Science News
Earth Is Spinning Faster, Making Some Summer Days Shorter
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, Revealed’ Series Did You Retain? Try This Quiz.
Our series reveals the math hidden in familiar places. How much do you know about taxicab geometry, triangular numbers, the golden ratio and more?
RFK Jr. Cancels Meeting of Key Preventive Health Panel
The task force recommends which screenings and other preventive health measures must be covered by insurance.
F.D.A. Posts Collection of Letters Outlining Concerns About New Drugs
The letters, many of which were already available online, detail why the regulators initially declined to approve some drugs. All eventually passed muster.
Justice Dept. Demands Private Patient Info From Trans Youth Medicine Providers
Doctors and hospitals were subpoenaed for private information on gender-related care for minors, the latest move by the Trump administration to stop the treatments.
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, Is Dead at 86
An author and a professor, he taught a popular and entertaining psychology course at Cornell that focused on the importance of sleep, including “power naps.”
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.
Maya Ruler’s Tomb Is Unearthed in Belize, With Clues to His Ancient World
A rare mosaic death mask made of jadeite and vessels in the shapes of an owl, a monkey and coati-mundi were found with the ruler.
Trump’s D.E.I. Cuts Are Hurting Rural, White Americans, Too
The N.I.H. has terminated hundreds of diversity grants awarded to young scientists, many of whom come from the very places that supported Trump.
Sonoran Desert Toads, With Their Psychedelic Powers, Appear to Be in Decline
New research suggests Sonoran Desert toads went into steep decline after stories of their mind-bending chemical properties began circulating among drug users.
Trump Names Sean Duffy as Interim Head of NASA
President Trump had pulled the nomination of a close associate of Elon Musk to lead the agency in May. The decision fueled a public breakdown of their alliance.
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.
Recipients of a U.S. Climate Science Fellowship Are Put on Unpaid Leave
Researchers in the NOAA program were furloughed because funds to pay them were not available.
Life Expectancy in California Has Not Rebounded After Covid
The state’s life expectancy was lower in 2024 than in 2019, according to an analysis, but primarily as a result of causes of death other than Covid.
Measles Cases Hit Record High Since U.S. Eliminated Disease
Experts worry that if vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks will become the new normal.
New Research Questions Severity of Withdrawal From Antidepressants
Warnings about withdrawal from antidepressants have rippled through society in recent years. A new study claims they are overblown.
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.
Research Suggests Climate Change Added Excess Deaths in European Heat Wave
The rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution calculated that climate change might have tripled the death toll from the event.
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.