Science News
A Special ‘Climate’ Visa? People in Tuvalu Are Applying Fast.
Nearly half the citizens of the tiny Pacific Island nation have already applied in a lottery for Australian visas amid an existential threat from global warming and sea-level rise.
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.
Mike Lee’s Plan to Sell Public Lands Faces MAGA Pushback
They love hunting, fishing and conservatism. And they hate a plan by a conservative senator to sell millions of acres of public lands.
Critical Hurricane Monitoring Data Is Going Offline
The loss of access to the data could hamstring forecasters’ ability to track hurricanes and warn residents of their risk.
Human Activity Is Driving the Evolution of Wild Animals, New Studies Find
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.
Mysterious Fireball Reported Over South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee
A glowing object lit up the sky, prompting dozens of calls to the authorities, as scientists scrambled to figure out what it was.
RFK Jr.’s New Advisers Rescind Recommendations for Some Flu Vaccines
Panelists pulled back some endorsements for certain vaccines containing a preservative that critics have falsely linked to autism.
Debris From SpaceX Explosion, Landing in Mexico, Draws Investigation
Mexican environmental activists say detritus raining down from Elon Musk’s rocket company has caused die-offs of marine life.
Global Warming Is Speeding Up and the World Is Feeling the Effects
Human-caused global warming has been increasing faster and faster since the 1970s.
Republicans Propose a New Way to Scrap Fuel Economy Rules: No Fines
For 50 years, automakers have had to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicles or pay fines. The Republican megabill would set those penalties to $0.
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 Ocean 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.
RFK Jr. Accuses Gavi, Global Vaccine Agency, of Ignoring Science
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed that the agency, Gavi, had “ignored the science” in immunizing children around the world.
C.D.C. Vaccine Meeting: What to Watch For
Hints of a more skeptical approach to immunizations have already surfaced.