NYT > Science

1. What China’s Successful Rocket Launch Means for the Future of the Space Race
   A space neophyte not long ago, China is now the United States’s main competitor for supremacy throughout the solar system.
2. F.C.C. Approves Test of Space Mirror to Light Night Sky Despite Outcry
   A start-up company has permission to try its plan to bounce solar rays onto the dark side of Earth, turning night to day for a three-mile-wide patch.
3. Your Cat Is Being Nice? Think Again.
   A new study finds that sometimes cats groom each other specifically to be annoying.
4. U.S. Department of Energy Underestimated Potential Los Alamos Plutonium Leak Danger, Study Finds
   An accident at the lab that produces America’s nuclear bomb cores could lead to more fatalities than previously estimated by the federal government, according to new research.
5. She Studied Ways to Make People Smarter. Then Her Grant Was Cut.
   Jessica Cantlon had a grant with the U.S. Navy to explore whether people could improve spatial problem-solving skills through training. Then the program was cut.
6. This Star Just Ate a Planet, and It’s Not Done Yet
   A star 1,300 light-years away appears to have just consumed one world and is gearing up for seconds.
7. I.U.C.N. Update Says Deep-Sea Mining Threatens Mollusks Around Hydrothermal Vents
   The snails and other mollusks around hydrothermal vents have evolved to thrive in extreme conditions, but mineral extraction could drive more than half to extinction.
8. Nobel-Winning U.S. Chemist Omar Yaghi Will Move to China to Lead A.I. Institute
   Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, will head an initiative to apply artificial intelligence to the discovery of new materials.
9. These Fossils May Be the Earliest Evidence of Handedness in Animals
   Scientists propose that recently uncovered fossils may be the earliest evidence of behavioral “handedness” in animals.
10. Years After He Quit Smoking, a Lung Cancer Scan Saved His Life
    Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and older adults are at higher risk. But only about a quarter of patients eligible for screening are up-to-date.
11. Kids Can’t Stop Watching ‘Moana.’ There’s a Scientific Explanation.
    The 2016 release has become the most watched movie on Disney+. Parents and experts explain why kids can’t get enough.
12. Trump Cuts Habitat Protections for Endangered Species
    The rule change ends a safeguard that had been in place for 50 years and could hasten the demise of imperiled animals.
13. New York Sues Companies Over ‘Forever Chemicals’
    The lawsuit claims that the companies, including 3M and DuPont, contaminated the environment and engaged in fraud by withholding information from the public about the harms of the chemicals, known as PFAS.
14. Advanced Recycling Hits a Rough Patch
    In the past weeks, two sites in the United States have halted operations.
15. Joseph Fraumeni, 93, Dies; Helped Discover Genetic Link to Cancer
    Considered the founder of molecular epidemiology, he worked with Frederick P. Li to identify a hereditary disorder that increased the risk of developing cancer at a young age.
16. Trump’s Plans for Nuclear Power Lurch Ahead
    Recent technological advances have brought the president’s goals a bit closer to reality.
17. Wally Funk, Who Set an Age Record for Space Travel, Dies at 87
    As a young woman in the 1960s, she wasn’t allowed to become a NASA astronaut. She finally realized her long-held dream of flying in space as an octogenarian.
18. A Chinese Spacecraft Captures First Image of Quasi-Moon
    A Chinese spacecraft has captured the first image of the asteroid Kamo‘oalewa.
19. How to Turn Your Phone Into a Personal Health Dashboard
    Free apps from Google, Samsung and Apple can help you track your diet, exercise and well-being — and provide vital information during emergencies.
20. This Kind of Obsessive Attraction Isn’t Love. But It Has a Name.
    Limerence is more than a crush, psychologists say, and it can persist for months or years.
21. Western Europe Had Its Hottest June on Record
    An unusually early heat wave smashed records across France, Britain and Spain. Temperatures in some areas are starting to soar again.
22. Spread of Seafloor Directly Observed for the First Time
    The spread of the ocean floor, as tectonic plates spread apart, is known but hard to observe. Scientists have now documented the process in action.
23. Global Warming Could Ravage the Amazon’s Useful Plant Species, Study Finds
    Hotter temperatures and harsher droughts could cause Indigenous societies to lose many of the species they have used for medicine, rituals and more, scientists found.
24. Our Bacteria Are Talking. We’ve Just Begun to Understand What They’re Saying.
    The human microbiome is essential to our health, but scientists still know very little about it. Two researchers set out to map this largely uncharted terrain.
25. Chernobyl’s Wildlife Cameras Reveal How War Affects Wild Animals
    A rare camera-trap study logged the effects of armed conflict on wild animals in real time.
26. New Rules Require Election Changes for States to Get Terrorism Grants
    Federal officials said they would withhold some money unless states pursue paper ballot systems, verify citizenship and conduct costly audits.
27. Nation’s 250th Celebration Fireworks Sent D.C. Air Pollution Spiking
    The president promised a record display of some 850,000 pyrotechnics for the country’s 250th birthday. The Park Service warned it could get dirty.
28. Cosmic Conjoined Twins, Caught on Camera
    A Japanese spacecraft flew by an asteroid and snapped a picture. It turned out to be a “contact binary”: two space rocks that somehow fused together.
29. As Ice Melts in the Arctic, Some Deep-Sea Creatures Are Thriving
    A new study suggests that deep-sea life reaps the benefits of icebergs’ castoffs — a rare silver lining as a warming planet destabilizes glacial ice.
30. I Wanted an Ecologically Responsible Garden. It Was Harder Than I Thought.
    The native plant movement gets a lot right, but there’s so much more to consider.
31. Mysterious Spheres Found in Australia Are Likely Space Debris
    The discovery bemused residents of a small town in northeastern Australia. The objects appear to be junk from a space launch, the country’s space agency said.
32. Heat Waves Are Taking a Big Toll on Chickens
    The birds are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures, and France’s torrid June took a heavy toll.
33. Bill Frist Wants to Take Politics Out of Climate Change
    Bill Frist, a surgeon who also served as Senate majority leader, has emerged as an outspoken advocate for environmental health. “A healthier planet means healthier people,” he said.
34. Efforts to Help Smokers Quit Stall Under Trump
    The C.D.C.’s tobacco control office has been shut for more than a year. After its most prominent antismoking campaign went off the air, calls to 1-800-QUIT-NOW lines have plummeted.
35. For Families With Nonspeaking Autistic Children, a Fierce Debate Over Assisted Spelling
    Popular communication methods for nonspeaking autistic people have ignited a fierce debate over what counts as evidence of hidden cognitive abilities.
36. A Bird’s Brain Holds Clues to the Sounds of Music
    The neurobiologist Erich Jarvis studies the few species capable of speech. He has long hoped to genetically engineer an animal that can make new calls.