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Science

Highlights

  1. Ancient Scribes Got Ergonomic Injuries, Too

    The scriveners of ancient Egypt were more than papyrus pushers, but they suffered many of the same repetitive ailments as desk jockeys today, a new study suggests.

       By

    Two scribes in a relief from the Tomb of Akhethotep in Saqqara, Egypt. Scribes performed vital administrative functions, such as drawing up contracts and measuring fields for tax purposes.
    CreditHeritage Image Partnership Ltd./Alamy
  1. Beware the Toxic and Explosive Blue Backpack This Termite Carries

    Scientists studied the unusual chemical reaction used by a species of the insect in an act of self-sacrifice to save nests from invaders.

       By

    A species of termite, Neocapritermes taracua.
    CreditAleš Buček
    Trilobites
  2. For Stonehenge’s Altar Stone, an Improbably Long Ancient Journey

    A six-ton megalith at the heart of the archaeological site traveled more than 450 miles to get there, a new study concludes.

       By

    Stonehenge’s inner ring is a horseshoe of five trilithons — two uprights capped by a horizontal lintel — of which three complete ones still stand.
    CreditRadharc Images/Alamy
  3. How the World’s Oldest Humpback Whale Has Survived Is a Mystery

    Old Timer, a male first photographed in 1972, was spotted last month near Alaska, enduring in the Pacific Ocean while some other humpbacks have struggled in a changing environment.

       By

    The humpback whale Old Timer, observed by Adam Pack on July 29 in Frederick Sound in southeast Alaska.
    CreditAdam Pack/NOAA Research Permit 26953
    Trilobites
  4. Saving Australian Crocodiles by Yucking Their Yum

    The aquatic reptiles cannot resist eating invasive toads that are toxic, so scientists gave the crocodiles a dose of nonlethal food poisoning to adjust their behavior.

       By

    A crocodile investigating freshly set baits at dusk, captured by a remote camera in Australia’s remote Kimberley region.
    CreditWard-Fear et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2024
    Trilobites
  5. Salmon Farms in Patagonia Face Growing Opposition

    The Chilean industry’s expansion has drawn repeated challenges from environmentalists and Indigenous people of the region, and prompted calls for a moratorium.

       By Lucy MeyerCasey Ann Smith and

    A salmon farming center in Rilán, looking towards Curaco de Vélez, Chiloé Island.
    CreditMarcos Zegers for The New York Times

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Pets

More in Pets ›
  1. 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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    Max, a 2-year-old German shepherd, Belgian Malinois and husky mix, was rescued in an emaciated condition but is now a healthy participant in Darwin’s Dogs, a science organization that investigates animal genetics and behavior.
    CreditM. Scott Brauer for The New York Times
  2. 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

    Claire Johnson, a veterinary social worker, left, comforted Zorro, a 16-year-old cockapoo, as he was prepared for euthanasia at MedVet, a 24-hour pet care facility in Chicago.
    Credit
  3. 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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    Jolie, a blood donor, giving blood at a DoveLewis Blood Bank in Portland, Ore., last month.
    CreditMichael Hanson for The New York Times
  4. 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.

       By

    Heather Massey of Carlton, Ga., with her dog, Lunabear. She is still paying off a bill for scans and care six years after her previous dog, Ladybird, was diagnosed with brain cancer.
    CreditAudra Melton for The New York Times
  5. 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.

       By

    The proliferation of dog strollers is one sign of a trend in which pets’ lives have become constrained and dependent on humans.
    CreditGraham Dickie/The New York Times

Trilobites

More in Trilobites ›
  1. I Am the Walrus but This Fossil Was Not

    Although an extinct animal was from a different group of marine mammals, an examination of fossils showed it evolved a way of eating that was very similar to that of modern walruses.

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    An artist’s concept of Ontocetus posti, a late Pliocene, walrus-like mammal that was adapted to suction feeding, somewhat similar to its modern relative.
    CreditJaime Bran
  2. Move Over, Robots: Sea Lions With Cameras Can Map the Ocean Floor

    Daphne, Phoebe, Iris and Pasithea demonstrated how marine mammals can help scientists understand mysterious places that humans may never visit.

       By

    CreditNathan Angelakis
  3. How Glue Helps Frogs Out of Sticky Situations

    You’ve heard of a “frog in your throat,” but probably not like this.

       By

    Imagine this Sambava tomato frog from Madagascar, but covered in a viscous white glue after you pestered it.
    CreditShabnam Zaman
  4. Fish That School Together Save Energy, Study Finds

    Like Olympic cyclists, fish expend less effort when swimming in tight groups than when alone. The finding could explain why some species evolved to move in schools.

       By

    A school of kokanee, or landlocked sockeye, in the Sxótsaqel (Chilliwack) Lake in British Columbia.
    CreditFernando Lessa
  5. This Is What Happens When Tigers Try to Sneak Up on Small Bears

    Videos in India show that sloth bears seem unaware of being stalked by the ferocious felines. When the tigers try to strike, the bears often get the better of them.

       By

    CreditDicky Singh

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Origins

More in Origins ›
  1. Scientists Find Arm Bone of Ancient ‘Hobbit’ Human

    New fossils from Indonesia, including the smallest humerus ever found from an adult hominin, belonged to the tiny Homo floresiensis species, researchers said.

       By

    CreditYousuke Kaifu
  2. How Did Roses Get Their Thorns?

    The “prickles,” as botanists call them, evolved in roses and other plants thanks to a single gene, a new study found.

       By

    Prickles likely arose in many plants as a defense against animals that would devour them, but prickles can serve other purposes, such as for hooking onto surfaces while climbing or attaching seeds onto the fur of passing animals.
    CreditYon Marsh Natural History/Alamy
  3. A Test for Life Versus Non-Life

    In a new book, physicist Sara Walker argues that assembly theory can explain what life is, and even help scientists create new forms of it.

       By

    CreditCaitlin O'Hara for The New York Times
  4. The Chimps Who Learned to Say ‘Mama’

    Old recordings show captive chimps uttering the word, which some scientists believe may offer clues to the origins of human speech.

       By

    CreditEmil Lippe for The New York Times
  5. Early Humans Left Africa Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

    Scientists have found evidence of several waves of migration by looking at the genetic signatures of human interbreeding with Neanderthals.

       By

    Extracting fossilized Neanderthal bone for genetic sequencing at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, in 2008.
    CreditVolker Steger/Science Source

Climate and Environment

More in Climate and Environment ›
  1. Meet a Family That’s Betting the Farm on a Wild Idea. Literally.

    After decades raising hogs in Iowa, they wanted a way out of factory farming. Their solution was a return to nature, and a lot of mushrooms.

       By

    Rand Faaborg, left, and his son Tanner. The younger Mr. Faaborg hopes the family farm’s conversion will serve as a blueprint to help other farmers.
    CreditAnnick Sjobakken for The New York Times
  2. Wind Beat Coal Two Months in a Row for U.S. Electricity Generation

    The shift occurred as the cost of wind power and other renewable energy is rapidly declining and coal is being pushed out by natural gas.

       By

    Wind turbines in Solano County, Calif. More than 20 states will require utilities to get their electricity from carbon-free sources in the coming decades.
    CreditJim Wilson/The New York Times
  3. An Indigenous Author Offers Ancestral Answers to Today’s Environmental Crises

    Ailton Krenak was a child when his family was forced to leave their land in Brazil. Now, as a writer, he advocates for a path forward that looks to nature and inherited wisdom.

       By

    Ailton Krenak said that what he proposes is not “to end capitalism and go live in the wild,” but to develop a worldview that has all of nature at its center.
    CreditNelson Almeida/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
  4. How Extreme Heat Is Threatening Education Progress Worldwide

    Children today face many more extreme weather hazards that can undermine global gains in education.

       By

    Extreme heat in May closed some schools in the Philippines. Students did schoolwork near a Manila storefront.
    CreditEzra Acayan/Getty Images
  5. How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points?

    Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse.

       By Raymond Zhong and

    CreditMira Rojanasakul/The New York Times

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  1.  
  2. the new old age

    The Painkiller Used for Just About Anything

    In huge numbers, older people are taking gabapentin for a variety of conditions, including itching, alcohol dependence and sciatica. “It’s crazy,” one expert said.

    By Paula Span

     
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  9. A.L.S. Stole His Voice. A.I. Retrieved It.

    In an experiment that surpassed expectations, implants in a patient’s brain were able to recognize words he tried to speak, and A.I. helped produce sounds that came close to matching his true voice.

    By Benjamin Mueller

     
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