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    1. Photo
      An image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy, made by the MeerKAT telescope. Filaments of radio energy are color-coded according to their position angles.
      CreditFarhad Yusef-Zadeh/Northwestern University
      Out There

      Our Local Black Hole Serves Up an ‘Awe Moment’

      Filaments of radio energy from Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, are turning astronomers’ heads.

       By Dennis Overbye

  1. Trilobites
    Photo
    An American crocodile living alone in Costa Rica laid a clutch of eggs. One of them matured in an incubator, yielding a perfectly formed but stillborn baby crocodile.
    CreditWaterFrame/Alamy

    Scientists Discover a Virgin Birth in a Crocodile

    The act of reptile reproduction suggests that dinosaurs and pterosaurs may have been capable of parthenogenesis, too, much like the creatures in “Jurassic Park.”

     By Veronique Greenwood

  2. Trilobites
    Photo
    CreditNicolás Lewin/Whale Conservation Institute

    Birds With a Taste for Flesh Threaten Whale Calves

    In Argentina, kelp gulls are attacking the backs of southern right whales, imperiling the recovery of an endangered species.

     By Annie Roth

  3. Photo
    Credit

    Kilauea Erupts in Hawaii With ‘Incandescent’ Glow

    The volcano on the Big Island gave hints in the past month that an eruption might be imminent.

     By Remy Tumin

  4. Photo
    CreditFiona Carswell

    It Rocks in the Tree Tops, but Is That Bird Making Music?

    Scientists are finding more evidence that birdsong parallels human-made music.

     By Marlowe Starling

  5. Lost & Found
    Photo
    Credit

    Put a Bird on It? Ancient Egypt Was Way Ahead of Us.

    A 3,300-year-old palace mural offers an exquisitely detailed view of several bird species, and presents an artistic mystery.

     By Franz Lidz

Trilobites

More in Trilobites ›
  1. Photo
    Adult female domestic cats involved in the study of the new nonsurgical contraceptive based on viral-vector delivery of a substance called feline anti-Müllerian hormone, which interferes with the development of egg follicles in the ovaries.
    CreditCincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

    Gene Therapy May Offer Birth Control for Cats

    A small study uses genetic engineering with the goal of curbing vast stray feline populations.

     By Alla Katsnelson

  2. Photo
    Three views of Oda, a 240 million-year-old ichthyosaur found in Svalbard, including, from left, a photograph, a radiograph and a computed tomography scan.
    CreditEngelschiøn et al. PLOS ONE

    X-Ray Vision Brings New Life to a Fossil Flattened by Time

    Scientists were able to unlock the identity of an ichthyosaur that had been reduced to a two-dimension jumble of bones.

     By Jack Tamisiea

  3. Photo
    CreditEric Ramos and Marcelo Magnasco

    Is This Octopus Having a Nightmare?

    In a study that has yet to be peer-reviewed, scientists documented behavior in a captive cephalopod that they say looks very similar to a bad dream.

     By Carolyn Wilke

  4. Photo
    CreditunoL/Getty

    Ultrasound Pulses to Brain Send Mice Into a Hibernation-Like State

    Experiments offer an intriguing hint at technology that could induce torpor in humans in the future.

     By Veronique Greenwood

  5. Photo
    While scanning spiny mice of the Acomys family, scientists discovered bony plates similar to armadillo armor lining their tails beneath their skin.
    CreditFlorida Museum of Natural History

    Quite a Tail: A Mouse Has Been Hiding Its Armor All This Time

    Researchers just discovered that the spiny mouse was concealing bony plates beneath the skin over its tail.

     By Asher Elbein

Climate and Environment

More in Climate and Environment ›
  1. Photo
    CreditChristian Gomez

    Video and Photos Show a Tiny, Critically Endangered Porpoise Still Hanging On

    The latest scientific survey of vaquitas, one of the planet’s most imperiled species, suggests that new conservation measures are working.

     By Catrin Einhorn

  2. Photo
    Smoke from Canadian wildfires turned New York City’s sky a deep, unsettling yellow on Wednesday.
    CreditEarl Wilson/The New York Times

    Record Pollution and Heat Herald a Season of Climate Extremes

    Scientists have long warned that global warming will increase the chance of severe wildfires like those burning across Canada and heat waves like the one smothering Puerto Rico.

     By Somini Sengupta

  3. Photo
    CreditRaymond Zhong/The New York Times

    The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River

    The Colorado River, which carved the Grand Canyon over millions of years, is now in crisis from climate change and overuse.

     By Raymond Zhong

  4. Photo
    Lighter-than-usual sea ice conditions at the North Pole in August 2020.
    CreditMarkus Rex, Alfred Wegener Institute, via Associated Press

    Arctic Summer Could Be Practically Sea-Ice-Free by the 2030s

    In a new study, scientists found that the climate milestone could come about a decade sooner than anticipated, even if planet-warming emissions are gradually reduced.

     By Raymond Zhong

  5. Photo
    CreditJordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times

    The Real-World Costs of the Digital Race for Bitcoin

    Bitcoin mines cash in on electricity — by devouring it, selling it, even turning it off — and they cause immense pollution. In many cases, the public pays a price.

     By Gabriel J.X. Dance, Tim Wallace and Zach Levitt

  1. Arizona, Low on Water, Weighs Taking It From the Sea. In Mexico.

    A $5 billion plan to desalinate seawater in Mexico and pipe it to Phoenix is testing the notion that desert cities can keep growing as the Earth warm.

    By Christopher Flavelle and Adriana Zehbrauskas

     
  2. the new old age

    Hospice Is a Profitable Business, but Nonprofits Mostly Do a Better Job

    Nearly three-quarters of hospice organizations are now for-profit. Complaints of fraud and profiteering are growing.

    By Paula Span

     

  3. Harald zur Hausen, 87, Nobelist Who Found Cause of Cervical Cancer, Dies

    When he proposed that the human papillomavirus caused cervical cancer, he was ridiculed. He persevered, and today a vaccine exists.

    By Emily Anthes

     

  4. Nonprofit Health System Pauses Policy of Cutting Off Care for Patients in Debt

    Allina Health, a large health system in the Midwest, had withheld care for patients who had $4,500 in medical bills.

    By Sarah Kliff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg

     

  5. Britain Limits Use of Puberty-Blocking Drugs to Research Only

    The change is part of a broader push in several countries to limit gender-related medical treatments for young people.

    By Azeen Ghorayshi

     

  6. Will Wildfires Like These Become the New Normal?

    Canada’s devastating fires and toxic smoke might not recur every year, but the heat from climate change increases the risks of a wide range of disasters.

    By Somini Sengupta

     

  7. Noise Could Take Years Off Your Life. Here’s How.

    We used a professional sound meter to measure the din of daily life and talked to scientists about the health risks it can pose.

    By Emily Baumgaertner, Jason Kao, Eleanor Lutz, Josephine Sedgwick, Rumsey Taylor, Noah Throop and Josh Williams

     

  8. F.D.A. Panel Recommends R.S.V. Shot to Protect Infants

    Advisers to the agency overwhelmingly agreed that a new treatment would help to prevent a potentially lethal respiratory illness in very young children.

    By Christina Jewett

     

  9. From Energy Drinks to Extending Life? Supplement Slows Aging in Mice and Monkeys

    Taurine helped stave off death in laboratory animals, but researchers cautioned that the supplement is not a magic elixir.

    By Elie Dolgin

     

  10. Why the wildfire smoke makes the sky turn wild colors.

    It has to do with the way light scatters.

    By Kenneth Chang