Chen Ning Yang, Nobel-Winning Physicist, Is Dead at 103

He and a colleague, Tsung-Dao Lee, created a sensation in 1956 by proposing that one of the four forces of nature might violate a law of physics.

How Psychedelic Mushrooms Evolved Their Magic

Two distantly related groups of mushrooms take radically different routes to producing psilocybin, a mind-bending molecule.

Save the Whales. But Save the Microbes, Too.

Conservation biologists propose a daunting task: protecting Earth’s diversity of bacteria and other microbes.

An Army of Robot Telescopes in Texas Makes the Stars Feel Closer Than Ever

Starfront Observatories allows amateur astronomers to rent a spot for their telescopes and photograph the cosmos over a high-speed data connection.

Jeffrey Meldrum, Scholar Who Stalked Bigfoot, Dies at 67

His willingness to bring scientific rigor to Sasquatch studies earned him the gratitude of enthusiasts and the withering scorn of debunkers.

He Studied Elephant Behavior to Save Lives

Joshua Plotnik worked to prevent deadly encounters between people and elephants. Then the funding froze.

A C.I.A. Secret Kept for 35 Years Is Found in the Smithsonian’s Vault

Jim Sanborn is auctioning off the solution to Kryptos, the puzzle he sculpted for the intelligence agency’s headquarters. Two fans of the work then discovered the key.

Armed With Anemones: How Some Young Fishes Survive in the Sea

Photos taken by blackwater divers offered a new glimpse into the early life stages of marine fishes and their interactions with other animals.

The Chicago Rat Hole Was Not Made by a Rat

A statistical analysis of an infamous indentation in a sidewalk suggested a 99 percent likelihood that another rodent made the mark.

One ‘Really Big One’ After Another

The disaster caused by a predicted large earthquake in the Pacific Northwest could be compounded by shaking along the San Andreas fault in California, scientists warned.

How to Deal With 30 to 50 Feral Hogs

Once a meme, free-ranging swine have become a real problem — one that has given rise to a wide array of potential solutions.

Every Artist Has a Favorite Subject. For Some, That’s Math.

At the annual Bridges conference, mathematical creativity was on dazzling display.

Nobel Prizes This Year Offer Three Cheers for Slow Science

The scientific Nobels announced this week — in Physiology or Medicine, Physics and Chemistry — honored achievements rooted in fundamental research from decades ago.

Bats Catch Migratory Birds and Eat Them in Midair

For the first time, scientists documented direct evidence of a bat preying on a bird at high altitude.

Why the Green Cheese Turned White

The cheesemakers didn’t mind that their prized product was changing color, but they were curious about the cause.

His Lab Tested Cutting-Edge Spacecraft

Mason Peck, an aerospace engineer at Cornell, was trying to test innovative designs in spacecraft when a stop-work order hit.

She Studied How Logging Affects Pollinators

Kim Ballare was a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service until her federal grant “got snatched away.”

Toronto’s Subway Deer Enigma Unmasked With DNA Analysis

It took nearly 50 years to work out the identity of a caribou-like fossil first discovered by construction workers.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Architects of Metal-Organic Frameworks

The prize was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi for the development of an architecture that some chemists compare with a molecular sponge.

Why Diamonds Are a Computer Chip’s New Best Friend

Data centers squander vast amounts of electricity, most of it as heat. The physical properties of diamond offer a potential solution, researchers say.

John B. Gurdon, 92, Dies; Nobelist Paved Way for Cloning of Animals

His work in the manipulation of cells laid the foundation for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and led to the first cloned large mammal, a sheep named Dolly.

An Interstellar Comet Flew Past Mars, and Spacecraft Took Pictures

3I/ATLAS, only the third object from beyond our solar system ever spotted from Earth, was viewed from Mars by an orbiting European spacecraft.

Nobel Prize in Physics Recognizes Work in Quantum Mechanics

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for showing that two properties of quantum mechanics, the physical laws that rule the subatomic realm, could be observed in a system large enough to see with the naked eye.

Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded for Work in Quantum Mechanics

John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis were recognized for work that made behaviors of the subatomic realm observable at a larger scale.

How to Protect Your Pets From Pollution

Wildfire smoke, lead paint and other environmental toxins are health hazards for animals, too.

In a Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs

A better understanding of how pollution affects pets could benefit humans and animals alike.

If Your North Star Is Lost, New Techniques Can Point You South

The writer Tristan Gooley describes how a pair of familiar constellations can help a person navigate in darkness when other methods fail.

Wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance Tied to Culprit Other Than Ice

The explorer’s journey to Antarctica was likely doomed before it began.

Darleane Hoffman, Innovator in Nuclear Chemistry, Dies at 98

Hailed as one of the 50 most important women in science, she found ways to study rare radioactive isotopes and advanced the understanding of nuclear fission.

Beyond the Nobel Prizes Is a World of Scientific Awards

Nobels are awarded in only three scientific categories, but other awards honor researchers across different fields.

Phyllis Gardner, Early Skeptic of Theranos, Dies at 75

A pharmacologist, she was certain Elizabeth Holmes’s blood-testing idea would fail, and spoke up about it. At first, few listened.

This Traditional Yogurt Recipe’s Secret Ingredient Has 6 Legs

Scientists recreated a formula involving ants and milk that is used in Bulgarian villages to yield yogurt with an herbaceous flavor.

Two Comets Are Moving Into Your Night Skies in October: How to Watch

The comets A6 (Lemmon) and R2 (SWAN) are visitors from the chilly fringes of our solar system, and could even be visible at the same time.

What a Signal in a Failed Star’s Clouds Means for the Search for Life

The detection of the molecule phosphine in a brown dwarf’s atmosphere may help astronomers in their search for life elsewhere in the Milky Way.

The Big Bad Wolf Is Afraid of You

Researchers found that the predatory canines were far more likely to flee recordings of human voices than they were to run away from other sounds.

‘There Will Always Only Be One Jane Goodall’

Scientists reflect on the life and work of a researcher whose discoveries made them rethink what it means to be human.

Jane Goodall: A Life in Pictures

The primatologist gained scientific acclaim for her work with chimpanzees and then later used her fame to champion conservation.

Edward T. Blake, 80, Dies; Forensic Expert Sparked Innocence Movement

He was the first to use PCR testing on crime-scene DNA, inspiring a practice that has freed thousands of wrongfully convicted people.

Jane Goodall, Who Chronicled the Social Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91

Her discoveries as a primatologist in the 1960s about how chimpanzees behave in the wild were hailed as “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements.”

This Leech Had an Appetite for Something Other Than Blood

A 437-million-year-old fossil from a deposit in Wisconsin could be the oldest species of leech ever found.

Stunning 12,000-Year-Old Rock Art Emerges in Saudi Arabia

The discovery of huge petroglyphs of camels and donkeys, as well as hundreds of engraving tools, hints at complex early settlement in the region following the Ice Age.

After Vesuvius Buried Pompeii, Some Survivors Moved Back In

As many as 30,000 Romans fled the ruined region in A.D. 79. But some returned, a new study reveals, and the city limped on as a fragile, ashen shantytown.

Astronauts on NASA Moon Mission Aim to Make Space Great for All

In a preview of their flight, the crew of Artemis II, three Americans and a Canadian, struck a tone that veered away from the political currents of the moment.

Now Arriving: A New Theory of In-Flight Turbulence

Physicists have devised a new model to account for the discomfort that airline passengers know all too well.

Barcelona Is Made of Math

A virtual tour of the architecture in a city where mathematics and exploration meet.

SpaceX Rocket Launches Carrying 3 Weather-Monitoring Spacecraft

Two of the spacecraft are for NASA and one is for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Screwworm Case Detected Less Than 70 Miles From U.S.-Mexico Border

The flesh-eating parasite was detected in northern Mexico. It is the northernmost case of the livestock infection, which was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s.

NASA Launches Mission to Map the Bubble Around Our Solar System

A NASA mission, IMAP, and two more spacecraft that will study space weather are traveling through space atop a single SpaceX rocket.

Trump Pushes Unproven Link Between Tylenol and Autism

Top U.S. health officials urged pregnant women not to use acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, claiming it could cause autism, though studies have been inconclusive. Azeen Ghorayshi, a science reporter for The New York Times, explains.

The Megaraptor Had Giant Claws and an Appetite for Crocodilians

A fossil of the 23-foot-long predator could help unlock secrets of an order of dinosaurs that remain poorly understood.

A Tiny Seabird Faces Growing Threats in the Forest

Nesting often high in the redwoods’ canopy, the marbled murrelet faces new and longstanding risks.

NASA Introduces New Astronaut Candidates

NASA announced 10 new candidates to begin training as astronauts as part of a plan to send more astronauts to new space stations, the moon and maybe Mars.

Women Outnumber Men in NASA’s Newest Astronaut Class

The 10 astronaut candidates, six of them women, will begin two years of training before becoming eligible for missions to low-Earth orbit and perhaps one day to the moon and Mars.

Why the U.S. Might Lose the Space Race

The United States and China are in a new space race to the moon. Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains why the U.S. could lose this race.

Something Very Tiny Is Following Earth Around the Sun

The object, the latest “quasi-moon” detected by astronomers, could be with us for almost another 60 years.

She Wants to Start a Blood Bank for Zoos

Captive animals sometimes need a transfusion, but the typical approach to blood banking isn’t practical for zoos and aquariums. One veterinarian is testing a solution.

Do Reptiles Have Moods, Too?

Long dismissed as unintelligent, reptiles are emerging as cognitively and emotionally complex animals. A new study involving tortoises suggests that they also possess mood states.

How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You.

The evolutionary blueprint for hands was borrowed in part from a much older genetic plan for our nether regions, a new study suggests.

‘Shockingly Beautiful’ Fossil Reveals Oldest Dome-Headed Dinosaur

A specimen discovered in Mongolia is the most complete fossil yet found of a pachycephalosaur, a dinosaur believed to be built for head-butting.

A Forgotten Cosmic Impact Was Hidden in a Museum’s Glass Shards

Scientists thought that an Australian museum’s collection of tektites came from an 800,000-year-old asteroid strike on Earth. Some of them turned out to be much older.

These Ants Found a Loophole for a Fundamental Rule of Life

Researchers discovered that Mediterranean ants are having babies that belong to a different species.

Mark Norell, 68, Discoverer of Links Between Dinosaurs and Birds, Dies

His expeditions, including many to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, yielded rare findings and led to exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History.

Targeting Hims & Hers, F.D.A. Takes on a New Type of Drug Advertiser

Regulators sent about 100 warning letters this week to drug advertisers, including to Hims & Hers, a major online provider of weight-loss drugs.

Building an Octopus Dictionary, One Arm Movement at a Time

Scientists set out to understand all the ways the animals use their eight appendages. It wasn’t easy.

In a Rock on Mars, NASA Sees ‘Clearest Sign of Life’ So Far

The agency’s scientists are still not saying they found fossils of Martian microbes, but analysis of the specimen collected by the Perseverance rover raises that possibility.

Happy Birthday, LIGO. Now Drop Dead.

Ten years ago, astronomers made an epic discovery with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. Cosmology hasn’t been the same since, and it might not stay that way much longer.

Scientists Begin Testing Bird Flu Vaccine in Seals

If the results are promising, veterinarians hope to give the shots to wild Hawaiian monk seals, which are endangered.

Do You See the Same Colors That I Do?

Scientists cannot say for certain, but new research suggests that different people’s brains respond similarly when looking at a particular hue.

Hopeful Hint of an Earthlike Atmosphere on a Distant Planet

Scientists are steadily ruling out habitable conditions on the seven planets of the star Trappist-1. On one of the worlds, a nitrogen gas-rich veil remains a possibility.

A New, ‘Adorable’ Deep-Sea Fish Swims Into View

The bumpy snailfish, discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California, shows that not all denizens of the abyss are frightening.

Total Lunar Eclipse Seen Across Eastern Hemisphere

A total lunar eclipse, commonly called a blood moon, crossed the sky in parts of Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa.

David Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87

He was only 37 when he made a discovery that challenged the existing tenets of biology and led to an understanding of retroviruses and viruses, including H.I.V.

Get to Know the Ratfish and the Forehead Teeth It Uses During Sex

Scientists studied how the sea creatures, also known as chimaeras or ghost sharks, ended up with one of evolution’s most bizarre appendages.

How to Watch the Blood Moon and Total Lunar Eclipse

People in the Eastern Hemisphere may see Earth’s shadow pass over the lunar surface, covering our world’s natural satellite in a flush of red.

A. James Hudspeth, Who Unlocked Mysteries Behind Hearing, Dies at 79

He was pivotal in discovering how sound waves are converted into signals that the brain can perceive as a whisper, a symphony or a thunderclap.

A Zap of Blue Light Shows Promise Against Food and Sweat Stains

Researchers hope the technique could offer a more environmentally friendly approach to cleaning up messy clothing.

Quakes on Mars Reveal New Features of the Planet’s Interior

Using data from NASA’s retired InSight lander, two separate teams of researchers found evidence of a sluggish Martian mantle and a solid inner core.

A Pill to Heal the Brain Could Revolutionize Neuroscience

Neurologists are exploring medications that would help the brain recover after a stroke or traumatic injury.

3 Psychiatric Tools That Could Boost the Brain’s Natural Healing

They work for depression and P.T.S.D. Could they also help the brain repair itself after a neurologic catastrophe?

In Yellowstone, Migratory Bison Reawaken a Landscape

A recent study hints at the potential benefits of restoring bison to an ecosystem.

The Space Rock Stars of Brazil

An all-female research group, As Meteoriticas, scours the South American country’s interior aiming to preserve meteorites for scientific study and public display.

Historians See Autocratic Playbook in Trump’s Attacks on Science

Authoritarians have long feared and suppressed science as a rival for social influence. Experts see President Trump as borrowing some of their tactics.

You Don’t Need to Be Good at Math to Enjoy It

In her latest book, Eugenia Cheng, a mathematician, explores the choices we make to determine if two things — numbers, shapes, words and even people — are equal.

Margaret W. Rossiter, 81, Dies; Wrote Women Scientists Into History

In her groundbreaking trilogy, “Women Scientists in America,” she told the stories of numerous accomplished but largely invisible women.

Sept. 23: NASA could launch a mission to map the solar system’s boundaries.

Late October or Early November: Blue Origin could launch twin NASA satellites to Mars.

This Crocodile Relative Was One of Dinosaurs’ Most Fearsome Predators

A fossil found in Argentina shows that up to the very end of the age of dinosaurs, they faced serious competition from other reptile species.

Uncovering the Genes That Let Our Ancestors Walk Upright

A new study reveals some of the crucial molecular steps on the path to bipedalism.

It’s a Night Light. It’s a Plant. It’s a Glowing Succulent.

In a proof of concept, researchers demonstrated that they could bioengineer a couple of hours of light into a common plant.

In Every Tree, a Trillion Tiny Lives

Scientists have found that a single tree can be home to a trillion microbial cells — an invisible ecosystem that is only beginning to be understood.

SpaceX’s Giant Mars Rocket Completes Nearly Flawless Test Flight

After setbacks during the last three launches of Starship, Elon Musk’s rocket splashed down in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night.

Rainer Weiss, Who Gave a Nod to Einstein and the Big Bang, Dies at 92

He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on gravitational waves, which helped confirm Einstein’s general theory of relativity and how the universe began.

Even on a Rough Construction Site, Honeybees Figure It Out

Honeycomb, a mathematical marvel, is made by worker bees. A new study shows that the insects are very good at adapting to wonky foundations.

This Golden Worm Fights Poison With Poison

To blunt the toxic arsenic in the waters where it lives, a deep-sea worm combines it with another chemical to produce a less toxic compound.

SpaceX Again Scrubs Critical 10th Test Launch of Mars Rocket

Weather interfered on Monday night with the ability of Elon Musk’s company to show it could overcome setbacks faced by its Starship prototype.

How the Pygmy Sea Horse Lost Its Snout

The genome of a small, remarkable sea horse offers a surprising lesson in nature’s creativity.

Scientists Find a Quadruple Star System in Our Cosmic Backyard

Two of the objects in the arrangement are cold brown dwarfs, which will serve as a benchmark for others throughout the Milky Way.

SpaceX Reschedules Critical 10th Test Launch of Mars Rocket

Elon Musk’s company says it will try again on Monday for the next trip of its Starship prototype, which experienced setbacks during its last three flights.

Scientists Split Giraffes Into Four Species. Three Are in Trouble.

A reassessment of the iconic species has “some dramatic implications for how we view giraffe conservation across Africa,” a new study concludes.

Was Head-Binding an Ancient Way to Get a Leg Up?

For some cultures, the practice of cranial deformation may have offered individuals a path to privilege later in their lives.

New Origami Design Could Help With Space Engineering

Researchers discovered a new type of origami called bloom patterns, which are repeating tiles of creased patterns that rotate symmetrically around a center. Engineers are working on real-life applications, like a collapsable space telescope for NASA.

These Bats Like to Give Hugs and Play With Bugs

Rare footage of spectral bats, known also as great false vampire bats, revealed animals with a cuddly, social side.

Onionlike Space Explosion May Be a New Type of Supernova

The rare blast peeled back the inner layers of a dying star, offering clues to how the elements that make up life on Earth were forged.

Uranus Was Hiding a Moon Outside Its Rings

The 29th moon found to be orbiting the solar system’s 7th planet is about six miles wide.

Newly Discovered Origami Patterns Put the Bloom on the Fold

Bloom patterns could be useful, as engineers build folding structures to send to outer space. They’re also very pretty.

These Majestic Seabirds Never Stop Pooping

Streaked shearwaters keep a very regular rhythm throughout their daily foraging flights, shedding about 5 percent of their body mass every hour.

Meet the Beautiful Dragonfly That Thrives in Your Pollution

New research outlines how the savvy blue dasher lives happily in storm drains and park ponds others flee.

A Lifelong Party of ‘Puzzle-Making Tomfoolery’

In 1978, Jerry Slocum assembled the first International Puzzle Party in his living room. Now it’s a global event.

The Third Rock From Another Sun Shows No Signs of Life So Far

Astronomers had hoped to observe an atmosphere on one of the seven planets known to orbit Trappist-1, a red dwarf star. A new study found nothing to write home about.

Margaret Boden, Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88

A cognitive scientist, she used the language of computers to explore the nature of human thought and creativity, offering prescient insights about A.I.

For Some Patients, the ‘Inner Voice’ May Soon Be Audible

In a recent study, scientists successfully decoded not only the words people tried to say but the words they merely imagined saying.

You Can Buy One of the C.I.A.’s Greatest Mysteries at an Auction House

Sleuths have solved three of the panels of the Kryptos sculpture at the agency’s headquarters. Now the artwork’s creator is announcing the sale of the solution to the fourth.

Rabbits With Hornlike Growths Are Hopping Around Colorado. Are They OK?

The unsightly bunnies are infected with cottontail rabbit papillomavirus, which can cause growths that resemble warts or tentacles.

How Scientists Are Using Drones to Study Sperm Whales

A new tagging method called tap-and-go allows researchers to gather more data on the health and behavior of whales, with less disruption.

Bonds Beats the Babe! Statistical Model Crowns a New ‘Greatest’ in Baseball

A new ranking methodology places Barry Bonds over Babe Ruth as the game’s best player ever. Statisticians, at least, are cheering.

Space Rock That Punched Through Roof Almost Struck Resident

Fragments of a meteorite that fell to Earth as part of a mysterious daytime fireball in late June missed striking a man near Atlanta, a researcher has found.

To Study Viking Seafarers, He Took 26 Voyages in Traditional Boats

An archaeologist in Sweden spent three years traveling in vessels built like those from 1,000 years ago. He discovered lost sea routes, hidden trade harbors and new respect for Viking seamanship.

Fossil Shows a Sharp-Toothed Mammal That Thrived Among Dinosaurs

Named for its razor-like teeth, Novaculadon mirabilis came from a rodent-like order that outlived the dinosaur extinction before vanishing about 30 million years ago.

How to Watch the Strongest Meteor Shower of the Summer

The summer’s most active shower, the Perseids, is reaching its peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning

James A. Lovell Jr., Commander of Apollo 13, Is Dead at 97

He led the three-man crew that survived a near catastrophic explosion in space in 1970, and was later immortalized by Tom Hanks in the movie “Apollo 13.”

Seven Ticks Hitched Very Long Rides to Connecticut

The nonnative species from Europe, Latin America and Eastern Africa reached the United States by latching on to travelers, a study by researchers in the state shows, offering clues about how ticks spread in a warming world.

Possible Planet Is Spotted Around Neighboring Alpha Centauri Star

Astronomers found strong evidence that a gassy Jupiter-size world is orbiting one of three stars in the stellar system closest to our own.

The Fight to Save Hawaii’s Coconut Palms

An invasive beetle is killing coconut trees across the archipelago, and spreading fast. Researchers are racing to contain it.

Nicholas Clapp, 89, Dies; ‘Real-Life Indiana Jones’ Pursued a Lost City

A documentary filmmaker and amateur archaeologist, he was consumed by the desire to find an ancient city in the Arabian desert known as Atlantis of the Sands.

NASA Is Getting Fired Up About a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

Placing an atomic energy source on the lunar surface is “not science fiction,” experts say, but does pose technical challenges.

NASA Lunar Reactor Directive

A new NASA directive calls for launching a nuclear power reactor to the moon by 2030.

A Nuclear Reactor on the Moon? Come Again?

The acceleration of nuclear development is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to focus NASA on human spaceflight. A reactor would be useful for long-term stays on the moon.

A Zoo in Denmark Wants to Feed Your Pets to Its Predators

A Danish zoo is asking owners of companion animals nearing life’s end to instead donate them as food for captive lynxes, lions and other carnivores.

Fraudulent Scientific Papers Are Rapidly Increasing, Study Finds

A statistical analysis found that the number of fake journal articles being churned out by “paper mills” is doubling every year and a half.

Scientists Finally Identify Killer Microbe Behind ‘Terrifying’ Sea Star Disease

A mysterious epidemic has wiped out billions of sea stars in recent years. A new study finally identifies the bacterium responsible.

A Voyage to Bring Norway’s Lighthouses Into the 21st Century

More than 2,000 navigational beacons, big and small, oversee the nation’s 60,000-mile-long coast. Now they need an upgrade.

Astronauts Head to Space Station as Clouds Stay Just Far Enough Away

After a scrubbed launch on Thursday, four astronauts lifted off from Florida and will dock at the International Space Station on Saturday.

‘Hot Wasps’ Found at Nuclear Facility in South Carolina

Four radioactive wasp nests may indicate previously undetected environmental contamination at the decades-old Savannah River Site. Here’s what to know.

Mary Gaillard, Who Broke a Ceiling in Subatomic Research, Dies at 86

Overcoming discrimination in a mostly male preserve, she did groundbreaking work that showed experimentalist physicists where and how to look for new particles.

Scientists Are Learning to Rewrite the Code of Life

In a giant feat of genetic engineering, scientists have created bacteria that make proteins in a radically different way than all natural species do.

What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato.

An ancient hybrid of tomatoes and potato-like plants may have given rise to the modern spud, a new study suggests.

Bad Weather Delays Launch of Astronauts to Space Station

For Zena Cardman, the NASA astronaut who commands the Crew-11 mission, that means another wait for her first trip to orbit.

When Earth’s Surface Shifts, a New Satellite Will See It

NISAR, built jointly by NASA and India’s space agency and launched on Wednesday, will use radar to monitor tiny changes across our planet’s land and icy regions.

Why Did Such a Powerful Earthquake Produce Such a Weak Tsunami?

The quake in Russia on Wednesday was among the strongest ever recorded — but in many places, the resulting wave was small.

NASA’s New Radar Mission Launched From India. Here’s What It Will Do.

NISAR, a new Earth-observing satellite, is a collaboration between NASA and India’s space agency.

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

The Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids are not the best showers of the summer, but they reach their peak on the same night.

The First Soda in Space: When NASA Got Caught Up in the Cola Wars

In the summer of 1985, NASA, the Reagan White House and seven talented astronauts were wrangled into an orbital battle over soft-drink supremacy.

Citizen Scientists Are Accelerating Ecology Research, Study Suggests

Thousands of scientific papers have used data collected by users of the platform iNaturalist, according to new research.

William J. Rutter, Biotech Pioneer of Gene-Based Medicine, Dies at 97

His company, the Chiron Corporation, contributed important scientific discoveries toward treatments for H.I.V., hepatitis B, diabetes and more.

The Parrot, Its Parasites and a Shared Struggle to Escape Extinction

The endangered kakapo is a flightless bird native to New Zealand. Its population is growing, but its parasites have dwindled. Could that spell trouble?

Claim of Microbe That Survives on Arsenic Is Retracted After 15 Years

Science, a top research journal, said there was no evidence of misconduct by researchers whose finding attracted heavy attention and scrutiny in social media’s early days.

Hints of Life on Exoplanet Recede Even Further

New observations fail to confirm signs of life in the atmosphere of the distant planet K2-18b. They also raise questions about what it will take to detect biology light-years away.

Grand Canyon Fossils Offer Glimpse Into When Complex Life Appeared

Rocks gathered along the Colorado River contained evidence of a bustling community of animals in an ancient sea.

A.I. May Be the Future, but First It Has to Study Ancient Roman History

A software model from Google DeepMind put a more precise date on an important Latin text credited to a Roman emperor as a demonstration of its capabilities.

Meta Unveils Wristband for Controlling Computers With Hand Gestures

When you write your name in the air, you can see the letters appear on your smartphone.

Something Like Feathers Grew on a 247-Million-Year-Old Reptile

The discovery, in a bizarre animal not closely related to birds, could change how scientists think about the origin of feathers.

There’s Fungus Among Us. But Where Exactly?

A new global atlas of underground fungi suggests that some surprising biodiversity hot spots lie hidden beneath our feet.

Zelig Eshhar, Who Engineered Immune Cells to Fight Cancer, Dies at 84

He made a conceptual leap in immunotherapy by creating a hybrid T-cell, known as CAR-T, that was genetically modified to destroy cancer cells.

What’s That Splatter on Your Windshield?

Can you identify what insects are pelting your vehicle during your summer road trip? Take this quiz and see what you can learn from these close encounters.

Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent

In a public letter, employees of the National Science Foundation accused the administration of politicizing the agency and impeding scientific innovation.

Sarah Morlok Cotton, Quadruplet Who Knew Fame and Suffering, Dies at 95

She was the last of four sisters who became a Depression-era sensation, performing onstage. Offstage, they endured abuse and were studied for their schizophrenia.

From Roman London, a Jigsaw Puzzle for the Ages

Archaeologists are piecing together vivid 1,800-year-old frescoes from “thousands upon thousands upon thousands” of plaster fragments, with no picture on the box to guide them.

When Betelgeuse Explodes, It’s Going to Take Out Another Star

The tempestuous star in Orion’s shoulder has a buddy, and neither of their futures look bright.

Hundreds of NASA Employees, Past and Present, Sign Letter of Formal Dissent

The signatories of the “Voyager Declaration” warned the space agency’s leadership about the consequences of major budget cuts that would halt many science missions.

Read the NASA ‘Voyager Declaration’ Letter of Dissent

Hundreds of current and ex-employees of NASA signed a formal dissent letter protesting the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the agency.

This Dinosaur Probably Tweeted More Than It Roared

The anatomy of a Chinese fossil offers a hint that birdsong may be as old as the dinosaurs themselves.

Ceratosaur Fossil Auctioned for $30.5 Million by Sotheby’s

The price paid for the juvenile specimen of the 150-million-year old predatory dinosaur is the third-highest on record.

This Golden Fungus Is Spreading Wildly in North America’s Forests

The golden oyster mushroom, a tasty species native to Asia, has proliferated in states around the Great Lakes and may crowd out native species, a new study shows.

New Clue to How Matter Outlasted Antimatter at the Big Bang Is Found

Physicists working at the CERN particle physics lab said they detected a slight but significant difference in how particles of matter and antimatter decay.

Videos From the Amazon Reveal an Unexpected Animal Friendship

Scientists are trying to understand footage that showed ocelots and opossums, usually predator and prey, hanging out together.

After Devastating Winter Losses, Another Threat Looms for U.S. Beekeepers

The parasitic Tropilaelaps mite, which threatens honeybees and the food supply, isn’t in North America. Yet.

Snakes Use Smelly Musk to Keep Ants Out of Their Pants

Forget fangs full of venom — the backsides of serpents pack secretions volatile enough to kill insect invaders.

A Handshake in Orbit 50 Years Ago Transformed the Space Race

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project brought Soviet cosmonauts and NASA astronauts together in the first international human spaceflight.

Daniel Kleppner, Physicist Who Brought Precision to GPS, Dies at 92

He worked to develop an atomic clock that is essential to global positioning systems and helped confirm a rare state of matter predicted based on work by Albert Einstein.

Denver Museum Finds a Dinosaur Fossil Under Its Parking Lot

The fossil, estimated to be about 70 million years old, was found during a drilling project.

Earth Is Spinning Faster and Days Are Getting Shorter, for Now

The planet’s rotation fluctuates as it travels around the sun, and measurements suggest we’re losing more than a millisecond during the long days of summer.

How Much of Our Math Series Did You Retain? Try This Quiz.

Test your knowledge of taxicab geometry, triangular numbers, the golden ratio and more.

This Jungle Plant Is a Good Landlord to Its Tenant Ants

While plants often have mutually beneficial relationships with insects, a tuber in Fiji grows separate compartments for multiple ant species.

James B. Maas, Guru of Slumber and the ‘Power Nap,’ Dies at 86

An author, public speaker and professor, he taught a hugely popular and entertaining psychology course at Cornell that focused on the essential importance of sleep.

Trump Seeks to Cut Basic Scientific Research by Roughly One-Third, Report Shows

An analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science shows the impact of the administration’s budget plan on the kind of studies that produce the most breakthroughs.

How Elephants Say They Like Them Apples

Researchers found that the animals are capable of using their trunks to make a range of gestures that express their intentions and wants.

A 37,000-Year Chronicle of What Once Ailed Us

In a new genetic study, scientists have charted the rise of 214 human diseases across ancient Europe and Asia.

Ivar Giaever, Nobel Winner in Quantum Physics, Dies at 96

A former “D” student from Norway, he made his mark at G.E.’s Research Lab in the U.S., in part by confirming a pivotal theory about superconductivity.

Trump’s Budget Would Clip Bird Banding. Hunters Are Not Happy.

The Bird Banding Laboratory has turned duck hunters into citizen scientists. What happens if it is defunded?

Franklin W. Stahl, 95, Dies; Helped Create a ‘Beautiful’ DNA Experiment

He and a colleague proved a theory advanced by the Nobel Prize winners James Watson and Francis Crick, who discovered DNA’s helical structure.

Increasingly Acidic Seas Threaten Oyster Farming

Researchers and hatcheries are exploring new ways to protect shellfish in the Pacific Northwest, although Trump budget cuts may thwart their efforts.

Fiona the Pregnant Sea Reptile’s Fossil Hints at the Birth of a New Ocean

An ichthyosaur preserved beneath a Chilean glacier is helping scientists understand the extinct animals and the world around them as a supercontinent broke up.

Antarctica Faces Tense Future as U.S. Science Budget Shrinks

The continent is dedicated to research and cooperation, but proposed funding cuts in the Trump administration and actions by other world powers may alter the environment.

How a Parasitic Bird With No Parents Learns What Species It Is

Cowbird mothers abandon their eggs in the nests of other bird species, but the chicks somehow manage to find their flock and learn what they really are.

Don’t Like Eating Insects? Your Pet Might.

Could insect meal and lab-grown meat be a more sustainable, ethical way to feed our cats and dogs?

It Came From Outside Our Solar System, and It Looks Like a Comet

3I/ATLAS, earlier known as A11pI3Z, is only the third interstellar visitor to be discovered passing through our corner of the galaxy.

Scientists Use A.I. to Mimic the Mind, Warts and All

To better understand human cognition, scientists trained a large language model on 10 million psychology experiment questions. It now answers questions much like we do.

Sea Spiders Lack a Key Body Part and a Missing Gene Could Explain Why

Scientists have long sought to understand why sea spiders keep some of their most important organs in their legs.

How a Puzzle About Fractions Got Brain Scans Rolling

A story of bowling pins, patterns and medical miracles.

Israel and U.S. Smashed Iran Nuclear Site That Grew After Trump Quit 2015 Accord

Nuclear experts say the president’s rejection of the restrictive deal forced him to neutralize an Iranian threat of his own making.

This Is Not the Way We Usually Imagine the World Will End

Stars passing close to the sun could cause planets to collide, including with Earth, or even be ejected as rogue planets, new simulations show.

Max Fink, Champion of Electroconvulsive Therapy, Dies at 102

As a psychiatry resident, he became convinced of the benefits of ECT. But he spent years battling detractors and a misleading pop-culture depiction of the procedure.

Honey, We Shrunk the Cod

Two new studies add to the evidence that human activity, from fishing to urban development, is driving the evolution of wild animals.

Orcas Use Kelp as a Possible Grooming Tool

In a new sign of toolmaking in marine mammals, orcas in the Pacific Northwest were recorded rubbing stalks of kelp against each other’s bodies, a study shows.

Here’s Another Use for Ice: Creating Secret Codes

Scientists have devised a way of writing and storing messages by creating patterns of air bubbles in sheets of ice.

How Two Neuroscientists View Optical Illusions

The Best Illusion of the Year contest offers researchers, and participants, an opportunity to explore the gaps and limits of human perception.

Grand Jury Indicts Russian Scientist on Smuggling Charges

Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard researcher, was detained in February after failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying into the country.

N.I.H. Memo Pauses Cancellations of Medical Research Grants

The directive, in a memo issued Tuesday, came after two court rulings that questioned the Trump administration’s swift cuts to funding.

Fred Espenak, Astrophysicist Known as Mr. Eclipse, Dies at 73

He chased eclipses for five decades, wrote several books about them and worked with NASA to make data accessible to nonscientist sky gazers.

Scientists Retrace 30,000-Year-Old Sea Voyage, in a Hollowed-Out Log

Japanese researchers turned to “experimental archaeology” to study how ancient humans navigated powerful ocean currents and migrated offshore.

Did Baby Talk Give Rise to Language?

The way that human adults talk to young children is unique among primates, a new study found. That might be one secret to our species’ grasp of language.

Four Astronauts Lift Off on Axiom Mission to the I.S.S.

Sponsored by governments but ferried by a private company, astronauts from Hungary, India and Poland are going to the space station for the first time.

This Powerful Telescope Quickly Found 2,100 New Asteroids

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is expected to find millions of unknown objects in our solar system, and perhaps even a mysterious Planet Nine.

How Bees, Beer Cans and Data Solve the Same Packing Problem

Trying to fit it all in? There’s a trick to it, even in 24 dimensions.

Vera Rubin Scientists Reveal Telescope’s First Images

Scenes of nebulas in the Milky Way, a cluster of galaxies and thousands of new asteroids are a teaser of how the U.S.-funded observatory on a mountain in Chile will transform astronomy.

Vera Rubin’s Legacy Lives On in a Troubled Scientific Landscape

A powerful new telescope will usher in a new era of cosmic discovery, but in a political climate vastly different from when it was named for a once overlooked female astronomer.

Fifty Years After ‘Jaws,’ Shark Science Is Still Surfacing

The film’s release in 1975 haunted the reputation of sharks worldwide. But a generation of scientists helped to turn the tide.

How Astronomers Will Deal With 60 Million Billion Bytes of Imagery

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will make the study of stars and galaxies more like the big data-sorting exercises of contemporary genetics and particle physics.

Edward Anders, Who Duped Nazis and Illuminated the Cosmos, Dies at 98

His research unraveled mysteries about the solar system and the demise of the dinosaurs. In retirement, he turned his attention to the Holocaust.

Earth’s Largest Camera Takes 3 Billion-Pixel Images of the Night Sky

At the heart of the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a digital camera that will create an unparalleled map of the cosmos.

The Universe’s Darkest Mysteries Are Coming Into Focus

As the Vera C. Rubin Observatory surveys the night sky, astrophysicists expect to unlock the secrets of dark matter, dark energy and cosmic phenomena that go “bang!”

Can A.I. Quicken the Pace of Math Discovery?

Breakthroughs in pure mathematics can take decades. A new Defense Department initiative aims to speed things up using artificial intelligence.

Mysterious Ancient Humans Now Have a Face

Fifteen years after the discovery of a new type of human, the Denisovan, scientists discovered its DNA in a fossilized skull. The key? Tooth plaque.

When Humans Learned to Live Everywhere

About 70,000 years ago in Africa, humans expanded into more extreme environments, a new study finds, setting the stage for our global migration.

Starry Skies May Guide Bogong Moths Home

A new study suggests that these Australian insects may be the first invertebrates to use the night sky as a compass during migration.

Eight Arms to Taste Your Microbiome

Scientists discovered that octopuses use their limbs to sample the microbiomes on the surfaces they touch.

A Traveler Waits in the Stars for Those Willing to Learn How to Look

A new book shows that the Northern Dene people of Alaska and Canada have known far more about the stars than an earlier generation of scientists were willing to acknowledge.

Bat Cave Footage Offers Clues to How Viruses Leap Between Species

Video from a national park in Uganda depicted a parade of predatory species feeding on and dispersing fruit bats that are known natural reservoirs of infectious diseases.

To Protest Budget Cuts, Young Scientists Try Letters to the Editor

Hundreds of graduate students are writing to their hometown newspapers to defend their research, as the Trump administration drastically reduces science funding.

This Fossil Is Valued at Millions of Dollars and Brings Some Dinosaur Experts Dread

The 150-million-year-old specimen is valued at up to $6 million by Sotheby’s. Some paleontologists worry this auction and earlier ones are driving fossil market speculators.

What the Golden Ratio Says About Your Belly Button

The secret beauty in apples, stars and the center of you.

Radiation Risk From Israel’s Strikes on Iran Nuclear Sites Is Low, for Now

The radiological threat from the targets of the earliest attacks are relatively minor.

Traveling the Cosmos With Carter Emmart, One Last Time

For nearly three decades he has created mesmerizing planetarium shows at the American Museum of Natural History. But other galaxies await.

Amanda Feilding, Eccentric Countess Who Backed Psychedelic Meds, Dies at 82

She was ridiculed for drilling a hole in her skull to increase blood flow. But her foundation’s research into the therapeutic use of counterculture drugs proved visionary.

Shining a Light on the World of Tiny Proteins

From viruses to humans, life makes microproteins that have evaded discovery until now.

Russian Scientist Released After Four Months in Federal Custody

Kseniia Petrova, a Harvard researcher, still faces criminal charges for failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying in her suitcase.

Each Person Has a Unique ‘Breath Print,’ Scientists Find

Every breath you take, they really may be watching you.

Google and U.S. Experts Join on A.I. Hurricane Forecasts

The National Hurricane Center will experiment with the company’s DeepMind program to enhance the work of its expert meteorologists.

Early Humans Settled in Cities. Bedbugs Followed Them.

A new study suggests that bedbugs were the first urban pest, and their population thrived in that environment. For the bloodsucking insects, it’s been the perfect 13,000-year-long marriage.

A Near-Full ‘Strawberry Moon’ Will Shine Again on Wednesday Night

June’s full moon, known as a “strawberry moon,” may appear reddish because of its low position on the Southern Horizon.

This Elusive Antarctic Squid Was Seen for the First Time

An expedition in the Southern Ocean captured video of a rare species of deep-sea cephalopod. Until now, it had been found only in fishing nets and in the bellies of seabirds.

First-Ever Images of Sun’s South Pole Released by European Mission

Visuals from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter reveal chaotic solar magnetism in the solar polar region. Even better images are expected in the years ahead.

Niede Guidon, 92, Archaeologist Who Preserved Prehistoric Rock Art, Dies

Her work in Brazil challenged the prevailing theory of when humans first arrived in the Americas and led to the development of a forgotten corner of the country.

First Fossil Proof Found That Long-Necked Dinosaurs Were Vegetarians

“It’s the smoking gun, or the steaming guts,” said a paleontologist from a team that also found that the sauropods didn’t chew their food.

Where Pi Equals 4 and Circles Aren’t Round

In the world of taxicab geometry, even the Pythagorean theorem takes a back seat.

Farming Was Extensive in Ancient North America, Study Finds

A millenniums-old settlement in Michigan has archaeologists rethinking the rise of agriculture on the continent.

NASA and the Defense Department Rely on SpaceX in So Many Ways

If President Trump cancels the contracts for Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company, the federal government would struggle to achieve many goals in orbit and beyond.

Japanese Company’s Moon Lander Has Crashed

The loss of the Resilience spacecraft by Ispace repeated a crash into the moon in 2023 of the company’s first robotic lunar landing mission.

A How-To for the Self-Sacrificing Samurai, Now in English

A gory set of manuals, one dating to the 17th century, advised Japanese warriors in the secret ways of seppuku.

Do You See Craters or Bumps on the Moon’s Surface?

A picture taken recently by a Japanese company’s spacecraft shows how your interpretation of objective reality can be tested by the power of illusion.

Frank Graham Jr., Nature Writer Who Updated ‘Silent Spring,’ Dies at 100

He worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers and wrote about sports but mostly focused on conservation, publishing a sequel to Rachel Carson’s exposé on the dangers of pesticides.

Ancient Trees, Dwindling in the Wild, Thrive on Sacred Ground

Buddhist temples in China are home to trees from dozens of endangered species, a new study shows. Some of them are almost 2,000 years old.

Clever Cockatoos Have Figured Out How to Drink From Water Fountains

They had also learned how to flip open garbage lids in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Scientists wonder what they’ll work out next.

Sharp Hike in Nuclear Arms Budget Sought as Science Funding Is Slashed

The Trump administration asked Congress for $5.5 billion more in annual spending for the weapon activities of the federal agency that oversees the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Muon Experiment Was ‘Hugely Successful’ but Clarified Little

The deviant behavior of a subatomic particle might point to undiscovered forms of matter and energy in the universe. Or it might not.

Scientific Discoveries, and Dreams, in the Balance

Research breakthroughs are often sagas of passion, curiosity and sacrifice. If Trump’s proposed budget cuts for 2026 are enacted, many such journeys may never get started.

George E. Smith, Nobel Winner Who Created a Digital Eye, Dies at 95

Together with Willard S. Boyle, he invented an imaging device that is an essential part of nearly every telescope, photocopier and digital camera used today.

Robert Jarvik, 79, Dies; a Designer of the First Permanent Artificial Heart

He worked with a team at the University of Utah to create a mechanical heart. It was later used in patients awaiting an organ transplant.

Scientists Say They’ve Found a Dwarf Planet Very Far From the Sun

The small world was found during a search for the hypothetical Planet Nine, and astronomers say the next time it will reach its closest point to the sun is in the year 26186.

Judge Says Government Should Release Russian Scientist

The judge ordered ICE to release Kseniia Petrova, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, who also faces criminal charges.

Your Cat May or May Not Love You, but It Knows Your Scent

Scientists found a way to get 30 kitties to cooperate with a study exploring the power of the feline sense of smell.

China Launches Mission to Capture Pieces of an Unusual Asteroid

The robotic Tianwen-2 spacecraft will collect samples from Kamoʻoalewa, which some scientists suspect is a fragment of the moon.

A Fungus Devastated North American Bats. A New Species Could Deliver a Killer Blow.

Scientists have learned that another species of fungus found in Europe and Asia causes white-nose disease, which has ravaged bat populations in the United States and Canada.

Manhattanhenge Is Back Again: When, Where and How to Watch

It’s your last chance this year to catch New York City’s best sunset, if the weather cooperates.

SpaceX Loses Control of Starship, Adding to Spacecraft’s Mixed Record

Much was riding on Flight 9 for Elon Musk’s giant moon and Mars rocket after debris from January and March flights fell into the Atlantic Ocean, disrupting air travel.

Sonic Detectives Want to Help SpaceX Listen Up

Physicists who record rocket launches and landings are learning important facts about the acoustics of spaceflight.

In the U.S., Archaeology Stares Down an Uncertain Future

Federal layoffs and grant terminations threaten efforts to understand and preserve the nation’s past. “We are getting cut off at the knees,” said one archaeologist.

These Plants Protect Larvae From Wildfires

Growths on plants formed by parasitic weevils help their offspring hunker down on a Brazilian savanna and outlast the flames.

Historic Shipwrecks Come to Light in the Great Lakes

With an underwater drone named Rhody, archaeologists are mapping some of the dozens of sunken vessels in Lake Ontario.

New Studies Dismiss Signs of Life on Distant Planet

In April, astronomers said they had detected a possible signature of life on the exoplanet K2-18b. Now, three independent analyses discount the evidence.

Funding Cuts Are a ‘Gut Punch’ for STEM Education Researchers

More than half of the National Science Foundation grants terminated since April fund programs that would help students train in science, engineering and math.

Did Soccer Originate in Scotland? New Claim Draws Jeers in England.

The discovery of a 17th-century “foot-ball” pitch in Scotland would relocate the birthplace of the modern game.

Humpback Whales May Not See Their Most Dangerous Threats

These gentle giants have poor eyesight and may not be able to see fishnets and boats with which they have fatal encounters.

This Was Odd: These Monkeys Kidnapped Babies From Another Species.

Male capuchin monkeys on a Panamanian island were documented carrying around infant howler monkeys for no clearly discernible reason.

A Scientist Fighting Nuclear Armageddon Hid a 50-Year Secret

Richard Garwin’s role in designing the hydrogen bomb was obscured from the public, even his family, as he advised presidents and devoted his life to undoing the danger he created.

Peter Lax, Pre-eminent Cold War Mathematician, Dies at 99

As the computer age dawned, he saw how the new technology could be harnessed to mathematics to solve problems in everything from designing weapons to predicting the weather.

Ed Smylie, Who Saved the Apollo 13 Crew With Duct Tape, Dies at 95

He and his team of NASA engineers jumped into action to help three astronauts bound for the moon. His quick thinking earned him a shout-out from Richard Nixon.

9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything

The U.S. is slashing funding for scientific research, after decades of deep investment. Here’s some of what those taxpayer dollars created.

How a Two-Story Boulder Ended Up on a 120-Foot-High Cliff

The rock called Maka Lahi is important in the mythology of the people of Tonga, and scientists have worked out part of its origin story.

U.S. Moves Russian Scientist’s Case to Criminal Court in Boston

For months, the Harvard researcher Kseniia Petrova has challenged efforts to deport her to her native Russia for a customs violation. This week, the government charged her with a criminal felony.

Malcolm Potts, Irreverent Evangelist for Contraception, Dies at 90

He helped develop the device most often used for surgical abortions. He also spent more than half a century promoting women’s reproductive health in developing countries.

First Visible Aurora Spotted Over Mars by NASA Rover

A serendipitous solar outburst let scientists point the robot’s cameras toward the Red Planet’s sky to spot a feature shared with our Blue Marble.

Richard L. Garwin, a Creator of the Hydrogen Bomb, Dies at 97

Many scientists contributed to the final result, but he was the one who, as a young physicist, designed the world’s most powerful weapon. He went on to advise a dozen presidents.

This Dinosaur Had Feathers and Probably Flew Like a Chicken

New insights into the flying capabilities of a nonbird dinosaur were drawn from an unusually well-preserved specimen known as the Chicago Archaeopteryx.

This Fossil’s 3 Eyes Are Not Its Most Surprising Feature

Cambrian Period creatures known as sea moths seemed alien because of their additional eye, but a study finds anatomical features more in line with modern animals.

Interior Department Weighs Less Conservation, More Extraction

A leaked version of the department’s five-year strategic planning document favors privatization and economic returns from the nation’s public lands.

A Toxic Pit Could Be a Gold Mine for Rare-Earth Elements

At the Berkeley Pit, researchers hope to extract valuable metals to increase U.S. production of rare earths used in electric cars, medical advances and national defense.

Flamingos Make Underwater Vortexes to Suck Up Prey

Three cooperative birds and a model bird head helped scientists figure out what flamingos are actually doing when they stick their heads upside down underwater.

1 Astronaut, Many Cameras and 220 Days of Amazing Images From Space

Don Pettit brought a photographer’s eye to orbit, capturing the artistry of the cosmos and our planet.

In Their Final Moments, a Pompeii Family Fought to Survive

Archaeologists unearthed skeletal remains of four people in a well-appointed Roman home, along with signs of their efforts to outlast the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Soviet Spacecraft Crash Lands on Earth After a Journey of Half a Century

Kosmos-482, a spacecraft bound for Venus in 1972, was a time capsule from the Cold War when superpowers had broad ambitions for exploring the solar system.

The Best Way to Drop an Egg

How the shell cracks in an exercise known as the egg drop challenge turned out to be more complicated than science teachers have been telling students for many years.

Who Is Dr. Casey Means?

Dr. Means, President Trump’s new pick for surgeon general, has focused on the prevalence of chronic diseases and called on the government to scale back on childhood vaccines.

These Beautiful Birds Form Something Like Lasting Friendships

Superb starlings help care for the offspring of birds they are not related to. “To me, that sounds like friendship,” one scientist said.

Genetic Study Retraces the Origins of Coronaviruses in Bats

As China and the United States trade charges of a lab leak, researchers contend in a new paper that the Covid pandemic got its start, like a previous one, in the wildlife trade.

A Half-Ton Spacecraft Lost by the Soviets in 1972 Is Coming Home

Kosmos-482, which was headed to Venus, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere by the end of this weekend. Experts don’t yet know where it may come down.

Philip Sunshine, 94, Dies; Pioneer in Treatment of Premature Babies

A founder of neonatology, he helped revolutionize the care of preterm and critically ill newborns. “We were able to keep babies alive that would not have survived,” he said.

Watch a Meteor Shower Made by Halley’s Comet

The Eta Aquarids will reach their peak Monday night into Tuesday morning.

How Trump’s Cuts Are Stifling L.G.B.T.Q. Health Research

The Trump administration has systematically stripped funding from research into the health of L.G.B.T.Q. people. Benjamin Mueller, a reporter covering health and medicine for The New York Times, describes how hundreds of such projects were abruptly halted, stranding participants in experiments, and leading to lawsuits that argue that the administration had not offered a legal justification for the cuts.

Science backers say proposed federal research cuts pose dire risks.

One expert said the consequences would be “catastrophic” if Congress enacts the White House agenda of sweeping budget cuts.

Volcanic Eruption in Deep Ocean Ridge Is Witnessed by Scientists for First Time

Researchers diving in a submersible in the eastern Pacific realized that the landscape they had studied the day before had been glassed over by fresh lava.

Ronan the Sea Lion Is Probably Better Than You at Keeping a Beat

As she has aged, the pinniped’s rhythmic abilities have only improved.

A Diver Visited a Fallen Whale. When He Returned, It Was Gone.

A sunken calf’s disappearance created a mystery in murky waters near San Diego.

Two Theories of Consciousness Faced Off. The Ref Took a Beating.

What makes humans conscious? Scientists disagree, strongly, as one group of peacemakers discovered the hard way.

Citing N.I.H. Cuts, a Top Science Journal Stops Accepting Submissions

With federal support, Environmental Health Perspectives has long published peer-reviewed studies without fees to readers or scientists.

Humans’ Wounds Heal Much More Slowly Than Other Mammals’

We naked apes need Band-Aids, but shedding the fur that speeds healing in other mammals may have helped us evolve other abilities.

A Massive, Glow-in-the-Dark Cloud Lurking in Our Cosmic Backyard

The cloud, named Eos, is chock-full of molecular hydrogen and possibly rife with star-forming potential in the future.

Lab Animals Face Being Euthanized as Trump Cuts Research

Animal testing remains a fundamental part of biomedical research. But as funding evaporates, mice, rats and even monkeys may be euthanized.

Amazon Launches First 27 Project Kuiper Internet Satellites

The spacecraft are the online giant’s entry into beaming wireless service from space, but the company has much to do before it can compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

David Paton, Creator of the Flying Eye Hospital, Dies at 94

An idealistic ophthalmologist, he came up with an ingenious way to treat blindness in far-flung places: by outfitting an airplane with an operating room.

The ‘Bone Collector’ Doesn’t Play With Its Food. It Wears It.

Carnivorous caterpillars discovered on the Hawaiian island of Oahu have a freaky fashion sense.

Who’s a Carthaginian? Genetic Study Revises Ancestry of Rome’s Ancient Nemesis

The inhabitants of Carthage were long thought to have derived from Levantine Phoenicians. But an eight-year study suggests they were more closely related to Greeks.

These Apes Are Matriarchal, but It Doesn’t Mean They’re Peaceful

Females reign supreme in bonobo society by working together to keep males in their place.

A Roman Gladiator and a Lion Met in Combat. Only One Walked Away.

A discovery in an English garden led to the first direct evidence that man fought beast to entertain the subjects of the Roman Empire.

The Physics of the Perfect Pour Over

Scientists used fluid dynamics to learn how to get the most flavor from pour-over coffee.

How Bats Enjoy an In-Flight Beverage Service

Bats are not only masters of aerodynamic flight — they’re skillful at multitasking while flying, too.

National Science Foundation Terminates Hundreds of Active Research Awards

The agency targeted grants focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as research on misinformation.

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

Active since last week, the shower is formed from a comet’s debris and is forecast to produce the most fireballs overnight.

Hidden Above a Trap Door, 17th-Century Frescoes Come to Light

While inspecting a sumptuous villa in Rome, an electrician stumbled across long lost works by the Baroque painter Carlo Maratta.

It’s Springtime on Polaris-9b, and the Exoflowers Are Blooming

An artist imagines the flora of distant, nonexistent worlds.

A Fireball Near Mexico City Lit Up the Sky and the Internet

The glowing object was a bolide, fireballs that explode in a bright flash, according to experts. It streaked across Mexico’s predawn skies on Wednesday.

Joe Nickell, Paranormal Investigator and ‘Real-Life Scully,’ Dies at 80

A professional skeptic, he took on hundreds of mysteries, offering rational explanations for the Loch Ness monster, the Shroud of Turin and countless hauntings.

On New Website, Trump Declares Lab Leak as ‘True Origins’ of Covid

The White House has thrown its weight behind the lab leak theory, an idea that has divided intelligence agencies.

Astronomers Detect a Possible Signature of Life on a Distant Planet

Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.

It Took a Century to Find This Colossal Squid

An expedition spotted a baby of the species in the South Sandwich Islands. This cephalopod can grow to more than 20 feet and has proved elusive in its deep-sea environs.

DOGE Cuts Hobble Office That Would Aid NASA and SpaceX Mars Landings

The Astrogeology Science Center, which has helped astronauts and robots reach other worlds safely, is facing a substantial number of job reductions.

How to Evade Taxes in Ancient Rome? A 1,900-Year-Old Papyrus Offers a Guide.

A manuscript discovered in the Judean desert contains trial notes on an intricate tax-evasion scheme that involved forgery, fiscal fraud and the false sale of slaves.

Blue Origin Crew Including Gayle King and Katy Perry Returns Safely After Space Launch

They were among the six women who made a 10-minute trip on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, as the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years.

A Cautionary Tale of 408 Tentacles

One pet octopus suddenly became more than four dozen. They went viral. Then it all went south.

There’s a Lot of History to Unpack for This Space Expert

Jonathan McDowell is retiring from studying the universe. But he’s ramping up efforts to chronicle humanity’s exploration of space.

She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her

President Trump’s immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there.

Neutrinos Are Shrinking, and That’s a Good Thing for Physics

A new estimate of the ghostly particle’s maximum possible mass brings physicists a tad closer to understanding the universe.

With a Jawbone, Scientists Expand the Ancient Range of a Mysterious Human Relative

A bone discovered in Taiwan turns out to have belonged to a Denisovan, a lineage previously identified only thousands of miles away.

Launch of First Amazon Project Kuiper Internet Satellites Is Scrubbed

The spacecraft are the online giant’s entry into beaming wireless service from space, but the company has much to do before it can compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

Xavier Le Pichon, Who Modeled Movement of Earth’s Crust, Dies at 87

With a computer rendering, he helped scientists understand that the earth, with its shifting tectonic plates, is “an extraordinary living being” that is “continuously changing.”

Chinese Lunar Rocks Suggest a Thirsty Far Side of the Moon

Using samples gathered from the Chang’e-6 mission, scientists found that the interior of the moon on the half we never see from Earth might be drier than the near side.

An Advance in Brain Research That Was Once Considered Impossible

Scientists achieved “a milestone” by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections.

Trump’s NASA Nominee Questioned Over Moon Plans and Elon Musk

Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who has twice launched to orbit in a SpaceX vehicle, faced pointed questions from senators of both parties before the Senate on Wednesday.

The Skin on Mysterious Medieval Books Concealed a Shaggy Surprise

The material on the covers of books from a French abbey was too hairy to have come from calves or other local mammals. Researchers identified its more distant origin.

Nuclear Testing Not Advised, Trump’s Nominee Says in Senate Hearing

Brandon Williams, the nominee to lead the National Nuclear Security Administration, said he would recommend reliance on “scientific information” rather than a restart of explosive testing.

King K. Holmes, 87, Dies; Researcher Destigmatized Study of S.T.I.s

He took a down-to-earth approach to sexually transmitted infections, a subject no one wanted to discuss, arriving at novel methods of treatment and prevention.

Ideology May Not Be What You Think but How You’re Wired

In her new book, “The Ideological Brain,” the neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod outlines what makes some people prone to rigid thinking.

Jeremiah Ostriker, Who Plumbed Dark Forces That Shape Universe, Dies at 87

There’s more to the universe than meets the eye, he found. His studies led astronomy to the dark side, changing our view of what’s out there.

Scientists Revive the Dire Wolf, or Something Close

Dire wolves, made famous by “Game of Thrones,” went extinct some 13,000 years ago. Now, researchers have bred gray-wolf pups that carry genes of their ancient cousins.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he left the funeral of an 8-year-old girl in Texas who died of measles amid a growing outbreak in the region.

An Endangered Galápagos Tortoise Is a First-Time Mother at 100

Mommy, a Western Santa Cruz tortoise, recently welcomed four hatchlings at the Philadelphia Zoo, where she has lived since 1932.

Philadelphia Zoo Welcomes Four Endangered Tortoise Hatchlings

Four endangered Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoises hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo.

SpaceX Astronauts Splash Down Off California Coast for the First Time

After years of NASA and private crews returning to Earth near Florida, the company shifted its landing zone to the West Coast for the private Fram2 mission.

The Very Territorial Caterpillar

As they cling to leaf tips, newborn warty birch caterpillars produce vibrations that can ward off invaders approaching their millimeter-size domain.

One Bird Nest, 30 Years of Human Trash

A coot’s nest reveals that what humans throw away doesn’t really go away.

In the Calls of Bonobos, Scientists Hear Hints of Language

Hundreds of hours of recordings suggest that the apes can generate meaning by stringing sounds together in pairs. But some scholars are skeptical.

Scientists Reveal the Hairy Truth About Giant Ground Sloths

New research painted a more accurate picture of the megafauna that spread widely around the Americas before they went extinct.

Ralph Holloway, Anthropologist Who Studied Brain’s Evolution, Dies at 90

It wasn’t the size of human brains that distinguished people from apes, he theorized, but the way they were organized. He found a creative way to prove it.

A love letter to the Division of Violence Prevention

Read the letter

This Tree Wants to Be Struck by Lightning

Before a discovery in a Panamanian rainforest, “it seemed impossible that lightning could be a good thing for the trees,” a scientist said.

How the Myanmar Earthquake Shook Skyscrapers in Bangkok

Large quakes produce shaking at a variety of frequencies. Some waves can travel hundreds of miles, and are amplified by local geological conditions.

Astronauts Emphasize Gratitude as NASA Contends With Uncertainty

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spoke in their first news conference since returning to Earth two weeks ago from an unexpectedly long I.S.S. stay that lasted more than nine months.

Eating ‘Family Style’ May Have Set the Stage for Life as We Know It

Under microscopes, scientists found that giant single-cell organisms were able to vacuum up more food when they are stuck together.

Trump Administration Has Begun a War on Science, Researchers Say

Nearly 2,000 scientists urged that Congress restore funding to federal agencies decimated by recent cuts.

A New Dinosaur Museum Rises From a Hole in the Ground in New Jersey

The museum hopes that after learning about the planet’s prehistoric past, people will do more to preserve Earth’s future.

Partial Eclipse Captivates Much of the Northern Hemisphere

The moon slipped between the Earth and the sun on Saturday, casting a shadow on our planet in parts of the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Russia and Africa.

The 2025 Partial Solar Eclipse: When, Where and How to Watch

If you’re on the East Coast, wake up early to try and catch the moon take a bite out of the sun on Saturday.

A Shark Breaks Its Silence With Some Clicking Sounds

Researchers in New Zealand have made what they believe is the first recording of a shark actively making noise.

Audio of a rig shark recorded by scientists at the Leigh Marine Laboratory at the University of Auckland.

Farewell to Gaia, the Milky Way’s Cartographer

After more than a decade of mapping the stars, the European spacecraft was shut down on Thursday. But its legacy lives on.

Auroras Are Spotted on Neptune for the First Time, and Lead to a New Mystery

The James Webb Space Telescope identified the lights in the distant planet’s atmosphere, which could not be seen by earlier telescopes or spacecraft.

Abel Prize Awarded to Japanese Mathematician Who Abstracted Abstractions

Masaki Kashiwara received the honor, often regarded as the Nobel Prize in mathematics, for work that combined different mathematical fields to solve challenging problems.

Foie Gras That Skips the Force-Feeding Is Developed by Physicists

While not sparing the lives of ducks and geese, the technique lets the birds eat and grow normally.

SpaceX Rocket Leaves a Glowing Spiral in the Sky, Visible Across Europe

Frozen fuel from the Falcon 9 rocket launched Monday created a luminous display for several minutes, and was seen by people from England to Eastern Europe.

A Fungi Pioneer’s Lifelong Work on Exhibit

Mushrooms in 19th-century watercolors: The paintings of a self-taught female mycologist are featured at the New York State Museum.

You Can Make Amber Fossils in 24 Hours, Instead of Millions of Years

Paleontologists hope that an amber-like material, made with living tree resin, will shed light on the prehistoric fossilization of the real stuff.

Lessons From a Lost-Pet Detective Named Kat

Recovering missing animals requires understanding both animal and human behavior.

‘Don’t Think, Just Solve’

Max Park is a longtime speedcubing world record holder — for the 3x3x3 cube, his best official time is 3.13 seconds. Let's show you how he does it.

Everyone in the City Needs Soundproofing, Even Spiders

Researchers have found evidence that a common North American spider species alters its webs to deal with urban noise pollution.

After Lunar Disappointments, NASA Hits the Jackpot With Blue Ghost

Firefly Aerospace’s successful moon lander has yielded a trove of data that scientists will pore over for years.

Kilmer McCully, 91, Dies; Pathologist Vindicated on Heart Disease Theory

His studies showed that a B vitamin deficiency could cause hardened arteries. It took the medical profession more than a decade to catch up.

A Lunar Lander’s Busy Day: Eclipse Photos and Rock Collecting

The sun has set on the Blue Ghost spacecraft, ending a successful mission to the moon.

This Octopus’s Other Car Is a Shark

Researchers in New Zealand saw a colorful blob on top of a shark’s head. When they looked closer, they realized it had eight arms.

‘More Than a Hint’ That Dark Energy Isn’t What Astronomers Thought

New data further challenge the best scientific theory of the history and the structure of the universe. But a separate recent result reinforces it.

Pod of Dolphins Greets NASA Astronauts

The marine mammals swarmed around the recovery team and capsule, welcoming home the astronauts shortly after they splashed down off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

NASA Astronauts Finally Return to Earth, Almost 9 Months Delayed

A SpaceX capsule carrying two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, splashed down off Florida’s Gulf Coast on Tuesday, concluding their unexpectedly long stay in space.

What happens to the astronauts right after they return to Earth.

The astronauts will return to Earth enveloped in hot plasma.

What bringing the astronauts home will cost NASA.

With nowhere else to go, Williams and Wilmore got to work on the space station.

What does 9 months in space do to an astronaut’s health?

NASA’s ex-chief says he never discussed a rescue mission with SpaceX, contradicting Musk.

Williams and Wilmore Are Not the First Astronauts to Be Delayed in Space

From a spacecraft’s coolant leak to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, astronauts have gotten stuck in space for a variety of reasons over the decades of human spaceflight.

Were the astronauts stranded or abandoned? It’s best to ask them.

How Williams and Wilmore endured 9 extra months in orbit.

A Lifeboat to London for Darwin’s Frogs

Males of the South American species incubate their young in their vocal sacs. The London Zoo recently established a breeding colony to save the frog from extinction.

Why the astronauts had to wait an extra month in orbit.

NASA Astronauts Depart I.S.S.

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are on their way home after an unexpected nine months in space.

Wilmore and Williams’s stay in space, by the numbers.

What happens when the astronauts leave?

Williams and Wilmore were not initially supposed to be on this flight.

Watch Live: NASA Astronauts Begin Journey Back to Earth

Who Are Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams? What to Know About the NASA Astronauts.

This was the third time in orbit for both NASA astronauts.

NASA Astronauts’ Nine-Month Orbital Odyssey Ends in a Splashdown

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally made it home to Earth after a 17-hour trip aboard a SpaceX capsule.

These Iguanas Got Carried Away and Ended Up 5,000 Miles From Home

Genetic evidence suggests that the reptiles somehow managed millions of years ago to make an ocean crossing from North America to Fiji.

Digital Therapists Get Stressed Too, Study Finds

Chatbots should be built with enough resilience to deal with difficult emotional situations, researchers said.

At a Penguin ‘Retirement Home,’ a Slower Pace and Plenty of Fish

Six African Penguins at the New England Aquarium in Boston have made a new home on an island designed to address the aches and pains of aging.

SpaceX Launches NASA’s Crew-10 Mission

The mission would allow Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, two NASA astronauts, to return to Earth. Their brief scheduled visit to the space station last June was unexpectedly stretched to more than nine months.

The Blood Moon Rises: A Total Lunar Eclipse

The first total lunar eclipse in more than two years lit up the sky last night as humanity, forever fascinated with the Earth’s only natural satellite, watched.

Who’s Afraid of Lab-Grown Meat?

Mississippi became the third state to ban cell-derived meat, a product not for sale in the United States. But not all livestock producers are opposed to cultivated protein.

SpaceX Launches NASA’s Crew-10 Mission to the I.S.S.

After their flight was scrubbed on Wednesday, four astronauts successfully lifted off, which will allow two NASA astronauts to return to Earth after an unexpected extended stay in orbit.

A Tiny Moon Photo Bombs Mars as Europe’s Hera Mission Swoops Past

The Red Planet and its tiny moon Deimos were recorded at a very near distance as the asteroid-chasing spacecraft completed a flyby on Wednesday.

A Mathematical ‘Fever Dream’ Hits the Road

Meet “Mathemalchemy,” a traveling math-meets-art installation coming eventually to a dimension near you.

James Reason, Who Used Swiss Cheese to Explain Human Error, Dies at 86

Mistakes happen, he theorized, because multiple vulnerabilities in a system align — like the holes in cheese — to create a recipe for disaster.

Watch the Moon Blush Blood Red During a Total Lunar Eclipse

Earth’s shadow will block most of the light that illuminates the lunar surface, creating what is known as a blood moon.

SpaceX Scrubs Launch of Crew-10 Astronauts for NASA to the I.S.S.

An issue with a ground system that supports the Falcon 9 rocket led to a postponement of at least one day of the latest rotation of space station crews.

Videos Show Narwhals Using Their Tusks to Play With Their Food

Researchers observed a number of surprising behaviors by the ivory-sporting whales during an expedition with drones in the Canadian High Arctic.

NASA Launches Powerful Space Telescope

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from California carrying the telescope, named SPHEREx, along with a suite of satellites called PUNCH.

NASA Launches New Space Telescope and Suite of Solar Satellites

The SPHEREx telescope will create the most colorful map of the cosmos, while the four satellites of the PUNCH mission track the evolution of the solar wind in three dimensions.

Saturn Gains 128 New Moons, Bringing Its Total to 274

The objects around the ringed planet are tiny, but some of them may have formed relatively recently in the solar system’s history.

Orange Alert: What Caused the Colors on This Snowy Owl?

Bird watchers along Lake Huron photographed the bird, which has been nicknamed Rusty and Creamsicle. But there is no consensus about what caused its unusual tint.

Why Are Cats Such a Medical Black Box?

Many aspects of feline health remain a mystery, even to experts. Our cat-owning reporter learned this the hard way.

SpaceX Again Scrubs Launch of NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH Missions

The postponement, driven primarily by thick clouds, was the second scrub of the flight since an issue with the rocket on Saturday night.

NASA Eliminates Chief Scientist and Other Jobs at Its Headquarters

About 19 positions will be cut, including those in offices focused on technology policy and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Think You Understand Your Dog? Think Again.

People interpret a dog’s emotions based on its situation and have “a big blind spot” for the actual animal, a new study found.

Are Genetically Modified Pigs The Future of Organ Transplantation?

How have the first patients fared after receiving organ transplants from genetically modified pigs? Roni Caryn Rabin, a health reporter on the Science desk of The New York Times, looks at the results so far.

SpaceX Scrubs Launch of 2 NASA Satellite Missions

The spacecraft, SPHEREx and PUNCH, had been expected to launch on a SpaceX rocket on Saturday.

Joan Dye Gussow, Pioneer of Eating Locally, Is Dead at 96

An indefatigable gardener, she was one of the first nutritionists to emphasize the connections between farming practices and consumers’ health.

Science, Politics and Anxiety Mix at Rally Under Lincoln Memorial

Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington for Stand Up for Science, a rally in response to President Trump’s federal-funding and job cuts.

Twin Test Flight Explosions Show SpaceX Is No Longer Defying Gravity

Consecutive losses of the Starship rocket suggest that the company’s engineers are not as infallible as its fans may think.

Atomic Detectives Who Inspect Iran Sites Are Affected by Trump’s Aid Freeze

The president’s halt of foreign aid upended two U.S. programs that help the International Atomic Energy Agency find clues about Iran’s drive to build atomic bombs.

Texas Company’s Lander Dies on Moon the Day After Toppled Landing

The Athena lander from Intuitive Machines could not charge its batteries after ending up on its side. It largely failed to accomplish science and technology tasks for NASA and other customers.

Humans Have Been Perfecting Avocados for 7,500 Years

Ancient peoples of Latin America saved the fleshy fruits from extinction and gradually made them tastier.

Debris Rains Down After SpaceX Starship Test Flight

While the Starship’s booster successfully returned to the launchpad, the upper-stage spacecraft failed in space and lost several engines and attitude control on March 6, tumbling in space.

Breakup of SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports

Video showed the upper stage of the most powerful rocket ever built spinning out of control in space, a repeat of an unsuccessful test flight in January that led to debris falling over the Caribbean.

An eclipse is coming on both Earth and the moon.

Expect more moon landings later this year.

The struggles of other spacecraft that shared Athena’s launch to space.

Why it’s easier to fall down on the moon.

Why NASA Is Trying to Go Back to the Moon

President Trump set the U.S. on a path to sending astronauts back to the lunar surface during his first term. Lately he has expressed more interest in Mars.

Athena is bringing wheels and deals to the moon’s surface.

A robot will make a hop, a skip and a jump on the moon’s surface.

This is what will happen when Athena tries to land on the moon.

A drill is the Athena lander’s key cargo.

As Fentanyl Deaths Slow, Meth Comes For Maine

A powerful stimulant that keeps users sleepless for days and triggers psychosis and violence, rattles Portland and its safety networks.

Where Athena is landing.

Hit by ‘Gut Punches,’ Scientists Band Together to Protest Trump

Stand Up for Science aims to revive a movement that started in 2017, but with an all-new team and a more focused vision.

Déjà moon? Another spacecraft just landed on the moon on Sunday.

Intuitive Machines landed on the moon and then tipped over.

Intuitive Machines’ Athena Lander Is on the Moon, but Its Fate Is Unclear

After hours of uncertainty, officials from the Houston company said there are clues that the spacecraft is on its side, which could limit the mission’s scientific accomplishments.

Trove of Ancient Axes Shows Early Humans Made Tools From Bones

Deep in a trench in Tanzania, researchers found dozens of tools crafted from animal bones some 1.5 million years old.

SpaceX Scrubs 8th Starship Rocket Test Flight

The company has made changes to the vehicle, part of which blew up over the Caribbean in January during the seventh test flight. An issue during the countdown halted Monday’s launch.

What a Crab Sees Before It Gets Eaten by a Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish use visual tricks to avoid being eaten. New research shows how they deploy similar camouflage to bamboozle their prey.

Vesuvius Turned One Victim’s Brain to Glass

Heat from the eruption in A.D. 79 was so intense that it vitrified the brain tissue of one unfortunate Herculaneum resident, a new study confirms.

Vesuvius Erupted, but When Exactly?

Two thousand years on, scholars still don’t agree on the day the destruction of Pompeii began. Two new studies only fan the fire.

‘Moon Dust on Our Boots’: Texas Company’s Blue Ghost Lands on Lunar Surface

Firefly Aerospace’s robotic vehicle became the second privately built spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It could soon be joined by two more private lunar landers.

How Fungi Move Among Us

Underground fungal networks are “living algorithms” that quietly help regulate Earth’s climate. Now scientists know what makes them so efficient.

It’s Like Virtual Reality Goggles for Your Mouth

Scientists tested a device that helped volunteers taste flavors meant to represent distant samples of coffee, lemonade, fried eggs, cake and fish soup.

Tea Leaves Can Steep Away Lead, Study Finds

Researchers found that compounds in black and green tea leaves acted like “little Velcro” hooks on lead molecules.

As the E.P.A. Withers, Will Its Museum Follow?

Tucked away near the White House is a tribute to the environmental agency and its history — for the time being, anyway.

NASA Hitches a Ride to the Moon to Map Water for Astronauts

Lunar Trailblazer, an orbiter that shared a launch on Wednesday with the commercial Athena lander, will help scientists understand where the moon’s water is, and what form it takes.

SpaceX Launches Intuitive Machines’ Moon Lander

Onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is Athena, Intuitive Machine’s second moon lander, with instruments designed to dig up lunar soil and search for compounds like frozen water.

Super Pod of Dolphins Plays Off California Coast

A rare superpod of thousands of dolphins was spotted swimming off the coast of Monterey Bay, Calif.

Intuitive Machines’ Athena Lander Launches on Journey to the Moon

The company reached the lunar surface in 2024, and now its second lander aims to improve on the feat. Three other spacecraft also hitched a ride on the SpaceX rocket.

Early Humans Thrived in Rainforests

The discovery clashes with the traditional image of humans evolving on the savannas of East Africa.

Mass Federal Firings May Imperil Crops, Cattle and Pets

The terminations, which hit agencies involved in protecting the nation’s food supply and agricultural products, could have long-lasting consequences, experts said.

NASA Gives ‘All Clear’ for Asteroid That Seemed to Threaten Earth

The odds that the space rock, 2024 YR4, will smash into our planet in 2032 have dropped to nearly zero, leading astronomers to conclude that we are no longer in danger.

F.D.A. Reinstates Fired Medical Device, Food and Legal Staffers

The agency changed course just days after firing employees who oversee the safety of food and life-sustaining medical devices. Dozens of workers said they and others were back at work Monday.

A Parade of Planets Is Marching Through the Night Sky

With Mercury joining the show, all seven of Earth’s celestial neighbors will be present at dusk this week.

Take a Look: A Dark Scottish Isle Where Starlight Reigns Supreme

On Rum, Europe’s newest dark-sky sanctuary, the island’s 40 residents have learned to embrace darkness.

Earth’s 1st Asteroid Mining Prospector Heads to the Launchpad

The dream of mining metals in deep space crashed and burned in the 2010s. AstroForge’s Odin mission to survey a potentially metallic asteroid is packed and ready to lift off.

Accessibility Initiatives Are Taking a Hit Across the Sciences

Confusion has ensued about the future of programs and research supporting people with disabilities as a result of President Trump’s executive order.

Trump Administration Stalls Scientific Research Despite Court Ruling

Using an arcane law, officials have effectively delayed funding from the National Institutes of Health, leaving medical studies in jeopardy.

A Boneyard Along the Thames River Reveals London’s Ancient Burials

Researchers have found dozens of human bones on the banks of the iconic river, many of them thousands of years old.

Dickson Despommier Dies at 84; Championed Farming in Skyscrapers

A Columbia microbiologist, he popularized “vertical farming” — raising crops in tall buildings — to remediate climate change and feed more people.

Will That Asteroid Strike Earth? Risk Level Rises to Highest Ever Recorded.

The threat from space rock 2024 YR4 has surpassed that of Apophis, an asteroid feared by scientists 20 years ago. The danger remains low, but experts are estimating the damage that could be done.

The Gene That Made Mice Squeak Strangely

A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language.

Louis Pasteur’s Relentless Hunt for Germs Floating in the Air

In 19th-century France, the young chemist challenged the theory of spontaneous generation and discovered an invisible world of airborne microbes.

On a Mission to Heal Gila Monsters

After years in Big Pharma, a chemist pivoted to help save the species that made Ozempic possible.

Eleanor Maguire, Memory Expert Who Studied London Cabbies, Dies at 54

By watching the brain process information, she discovered that a specific region plays a key role in spatial navigation — and that it can be strengthened like a muscle.

Meet the Champion Who Memorized 80 Numbers in 13.5 Seconds

This month, Vishvaa Rajakumar won the Memory League World Championship, which tests memorization skills. He shared some of his techniques with The Times.

Hummingbirds Living in a Hive Found for the First Time

In a remote mountain cave in Ecuador, hummingbirds were discovered sleeping and nesting together.

Lasers, Waffle Fries and the Secrets in Pterosaurs’ Tails

Scientists identified new structures in the tail vanes of the prehistoric flying reptiles.

A Mathematician Who Makes the Best of Things

Alessio Figalli studies optimal transport, a field of math that ranges from the movements of clouds to the workings of chatbots.

This City’s Sewer System Is Full of Alligators, but It’s Not New York

Researchers found crocodilians, bats, raccoons and other creatures prowling a Florida town’s storm drains, “like something out of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’” one said.

C.D.C. Study Finds Silent Bird Flu Infections in Dairy Veterinarians

The vets had no symptoms, and one worked only in states where no dairy infections had been reported.

Measles Outbreak Hits Town in Texas

As of Tuesday, 22 children and two adults had been infected, all of whom were unvaccinated, local officials said.

A Deep-Sea Fish of Nightmares Strays Into Shallow Waters

A scary-looking creature with “devil” in its name was spotted close to the surface off Tenerife, a Spanish island.

‘Ultrahigh Energy’ Neutrino Found With a Telescope Under the Sea

It’s the most energetic particle of its kind ever discovered, and scientists have no idea where it came from.

Birds of Paradise Glow on Mating Parade

The always colorful males light up with biofluorescence, sending off signals.

Helen Hays, Who Helped Bring Terns Back to Long Island Sound, Dies at 94

Beginning in 1969, she spent five months a year on Great Gull Island, leading teams of young volunteers devoted to preserving the seabirds.

Her Discovery Wasn’t Alien Life, but Science Has Never Been the Same

The internet erupted in controversy over Felisa Wolfe-Simon and colleagues’ claim of a microbe thriving on arsenic. Nearly 15 years later, she’s pursuing new research on the boundaries of life.

Scientists Detect Shape-Shifting Along Earth’s Solid Inner Core

The new research adds to the mysteries of the planet’s deepest interior region.

Ban on D.E.I. Language Sweeps Through the Sciences

President Trump’s executive order is altering scientific exploration across a broad swath of fields, even beyond government agencies, researchers say.

But how much does breed shape a dog’s health and behavior?

Here’s what scientists have learned about how a dog’s breed affects its health and behavior.

Why the Odds of an Asteroid Striking Earth in 2032 Keep Going Up (and Down)

NASA and European scientists explain how they calculate the probability of the space rock 2024 YR4 impacting our planet, and why it’s not yet time to worry.

Curses! A Swearing Expert Mulls the State of Profanity.

Timothy Jay, a scholar in the science of swearing, has a few choice words about why we curse and how to cut back (if you want to).

Scared of Spiders? Also Scared of Zombies? We Have Some Bad News.

A BBC documentary crew in Northern Ireland stumbled upon a fungus that hijacks spiders in an arachnid version of “The Last of Us.”

Humpback Whales Sing the Way Humans Speak

The animals’ complex songs share structural patterns with human language that may make them easier for whales to learn, a new study suggests.

What Lurks in This Flower’s Bizarrely Large Y Chromosome?

Scientists published a full genetic sequence of the genes that make some white campions male, and hope their work could unlock how the flower got that way.

How to Boil an Egg? Scientists Claim to Have Cracked the Recipe.

Their new method takes 32 minutes.

Fossils Preserve Both Skin and Scales From an Ancient Sea Monster

The mix of features offers new clues to how plesiosaurs navigated prehistoric oceans.

Ancient DNA Points to Origins of Indo-European Language

A new study claims to have identified the first speakers of Indo-European language, which gave rise to English, Sanskrit and hundreds of others.

The Physics That Keeps a Crowd From Becoming a Stampede

A group of scientists studying the San Fermín festival in Pamplona, Spain, believe there’s a way to predict the motions of a large crowd.

The Search for the Original Silly Goose in the Fossil Record

Some paleontologists think that fossils recovered from Antarctica are evidence of birds similar to modern geese and ducks that lived alongside the dinosaurs.

NASA Gave Up a Ride to the Moon. This Startup’s Rover Took It.

After the space agency canceled its VIPER rover, an empty space was available on a private spacecraft that will still head to the lunar surface.

Grand Canyons on the Moon Were Made in a Matter of Minutes

Scientists proposed an explanation for the formation of Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck near the lunar south pole, which are each about the size of Earth’s Grand Canyon.

It’s 89 Seconds Until Doomsday and Her First Day on the Job

Alexandra Bell is bringing more than a decade of experience in nuclear policy to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organization that sets the Doomsday Clock.

NASA Astronaut Recruitment Faces Trump’s Moves Against D.E.I.

The government space agency has vocally promoted diversity and inclusion for decades, even during the first Trump administration.

Eerie Light Haunts a Southern Town. It May Come From Under the Earth.

A seismologist thinks natural phenomena could explain the Summerville Light and other mysteries around a South Carolina locale.

Something Small Is Killing Great White Sharks

Faced with a rash of shark deaths marked by brain swelling, Canadian and American scientists are trying to solve a marine mystery.

This Carnivore Turned Up in Egypt After Vanishing 5,000 Years Ago

When a scientist received a video of a spotted hyena in the southern part of his country, he thought someone was playing a trick on him.

See Lucy Run, 3.2 Million Years Ago

Our early human ancestor was capable of running, if slowly, a new study finds.

A Flag on Mars? Maybe Not So Soon.

Orbital dynamics show that President Trump’s pledge to land astronauts on Mars couldn’t happen until 2029 at the earliest.

Kennedy startles senators with his lack of knowledge on health agencies.