NYT > Science

1. Highlights From NASA’s Medical Evacuation From the Space Station
   Two Americans and astronauts from Japan and Russia landed in a SpaceX capsule in the Pacific Ocean after a medical issue prompted NASA to move up their return to Earth.
2. For the World’s Food Supply, Federal Funding Cuts Have Long-Term Impacts
   The U.S. Agency for International Development has been a major supporter of global agriculture research. Now many studies are being scuttled or scaled back.
3. Toby Kiers, World Champion of Mycorrhizal Fungus
   This year’s recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement talks about “punk science,” microbial economics and thinking like a mycorrhizal fungus.
4. What a Wolf Pup’s Stomach Revealed About the Woolly Rhino’s Extinction
   Scientists prepared a high-quality sequence of the giant mammal’s genome based on a specimen preserved in Siberian permafrost.
5. The Sea Lions of the Galápagos Are Not Ready to Give Up Mother’s Milk
   Animals that researchers call “supersucklers” come back to nurse even after they can hunt, mate and fend for themselves.
6. Why This Fish Actually Needs a Hole in the Head
   A cavity in the middle of the rockhead poacher’s skull might be used like a maraca to produce sound, new research suggests.
7. This Dinosaur Really Knew How to Get a Grip
   A fossil of Manipulonyx reshetovi, found in a Mongolian desert, shows how the dinosaur used its specialized claw to snatch eggs.
8. Trump’s Steep Science Budget Cuts to Be Turned Back by Congress
   After the White House called for billions of dollars in funding reductions, senators and representatives said they wanted to safeguard and even boost funds for basic research.
9. Google’s Ex-CEO Backs Start-Up Approach to Big Telescopes for Space and Astronomy
   Eric and Wendy Schmidt are backing a start-up-like approach to building a giant space telescope and powerful ground observatories.
10. Empire Wind Project Can Resume Construction, Judge Rules
    A federal judge said the Empire Wind project off Long Island would suffer “irreparable harm” if the Trump administration continued to hold up work.
11. U.S. Cuts Health Aid and Ties It to Funding Pledges by African Governments
    The Trump administration has signed $11 billion in agreements with African nations, in deals tied to foreign policy goals.
12. Who is left on the International Space Station?
    
13. How NASA deals with astronauts’ medical needs on the I.S.S.
    
14. What happens during the astronauts’ return to Earth?
    
15. Is it risky to fly a sick astronaut home to Earth?
    
16. NASA Astronauts Return to Earth After Medical Evacuation From International Space Station
    The members of Crew-11 — two American, one Russian and one Japanese — splashed down after one became ill, prompting an early return.
17. Kaiser Permanente Agrees to Pay $556 Million to Settle Medicare Overbilling Claims
    The Justice Department and whistle-blowers accused the major health insurer of overbilling the government for about $1 billion under the private plans.
18. NASA Begins Astronaut Space Station Medical Evacuation: What to Know
    Four astronauts departed from the I.S.S. about a month earlier than scheduled because a crew member, who was not identified, has an undisclosed medical issue.
19. Weather Detours a Scientific Expedition to Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier
    Bad weather has postponed attempts to set up camp on the Thwaites Glacier. So researchers got onto the sea ice and met a local.
20. Extreme Weather Events Hit Around the World in 2025
    Last year was Earth’s third hottest globally, but temperature is just one measure of climate change’s influence.
21. E.P.A. Moves to Limit States’ Ability to Block Pipelines
    The agency wants to curtail a section of the Clean Water Act that Democratic governors have used to restrict fossil fuel development.
22. Initial Obamacare Enrollment Drops by 1.4 Million as Expiring ACA Subsidies Drive Up Premiums
    That number could increase significantly as more consumers are faced with higher bills brought on by expiring premium subsidies.
23. Medical Groups Will Try to Block Childhood Vaccine Recommendations
    The groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, say the C.D.C.’s revised vaccine schedule is not based on scientific evidence and will harm the public.
24. A Scientific Expedition to Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier Deals With Weather Hiccups
    The clock is ticking. But low clouds have prevented helicopters from moving scientists and gear onto the continent’s fastest-melting glacier.
25. U.S. Emissions Jumped in 2025 as Coal Power Rebounded
    The increase in planet-warming emissions came after two years of decline as demand for electricity has been surging.
26. Psilocybin Leads in Psychedelic Medicine, but Rollout Is Bumpy
    Psilocybin-assisted therapy is legal in three states, but access has so far been limited and expensive.
27. China’s ‘Dr. Frankenstein’ Thinks Time Is on His Side
    He Jiankui spent three years in prison after creating gene-edited babies. Now back at work, he sees a greater opening for researchers who push boundaries.
28. Trump Cuts to Energy Projects in Blue States Were Unlawful, Judge Rules
    The Energy Department canceled $7.5 billion in Biden-era energy spending, largely in Democratic-led states, during last year’s government shutdown.
29. Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Stop Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind Project
    The ruling means that construction can continue on Revolution Wind, a $6.2 billion project off the coast of Rhode Island, at least for now.
30. F.D.A. Decisions on Abortion Pill Were Based on Science, New Analysis Finds
    A study of more than 5,000 pages of agency documents on mifepristone over 12 years found that agency leaders almost always followed the evidence-based recommendations of scientists.
31. Under Trump, U.S. Adds Fuel to a Heating Planet
    The president’s embrace of fossil fuels and withdrawal from the global fight against climate change will make it hard to keep warming at safe levels, scientists said.
32. Is Grass-Fed Beef Better?
    The idea of cows grazing in a pasture seems idyllic. We asked experts how their emissions stack up compared to factory farms.
33. New Children’s Vaccine Schedule May Not Be the Last of RFK Jr.’s Big Changes
    Comments by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies suggest the revised schedule may presage an approach to immunization that prizes individual autonomy and downplays scientific expertise.
34. Supreme Court to Hear Case on Louisiana’s Eroding Coast
    Local governments are suing oil companies over environmental damage. The companies want the suits moved out of state courts, to friendlier venues.
35. Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among Scientists
    Researchers are not just worried about the virus popping up on American farms. Other types are causing trouble around the world.
36. An Up-Close Look at the Thwaites Glacier
    From an icebreaker sailing near the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, our photographer has captured the many faces of the ice.
37. Joel Habener, Whose Research Led to Weight-Loss Drugs, Dies at 88
    His discovery of the protein fragment GLP-1 was crucial in the development of Ozempic, Wegovy and other blockbuster obesity and diabetes treatments.
38. Jerome Lowenstein, 92, Dies; Teaching Doctor With a Literary Sideline
    When not guiding students in a compassionate approach to patient care, he led a tiny publishing imprint that put out a much-rejected debut novel that won a surprise Pulitzer Prize.
39. The War Over the Weedkiller Roundup Might Be Headed to the Supreme Court
    Bayer has asked the justices to decide whether federal law shields the company from lawsuits over its Roundup herbicide and cancer. Democrats and MAHA activists aren’t happy.
40. Scientists Discover Cloud-9, a Starless ‘Galaxy That Wasn’t’
    Astronomers announced the discovery of a starless cloud of hydrogen gas, a pristine relic of the cosmos that is almost as old as time itself.
41. Dogs Build Their Vocabularies Like Toddlers
    Eavesdropping on their owners seems to help some toy-crazy and talented pups learn more words.