NYT > Science

1. What Trump’s Return Could Mean for Animals
   A second Trump administration could alter the lives of all sorts of animals, whether they live in laboratories, zoos, fields or forests.
2. SpaceX Starship Launch Ends With a Dramatic Water Landing
   President-elect Donald J. Trump joined Elon Musk, as his company’s prototype moon and Mars rocket carried out a sixth test flight that showed a mix of progress and setbacks.
3. Physicist Who Made Superconductor Claims Exits University of Rochester
   Journals had retracted papers on superconductors that worked at room temperature and materials science that involved Ranga Dias.
4. Where Glaciers Melt, the Rivers Run Red
   As the glaciers of South America retreat, the supply of freshwater is dwindling and its quality is getting worse.
5. A Mummified Saber-Toothed Kitten Emerges in Siberia
   The Homotherium cub was preserved in Siberian permafrost with its dark fur and flesh intact.
6. SpaceX Starship’s Sonic Boom Creates Risk of Structural Damage, Test Finds
   An independent researcher found that noise recorded miles away from the site of a recent test flight was equal to standing 200 feet from a Boeing 747 during takeoff.
7. Barnard’s Star Finally Has a Planet, and Possibly More
   For a century, exoplanet hunters have “discovered” planets around a nearby star, only to retract the claims. But the latest find is for real.
8. Can These Ex-Hollywood Chimps Find a Place Among the Apes?
   Behind the scenes at a Chicago zoo, chimpanzees who spent years entertaining humans are learning to befriend their own kind.
9. Americans Have Regained Modest Trust in Scientists, Survey Finds
   A sharp partisan divide remains over how involved researchers should be in policy decisions.
10. Trump Promises Clean Water. Will He Clean Up PFAS?
    Public health advocates worry that Donald Trump could unravel federal clean water efforts, including restrictions on lead pipes and chemicals known as PFAS.
11. Iran Suggests Pausing High Levels of Uranium Enrichment to Avoid Censure, Monitor Says
    Iran has raised the possibility it would stop expanding its stockpile of uranium enriched to a purity of 60 percent — very close to the level needed for a weapon, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog says.
12. Civil War Toll Much Worse in Confederate States, New Estimates Show
    An analysis of newly released 19th-century census records offers more insight into the conflict’s costs.
13. Five Ways R.F.K. Jr. Could Undermine Lifesaving Childhood Vaccines
    If he is confirmed as H.H.S. secretary, the longtime vaccine critic would be in a position to change the government’s immunization recommendations and delay the development of new vaccines.
14. Orders for Morning-After Pills and Abortion Pills Rise After Trump’s Election
    Some women are stocking up on the medications, saying they are concerned that the new administration could take steps to restrict access.
15. Wyoming’s Abortion Bans Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules
    The ruling found that two state laws — one barring use of abortion pills, and one banning all forms of abortion — violated the state Constitution’s “fundamental right to make health care decisions.”
16. Trump Plans to Attend Musk’s SpaceX Launch on Tuesday
    The president-elect’s decision to witness the liftoff is another example of his close ties to the world’s wealthiest entrepreneur.
17. Pancreatic Cancer Surge May Be Less Worrisome Than It Seemed
    A rise in the disease in younger people was not followed by an increase in deaths, a study found, and might be a sign of overdiagnosis.
18. COP29 Climate Talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, Head Into Final Stretch
    Senior ministers are arriving in an effort to break a deadlock over the summit’s main goal: funding to help lower-income countries hit hard by global warming.
19. ChatGPT Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness
    A small study found ChatGPT outdid human physicians when assessing medical case histories, even when those doctors were using a chatbot.
20. First U.S. Case of Spreading New Mpox Type Reported in California
    The unidentified patient had recently returned from Africa, where the virus has caused a deadly epidemic, health officials said.
21. Thomas E. Kurtz, co-creator of BASIC programming language, dies at 96
    At Dartmouth, long before the days of laptops and smartphones, he worked to give more students access to computers. That work helped propel generations into a new world.
22. Democrats’ Message at COP29 Climate Talks: Don’t Panic
    American officials are seeking to assure the world that U.S. climate action won’t end with the return of Donald Trump as president.
23. Why Kennedy Sees an ‘Epidemic’ of Chronic Disease Among Children
    Trends in child health are in fact worrisome, and scientists welcome a renewed focus on foods and environmental toxins. But vaccines and fluoride are not the cause.
24. RFK Jr.'s Vow to Take On Big Food Could Face Resistance
    Processed foods are in the cross hairs of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but battling major companies could collide with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s corporate-friendly goals.
25. Leonids Meteor Shower: When and How to Watch Its Peak
    The event produces some of the year’s fastest meteors, although the nearly full moon may make them challenging to spot.
26. Nuclear Power Was Once Shunned at Climate Talks. Now, It’s a Rising Star.
    Growing worldwide energy demand and other factors have shifted the calculus, but hurdles still lie ahead.
27. The Anti-Fluoride Movement Vaults Into the Mainstream
    With the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, a formerly fringe opinion suddenly gets wide attention.
28. NASA Says Astronaut Suni Williams Is in ‘Incredible Health’
    The agency’s top medical official was responding to rumors that Suni Williams had lost an unusual amount of weight during an extended stay in orbit.
29. Chemist Identifies Mystery ‘Blobs’ Washing Up in Newfoundland
    A researcher thinks he knows what has been coming ashore on miles of beaches. Canada’s environmental agency says it is still looking into it.