Science News
Controversial Dakota Pipeline Gets a Big, Belated Government Boost
A delayed environmental review cleared the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue operating. Separately, a North Dakota judge expressed unusual exasperation over the tangled legal battles.
Museum of the Earth and Its Fossil Collection Fight Their Own Extinction
A funding crisis at the Museum of the Earth and the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, N.Y., could scatter priceless specimens and end nearly a century of pioneering research.
The Meek Really Did Inherit the Earth, at Least Among Ants
How did ants take over the world? The answer may be skin deep.
A Somber Mood at Science Meeting as Trump Budget Cuts Continue
News of the breakup of a leading science institution rippled through an annual gathering of Earth, ocean and space scientists. Many say American science is suffering under the Trump administration.
F.D.A. Turmoil Keeps Spotlight on Its Commissioner
The agency’s high-level turnover and conflicting policy decisions on drug oversight have fueled concerns about the leadership of Dr. Marty Makary.
NASA Webb Telescope Discovers Lemon-Shaped Planet, the ‘Stretchiest’ Ever Seen
An unusual object orbiting a rapidly spinning star might be a new phenomenon in the universe.
Trump Moves to End Gender-Related Care for Minors, Threatening Hospitals That Offer It
Proposed new rules would punish the hospitals by pulling all federal financing. Advocates say lawsuits will follow.
She Tracked Fish That Coastal Communities Depend On. Then She Was Fired From NOAA.
Ana Vaz monitored crucial fish stocks in the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico until she lost her job at NOAA.
Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Run NASA as Space Program Is in Peril
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire nominated twice to lead the agency, may draw some lessons from the tenure of another NASA leader in the 1990s.
National Center for Atmospheric Research to Be Dismantled, Trump Administration Says
Russell Vought, the White House budget director, called the laboratory a source of “climate alarmism.”
More Than 2,000 Dinosaur Footprints Are Found in the Italian Alps
Two hundred million years ago, prosauropods walked the earth. They left something behind.
Greenpeace’s Fight With Pipeline Giant Exposes a Legal Loophole
A court filing by a group with deep ties to the pipeline company Energy Transfer raises questions about the growing use of amicus briefs in litigation.
MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro Is Fatally Shot in His Brookline, Mass., Home
The professor, Nuno F.G. Loureiro, was pronounced dead at a hospital on Tuesday morning. The authorities said they had opened a homicide investigation.
Penguins Become Prey for the Pumas of Patagonia
In Argentina, the return of pumas brought top predators back to the landscape — much to penguins’ dismay.
When the Bones Were Good, These Bees Buried Their Babies
A cave in the Dominican Republic concealed thousands of years worth of animal bones that had been turned into nests by prehistoric bees.
Research Flights Over the Atlantic Could Help Improve Atmospheric River Forecasting
A global effort to better understand moisture-laden rivers in the sky, like those currently battering the West Coast, will take flight in January.
U.S. Is Seeking Exemption From a European Climate Law, Officials Say
Diplomats told E.U. officials that the bloc’s law on methane, a potent greenhouse gas, would hurt American oil and gas companies.
Arctic Report Card Marks Record Temperatures and Rainfall in Arctic
A yearly checkup on the region documents a warmer, rainier Arctic and 200 Alaskan rivers “rusting” as melting tundra leaches minerals from the soil into waterways.
Ruth Kiew Dies at 79; Botanist Made Discoveries in Remote Forests
Trekking across Malaysia, her adopted country, she found more than 150 unrecorded plant species. “She’s one of the greatest botanists who ever lived,” a colleague said.
Heart Association Revives Theory That Light Drinking May Be Good for You
The American Heart Association report runs contrary to recent studies — and the group’s own guidelines — that found any amount of alcohol to be harmful.