NYT > Science

1. Japan's Hayabusa2 Asteroid Journey Ends With a Hunt in Australia's Outback
   The Hayabusa2 mission cements Japan’s role in exploring the solar system, but finding its asteroid cargo presents one last challenge.
2. This Unusual Bird Superpower Goes Back to the Dinosaur Extinction
   Kiwis, ibises and sandpipers share this sensory power with birds that lived millions of years ago.
3. Archaeologists Could Help Bring Otters Back From the Dead
   The sea mammals vanished from Oregon’s coast long ago, but a technique from human archaeology offers a clue to restoring them.
4. China Moon Mission: Watch Chang'e-5 Launch From the Lunar Surface
   Chang’e-5 will soon attempt to dock in lunar orbit with another spacecraft, ahead of returning a cache of moon rocks and dirt to scientists on our planet.
5. A ‘Front-Row Seat’ to the Birth of a Comet
   Astronomers are watching an object transform into a hyperactive comet that will head toward the inner solar system in the coming decades.
6. NASA Launched a Rocket 54 Years Ago. Has It Finally Come Home?
   Surveyor 2 crashed on the moon in 1966. Astronomers think they’ve spotted a piece of the mission that kept going deeper into space.
7. He Was a Stick, She Was a Leaf; Together They Made History
   A surprise clutch of eggs has solved a century-old leaf insect mystery.
8. London A.I. Lab Claims Breakthrough That Could Accelerate Drug Discovery
   Researchers at DeepMind say they have solved “the protein folding problem,” a task that has bedeviled scientists for more than 50 years.
9. Hawaii’s Fresh Water Leaks to the Ocean Through Underground Rivers
   If the water could be pumped to the surface, it could help alleviate shortages on the island.
10. Is ‘Natural Immunity’ From Covid Better Than a Vaccine?
    And if you’ve already had Covid-19, do you still need a vaccine? Experts tackle questions about vaccine immunity.
11. A Race Against Time to Rescue a Reef From Climate Change
    In an unusual experiment, a coral reef in Mexico is now insured against hurricanes. A team of locals known as “the Brigade” rushed to repair the devastated corals, piece by piece.
12. The Swiss Cheese Model of Pandemic Defense
    It’s not edible, but it can save lives. The virologist Ian Mackay explains how.
13. As Virus Spreads, C.D.C. Draws Up an Urgent Battle Plan
    The multipronged advice, for individuals and state and local officials, may augur a national strategy in the months to come, experts said.
14. Baricitinib: Doctors Are Skeptical of This Covid-19 Drug From Eli Lilly
    Baricitinib, an arthritis drug made by Eli Lilly, may reduce recovery time by a day, but costs about $1,500 and comes with side effects.
15. Overlooked No More: Barbara Waxman Fiduccia, Reproductive Rights Advocate
    A sexual health educator and counselor in Los Angeles, she challenged a dominant culture that viewed people with disabilities as asexual beings.
16. Could a Blood Test Show if a Covid-19 Vaccine Works?
    A new monkey study offers a ray of hope for speeding up clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines.
17. Girl Is Born in Tennessee From Embryo Frozen for 27 Years
    The birth of Molly Gibson using an embryo from 1992 broke a record set by her sister, Emma, in 2017. The embryos were donated when the girls’ mother was herself a toddler.
18. How Scientists Tracked Down a Mass Killer (of Salmon)
    Something was decimating the salmon that had been restored to creeks around Puget Sound.
19. Meet Biden’s Energy and Climate Cabinet Contenders
    President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s energy and environment team will have the difficult task of crafting climate policies that can bypass Congress and survive judicial review.
20. Sale of Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Leases Is Set for Early January
    The Trump administration’s announcement sets the stage for leases to be in the hands of oil companies before president-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn in.
21. Hotter Planet Already Poses Fatal Risks, Health Experts Warn
    A new report presented climate change as an immediate public health danger and urged lawmakers to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
22. C.D.C. Officials Shorten Recommended Quarantine Periods
    The agency also urged Americans to stay home during the coming holidays, and to get tested if they do travel.
23. Many Trial Volunteers Got Placebo Vaccines. Do They Now Deserve the Real Ones?
    Some vaccine experts worry that “unblinding” the trials and giving all of the volunteers vaccines would tarnish the long-term results.
24. Moderna to Begin Testing Its Coronavirus Vaccine in Children
    The company said the trial would involve children ages 12 through 17.
25. Watch the Moon Landing of China’s Chang’e-5 Spacecraft
    Within hours of arriving, it started drilling and scooping lunar rocks and soil to bring back to Earth.
26. CVS to Give Out Covid-19 Treatment in Nursing Homes
    The three-month pilot program involves just 1,000 doses in seven big cities. It’s not clear how much impact that will have as demand surges.
27. Dr. Michael Davidson, Who Studied Infectious Disease, Dies at 77
    He told a friend that he would have relished the chance to help end the coronavirus pandemic had he still been active in the field. The virus claimed him instead.
28. The UK Just Approved the Pfizer Covid Vaccine. What Happens Next?
    When early results from the final trials began to roll in, scientists were well prepared. Now, they face the logistical challenge of putting the vaccine to work.
29. Singapore Approves a Lab-Grown Meat Product, a Global First
    The approval for a U.S. start-up’s “cultured chicken” product is a small victory for the nascent laboratory meat industry. Less clear is whether other countries will follow.
30. U.K. Approves Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine, a First in the West
    The emergency approval, ahead of the United States and the European Union, clears the way for Britain to begin mass inoculations. “Help is on its way,” one official said.
31. Virus May Have Arrived in U.S. in December, but Didn’t Spread Until Later
    Blood samples collected in mid-December indicate possible infections more than a month before the known first case of Covid-19, but do not show community transmission.
32. Georgina Mace, Who Shaped List of Endangered Species, Dies at 67
    She rewrote the global Red List, which describes which species are in trouble, and warned that the world must restore its ecological balance or pay a steep price.
33. The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico Collapses
    Astronomers and residents of Puerto Rico mourned as an eye on the cosmos shuttered unexpectedly on Tuesday morning.
34. China Lands Chang’e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil
    The mission will now collect samples, aiming to return with them to Earth by mid-December.
35. Berry-Flavored H.I.V. Medication Is Ready for Babies
    For the 80,000 children who die of H.I.V. each year, drugs are often bitter or hard to swallow. Dolutegravir will soon come in a tasty dissolving tablet.
36. Prisons Are Covid-19 Hotbeds. When Should Inmates Get the Vaccine?
    Federal officials have suggested that corrections staff receive high priority for a coronavirus vaccine, but not the millions of vulnerable inmates held in U.S. facilities.
37. Moderna Is Applying for Emergency F.D.A. Approval for Its Coronavirus Vaccine
    The first shots could be given as early as Dec. 21, if authorization is granted.
38. New Zealand Announces Charges in Deadly White Island Volcano Eruption
    Government agencies and individuals were among those charged over the roles in the 2019 disaster, which killed 22 people.
39. Effort to Rescue Endangered Turtles Becomes a Thanksgiving Odyssey
    After a plane transporting 30 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles to Louisiana from Massachusetts was snagged by delays, frantic calls for help went out.
40. Watch a Lunar Eclipse, or at Least Try To
    Penumbral eclipses are subtle, but there are good reasons to try to notice one.
41. Make a Poem From Newspaper
    A cento is a poem written using borrowed lines, like ones from this publication. Don’t forget to give credit.
42. Making Bar Trivia Virtual
    Though many bars are under lockdown restrictions, pub quiz companies still operate online. You provide the booze, they provide the brainteasers.
43. Ways to Get Your Kids Moving
    Teens and tweens need exercise, period. Many parents are finding informal, creative and encouraging ways to get their isolated offspring outside safely.
44. Listen to Indigenous Podcasts
    Expand your understanding of Native history issues beyond the fourth Thursday of November. Here are some Indigenous podcasters recommending their favorite Native-made audio.
45. Things To Do At Home
    This week, listen to the music of Billie Holiday, attend a fashion workshop or get your tarot cards read.
46. 19th-Century Ship Is Revealed by Storm Erosion in Florida
    Researchers believe the vessel is the Caroline Eddy, a ship built during the Civil War and wrecked in 1880. “It was a sea like a mountain,” its captain recounted at the time.