NYT > Science

1. Did the Giant Heads of Easter Island Once Walk?
   Scholars have long debated how the massive stone figures of Rapa Nui got to where they stand today. A new study offers one possible explanation.
2. NASA Rover Discovers Lightning on Mars
   The Perseverance rover picked up audio evidence of electric discharges in the red planet’s atmosphere.
3. He’s Beautiful, but He Has a Huge Blind Spot
   Males of two species of pheasants seem to trade attractiveness for the ability to get a good look at predators.
4. U.S. Nuclear Arms Chief Warns Against Leaks of Secret Information
   The email sent to atom bomb officials by Brandon Williams highlights the managerial challenge faced by the former one-term congressman.
5. Mapping the Brain’s Sense of What Goes On Inside the Body
   Scientists are learning how the brain knows what’s happening throughout the body, and how that process might go awry in some psychiatric disorders.
6. Seal Milk Is the Cream of the Molecular Crop
   You won’t be drinking it any time soon, but the aquatic mammal’s milk is much more chemically complex than that of other mammals, including humans.
7. The Forgotten Nuclear Weapon Tests That Trump May Seek to Revive
   Hydronuclear experiments, barred globally since the 1990s, may lie behind President Trump’s call last month for the United States to resume its testing of nuclear bombs.
8. New Studies of Dog DNA Shed Light on Pets and People
   New studies of canine genetics shed light on the diversity of dogs and our longstanding, still-evolving relationship to them.
9. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Locals Fight for ‘The Right to Night’
   Industrialization in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has some residents pushing for protection of the region’s celestial splendor.
10. E.P.A. Delays Requirements to Cut Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas
    Oil and gas firms were supposed to start reducing methane, a powerful driver of climate change. The agency is giving them more time and may cancel the requirement.
11. Paul Ekman, Who Linked Facial Expressions to Universal Emotions, Dies at 91
    Often called the world’s most famous face reader, he inspired the TV show ‘Lie to Me.’ But some questioned his assumption that human expressions were ‘pan-cultural.’
12. Trump Vowed Fewer Regulations and Lots More Oil. He’s Delivered on One.
    The president’s energy strategy is projected to generate more pollution, but so far production has not risen significantly and price drops have been modest, analysts say.
13. U.S. Announces Negotiated Prices for 15 Drugs Under Medicare
    The Trump administration said that had the new prices been in effect last year, Medicare would have saved $12 billion, which would have reduced its spending on those drugs by 44 percent.
14. GLP-1 Drug Fails to Quell Alzheimer’s in Novo Nordisk Trials
    The studies were a setback for the optimistic view that semaglutide and other drugs used in obesity and diabetes treatment could help prevent a number of brain diseases.
15. Gramma, a Galápagos Tortoise Older Than the San Diego Zoo, Dies at About 141
    Gramma, who died at the zoo on Thursday, was believed to have been born in 1884, when Chester A. Arthur was in the White House.
16. At the Great Lakes, Unearthing the Submerged History
    Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archaeologist and diving instructor, has helped uncover more than 100 shipwrecks across the region.
17. Study Finds Mental Health Benefit to One-Week Social Media Break
    Young adults who engaged in a social media “detox” reported reductions in depression, anxiety and insomnia, though it was unclear how long the effects would last.
18. These Hospitals Figured Out How to Slash C-Section Rates
    Financial and social incentives can nudge doctors away from the operating room.
19. Lemurs in Madagascar Face an Unexpected Killer
    Thousands of the endangered primates end up on the dinner plates of people in the upper rung of the country’s society who have money to spare.
20. COP30 Climate Summit Ends With Dire Warnings and Scant Plans for Action
    The final agreement, with no direct mention of the fossil fuels dangerously heating Earth, was a victory for countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, diplomats said.
21. Eli Lilly, Drug Maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro, Reaches $1 Trillion in Value
    The 150-year-old drugmaker is the first company in health care to hit the milestone.
22. Cassidy Got Pledges From RFK Jr. on Vaccines. They Haven’t Stuck.
    Before casting a crucial vote for the health secretary, the top Senate Republican laid out several specific commitments he had secured, some of which appear to have been breached.
23. RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
    In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
24. China Offers Panda Totes, but No New Commitments, at Climate Talks
    The United States has retreated on climate. China, the only superpower at COP30 and the world leader in clean energy, is not filling the void.
25. Saturn’s Rings Seem as if They’re About to Disappear: Here’s Why
    During the weekend, the orbits of Earth and Saturn will combine to create an interplanetary optical illusion for anyone with a good telescope and clear skies.
26. Fine Chocolate in Brazil, Home of the Cacao Bean
    A new generation of craft chocolate makers in Brazil is creating bars with “identity.” And they’re helping to sustain the forest, too.
27. Researcher’s Smuggling Arrest Casts Light on Dispute Over Chinese Students
    As some lawmakers press U.S. universities to curtail ties with China, a postdoctoral student’s prosecution raises questions about how big the danger actually is.
28. CIA Kryptos Auction: Anonymous Bidder Pays Nearly $1 Million for Secret to Decode Sculpture
    The creator of the Kryptos panels, Jim Sanborn, sought to unburden himself of the puzzle, and then discovered before an auction he had archived its solution in the Smithsonian.
29. Energy Department Reorganization Reflects Shift Away From Renewable Energy
    The reorganization reflects the ongoing shift in the federal government’s energy priorities: less renewable energy, more fossil fuels.
30. Stephen Anderson, Linguist Who Refuted Doctor Dolittle, Dies at 82
    In “Doctor Dolittle’s Delusion,” he argued that language is a biological system unique to humans, despite the widespread belief that it extended to other animals.
31. Botulism Bacteria Found in Infant Formula, ByHeart Confirms
    ByHeart, the maker of the product, has been linked to an outbreak of illnesses among infants that led to their hospitalizations.
32. The Moon Was an Inside Job
    New research suggests that Theia, the object whose collision with Earth is theorized to have caused the formation of the moon, came from closer to the sun.
33. Fire Breaks Out at COP30 Climate Talks in Brazil
    Delegates were evacuated from the conference venue, where thousands from nearly 200 countries had gathered.
34. As the World Pursues Clean Power, Millions Still Have No Power at All
    Just outside Belém, the Amazonian city where the world is meeting to discuss climate change, electricity is a very recent arrival.
35. Is Scalp Care the New Big Beauty Trend?
    Consumers are increasingly fixating on their scalps, turning to head spas, pricey treatments and products to combat thin hair and irritation.