NYT > Science

1. In Pursuit of the Monarch’s Magnetic Sense
   The magnetic compass is the last unknown sense in migrating animals. For some scientists, the monarch butterfly is leading the way.
2. Why Scientists Are Performing Brain Surgery on Monarchs
   Scientists in Texas are studying monarch butterflies to understand how they navigate thousands of miles, possibly by sensing Earth’s magnetic field. Alexa Robles-Gil explains how researchers are examining the butterflies’ brains to find answers.
3. Puzzle Designers Search for That ‘Satisfying Click’
   For prizewinning puzzle creators, the devilish ideas are in the details.
4. This City’s Best Winter Show Is in Its Pitch-Dark Skies
   A heritage of dark sky preservation means residents of Flagstaff welcome the season’s longer nights with prolonged views of the stars.
5. The Meek Really Did Inherit the Earth, at Least Among Ants
   How did ants take over the world? The answer may be skin deep.
6. In a First, a Wheelchair User Joins a Short Flight to Space
   A paraplegic engineer was part of a crew that made a suborbital journey on a spacecraft operated by Jeff Bezos’ private company, Blue Origin.
7. How to Watch the Ursids Winter Solstice Meteor Shower
   The Ursids this weekend are a winter solstice light show.
8. Museum of the Earth and Its Fossil Collection Fight Their Own Extinction
   A funding crisis at the Museum of the Earth and the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, N.Y., could scatter priceless specimens and end nearly a century of pioneering research.
9. NASA Webb Telescope Discovers Lemon-Shaped Planet, the ‘Stretchiest’ Ever Seen
   An unusual object orbiting a rapidly spinning star might be a new phenomenon in the universe.
10. Trump May Give SpaceX Some Land In A Texas Wildlife Refuge
    In exchange for the land in Texas, the rocket and satellite company would give the government some of its own property nearby, documents show.
11. The Pentagon and A.I. Giants Have a Weakness. Both Need China’s Batteries, Badly.
    As warfare is reinvented in Ukraine, and Silicon Valley races to maintain its A.I. lead, China’s battery dominance is raising alarms far beyond the auto industry.
12. Trump Administration Loosens Protections for Iconic Greater Sage Grouse
    The government moves to make it easier to drill, mine and graze on 50 million acres of land in the West.
13. How Blocking Illegal ‘Ghost’ Roads Could Protect Tropical Forests
    New research tries to anticipate road building to identify areas in the Amazon, Asia and Africa that are likely to face deforestation.
14. Mercedes to Pay $150 Million Over Claims It Cheated on Emissions Tests
    It’s the latest in a decade-long scandal involving accusations that software “defeat devices” made diesel vehicles seem cleaner than they were.
15. Some of the World’s Atomic Clocks Were Off Last Week (by 5-Millionths of a Second)
    How some of the world’s most precise clocks missed a very small beat.
16. How Trump’s First Year Reshaped U.S. Energy and Climate Policy
    The sweeping changes have affected everything from coal plant retirements to international diplomacy over shipping emissions.
17. Older Americans Quit Weight-Loss Drugs in Droves
    In some studies, half of patients stopped taking GLP-1s within a year despite the benefits, citing the expense and side effects.
18. Overlooked No More: Inge Lehmann, Who Discovered the Earth’s Inner Core
    She pointed to evidence that the Earth’s inner core was solid — not liquid, as scientists had believed — a discovery that was ahead of its time.
19. Controversial Dakota Pipeline Gets a Big, Belated Government Boost
    A delayed environmental review cleared the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue operating. Separately, a North Dakota judge expressed unusual exasperation over the tangled legal battles.
20. A Somber Mood at Science Meeting as Trump Budget Cuts Continue
    News of the breakup of a leading science institution rippled through an annual gathering of Earth, ocean and space scientists. Many say American science is suffering under the Trump administration.
21. F.D.A. Turmoil Keeps Spotlight on Its Commissioner
    The agency’s high-level turnover and conflicting policy decisions on drug oversight have fueled concerns about the leadership of Dr. Marty Makary.
22. Suspect in MIT Professor’s Death Was an Ex-Classmate from Portugal, Prosecutors Say
    Nuno F.G. Loureiro, the professor, and the man suspected in his killing attended the same physics program in Portugal during the 1990s.
23. Trump Moves to End Gender-Related Care for Minors, Threatening Hospitals That Offer It
    Proposed new rules would punish the hospitals by pulling all federal financing. Advocates say lawsuits will follow.
24. She Tracked Fish That Coastal Communities Depend On. Then She Was Fired From NOAA.
    Ana Vaz monitored crucial fish stocks in the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico until she lost her job at NOAA.
25. Jared Isaacman Confirmed to Run NASA as Space Program Is in Peril
    Jared Isaacman, the billionaire nominated twice to lead the agency, may draw some lessons from the tenure of another NASA leader in the 1990s.
26. More Than 2,000 Dinosaur Footprints Are Found in the Italian Alps
    Two hundred million years ago, prosauropods walked the earth. They left something behind.
27. National Center for Atmospheric Research to Be Dismantled, Trump Administration Says
    Russell Vought, the White House budget director, called the laboratory a source of “climate alarmism.”
28. Greenpeace’s Fight With Pipeline Giant Exposes a Legal Loophole
    A court filing by a group with deep ties to the pipeline company Energy Transfer raises questions about the growing use of amicus briefs in litigation.
29. Penguins Become Prey for the Pumas of Patagonia
    In Argentina, the return of pumas brought top predators back to the landscape — much to penguins’ dismay.
30. When the Bones Were Good, These Bees Buried Their Babies
    A cave in the Dominican Republic concealed thousands of years worth of animal bones that had been turned into nests by prehistoric bees.
31. Research Flights Over the Atlantic Could Help Improve Atmospheric River Forecasting
    A global effort to better understand moisture-laden rivers in the sky, like those currently battering the West Coast, will take flight in January.