Giant Sequoias, They Lit a Fire

After thousands of sequoias were destroyed by extreme wildfires, tribes are conducting cultural burns.

Fearsome Sharks of Today Evolved When Ancient Oceans Got Hot

More than 100 million years ago, scientists say, warming seas and reduced oxygen may have sent some sharks higher into the water column, where they evolved to be fierce and hungry.

How SpaceX Is Harming Delicate Ecosystems

On at least 19 occasions since 2019, SpaceX’s operations have caused fires, leaks and explosions near its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. These incidents reflect a broader debate over how to balance technological and economic progress against protections of delicate ecosystems and local communities. The New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton explains.

Trump Advisers Call for U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing if He Is Elected

A former national security adviser says Washington “must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world,” while critics say the move could incite a global arms race that heightens the risk of war.

Cosmic Research Hints at Mysterious Ancient Computer’s Purpose

Scientists used techniques from the field of gravitational wave astronomy to argue that the Antikythera mechanism contained a lunar calendar.

Earth Just Reached Its Greatest Distance From the Sun

Our planet whirls around the sun in an ellipse, rather than a circle. On Friday the planet reached its farthest point from its star, known as aphelion.

Melodies of Popular Songs Have Gotten Simpler Over Time

A new study that reviewed Billboard hits from the past 73 years found a steady simplification of rhythm and pitch.

V. Craig Jordan, Who Discovered a Key Breast Cancer Drug, Dies at 76

He found that a failed contraceptive, tamoxifen, could block the growth of cancer cells, opening up a whole new class of treatment.

How the Denisovans Survived the Ice Age

A trove of animal bone fragments from a cave on the Tibetan plateau reveals how Denisovans thrived in a harsh climate for over 100,000 years.

This Bigheaded Fossil Turned Up in a Place No One Expected to Find It

An ancient aquatic predator resembling a giant salamander turned up in an African fossil deposit, suggesting unwritten chapters of how animals moved onto land.

Videos Show Ants Amputating Nest Mates’ Legs to Save Their Lives

The insects seem to know which injuries to treat as they engage in a behavior that seems almost human.

Debris Found in North Carolina Came From SpaceX Dragon, NASA Says

An object found on a hiking trail west of Asheville, N.C., had traveled to the International Space Station, the space agency said.

The Rubik’s Cube Turns 50

Mathematicians and hobbyists have had a half-century of fun exploring the 43 billion billion permutations of Erno Rubik’s creation.

Mildred Thornton Stahlman, Pioneer in Neonatal Care, Dies at 101

She developed one of the first modern intensive care units for premature babies, helping newborns to breathe with lifesaving new treatments.

Scientists in Japan Give Robots a Fleshy Face and a Smile

Researchers at the University of Tokyo published findings on a method of attaching artificial skin to robot faces to protect machinery and mimic human expressiveness.

How Science Went to the Dogs (and Cats)

Pets were once dismissed as trivial scientific subjects. Today, companion animal science is hot.

Famine Drove Jamestown Settlers to Eat Native Dogs, DNA Reveals

By analyzing dog bones buried at the site, scientists found butcher marks and surprising breeds.

Astronauts Are Not Stuck on the I.S.S., NASA and Boeing Officials Say

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend additional weeks in orbit as teams on the ground study malfunctioning thrusters on the Starliner spacecraft.

For an Aquatic Veterinarian, It’s Never ‘Just a Fish’

Stress, ovarian cancer, buoyancy disorders: Every pet has its troubles, and needs a good doctor who makes house calls.

A Trilobite Pompeii Preserves Exquisite Fossils in Volcanic Ash

A fossil bed in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco is allowing new insights into the anatomies of arthropods that lived a half-billion years ago.

A Dead Russian Satellite Broke Into More Than 100 Pieces in Space

The cause of the incident, which added to a growing amount of dangerous space junk in low Earth orbit, remains unknown.

The Last Stand of the Woolly Mammoths

The species survived on an island north of Siberia for thousands of years, scientists reported, but were most likely plagued by genetic abnormalities.

Two Killer Asteroids Are Flying by Earth, and You May Be Able to See One

The smaller of the pair was spotted only this month and could be visible with binoculars as it passes by our planet within the distance to the moon.

Was the Dingo Born to Be Wild?

Burial remains from 800-2,000 years ago hint that the First Australians may have kept the continent’s famous canine species as pets.

It’s Brutus, Not Bruno! The Etiquette of Remembering Your Friends’ Pets’ Names.

At a barbershop in Colorado, stylists and customers discussed a matter of social protocol.

If You Give a Frog a Sauna, It Might Fight Off a Deadly Fungus

A fatal fungal disease has devastated the world’s amphibians. But the fungus has a vulnerability: It cannot tolerate heat.

A Feline Scientist Explains Why Your Cat Might Actually Like You

Cats are more social than they are often given credit for. Can you help yours access its inner dog?

He Monitors Solar Flares. Here’s What Keeps Him Up at Night.

Mike Bettwy, a government meteorologist who focuses on potential threats from space weather, says that we are more prepared than ever — and that forecasting is only getting better.

Scientists Find First Evidence That Butterflies Crossed an Ocean

Researchers discovered painted ladies on a South American beach and then built a case that they started their journey in Europe or Africa.

The Pet ‘Superheroes’ Who Donate Their Blood

Transfusions have become an important part of veterinary medicine, but cat and dog blood is not always easy to come by.

China Becomes First Country to Retrieve Rocks From the Moon’s Far Side

The Chang’e-6 mission’s sample, which might hold clues about the origins of the moon and Earth, is the latest achievement of China’s lunar exploration program.

‘Arctic Blast’ of Leaky Water Halts Spacewalk by NASA Astronauts

It was the second scheduled spacewalk by NASA astronauts aboard the space station that faced an interruption this month.

Unlikely Wild Animals Are Being Smuggled Into U.S. Ports: Corals

With the sea creatures making up a growing share of illegal animal seizures around the world, U.S. officials are working to overcome struggles to safely house them.

An Odd Rock in a Box Gets Linked to a Shooting Star That Fell 54 Years Ago

An Austrian forest ranger picked up the rock in 1976. Decades later, scientists discovered the object’s origin story while digging through old photos.

Piping Up at the Gates of Dawn

Astronomers have found the earliest and most distant galaxy yet.

Are We Loving Our Pets to Death?

Pet owners are treating their animal charges ever more like humans. But that isn’t good for pets, or for us, many experts argue.

‘Tiny Crime Fighters With Wings’: Bees Go to Work on a Virginia ‘Body Farm’

By studying bees and their honey near decomposing human tissue, researchers at George Mason University hope to give crime scene investigators a new tool for finding the hidden dead.

How Flounder Wound Up With an Epic Side-Eye

Flatfish offer an evolutionary puzzle: How did one eye gradually migrate to the other side?

Cancer Kills Millions of Dogs. Will Immunotherapy Prolong Their Lives?

Dr. Hans Klingemann, pioneering immunotherapy scientist, has studied whether the innovative treatment could save his two pets.

George Woodwell, 95, Influential Ecologist on Climate Change, Dies

The founder of the renowned Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, he also helped shape U.S. policies on controlling toxic substances like DDT.

Videos Show That Leeches Can Jump in Pursuit of Blood

There has long been anecdotal evidence of the wormy creatures taking to the air, but videos recorded in Madagascar at last prove the animals’ acrobatics.

Lokiceratops, a Horned Dinosaur, May Be a New Species

Researchers analyzed a skull found in Montana of a plant-eating member of the ceratops family, finding distinct traits.

How to Make 3,000-Year-Old Beer

An amateur brewer in Utah gathered rare figs and a strain of yeast from 850 B.C. to make a sour, fruity concoction inspired by ancient Egyptian recipes.

Ancient Shipwreck Preserves a Deep Bronze Age Time Capsule

About a mile beneath the sea, the ship suggests that trade in the eastern Mediterranean Sea traveled much farther from the safety of land.

Do We Need Language to Think?

A group of neuroscientists argue that our words are primarily for communicating, not for reasoning.

Today Is the Longest Day of the Year in the Northern Hemisphere

We have Earth’s off-kilter tilt to thank for the summer solstice, as well as the different seasons.

Titan Disaster Forces Global Rethinking of Deep Sea Exploration

A year after the first deaths of divers who ventured into the ocean’s sunless depths, an industry wrestles with new challenges for piloted submersibles and robotic explorers.

A Tale of Two Nearly Extinct Giant Salamanders

While trying to save large amphibians native to Japan, herpetologists in the country unexpectedly found a way to potentially save an even bigger species in China.

Voyager 1, After Major Malfunction, Is Back From the Brink, NASA Says

The farthest man-made object in space had been feared lost forever after a computer problem in November effectively rendered the 46-year-old probe useless.

Edward Stone, 88, Physicist Who Oversaw Voyager Missions, Is Dead

He helped send the twin spacecraft on their way in 1977. Decades and billions of miles later, they are still probing — “Earth’s ambassadors to the stars,” as he put it.

Why a 3-Legged Lion and His Brother Swam Across a Crocodile-Filled River

Researchers say the nearly mile-long swim was the longest by big cats ever recorded.

Mars Got Cooked by a Recent Solar Storm

Days after light shows filled Earth’s skies with wonder, the red planet was hit by another powerful outburst of the sun.

Ancient Genomes Reveal Which Children the Maya Selected for Sacrifice

Thousand-year-old DNA from Chichén Itzá offers eye-opening details of the religious rituals of ancient Maya.

3 Days in Space Were Enough to Change 4 Astronauts’ Bodies and Minds

An extensive examination of medical data gathered from the private Inspiration4 mission in 2021 revealed temporary cognitive declines and genetic changes in the crew.

A Big Whack That Made the Moon May Have Also Created Continents That Move

Computer simulations suggest that a collision with another planetary object early in Earth’s history may have provided the heat to set off plate tectonics.

Was This Sea Creature Our Ancestor? Scientists Turn a Famous Fossil on Its Head.

Researchers have long assumed that a tube in the famous Pikaia fossil ran along the animal’s back. But a new study turned the fossil upside down.

The Mushroom Hunters Can’t Stop Finding Mysterious Fungi

For years, mycologists and hobbyists alike have been using DNA sequencing on foraged fungi.

Foraging on Public Lands Is Becoming More Limited

Collecting wild mushrooms, berries and other foods from public forests and parks has become so popular that state and federal agencies are imposing more restrictions.

Frightening Log From Titan Submersible’s Fatal Dive Declared a Fake

The federal team investigating the Titan disaster found that a detailed recounting of the craft’s descent was “made up.”

Every Elephant Has Its Own Name, Study Suggests

An analysis of elephant calls using an artificial intelligence tool suggests that the animals may use and respond to individualized rumbles.

William A. Anders, 90, Dies; Flew on First Manned Orbit of the Moon

During the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, his color photograph of an emerging Earth, known as “Earthrise,” became an icon and driving force for the environmental movement.

Boeing’s Starliner Overcomes Malfunctioning Thrusters to Dock at Space Station

Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit.

Have Wine for Breakfast, Put On a 51-Pound Suit and Get to the Battlefield

Greek soldiers recreated ancient life conditions in a study to determine if the Dendra panoply, armor used by the Mycenaeans some 3,500 years ago, could stand up to combat. Study authors found it did.

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Successfully Completes 1st Return From Space

The company achieved a key set of ambitious goals on the fourth test flight of a vehicle that is central to Elon Musk’s vision of sending people to Mars.

How Wombats May Save Other Animals From Wildfires

They build extensive burrow networks and don’t seem to mind when other woodland creatures use them as flameproof bunkers.

Boeing Carries NASA Astronauts to Orbit in ‘Milestone’ Starliner Flight

The launch marks a long-delayed win for the aerospace giant, and the next step in NASA’s reliance on the private sector for its human spaceflight program.

How NASA ended up paying for private rides to orbit.

Some of the astronauts’ luggage is not going to make it to the space station.

Here’s the revised flight plan for the Starliner’s journey.

Does NASA need another ride to the space station? Elon Musk says no.

Starliner has cost Boeing $1.4 billion more than it planned to spend.

The Long, Difficult Road of Boeing’s Starliner Capsule

Here’s a timeline of the setbacks that proceeded the spacecraft’s first trip to orbit with astronauts on board.

Space is a small but important part of Boeing’s business.

What is Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?

The Starliner astronauts thought they would have been back from space already.

Here’s what to know about Starliner’s flight.

Family Discovers Rare T. Rex Fossil in North Dakota

Two brothers, their father and a cousin were hiking in the North Dakota Badlands in 2022 when they found the bones of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.

A New Search for Ripples in Space From the Beginning of Time

As it studies cosmic microwaves, the Simons Observatory in Chile aims to help prove or disprove cosmic inflation, a notion that the universe expanded rapidly in the moment after the Big Bang.

Fauci Grilled by Lawmakers on Masks, Vaccine Mandates and Lab Leak Theory

Dr. Fauci testified before a House panel investigating Covid’s origins. The panel found emails suggesting that his aides were skirting public records laws.

The Ghost Trees of Chicago

Residents have been covering their trees in mesh to protect them from the emerging broods, and the effect is pretty eerie.

Here’s the flight plan for Starliner’s journey.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule has had a long, difficult road to human spaceflight.

Some of the astronauts’ luggage is not going to make it to the space station.

What is Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?

Meet Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the NASA Astronauts Riding on Boeing’s Starliner

Here’s what to know about Starliner’s 2nd scrubbed launch attempt.

Scientists Find the Largest Known Genome Inside a Small Plant

A fern from a Pacific island carries 50 times as much DNA as humans do.

From 700 A.D., a Pre-Viking Vessel Rises Into View

On the Norwegian island of Leka, archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known ship burial in Scandinavia.

Unconventional Sex Let Anglerfish Conquer the Deep Ocean

During a chaotic period some 50 million years ago, the strange deep-sea creatures left the ocean bottom and thrived by clamping onto their mates.

Richard Ellis, 86, Dies; Artist Whose Works Included a Museum’s Whale

Once called the “poet laureate” of deep-sea creatures, he melded science with art in paintings, books and a notable life-size installation in New York.

The Textbooks Were Wrong About How Your Tongue Works

The perception of taste is remarkably complex, not only on the tongue but in organs throughout the body.

Apex, the Largest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Found, Heads to Auction

The specimen, found by the paleontologist Jason Cooper, could be auctioned for millions of dollars by Sotheby’s.

Ancient Skull With Brain Cancer Preserves Clues to Egyptian Medicine

Cuts in the cranium, which is more than 4,000 years old, hint that people in the ancient civilization attempted to treat a scourge that persists today.

Billionaire Plans Dive to the Titanic in a Newly Designed Submersible

Larry Connor, 74, who made his wealth in real estate, said he’s building a new acrylic-hulled submersible that will be certified and rigorously tested to show that deep sea exploration is safe.

How the Tree Lobster Escaped Extinction

The Lord Howe Island stick insect vanished from its home, but an effort at zoos in San Diego and Melbourne highlights the possibilities and challenges of conserving invertebrate animals.

Manhattanhenge Is Back: When and Where to Watch

After mediocre weather during the event’s first two nights in May, New Yorkers get another opportunity to celebrate longer days, warmer weather and epic summer sunsets.

Rivers of Lava on Venus Reveal a More Volcanically Active Planet

New software let scientists re-examine old radar images, providing some of the strongest evidence yet that volcanoes continue to reshape the hellish planet.

Don’t Let a Bird’s Feathers Fool You

From sibling murder to snakes for breakfast, birds’ lives may be darker than you imagine.

When ‘Prior Authorization’ Becomes a Medical Roadblock

Medicare Advantage plans say it reduces waste and inappropriate care. Critics say it often restricts coverage unnecessarily.

NASA Astronauts to Wait Another Week for Boeing Starliner Launch

Officials from NASA and Boeing say they have worked out a solution to a helium leak that has kept the Starliner astronaut capsule grounded.

Scanning the Dark Universe, Euclid Finds Scenes of Cosmic Light

The European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope’s latest release shows off the device’s capabilities.

Fate of Retired Research Chimps Still in Limbo

The National Institutes of Health, which owns the chimps at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico, has no plans to move the animals to sanctuary, despite a ruling from a federal judge.

Supernova or Coronavirus: Can You Tell the Difference?

A scientist finds beauty in the “visual synonyms” that exist in images seen through microscopes and telescopes.

How the Cockroach Took Over the World

A genetic analysis of the German cockroach explained its rise in southern Asia millenniums ago, and how it eventually turned up in your kitchen.

Legalized Weed Is Landing More Seniors in the E.R.

In Canada, cannabis poisonings rose sharply among people 65 and older after the country legalized the drug, a new study found.

Comet Fragment Explodes in Dark Skies Over Spain and Portugal

A brilliant flash of blue, green and white on Saturday night came from a shard of an as yet unidentified comet that was moving around 100,000 miles per hour, experts said.

Comet Fragment Flashes in the Night Sky Over Spain and Portugal

A bright object broke up in Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday night, illuminating night skies over parts of Spain and Portugal. Experts say it was a fragment of a comet, perhaps only a few feet in size.

63 Years Later, First Black Man Trained as Astronaut Goes to Space

Edward Dwight was among the first pilots that the United States was training to send to space in 1961, but he was passed over. On Sunday, he finally made it on a Blue Origin flight.

When an Eel Takes a Bite Then an Octopus Might Claim an Eyeball

Videos filmed by divers show that choking, blinding and sacrificing limbs are all in the cephalopods’ repertoire.

Scientists Calculated the Energy Needed to Carry a Baby. Shocker: It’s a Lot.

In humans, the energetic cost of pregnancy is about 50,000 dietary calories — far higher than previously believed, a new study found.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Inspired a Microphone

If spiders use their webs like a large external eardrum, researchers reasoned, perhaps spider silk could be the basis for a powerful listening device.

Why Do People Make Music?

In a new study, researchers found universal features of songs across many cultures, suggesting that music evolved in our distant ancestors.

The Unusual Evolutionary Journey of the Baobab Tree

New research shows the “upside-down trees” originated in Madagascar and then caught a ride on ocean currents to reach mainland Africa and Australia.

Fossil Catches Starfish Cousin in the Act of Cloning Itself

The brittle star specimen suggests that the sea creatures have been splitting themselves in two to reproduce for more than 150 million years.

Alarmed by Climate Change, Astronomers Train Their Sights on Earth

A growing number of researchers in the field are using their expertise to fight the climate crisis.

‘Failure to Thrive,’ or a Failure to Investigate?

An outdated medical term often masks treatable illnesses, health experts contend.

Where to See the Northern Lights on Sunday Night

The best weather conditions for viewing the colorful light display will be in much of the West while New England was “a question mark,” a forecaster said.

Can Parrots Converse? Polly Says That’s the Wrong Question.

In a cautious new paper, scientists tried to determine whether an interactive speech board might enrich the life of a parrot named Ellie.

Northern Lights Set to Return During Extreme Solar Storm’s 2nd Night

Electrical utilities said they weathered earlier conditions as persistent geomagnetic storms were expected to cause another light show in evening skies.

Northern Lights Glow in the Sky Amid Solar Storm

Powerful solar flare activity made the aurora borealis visible unusually far south.

A New Tree of Flowering Plants? For Spring? Groundbreaking.

By sequencing an enormous amount of data, a group of hundreds of researchers has gained new insights into how flowers evolved on Earth.

How to Observe the Northern Lights This Weekend

The Space Weather Prediction Center said solar activity would be high again on Saturday.

Solar Storm Intensifies, Filling Skies With Northern Lights

Officials warned of potential blackouts or interference with navigation and communication systems this weekend, as well as auroras as far south as Southern California or Texas.

From Ancient Charcoal, Hints of Wildfires to Come

By digging into the geologic record, scientists are learning how wildfires shaped — and were shaped by — climate change long ago.

Tuna Crabs, Neither Tuna Nor Crabs, Are Swarming Near San Diego

Divers and marine biologists are getting a window into the lives of a red crustacean most often found in the guts of other species.

Massive Fossil Donation Helps Brazil’s National Museum Rise From the Ashes

A gift from abroad of more than 1,100 Brazilian fossils aims to step up efforts to rebuild the country’s National Museum, which suffered major fire damage in 2018.

Why You Can Hear the Temperature of Water

A science video maker in China couldn’t find a good explanation for why hot and cold water sound different, so he did his own research and published it.

The Ever-Resilient Pupfish Makes a Comeback in Death Valley

The spring population of the critically endangered species is at a 25-year high, a surprising rebound in a tiny desert cave.

The Sex Lives of Cicadas, Revealed

It may sound like a mosh pit out there. But to the participants, mating is a delicate, sonorous affair, fraught with potential missteps — and fungal zombies.

Afraid of Cicadas? This Entomologist Wants to Change That.

Sammy Ramsey casts the mass emergence of the big, red-eyed bugs as a love story, not an insect apocalypse.

When These Snakes Play Dead, Soiling Themselves Is Part of the Act

Dice snakes found on an island in southeastern Europe fully commit themselves to the role of ex-reptile.

U.S. Tightens Rules on Risky Virus Research

A long-awaited new policy broadens the type of regulated viruses, bacteria, fungi and toxins, including those that could threaten crops and livestock.

Scientists Find an ‘Alphabet’ in Whale Songs

Sperm whales rattle off pulses of clicks while swimming together, raising the possibility that they’re communicating in a complex language.

Does NASA need two rides to the space station? Elon Musk says no.

Who are the astronauts on the Starliner flight?

What is Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?

What happens next with the delayed NASA astronaut launch.

How to Know When a Good Dog Has Gone Bad

Gov. Kristi Noem suggested that President Biden should have euthanized the family dog, as she did. Animal experts said that such an option should be a last resort.

Our Reporter on the Cicada Lifecycle

Two periodical cicada broods are appearing in a 16-state area in the Midwest and Southeast for the first time in centuries.

Was the Stone Age Actually the Wood Age?

Neanderthals were even better craftsmen than thought, a new analysis of 300,000-year-old wooden tools has revealed.

Maps of Two Cicada Broods, Reunited After 221 Years

Brood XIII and Brood XIX are making their first dual appearance since 1803.

China Launches Spacecraft to the Far Side of the Moon

If successful, the Chang’e-6 mission will be the first in history to return a sample from a part of the moon that we never get to see from Earth.

Larry Young, Who Studied the Chemistry of Love, Dies at 56

Professor Young’s experiments with prairie voles revealed what poets never could: how the brain processes that fluttering feeling in the heart.

Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Reach Its Peak

The event will be active when the moon is just a sliver in the sky, but it is less easy to see in the Northern Hemisphere than other meteor showers.

Orangutan, Heal Thyself

For the first time, scientists observed a primate in the wild treating a wound with a plant that has medicinal properties.

Republicans Step Up Attacks on Scientist at Heart of Lab Leak Theory

A heated hearing produced no new evidence that Peter Daszak or his nonprofit, EcoHealth Alliance, were implicated in the Covid outbreak.

Mountain Goats Are Not Avalanche-Proof

The scene ends badly, as you might imagine.

What Makes a Society More Resilient? Frequent Hardship.

Comparing 30,000 years of human history, researchers found that surviving famine, war or climate change helps groups recover more quickly from future shocks.

Swimming Beneath Sand, It’s ‘the Hardest of All Animals to Find’

Indigenous rangers in Australia’s Western Desert got a rare close-up with the northern marsupial mole, which is tiny, light-colored and blind, and almost never comes to the surface.

Killer Asteroid Hunters Spot 27,500 Overlooked Space Rocks

With the help of Google Cloud, scientists churned through hundreds of thousands of images of the night sky to reveal that the solar system is filled with unseen objects.

Edward Dwight Aims for Space at Last

Six decades ago, Mr. Dwight’s shot at becoming the first Black astronaut in space was thwarted by racism and politics. Now, at 90, he’s finally going up.

From Baby Talk to Baby A.I.

Could a better understanding of how infants acquire language help us build smarter A.I. models?

Honeybees Invaded My House, and No One Would Help

Responding to fears of a “honeybee collapse,” 30 states have passed laws to protect the pollinators. But when they invaded my house, I learned that the honeybees didn’t need saving.

They Shoot Owls in California, Don’t They?

An audacious federal plan to protect the spotted owl would eradicate hundreds of thousands of barred owls in the coming years.

Ancient Female Ballplayer Makes Public Debut

The statue will be part of “Ancient Huasteca Women: Goddesses, Warriors and Governors” at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.

Beth Linker Is Turning Good Posture on Its Head

A historian and sociologist of science re-examines the “posture panic” of the last century. You’ll want to sit down for this.

A Megaraptor Emerges From Footprint Fossils

A series of foot tracks in southeastern China points to the discovery of a giant velociraptor relative, paleontologists suggest in a new study.

Cicadas Are Emerging Now. How Do They Know When to Come Out?

Scientists are making computer models to better understand how the mysterious insects emerge collectively after more than a decade underground.

In Coral Fossils, Searching for the First Glow of Bioluminescence

A new study resets the timing for the emergence of bioluminescence back to millions of years earlier than previously thought.

Yellowstone’s Wolves: A Debate Over Their Role in the Park’s Ecosystem

New research questions the long-held theory that reintroduction of such a predator caused a trophic cascade, spawning renewal of vegetation and spurring biodiversity.

Like Moths to a Flame? We May Need a New Phrase.

Over time researchers have found fewer of the insects turning up in light traps, suggesting they may be less attracted to some kinds of light than they once were.

Watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower Reach Its Peak

A nearly full moon could interfere with the shower during its peak. It is forecast to be active until near the end of the month.

The Magnetic Heart of the Milky Way

A new map of the center of the Milky Way galaxy reveals details of its magnetic fields

Anne Innis Dagg, Who Studied Giraffes in the Wild, Dies at 91

She was believed to be the first Western scientist to study the animals in their natural habitat, but she struggled to overcome sexism in academia.

Your Brain Waves Are Up for Sale. A New Law Wants to Change That.

In a first, a Colorado law extends privacy rights to the neural data increasingly coveted by technology companies.

An 11-Year-Old Girl’s Fossil Find Is the Largest Known Ocean Reptile

When Ruby Reynolds and her father found a fossil on an English beach, they didn’t know it belonged to an 82-foot ichthyosaur that swam during the days of the dinosaurs.

This Lava Tube in Saudi Arabia Has Been a Human Refuge for 7,000 Years

Ancient humans left behind numerous archaeological traces in the cavern, and scientists say there may be thousands more like it on the Arabian Peninsula to study.

Comet Pons-Brooks Is Having Its Last Hurrah

Soon, this devil-horned comet won’t be visible for another seven decades.

In Australia, ‘Cats Are Just Catastrophic’

Feral cats take a heavy toll on the world’s wildlife, especially Down Under. The solution? Smarter traps, sharpshooters, survival camp for prey species, and the “Felixer.”

NASA Seeks ‘Hail Mary’ for Its Mars Rocks Return Mission

The agency will seek new ideas for its Mars Sample Return program, expected to be billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

James Dean, Founding Director of NASA Art Program, Dies at 92

He arranged for artists to have access to astronauts, launchpads and more. “Their imaginations enable them to venture beyond a scientific explanation,” he once said.

A Surprising Shadow Was Created by the Total Solar Eclipse

An ascending jet’s contrail over Montreal added to the wonder of last Monday’s eclipse.

Four Wild Ways to Save the Koala (That Just Might Work)

To protect Australia’s iconic animals, scientists are experimenting with vaccine implants, probiotics, tree-planting drones and solar-powered tracking tags.

Should We Change Species to Save Them?

When traditional conservation fails, science is using “assisted evolution” to give vulnerable wildlife a chance.

What Makes Tiny Tardigrades Nearly Radiation Proof

New research finds that the microscopic “water bears" are remarkably good at repairing their DNA after a huge blast of radiation.

No ‘Hippie Ape’: Bonobos Are Often Aggressive, Study Finds

Despite their peaceful reputation, bonobos act aggressively more often than their chimpanzee cousins, a new study found.

She Dreams of Pink Planets and Alien Dinosaurs

Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, hunts for aliens in space by studying Earth across time.

Ancient Foxes Lived and Died Alongside Humans

Extinct foxes and other animals were an important part of early South American communities, a new study has found.

Peter Higgs, Nobelist Who Predicted the ‘God Particle,’ Dies at 94

The Higgs boson was named for him. It was a key element of the Standard Model, which encapsulated all human knowledge so far about elementary particles.

Herbert Kroemer, 95, Dies; Laid Groundwork for Modern Technologies

He shared a Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries that paved the way for high-speed internet communication, mobile phones and bar-code readers.

Someday, Earth Will Have a Final Total Solar Eclipse

The moon will drift far enough from Earth that it no longer fully obstructs the sun. But predicting when this will happen poses numerous challenges.

New Method That Pinpoints Wood’s Origin May Curb Illegal Timber

The study could help identify wood from Russia, which has been banned by many countries because of the war.

Couples Exchange Wedding Rings. And Then Don Eclipse Glasses.

About a hundred couples in Russellville, Ark., repeated celestial-themed vows to love each other through even the darkest of moments at the town’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” festival.

The second time was the charm for a college town at the eclipse crossroads.

This retiree wanted to be first in line in Canada.

Canadians and visitors alike share in the experience in Newfoundland and Montreal.

Unseasonable warmth arrives just in time in New England.

Disappointment on the eclipse train in western New York.

After nearly a century of life, my father saw his first eclipse.

Staring down bad eclipse weather on a lawn in Dallas.

In Indiana, the sun and moon may not be the biggest stars as Purdue eyes a national championship.

Clouds parted just in time in a small Texas town.

‘The animals definitely could feel that something was different,’ a zookeeper says.

There was cloud cover in Buffalo, but still exaltation.

In a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, children find the magic of the eclipse.

A small town in Mexico enjoys a long stretch in the eclipse’s darkness.

‘A day I will never forget.’ More than 100,000 visitors witness the eclipse on Mexico’s coast.

As crowds gathered around New York City, there was a quiet spot.

Once a prison, an island becomes a haven under the eclipse’s darkness.

In Austin, thousands watched the eclipse during a Vampire Weekend concert.

NASA’s watching the eclipse from Cleveland.

Scientists on a boat in the Pacific Ocean got an early view of the total solar eclipse.

Scientists studying underwater volcanoes aboard a research vessel were caught in the path of totality and experienced the event before it reached land in Mexico.

This is a prediction of what the sun’s corona will look like during the eclipse.

What you can see during totality.

Solar Eclipse Could Make Some Clouds Perform a Disappearing Act

A recent study found that cumulus clouds, the small cotton ball-like ones typical for a sunny day, can dissipate once an eclipse begins. But if the skies are overcast, your view could still be obstructed.

The eclipse will shine light on Harriet Tubman’s connection to astronomy.

Gridlock eclipse traffic has yet to emerge.

See the Total Solar Eclipse’s Shadow From Space

An American weather satellite is capturing the movement of the moon’s shadow across North America during the total eclipse of the sun on Monday.

Eclipse, the Musical, stages its final performance.

Arkansas Braces for Flood of Tourists During Total Solar Eclipse

The state has miles of rugged terrain and an array of state parks, but it does not have a major professional sports team. Officials have struggled to think of an event comparable to the eclipse.

The forecast is cloudy and may veil the eclipse.

Paying Off People’s Medical Debt Has Little Impact on Their Lives, Study Finds

A nonprofit group called R.I.P. Medical Debt has relieved Americans of $11 billion in hospital bills. But that did not improve their mental health or their credit scores, a study found.

Across the country, viewing the eclipse becomes part of some school days.

Catch up on what you should understand about total solar eclipses.

What Solar Eclipse-Gazing Has Looked Like for the Past 2 Centuries

Millions of people on Monday will continue the tradition of experiencing and capturing solar eclipses, a pursuit that has spawned a lot of unusual gear.

Video by Nevil Maskelyne/BFI.

7 years ago, Americans looked up in unison.

Even a quick glance at the sun can cause lasting damage to your eyes.

A total eclipse casts a shadow of wonder across a continent.

Can’t Find Eclipse Glasses? Here’s What to Do.

You can watch a projection of the eclipse using some common household items.

Anticipation and Anxiety Build Ahead of the Total Solar Eclipse

Across parts of the United States, Mexico and Canada, would-be eclipse-gazers are on the move for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Prestigious Medical Journal Ignored Nazi Atrocities, Historians Find

The New England Journal of Medicine published an article condemning its own record during World War II.