NYT > Science

1. How Ancient Farmers Used Floral Designs to Track Goods
   A Mesopotamian culture’s decorated ceramics show some early roots of math, researchers argued.
2. Early Data Indicates an A.I.-Generated Drug Could Slow Aging
   Artificial intelligence was used to help develop a drug candidate, rentosertib, for a rare lung condition. Its maker says the drug also seems to reduce the biological hallmarks of age.
3. The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice
   Joan Birman thought her major discoveries were behind her. Then came an email from a young neighbor — a girl who knew little but wanted to learn.
4. Inside the D.O.J.’s Investigation of Fauci and Other Virus Scientists
   As Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced public scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the D.O.J. has pursued a quieter and more expansive effort against a wider circle of researchers.
5. Is There Alien Debris on the Moon? Some Scientists Plan to Find Out.
   Researchers want to explore the idea that microscopic particles shed by alien civilizations have accumulated on the lunar surface, making it an archive of extraterrestrial technology.
6. The World’s First Bugs Had Way More Legs
   Meet the earliest known insects. Shaking hands with them will take a while.
7. Scientists Find More Than 1,000 DNA Variants Linked to Personality Traits
   More than one million genomes helped identify DNA variants linked to extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and more. Researchers measured how those traits influenced how people lived.
8. What Did Jurassic Forests Sound Like? Like This.
   Scientists spent over a decade reconstructing the calls of nine species of ancient insects to create the first accurate Jurassic soundscape.
9. Scientists Hunting Dark Matter Found Something Strange
   A lone signal from an experiment in South Dakota doesn’t fit the profile of any other known particles, physicists say.
10. The Heart Drug Pelacarsen Fails, Shocking Novartis and Cardiologists
    Doctors were hopeful the drug, which was being tested in a large clinical trial by Novartis, was going to be a powerful new tool to fight heart disease.
11. Pentagon Agreement With N.I.H. on Biodefense Draws Alarm From Democrats
    Under a new partnership, the Defense Department would play a larger role in biodefense and pandemic preparedness. Democrats warned it could allow a Pentagon cash grab.
12. Hideki Shirakawa, Who Helped Turn a Lab Error Into a Nobel, Dies at 90
    The Japanese chemist played a key role in the discovery of electricity-conducting plastics, largely by accident.
13. Plumbing the Shipwrecks of an Infamous Pirate Cove
    For the marine archaeologist Sean Kingsley, the most honest history can be found on the seafloor.
14. The Brains of F1 Drivers Are Indeed Strange
    They are moving too fast for the normal mind to keep up, but elite drivers have more densely packed brain cells where it counts and use their minds more efficiently.
15. Psilocybin May Prevent Nerve Damage Caused by Chemotherapy, Study Finds
    The preliminary research was conducted in mice, but scientists were optimistic the results would apply to humans. Clinical trials begin this month.
16. Cleaner Air, Smarter Toddlers
    New research links climate policies to improved early-childhood development.
17. Patagonia Sues Trump Over Reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah
    The outdoor apparel maker joined environmental and Native American groups in challenging President Trump’s reduction of Bears Ears National Monument.
18. In Nepal and Tibet, Pollution on Glaciers Could Fuel More Flood Disasters
    Darkened by soot from vehicles and factories, the region’s glaciers are absorbing more heat and melting at dangerous rates.
19. Inside the Fight Against a Flesh-Eating Fly in Mexico
    For the first time in a year, the U.S.-Mexico border partly reopened to cattle imports following a screwworm infestation across the region. The battle against the flesh-eating fly has only just begun deep in Mexico.
20. U.N. Says World Will Miss Its 1.5-Degree Climate Target
    Carbon removal combined with emissions reduction is the only remaining pathway to avert catastrophic levels of warming, a new report warns.
21. A Nearly 200-Year-Old Museum Known for Its T. Rex Faces Extinction
    The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which is affiliated with Drexel University, cited attendance struggles and higher costs in its decision to close.
22. A Data Center Backlash
    Today we visit Pennsylvania, where there’s a high-stakes clash over A.I. jobs and the environment.
23. Ada Yonath, Chemist and First Israeli Woman to Receive a Nobel, Dies at 87
    Her mapping of the ribosome, which led to new designs for antibiotics, faced years of derision, as many scientists saw it as a dead-end effort.
24. New York Climate ‘Superfund’ Law Falls in Court
    The court said the measure, which required energy companies to pay $75 billion to the state, conflicted with federal law.