This Bigheaded Fossil Turned Up in a Place No One Expected to Find It
An ancient aquatic predator resembling a giant salamander turned up in an African fossil deposit, suggesting unwritten chapters of how animals moved onto land.
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![An artist’s life reconstruction of Gaiasia jennyae, an eight-foot salamander-like predator that lived 280 million years ago.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2024/07/03/multimedia/03tb-salamander-promo/03tb-salamander-promo-videoLarge.jpg?auto=webp)
An ancient aquatic predator resembling a giant salamander turned up in an African fossil deposit, suggesting unwritten chapters of how animals moved onto land.
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Scientists used techniques from the field of gravitational wave astronomy to argue that the Antikythera mechanism contained a lunar calendar.
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A former national security adviser says Washington “must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world,” while critics say the move could incite a global arms race that heightens the risk of war.
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A New York Times investigation found that Elon Musk exploited federal agencies’ competing missions to achieve his goals for space travel.
By Eric Lipton and
Earth Just Reached Its Greatest Distance From the Sun
Our planet whirls around the sun in an ellipse, rather than a circle. On Friday the planet reached its farthest point from its star, known as aphelion.
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Melodies of Popular Songs Have Gotten Simpler Over Time
A new study that reviewed Billboard hits from the past 73 years found a steady simplification of rhythm and pitch.
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How the Denisovans Survived the Ice Age
A trove of animal bone fragments from a cave on the Tibetan plateau reveals how Denisovans thrived in a harsh climate for over 100,000 years.
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Videos Show Ants Amputating Nest Mates’ Legs to Save Their Lives
The insects seem to know which injuries to treat as they engage in a behavior that seems almost human.
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Mathematicians and hobbyists have had a half-century of fun exploring the 43 billion billion permutations of Erno Rubik’s creation.
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How Science Went to the Dogs (and Cats)
Pets were once dismissed as trivial scientific subjects. Today, companion animal science is hot.
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Their Job Is to Help You Grieve Your Pet
Though still rare, social workers in animal hospitals are growing in their ranks.
By Katie Thomas and
The Pet ‘Superheroes’ Who Donate Their Blood
Transfusions have become an important part of veterinary medicine, but cat and dog blood is not always easy to come by.
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Why You’re Paying Your Veterinarian So Much
People have grown more attached to their pets — and more willing to spend money on them — turning animal medicine into a high-tech industry worth billions.
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Are We Loving Our Pets to Death?
Pet owners are treating their animal charges ever more like humans. But that isn’t good for pets, or for us, many experts argue.
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A Trilobite Pompeii Preserves Exquisite Fossils in Volcanic Ash
A fossil bed in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco is allowing new insights into the anatomies of arthropods that lived a half-billion years ago.
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If You Give a Frog a Sauna, It Might Fight Off a Deadly Fungus
A fatal fungal disease has devastated the world’s amphibians. But the fungus has a vulnerability: It cannot tolerate heat.
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Scientists Find First Evidence That Butterflies Crossed an Ocean
Researchers discovered painted ladies on a South American beach and then built a case that they started their journey in Europe or Africa.
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Videos Show That Leeches Can Jump in Pursuit of Blood
There has long been anecdotal evidence of the wormy creatures taking to the air, but videos recorded in Madagascar at last prove the animals’ acrobatics.
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Lokiceratops, a Horned Dinosaur, May Be a New Species
Researchers analyzed a skull found in Montana of a plant-eating member of the ceratops family, finding distinct traits.
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How Flounder Wound Up With an Epic Side-Eye
Flatfish offer an evolutionary puzzle: How did one eye gradually migrate to the other side?
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A group of neuroscientists argue that our words are primarily for communicating, not for reasoning.
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Was This Sea Creature Our Ancestor? Scientists Turn a Famous Fossil on Its Head.
Researchers have long assumed that a tube in the famous Pikaia fossil ran along the animal’s back. But a new study turned the fossil upside down.
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Scientists Find the Largest Known Genome Inside a Small Plant
A fern from a Pacific island carries 50 times as much DNA as humans do.
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Scientists Calculated the Energy Needed to Carry a Baby. Shocker: It’s a Lot.
In humans, the energetic cost of pregnancy is about 50,000 dietary calories — far higher than previously believed, a new study found.
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Can the Labour Party Bring Back Britain’s Green Groove?
The new government, to be led by Labour, has pledged to fast-track a green energy transition. It will face big challenges.
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How Future Hurricanes Could Stress Power Grids of U.S. Cities
A new analysis shows increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes could cause more devastating interruptions to the power grid.
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A Ban on Elephant Hunting Has Collapsed. Or Maybe It Never Existed.
Five bulls from the area around a Kenyan wildlife reserve have been shot and killed in Tanzania in recent months. The countries have very different conservation strategies.
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‘A Roller Coaster in a Carwash’: Why Scientists Are Flying Into Hurricane Beryl
Gathering data from directly inside the storm can help emergency managers prepare for what’s to come.
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As Solar Power Surges, U.S. Wind Is in Trouble
A 2022 climate law was expected to set off a boom in renewable energy. So far, that’s only come partly true.
By Brad Plumer and
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On at least 19 occasions since 2019, SpaceX’s operations have caused fires, leaks and explosions near its launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. These incidents reflect a broader debate over how to balance technological and economic progress against protections of delicate ecosystems and local communities. The New York Times investigative reporter Eric Lipton explains.
By Eric Lipton, Christina Shaman, Gabriel Blanco, James Surdam and Dave Horn
Many Americans plan to donate their organs for transplants or their bodies for medical science. Few realize that there’s a growing need for their brains, too.
By Paula Span
Both have gotten caught up in fights over plastic packaging. When Costco recently tried to trim its plastic use by selling rotisserie chickens in bags, some shoppers disapproved.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
After years of delay, millions of malaria vaccines are being supplied to children in Africa. Tens of thousands died waiting.
By Stephanie Nolen
He found that a failed contraceptive, tamoxifen, could block the growth of cancer cells, opening up a whole new class of treatment.
By Clay Risen
Satellite signals run the modern world. See just how vulnerable they are.
By Selam Gebrekidan, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Pablo Robles and Jeremy White
The drug, Kisunla, made by Eli Lilly, is the latest in a new class of treatments that could modestly slow cognitive decline in initial stages of the disease but also carry safety risks.
By Pam Belluck
The speed of decline in the Juneau Ice Field, an expanse of 1,050 interconnected glaciers, has doubled in recent decades, scientists discovered.
By Raymond Zhong
An object found on a hiking trail west of Asheville, N.C., had traveled to the International Space Station, the space agency said.
By Amanda Holpuch
Flooding in Ruidoso, N.M., over the weekend showed how wildfire damage, worsening under climate change, can put people at even greater risk than the fires themselves.
By Austyn Gaffney
The commercial company Space Pioneer said the accident occurred because of a structural failure in the connection between the rocket and its testing platform.
By Yan Zhuang and John Liu
She developed one of the first modern intensive care units for premature babies, helping newborns to breathe with lifesaving new treatments.
By Randi Hutter Epstein
Researchers at the University of Tokyo published findings on a method of attaching artificial skin to robot faces to protect machinery and mimic human expressiveness.
By Emily Schmall
Scientists say that findings from a small experiment lend hope the outbreak among dairy cattle can potentially be contained.
By Carl Zimmer
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By analyzing dog bones buried at the site, scientists found butcher marks and surprising breeds.
By Carl Zimmer
The statement followed a report in The Times that a federal health official had urged the removal of age minimums from treatment guidelines for transgender minors.
By Roni Caryn Rabin, Teddy Rosenbluth and Noah Weiland
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend additional weeks in orbit as teams on the ground study malfunctioning thrusters on the Starliner spacecraft.
By Kenneth Chang
Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at City College, published studies supporting simufilam, now in advanced clinical trials.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Stress, ovarian cancer, buoyancy disorders: Every pet has its troubles, and needs a good doctor who makes house calls.
By Emily Anthes and Nic Coury
As the virus continues to mutate, the C.D.C. urged Americans to roll up their sleeves again for annual vaccinations.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Half of the water flowing through regional river basins starts in so-called ephemeral streams. Last year, the Supreme Court curtailed federal protections for these waterways.
By Brad Plumer
The cause of the incident, which added to a growing amount of dangerous space junk in low Earth orbit, remains unknown.
By Katrina Miller
Plaintiffs and the company vowed to renegotiate but the talks will be challenging after the court struck down a provision the Sacklers had insisted on in exchange for $6 billion.
By Jan Hoffman
The species survived on an island north of Siberia for thousands of years, scientists reported, but were most likely plagued by genetic abnormalities.
By Carl Zimmer
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The smaller of the pair was spotted only this month and could be visible with binoculars as it passes by our planet within the distance to the moon.
By Robin George Andrews
Burial remains from 800-2,000 years ago hint that the First Australians may have kept the continent’s famous canine species as pets.
By Franz Lidz
At a barbershop in Colorado, stylists and customers discussed a matter of social protocol.
By Matt Richtel and Theo Stroomer
Among Americans aged 60 to 74, only those with certain health conditions need to receive the shots, the agency concluded.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Cats are more social than they are often given credit for. Can you help yours access its inner dog?
By Emily Anthes
Newly released emails from an influential group issuing transgender medical guidelines indicate that U.S. health officials lobbied to remove age minimums for surgery in minors because of concerns over political fallout.
By Azeen Ghorayshi
Mike Bettwy, a government meteorologist who focuses on potential threats from space weather, says that we are more prepared than ever — and that forecasting is only getting better.
By Katrina Miller
Public employees in West Virginia who took the drugs lost weight and were healthier, and some are despondent that the state is canceling a program to help pay for them.
By Oliver Whang
The New York Times and KFF Health News are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
As temperatures soar around the world, practical experiments are emerging to protect people.
By Somini Sengupta
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Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for a multipronged effort to reduce gun deaths, modeled on campaigns against smoking and traffic fatalities.
By Ellen Barry
The Chang’e-6 mission’s sample, which might hold clues about the origins of the moon and Earth, is the latest achievement of China’s lunar exploration program.
By Katrina Miller
It was the second scheduled spacewalk by NASA astronauts aboard the space station that faced an interruption this month.
By Kenneth Chang
With the sea creatures making up a growing share of illegal animal seizures around the world, U.S. officials are working to overcome struggles to safely house them.
By Jason Bittel
Earth’s crust teems with subterranean life that we are only now beginning to understand.
By Ferris Jabr
An Austrian forest ranger picked up the rock in 1976. Decades later, scientists discovered the object’s origin story while digging through old photos.
By Katherine Kornei
Astronomers have found the earliest and most distant galaxy yet.
By Dennis Overbye
An injection given just twice a year could herald a breakthrough in protecting the population that has the highest infection rates.
By Stephanie Nolen
In heat waves, chemicals like formaldehyde and ozone can form more readily in the air, according to researchers driving mobile labs in New York City this week.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
By studying bees and their honey near decomposing human tissue, researchers at George Mason University hope to give crime scene investigators a new tool for finding the hidden dead.
By Christine Hauser
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People all over the world are facing severe heat, floods and fire, aggravated by the use of fossil fuels. The year isn’t halfway done.
By Somini Sengupta
Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.
By Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson
Here’s what to know about your pharmacy benefit manager and how to find out if you are being overcharged for medications.
By Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins
Dr. Hans Klingemann, pioneering immunotherapy scientist, has studied whether the innovative treatment could save his two pets.
By Matt Richtel
They’ll be replaced in North America with paper packing, eliminating some 15 billion pillows a year. Plastic film is a major pollutant.
By Hiroko Tabuchi
Macaques, reeling from a hurricane, learned by necessity to get along, a study found. It’s one of the first to suggest that animals can adapt to environmental upheaval with social changes.
By Rachel Nuwer
Agricultural insecticides were a key factor, according to a study focused on the Midwest, though researchers emphasized the importance of climate change and habitat loss.
By Catrin Einhorn
The founder of the renowned Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts, he also helped shape U.S. policies on controlling toxic substances like DDT.
By Keith Schneider
An amateur brewer in Utah gathered rare figs and a strain of yeast from 850 B.C. to make a sour, fruity concoction inspired by ancient Egyptian recipes.
By Alexander Nazaryan
About a mile beneath the sea, the ship suggests that trade in the eastern Mediterranean Sea traveled much farther from the safety of land.
By Franz Lidz and Kobi Wolf
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A pair of whales were extricated from the besieged city of Kharkiv and taken to an aquarium in Spain with help from experts around the world.
By Marc Santora and Emily Anthes
We have Earth’s off-kilter tilt to thank for the summer solstice, as well as the different seasons.
By Katrina Miller
Some scientists who study youth mental health say the evidence does not support the notion that social media is harmful per se.
By Ellen Barry
The shortage highlights a widening gulf in the standard of care for people with diabetes, most of whom live in low-income countries.
By Stephanie Nolen
A year after the first deaths of divers who ventured into the ocean’s sunless depths, an industry wrestles with new challenges for piloted submersibles and robotic explorers.
By William J. Broad
A mass of birds died in Chicago in October after striking one building, adding to the push for more protections in one of the most dangerous cities for avian migration.
By Amanda Holpuch
“Obesity first” doctors say they start with one medication, to treat obesity, and often find other chronic diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, simply vanish.
By Gina Kolata
The labor and environmental groups are pushing the change so relief funds can be used in more situations.
By Manuela Andreoni
While trying to save large amphibians native to Japan, herpetologists in the country unexpectedly found a way to potentially save an even bigger species in China.
By Rachel Nuwer and Chang W. Lee
A few “reasonable precautions” can help people keep their pets safe from the H5N1 virus, experts say.
By Emily Anthes
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In high-tech labs, workers are generating data to train A.I. algorithms to design better medicine, faster. But the transformation is just getting underway.
By Steve Lohr and Spencer Lowell
Don’t get sick this season.
By Kristen Miglore
There is no guarantee that a person-to-person virus would be benign, scientists say, and vaccines and treatments at hand may not be sufficient.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Dr. Vivek Murthy said he would urge Congress to require a warning that social media use can harm teenagers’ mental health.
By Ellen Barry and Cecilia Kang
Methods such as hormonal implants and injections are reaching remote areas, providing more discretion and autonomy.
By Stephanie Nolen and Natalija Gormalova
Many pregnant women who struggle with drugs put off prenatal care, feeling ashamed and judged. But as fatal overdoses rise, some clinics see pregnancy as an ideal time to help them confront addiction.
By Jan Hoffman and Ilana Panich-Linsman
The farthest man-made object in space had been feared lost forever after a computer problem in November effectively rendered the 46-year-old probe useless.
By Orlando Mayorquín
A new state law will permit surgeons to perform cesarean deliveries in “advanced birth centers,” despite the risk of complications.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
He helped send the twin spacecraft on their way in 1977. Decades and billions of miles later, they are still probing — “Earth’s ambassadors to the stars,” as he put it.
By Sam Roberts
Researchers say the nearly mile-long swim was the longest by big cats ever recorded.
By Anthony Ham
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Firearms often are not stored safely in U.S. homes, a federal survey found. At the same time, gun-related suicides and injuries to children are on the rise.
By Teddy Rosenbluth
Ernest Shackleton was sailing for Antarctica on the ship, called the Quest, when he died in 1922. Researchers exulted over the discovery of its wreckage, 62 years after it sank in the Labrador Sea.
By Hank Sanders
Days after light shows filled Earth’s skies with wonder, the red planet was hit by another powerful outburst of the sun.
By Robin George Andrews
One group in Hudson Bay might have roughly a decade left because sea ice is becoming too thin to support them as they hunt, according to new research.
By Austyn Gaffney
Un análisis de las vocalizaciones de los elefantes mediante una herramienta de inteligencia artificial sugiere que pueden utilizar y responder a retumbos individualizados.
By Kate Golembiewski
The Japanese biochemist found in the 1970s that cholesterol-lowering drugs lowered the level of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, in the blood.
By Hisako Ueno and Mike Ives
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