Science News
Is There Anything Google’s Fruit Fly Brain Can’t Do?
Models of the insect’s nervous system have been trained to solve a Rubik’s Cube, play video games and even parallel park a car.
A T. Rex Walked Here: Teacher Finds Rare Footprints in North Dakota
Kent Hups, a high school science teacher in Colorado, discovered a 23-foot trackway of fossilized dinosaur footprints, which offer a glimpse of how the apex predator moved 66 million years ago.
Disaster Survivors Sticking Together
We found grace, humanity and friendship in the stories of disparate Americans hit by climate chaos.
Harold Freeman, Who Helped Remove Barriers to Cancer Treatment, Dies at 93
He developed a program that became a model for hospitals around the world, making it easier for poor Black patients to navigate an onerous bureaucratic system.
FEMA Could Still Lose More Jobs Despite Court Ruling
A plan to halve the agency’s sprawling work force was illegal, a judge ruled. But the court is not blocking other FEMA cuts.
Exoplanets Offer Clues to What Lies Beyond Our Solar System
Thousands of planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, offering clues to where life might thrive and whether Earth is truly unique.
U.S. Has Deployed Weapons in Space, Air Force Secretary Says
Troy E. Meink’s comments were the first public acknowledgment of American weapons in orbit. The Pentagon has been preparing for potential conflict in space with Russia or China.
Whether Chemistry or the Cosmos, Always Looking at the Bigger Picture
The Times’s Science section is introducing new columns, projects and more as part of its online relaunch.
Do You Have Questions About A.I.? We Want to Answer Them.
The New York Times is soliciting readers’ questions about the dangers — and benefits — posed by artificial intelligence.
An Armadillo Arrives in … Ohio?
Traditionally found in warm climates, like the American Southwest, armadillos have been migrating farther and farther north, researchers say.
Trump Administration Moves to Integrate A.I. Into Medical Care Despite Concerns
Federal projects are rolling out A.I. agents that offer therapy and prescribe medicine, raising concerns about safety and the influence of venture capital investors.
A Teen Autopsy Marks the Arrival of a Deadly Drug in San Francisco
City officials — and one determined mother — are working to stop the spread of cychlorphine, which is far more potent than fentanyl.
Is A.I. Raising the Chances of Biological Warfare?
Current chatbots aren’t likely to help lone actors invent a deadly pathogen, experts say. But newer models, trained in biology, may need stronger safeguards.
Global Warming Will Breach the 1.5 Degree Celsius Limit. Now What?
As global temperature increase shoots past 1.5 degrees Celsius, the vulnerable countries that fought for that Paris Agreement target face a brutal new reality.
Most People Don’t Think About Culverts. Their Failure Can Be Deadly.
Scientists simulated what happens when the pipes and tunnels that divert rainwater fail. In one scenario, 30 percent of local residents couldn’t reach an E.R.
A Mastodon Tooth Is Discovered in a California Creek
A researcher surveying a San Mateo County creek stumbled upon a preserved Pacific mastodon molar estimated to be at least 10,000 years old.
As Millions of Birds Migrate, Residents Are Asked to Turn Off the Lights
Birds are drawn to lights, and more than a billion die each year after crashing into buildings, experts said.
Court Strikes Down Trump Order to Keep an Aging Coal-Burning Plant Running
The 64-year-old Michigan power plant was set to retire. Then the Trump administration intervened in a way that overstepped its authority, a court ruled.
Mercury Is Shrinking, and Faster Than We Thought
New estimates using the planet’s surface wrinkles show that our smallest planet is growing even smaller, at a faster clip than expected.
Racing to Contain Invasive Green Crabs in Puget Sound
Tribes and scientists are mounting an urgent trapping effort to keep European green crabs from devastating a corner of Puget Sound.