Origins
What Makes a Society More Resilient? Frequent Hardship.
Comparing 30,000 years of human history, researchers found that surviving famine, war or climate change helps groups recover more quickly from future shocks.
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Swimming Beneath Sand, It’s ‘the Hardest of All Animals to Find’
Indigenous rangers in Australia’s Western Desert got a rare close-up with the northern marsupial mole, which is tiny, light-colored and blind, and almost never comes to the surface.
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CreditKanyirninpa Jukurrpa Martu Rangers - A Conversation With
Edward Dwight Aims for Space at Last
Six decades ago, Mr. Dwight’s shot at becoming the first Black astronaut in space was thwarted by racism and politics. Now, at 90, he’s finally going up.
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CreditNathan Bajar for The New York Times
Killer Asteroid Hunters Spot 27,500 Overlooked Space Rocks
With the help of Google Cloud, scientists churned through hundreds of thousands of images of the night sky to reveal that the solar system is filled with unseen objects.
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CreditB612 Asteroid Institute/University of Washington DiRAC Institute/OpenSpace Project Could a better understanding of how infants acquire language help us build smarter A.I. models?
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CreditHiroko Masuike/The New York Times MindHoneybees Invaded My House, and No One Would Help
Responding to fears of a “honeybee collapse,” 30 states have passed laws to protect the pollinators. But when they invaded my house, I learned that the honeybees didn’t need saving.
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CreditYann Guichaoua/Creatas Video+, via Getty Images Plus They Shoot Owls in California, Don’t They?
An audacious federal plan to protect the spotted owl would eradicate hundreds of thousands of barred owls in the coming years.
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CreditGerry Ellis/Minden Pictures Ancient Female Ballplayer Makes Public Debut
The statue will be part of “Ancient Huasteca Women: Goddesses, Warriors and Governors” at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
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Trilobites
More in Trilobites ›A Megaraptor Emerges From Footprint Fossils
A series of foot tracks in southeastern China points to the discovery of a giant velociraptor relative, paleontologists suggest in a new study.
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CreditYingliang Stone Natural History Museum In Coral Fossils, Searching for the First Glow of Bioluminescence
A new study resets the timing for the emergence of bioluminescence back to millions of years earlier than previously thought.
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CreditNOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Deepwater Wonders of Wake Like Moths to a Flame? We May Need a New Phrase.
Over time researchers have found fewer of the insects turning up in light traps, suggesting they may be less attracted to some kinds of light than they once were.
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CreditAnton Sorokin/Alamy This Lava Tube in Saudi Arabia Has Been a Human Refuge for 7,000 Years
Ancient humans left behind numerous archaeological traces in the cavern, and scientists say there may be thousands more like it on the Arabian Peninsula to study.
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CreditPalaeodeserts Project An 11-Year-Old Girl’s Fossil Find Is the Largest Known Ocean Reptile
When Ruby Reynolds and her father found a fossil on an English beach, they didn’t know it belonged to an 82-foot ichthyosaur that swam during the days of the dinosaurs.
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CreditSergey Krasovskiy
Origins
More in Origins ›¿Por qué las mujeres padecen más enfermedades autoinmunes? Un estudio apunta al cromosoma X
Las moléculas que se adhieren al segundo cromosoma X de las mujeres lo silencian y pueden confundir al sistema inmunitario, según un nuevo estudio.
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CreditBiophoto Associates/Science Source Fossil Trove From 74,000 Years Ago Points to Remarkably Adaptive Humans
An archaeological site in Ethiopia revealed the oldest-known arrowheads and the remnants of a major volcanic eruption.
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CreditBlue Nile Survey Project Why Do Whales Go Through Menopause?
A new study argues that the change brought these females an evolutionary advantage — and perhaps did the same for humans.
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CreditLouise Johns for The New York Times Tras la pista de los denisovanos
El ADN ha demostrado que esos humanos ya extintos se extendieron por todo el mundo, desde la fría Siberia hasta el Tíbet, a una gran altitud, quizá incluso en las islas del Pacífico.
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CreditMaayan Harel/Universidad Hebrea en Jerusalén, vía Associated Press On the Trail of the Denisovans
DNA has shown that the extinct humans thrived around the world, from chilly Siberia to high-altitude Tibet — perhaps even in the Pacific islands.
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CreditMaayan Harel/Hebrew University in Jerusalem, via Associated Press
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Climate and Environment
More in Climate and Environment ›Drought That Snarled Panama Canal Was Linked to El Niño, Study Finds
The low water levels that choked cargo traffic were more closely tied to the natural climate cycle than to human-caused warming, a team of scientists has concluded.
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CreditNathalia Angarita for The New York Times Corn to Power Airplanes? Biden Administration Sets a High Bar.
Producers of biofuels like ethanol, which could help create a new generation of jet fuel, would have to overhaul their practices to receive tax credits.
By Max Bearak and
CreditTim Gruber for The New York Times U.S. Plan to Protect Oceans Has a Problem, Some Say: Too Much Fishing
An effort to protect 30 percent of land and waters would count some commercial fishing zones as conserved areas.
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CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times Environmental Prize Highlights Work to Keep Fossil Fuels at Bay
Around the world, grass-roots organizers and Indigenous communities are taking proposed coal, oil and gas projects to court — and winning.
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CreditRogan Ward/Reuters Is Online Shopping Bad for the Planet?
In theory, getting deliveries can be more efficient than driving to the store. But you may still want to think before you add to cart.
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CreditNaomi Anderson-Subryan
Pasteurized Dairy Foods Free of Live Bird Flu, Federal Tests Confirm
But the scope of the outbreak among cattle remains uncertain, and little human testing has been done.
By Noah Weiland and Linda Qiu
Senators Slam UnitedHealth’s C.E.O. Over Cyberattack
Several lawmakers questioned whether the company had become so large — with tentacles in every aspect of the nation’s medical care — that the effects of the hack were outsize.
By Reed Abelson and Noah Weiland
Aspirin Can Prevent a Deadly Pregnancy Complication. Why Aren’t Women Told?
Women at risk for extreme high blood pressure should take a daily baby aspirin. But their doctors don’t always tell them.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
Werner Spitz, ‘Medical Detective’ in High-Profile Murders, Dies at 97
He figured in the examination of sensational cases involving President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., O.J. Simpson and others.
By Trip Gabriel
Water Heaters Use Lots of Energy. The D.O.E. Wants to Change That.
The Biden administration is tightening efficiency rules for water heaters, stoves and other appliances, and conservative politicians are dialing up their criticisms.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
In Reversal, Expert Panel Recommends Breast Cancer Screening at 40
Some researchers said the advice did not go far enough. The panel also declined to recommend extra scans for women with dense breast tissue.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
Philips Settles CPAP Breathing Device Lawsuits for $1.1 Billion
Thousands of people with sleep apnea and other illnesses had sued the company, claiming flawed devices were harming them.
By Christina Jewett
Physical Fitness Linked to Better Mental Health in Young People
A new study bolsters existing research suggesting that exercise can protect against anxiety, depression and attention challenges.
By Matt Richtel
U.S. Lags Behind Other Countries in Hepatitis-C Treatment
Despite an arsenal of drugs, many Americans are still unaware of their infections until it’s too late. A Biden initiative languishes without Congressional approval.
By Ted Alcorn
Museums Are Changing How They Bring Natural Sciences to Life
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is rolling out two new exhibition halls and making its scientists more accessible. And don’t forget the dinosaurs.
By John Hanc
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