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Science

Highlights

  1. Photo
    The new pangenome reference resembles a corn maze, with alternative paths and side trails that allow scientists to explore a broader range of the genetic diversity found in people the world over.
    CreditDarryl Leja/NHGRI

    Scientists Unveil a More Diverse Human Genome

    The “pangenome,” which collated genetic sequences from 47 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, could greatly expand the reach of personalized medicine.

     By Elie Dolgin

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    Patricia Craige Trotter, judging Connor, an Old English sheepdog, during the 2021 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. “What we’re doing is trying to achieve a level of near perfection in creating a working animal,” she said.
    CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

    What It Takes to Be Top Dog Judge

    For these canine experts, an invitation to pick the winners of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is an honor — and a serious responsibility.

     By Emily Anthes

  2. Trilobites
    Photo
    CreditJohn P. Dessereau

    All Hail the King (of the Termites)

    The bugs are unique among colony-forming insects in that their queens cannot rule without a king.

     By Elizabeth Preston

  3. Photo
    The eye of Sauron, as depicted in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” the 2001 film adaptation directed by Peter Jackson.
    CreditMaximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo

    New Butterflies Are Named for Sauron, ‘Lord of the Rings’ Villain

    The distinctive marks on the newly identified insects resemble the baleful eye of Sauron, the dark lord in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series.

     By Chris Stanford

  4. Trilobites
    Photo
    An anhinga, also known as the devil bird, spotted in Prospect Park last month.
    CreditChristopher Rigobello

    The ‘Devil Bird’ Lands in New York, With More Likely to Come

    Anhingas, water birds with snakelike necks, have turned up in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and far upstate, a sign of shifting ranges for birds from the South.

     By James Crugnale

  5. Photo
    CreditR. Hurt/K. Miller (Caltech, IPAC)

    It’s the End of a World as We Know It

    Astronomers spotted a dying star swallowing a large planet, a discovery that fills in a “missing link” in understanding the fates of Earth and many other planets.

     By Becky Ferreira

Trilobites

More in Trilobites ›
  1. Photo
    Emerging from the Brazilian milk fruit flower with pollen grains on its back.
    CreditCarlos Henrique de-Oliveira-Nogueira

    Fruitarian Frogs May Be Doing Flowers a Favor

    Researchers may have discovered the first example of a frog that pollinates flowering plants.

     By Sofia Quaglia

  2. Photo
    CreditFabian et al., bioRxiv 2023

    Why Are Insects Drawn to Light? A Perennial Question Gets a New Answer.

    A new study offers an alternative to earlier explanations for why moths and other bugs are attracted to artificial sources of illumination.

     By Joshua Sokol

  3. Photo
    CreditKusini Safaris

    Why Do Apes Like to Spin? Maybe for the Same Reasons as People.

    Videos of both captive and wild nonhuman primates suggest an enjoyment of the dizzy buzz that comes from whirling in circles.

     By Rachel Nuwer

  4. Photo
    Scientists performed brain surgery on goldfish to place electrodes threaded through tiny holes in the fish’s skull, to a recording device attached to its head that could monitor neuronal activity.
    CreditLear Cohen

    Why Researchers Turned This Goldfish Into a Cyborg

    Neuroscientists are examining how fish navigate their world using different brain circuits than those relied on by mammals like us.

     By Kate Golembiewski

  5. Photo
    Sarracenia X leucophylla.
    CreditLaurence Gaume

    Carnivorous Plants Use a Smelly Trick to Catch Their Prey

    A study suggests that pitcher plants tailor the smells they produce to woo particular kinds of insects.

     By Veronique Greenwood

Climate and Environment

More in Climate and Environment ›
  1. Photo
    Sea turtles and sea lions on the beaches of Isabela Island in the Galápagos Islands.
    CreditJosh Haner/The New York Times

    Ecuador Strikes a Landmark Deal to Protect the Galápagos, and Save Cash

    A creative debt restructuring will save the country money and create a fund to protect waters around the Galápagos Islands.

     By Catrin Einhorn

  2. Photo
    Oil platforms near Port Fourchon, La. Decades of drilling has left 14,000 old, unplugged wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
    CreditChris Carmichael for The New York Times

    Price to Plug Old Wells in Gulf of Mexico? $30 Billion, Study Says.

    There are roughly 14,000 old, unplugged wells in the gulf that are at risk of springing leaks or causing environmental damage, researchers found.

     By Hiroko Tabuchi

  3. Photo
    Solar panel cells on a conveyor in the new Hanwha Qcells factory in Dalton, Ga.
    CreditElijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

    Companies Flock to Biden’s Climate Tax Breaks, Driving Up Cost

    A law to boost clean energy appears to be more potent than predicted, with big implications for both budget talks and efforts to fight climate change.

     By Jim Tankersley and Brad Plumer

  4. Photo
    Sultan al-Jaber called for a tripling of renewable energy capacity this decade and said the world was “way off track” in meeting its emissions reductions pledges.
    CreditBernd Von Jutrczenka/DPA, via Associated Press

    Oil Executive Who Heads U.N. Climate Talks Hints at His Approach

    In a speech, Sultan al-Jaber, the Emirati official presiding over this year’s climate summit, spoke of emissions cuts, but experts also cited ambiguity in his statements.

     By Max Bearak

  5. Photo
    CreditJordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times

    The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin

    Bitcoin mines cash in on electricity — by devouring it, selling it, even turning it off — and they cause immense pollution. In many cases, the public pays a price.

     By Gabriel J.X. Dance, Tim Wallace and Zach Levitt

  1. F.D.A. Advisers Say Benefits of Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Outweigh Risks

    The agency is expected to decide this summer whether to allow the first nonprescription sales of an oral contraceptive in the United States.

    By Pam Belluck

     

  2. Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise in Small Trial

    Using mRNA tailored to each patient’s tumor, the vaccine may have staved off the return of one of the deadliest forms of cancer in half of those who received it.

    By Benjamin Mueller

     

  3. F.D.A. Advisers Weigh Allowing First U.S. Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill

    The panel will vote Wednesday on whether the risks outweigh the benefits. The company says the tablet, Opill, is safe and easy to use but F.D.A. scientists have concerns about the data.

    By Pam Belluck

     

  4. U.S. Loses Key Case on Rights to H.I.V.-Prevention Drugs

    A jury sided with Gilead Sciences in a dispute over whether the government could claim a share of profits from drugs seen as crucial to ending the H.I.V. epidemic.

    By Rebecca Robbins

     

  5. When Should Women Get Regular Mammograms? At 40, U.S. Panel Now Says.

    The new advice comes as breast cancer diagnoses rise among younger women and mortality rates among Black women remain persistently high.

    By Roni Caryn Rabin

     

  6. New Mammogram Advice: What to Know

    If you’re at average risk for breast cancer, start getting mammograms at 40 and go every two years, an influential scientific panel says. Many women were doing it anyway.

    By Roni Caryn Rabin

     

  7. Theodor Diener, Who Discovered the Tiniest of Infectious Agents, Dies at 102

    The cause of a potato disease bedeviled scientists for decades before Dr. Diener figured out that an impossibly small pathogen called a viroid was to blame.

    By Daniel E. Slotnik

     

  8. Stanley Deser, Whose Ideas on Gravity Help Explain the Universe, Dies at 92

    His theory of supergravity sought to bridge quantum mechanics and general relativity, a potential step toward a theory of everything.

    By Kenneth Chang

     

  9. Overlooked No More: James Sakoda, Whose Wartime Internment Inspired a Social Science Tool

    After documenting his experience in Japanese American internment camps, Sakoda helped bring the study of human behavior to the computer age.

    By Elizabeth Landau and Ben Klemens

     

  10. Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices at Rapid Pace

    Large health insurers and other companies are especially keen on doctors’ groups that care for patients in private Medicare plans.

    By Reed Abelson