NYT > Science

1. New Spider Mimics ‘The Last of Us’ Zombie Fungus Cordyceps
   A newly discovered species of spider in the Ecuadorean Amazon mimics a pathogen, known as a zombie fungus, to protect itself.
2. Andy Weir on the Science That Inspired His Novel ‘Project Hail Mary’
   Andy Weir discusses his science-fueled novel “Project Hail Mary,” which has been adapted into a film that opens in theaters on Friday.
3. Gerd Faltings of Germany Wins 2026 Abel Prize in Mathematics
   Gerd Faltings proved a conjecture that had been unsolved for six decades, using connections between numbers and geometry.
4. A Meteor Exploded Over Ohio. Then the Hunt for Meteorites Began.
   After a seven-ton fireball exploded above the Cleveland area, a group of meteorite hunters descended too, in the name of science — and possibly cash.
5. NASA’s Hubble Telescope Spots Comet K1 Exploding Into Fragments
   In a stroke of luck, astronomers saw the comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) break into four or five fragments in November after it passed close to the sun.
6. Why Some Birds Seem to Be Developing a Cigarette Habit
   Research from Poland adds to evidence from Latin American countries that compounds in used cigarette butts ward off parasites in bird nests.
7. How To Bring a Bird’s Song Back from the Edge of Extinction
   In a new study, wild regent honeyeaters became vocal tutors, teaching their disappearing song to birds in a captive breeding program.
8. Spaceflight Started 100 Years Ago in a Massachusetts Cabbage Patch
   Before humanity sent satellites, telescopes, humans and weapons into space, Robert Goddard experimented with the first liquid-fueled rocket on his aunt’s farm.
9. Space Jam: NASA’s MADCAP Team Directs Traffic at the Moon
   A “red alert” involving the private Blue Ghost mission in lunar orbit a year ago highlights a growing number of incidents above Earth’s neighbor.
10. MDMA Therapy in Australia Shows Results for PTSD Patients, but the Cost Is Limiting Access
    The country’s experiment with psychedelic medicine has led to positive outcomes, psychiatrists say, but also highlights the limitations of the nascent field.
11. Carbon Capture Technology Is Helping This Pub Make Beer
    A pub in California is pulling carbon dioxide from the air to carbonate pints. If the business model works, it could give the broader carbon-capture industry a boost.
12. Takeaways From The Times’s Inside Look at the C.D.C.
    Many current and former employees say the actions of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are undermining the agency’s role in safeguarding public health.
13. Diabetes, Overlooked and Unchecked, Poses New Risks in Africa
    As deaths from diabetes start to rival those from infectious threats like malaria, a new form of the condition linked to malnutrition is surfacing in patients who can afford neither screening nor care.
14. J. Michael Bishop, Nobel Prize Winner for Cancer Research, Dies at 90
    He helped discover cancer-causing genes. Later, as chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, he led a major expansion.
15. David Botstein, Gene-Mapping Pioneer, Dies at 83
    His method of locating genes in human DNA allowed researchers to find disease-causing genes, and later to map the entire, sprawling human genome.
16. Lee Zeldin, E.P.A. Chief, to Headline Heartland Institute Forum
    Lee Zeldin, the agency administrator, will address a Heartland Institute forum in April. The organization says speakers will challenge the climate crisis “narrative.”
17. How New Mexico Became an Obamacare Success Story
    Affordable Care Act enrollment has dropped across the United States since the enhanced federal subsidies expired. But New Mexico has record numbers of people signing up.
18. 24 States Sue E.P.A. Over Climate Change Decision
    The suit accuses the agency of illegally repealing the endangerment finding, the scientific assessment that required it to regulate greenhouse gases.
19. The Weather Is Getting Wilder, and Some See a Dire Signal in the Data
    Several of the Earth’s systems are changing faster than predicted as global temperatures rise, scientists say.
20. Ozempic Is About to Go Generic in India, China and Canada
    In India, China and several other nations, Novo Nordisk is on the verge of losing patent protection for its blockbuster weight loss drug, opening the door for cheaper competing versions.
21. FEMA Will Relaunch Climate Resiliency Grants
    A judge ruled in December that the agency could not cancel a program that had helped states invest billions of dollars in disaster readiness.
22. James Barnard, a Global Force in Wastewater Treatment, Dies at 90
    An environmental engineer, he invented a biological method to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater, an advance that transformed the industry worldwide.
23. As a Meningitis Outbreak Spreads in Kent, UK, Here’s What to Know
    At least 27 young adults are believed to be infected, and two have died, in an outbreak of meningococcal disease in the county of Kent, in southeast England.
24. Women Who Undergo Menopause Before 40 Face Higher Heart Attack Risk
    A new study found that women who went through so-called premature menopause had 40 percent more fatal and nonfatal heart attacks over the course of their lives.
25. Democrats Hammer Trump on ‘Energy Affordability’
    A new Senate report argues the Trump administration has also pushed costs up by stifling clean energy.
26. An ‘Unprecedented’ Outbreak of Meningitis Raises Alarm in Britain
    Two people have died in an outbreak of meningococcal disease. Many cases were traced to a nightclub in Canterbury that is popular with students at the University of Kent.