New York Times - Science

C.D.C. Warns New Virus Variant Could Fuel Huge Spikes in Covid Cases

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 22:09:55 GMT

The more contagious version, first identified in Britain, is expected to spread widely and lead to further strains on an already overburdened health care system.A patient arriving at the Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, Calif., last month.

Hypersonic Superweapons Are a Mirage, New Analysis Says

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 21:42:31 GMT

Two scientists find revolutionary claims about the evasion of detection and defenses to be “nonsense.”A test launch of a hypersonic missile at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, in March.

Climate Change Survey: Majority of Voters Support Initiatives

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 11:01:06 GMT

A survey carried out after the November election found that 66 percent of respondents said that developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority.From left, an electric car charging station at a Walgreens in Sacramento; porcupine caribou crossing the Niguanak River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska; and a wind turbine near Shenandoah, Pa.

Mary Catherine Bateson Dies at 81; Anthropologist on Lives of Women

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 22:09:26 GMT

After a well-documented childhood as the daughter of Margaret Mead, she earned her own renown with a book on women’s lives that became a touchstone to feminists.Mary Catherine Bateson at her home in New Hampshire in 2010. In “Composing a Life,” about the stop-and-start nature of women’s lives, she wrote of life “as an improvisatory art.”

Toyota to Pay a Record Fine for a Decade of Clean Air Act Violations

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 21:46:02 GMT

Toyota’s $180 million settlement with the federal government follows a series of emissions-related scandals in the auto industry.A Toyota Hilux pickup truck on an assembly line in Ban Pho, Thailand, in 2015.

What Does a More Contagious Virus Mean for Schools?

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 20:46:54 GMT

The coronavirus variant discovered in Britain is more easily spread among children, as it is among adults. Current safeguards should protect schools, experts said, but only if strictly enforced.Children in Knutsford, England, returning to school this month following a Christmas break.

Some Medical Students Wait in Line for Covid Vaccine, While Others Share Selfies of Shots

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:03:42 GMT

Across states and schools, medical students’ access to the coronavirus vaccine has varied widely, creating some confusion and stress.Vaccinations earlier this month at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Odessa.

Negative Coronavirus Test Required For Travelers Entering U.S.

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 17:17:20 GMT

Beginning Jan. 26, international travelers bound for the United States must show negative coronavirus test results before boarding their flights. Here’s what you need to know.Passengers from London check in at a health kiosk at Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Electric Eels Hunt in Packs, Shocking Prey and Scientists

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 16:00:08 GMT

The behavior, used by wolves and orcas to run down fast prey, is rarely seen in fish.A Volta’s electric eel in the Xingu River in northern Brazil.

Swimming With the Sharks in Facebook’s World

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 11:00:05 GMT

Our columnist is searching for his own niche in a universe dominated by giants.

W.H.O. Team in Wuhan to Trace Coronavirus

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 06:24:25 GMT

Beijing has repeatedly impeded the global inquiry into the emergence of the coronavirus, worried about drawing attention to its early mistakes.Workers in protective clothing greeted members of the World Health Organization team at the airport in Wuhan, China, on Thursday.

Trump Opens Habitat of a Threatened Owl to Timber Harvesting

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 20:53:01 GMT

Going far beyond expectations, the Trump administration eliminated protection from more than three million acres of northern spotted owl habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

Pig Painting May Be World’s Oldest Cave Art Yet, Archaeologists Say

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:02:17 GMT

The depiction of the animal on an Indonesian island is at least 45,500 years old, the researchers say.Human skeletal remains as old as the painting have never been found in Sulawesi, so it is not clear that the artists were anatomically modern humans.

New Bat Species With Orangutan Hue Discovered in West Africa

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:00:10 GMT

Scientists hope the rare discovery could be a catalyst for conserving the region’s biodiversity.The finding of Myotis nimbaensis, a new species of bat in Guinea’s Nimba Mountains, is a rare instance of discovering an unidentified species in the field.

The Real Dire Wolf Ran Into an Evolutionary Dead End

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:15:51 GMT

The species’ remarkable genetic isolation from other wolves may have contributed to its demise.The dire wolf was about 20 percent larger on average than the gray wolf, and it was long considered a sister species. A new analysis places it in a different genus.

China Places Over 22 Million on Lockdown Amid New Covid Wave

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 11:53:34 GMT

The country is experiencing its worst coronavirus flare-up since last summer, testing the government’s success in subduing the disease.Testing for the coronavirus on Tuesday in Shijiazhuang, China, one of three cities in Hebei Province that are on lockdown.

Johnson & Johnson Expects Covid Vaccine Results Soon but Lags in Production

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 10:00:18 GMT

The U.S. needs J.&J.’s one-shot vaccine more than ever. But the company is behind on manufacturing promises made in its Operation Warp Speed contract.A dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate at the Rocky Mountain Regional V.A. Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., last month.

Millipede Swarms Once Stopped Japanese Trains in Their Tracks

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 00:01:09 GMT

A team of scientists say they have figured out the cicada-like life cycles of the many-legged arthropods.A swarm of millipedes in Japan, on their way to new feeding grounds.

U.S. to Require Negative Virus Tests From International Air Passengers

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 23:07:49 GMT

Before they board planes to the U.S., passengers will have to produce proof that they are not infected or have recently recovered.Travelers arriving at Terminal 4 at J.F.K. International Airport in New York last month.

Doctor's Death After Getting the Covid Vaccine Is Investigated

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 20:08:04 GMT

A Florida physician developed an unusual blood disorder shortly after he received the Pfizer vaccine. It is not yet known if the shot is linked to the illness.The Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., where Dr. Gregory Michael got the vaccine.