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Received — 30 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Clues to Why a Breakthrough Pancreatic Cancer Drug Eventually Stops Working

✇NYT: Science
By: Gina Kolata
30 September 2026 at 13:48
Researchers are asking why patients, like former Senator Ben Sasse, inevitably develop resistance to the drug daraxonrasib.

© T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

Researchers are studying why patients, like former Senator Ben Sasse, eventually develop resistance to the drug daraxonrasib.

Viper Image That Caused Alarm in California Was A.I.-Generated

✇NYT: Science
By: Victor Mather
30 September 2026 at 13:28
A Gaboon viper, a venomous snake native to equatorial regions of Africa, was supposedly photographed in a tree in Santa Ana, Calif. How could that be? Well, it turns out it wasn’t.

© Joel Saget/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

This is a real Gaboon viper. One that was supposedly photographed in a tree in Santa Ana, Calif., was fake.

New Cancer Drugs Are Revolutionary. Why Don’t More Patients Get Them?

✇NYT: Science
By: Gina Kolata
30 September 2026 at 10:02
Targeted gene therapies are highly effective at stopping cancers, but the very abundance of the treatments, plus cost and sluggish change, are hindering access.

© Emily Elconin for The New York Times

When John Ebers, a commercial beekeeper in Comstock Park, Mich., was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer, he was not given the option of genetic testing, which could have revealed if there were drugs that could attack his cancer.

See How El Niño Is Washing Ashore in California

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
30 September 2026 at 10:00
An enormous pulse of wave energy will soon reach Southern California and continue north, raising sea levels by half a foot and increasing threats from swells and tides.

© Mario Tama/Getty Images

A wave crashes into a sea wall protecting beachfront homes in Long Beach, Ca., where a boardwalk was damaged by Hurricane Marie.
Received — 29 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Ukrainian Science Academy, Struck by Drone, Played Key Role in Research

✇NYT: Science
By: Robin George Andrews and Nataliia Novosolova
29 September 2026 at 15:55
Over 90 percent of Ukraine’s scientific discoveries have been attributed to Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, including advancements in astronomy and military technology.

© Finbarr O'Reilly for The New York Times

A Russian drone strike on the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, Ukraine, killed at least two people on Monday.

Tennessee Valley Authority Gets Approval to Build Small Nuclear Reactor

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
29 September 2026 at 14:09
It’s only the second time that American regulators have approved a next-generation commercial reactor for construction. Big hurdles remain.

© Audra Melton for The New York Times

The Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia cost $35 billion to build.

Anthropic’s Quest for Humanlike A.I.

✇NYT: Science
By: Elizabeth Dias · Cade Metz · Christina Shaman · Chris Whitworth · Stephanie Swart · Whitney Shefte and Mark Oltmanns
29 September 2026 at 12:27
Elizabeth Dias, our national religion correspondent, and Cade Metz, one of our technology reporters, discuss Anthropic’s approach for instilling morality into Claude — which has involved consultations with religious leaders, including ones at the Vatican — and why it’s raising questions.

Radio Waves Coming From an Alien Planet May Be a Cosmic First

✇NYT: Science
By: Jonathan O’Callaghan
29 September 2026 at 05:01
Beta Pictoris b appears to have an aurora caused by a powerful magnetic field. If confirmed, it would be the first such field known outside our solar system.

© NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

An artist’s concept shows the Beta Pictoris system, which contains three gas giant exoplanets, 63 light-years from Earth.
Received — 28 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Despite Setbacks, NASA Gives Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft a Boost

✇NYT: Science
By: Kenneth Chang
28 September 2026 at 20:15
A previous mission left two astronauts stuck in space for months. Still, the space agency is investing $359 million to keep the craft flying.

© NASA, via Associated Press

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft could make another trip to the International Space Station as soon as December, but this time carrying only cargo.

The Coal Industry Asked for a Rescue. Trump Obliged.

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer and Claire Brown
28 September 2026 at 17:41
In a previously unreported letter, a top lobbyist floated the idea of using emergency powers to keep aging coal plants open.

© Rachel Woolf for The New York Times

Coal plants were ordered to stay open, including Craig Generating Station in Colorado, which challenged the emergency order.

Judge Blocks FEMA From Tying Antiterrorism Grants to Election Changes

✇NYT: Science
By: Scott Dance
28 September 2026 at 15:47
The Trump administration had threatened to withhold some Homeland Security money unless states explored paper balloting and citizenship verification.

© Sophie Park for The New York Times

Voters cast primary election ballots in Augusta, Maine, in June. A court ruled Monday that the Trump administration cannot withhold federal terrorism preparedness grants from states and localities that don’t explore shifting to paper ballots.

Trump Sharply Scales Back Fuel Economy Rules for New Cars

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer and Maxine Joselow
29 September 2026 at 12:32
The move marked the final step in the administration’s efforts to dismantle policies aimed at speeding the shift to electric vehicles.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The new standards should be relatively easy for automakers to meet, analysts said.

This Virus Stole a Human Gene and Won’t Let Go of It

✇NYT: Science
By: Carl Zimmer
29 September 2026 at 12:34
Scientists have found a human gene lurking in a virus that causes skin infections. It may be using our own DNA to infect us.

© Science Source

Molluscum contagiosum virus, which causes sores on skin, swiped a gene from humans about 100,000 years ago according to a new study.
Received — 27 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own?

✇NYT: Science
By: Carl Zimmer
28 September 2026 at 14:15
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.

© Jason Henry for The New York Times

Received — 26 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

How El Niño Is Shaping Storms on Two Sides of the U.S.

✇NYT: Science
By: Raymond Zhong
26 September 2026 at 13:23
Hurricanes near Hawaii. A nor’easter on the East Coast. The ocean phenomenon’s influence on storms around the country may just be getting started.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

Flooding in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., on Saturday.

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission

✇NYT: Science
By: Apoorva Mandavilli
26 September 2026 at 09:09
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

© Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

A protest outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year after employees were laid off. Beyond staff reductions, the agency also faces a leadership vacuum.

California Needs Water. El Niño Might Bring Too Much to Keep.

✇NYT: Science
By: Scott Dance
26 September 2026 at 12:21
The drought-stricken state has improved its ability to collect and store rainwater. But many gallons may still rush into the Pacific.

© Getty Images

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has declared a state of emergency to mobilize disaster resources before El Niño peaks.

In an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life

✇NYT: Science
By: Carolyn Y. Johnson
26 September 2026 at 05:00
A scrappy science project led to a significant discovery: two new species of a rare organism that could elucidate a fundamental transition in the history of life on our planet.

Four Beluga Whales Die Weeks After Major Rescue Mission

✇NYT: Science
By: Remy Tumin
25 September 2026 at 18:20
The belugas were among 30 whales transferred to aquariums in the United States and Spain from a closed marine attraction in Canada.

© Rachel Mittelstaedt/Shedd Aquarium, via Associated Press

A beluga whale named Osiris at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in August. It was one of four belugas to die after being transferred from a closed marine park in Canada.
Received — 25 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Is China Really Stealing A.I. From American Companies?

✇NYT: Science
By: Cade Metz
25 September 2026 at 11:02
As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, the leaders are expected to discuss claims that China is surreptitiously copying American A.I. technologies, a process known as distillation.

© Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Chinese companies Z.ai and Moonshot are not far behind Anthropic and OpenAI.
Received — 24 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

A Second Judge Strikes Down New York’s Climate ‘Superfund’ Law

✇NYT: Science
By: Karen Zraick
24 September 2026 at 15:23
A federal judge ruled that the new law, which would force fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion to help cover the costs of climate change, was unconstitutional.

© Libby March for The New York Times

The plant in Somerset, N.Y., which closed in 2020, was the last coal-fired power station in the state.

In a New Anthropic Lab, A.I. Turns to Biology

✇NYT: Science
By: Carl Zimmer
25 September 2026 at 14:42
Scientists at the company announced their first finding: a group of enzymes whose function is unknown.

© Jason Henry/Bloomberg

Anthropic’s San Francisco headquarters.

Google Is Sending an A.I. Data Center to Outer Space

✇NYT: Science
By: Kate Conger and Cade Metz
24 September 2026 at 09:48
Next Thursday, Google is sending an experimental satellite into orbit that will have enough computing power to answer simple A.I. queries from space.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

A technician in a clean room at the Planet Labs office inspects the solar panels and wires of a Google-commissioned satellite before a vibration test meant to mimic the shaking it will undergo during launch.

Can Tech Companies Like Google Really Put Data Centers in Space?

✇NYT: Science
By: Cade Metz
24 September 2026 at 21:12
Google is preparing to launch a satellite that can run its A.I. technologies from the heavens. But this is just a first step.

© Philip Cheung for The New York Times

Workers prepared to test solar panels and wires for a vibration test for eventual use on a spacecraft, at Planet Labs in San Francisco.
Received — 23 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Trump Backtracks on Plan for New Controls on N.I.H. Grants

✇NYT: Science
By: Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Tony Romm
23 September 2026 at 17:16
Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards.

© David Goldman/Associated Press

N.I.H. is the nation’s largest research agency, which disburses much of its $48 billion annual budget to labs and academic researchers who study cancer, infectious diseases and other health priorities.

Where Is the U.S. Beating China on A.I., and Where Is It Lagging?

✇NYT: Science
By: Dustin Volz and Cade Metz
23 September 2026 at 16:05
As Xi Jinping visits President Trump in Washington, his country lags behind the United States on A.I. development in key areas — but Beijing has advantages elsewhere.

© Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July. China and the United States are locked in an A.I. race that both sides see as decisive to gaining the upper hand militarily, technologically and economically.

New Study Illuminates Bats’ Murky Origins

✇NYT: Science
By: Emily Anthes
23 September 2026 at 11:00
The largest analysis of bat genomes and fossils suggests that the first bats emerged in Europe roughly 65 million years ago and that echolocation evolved early.

Chris Wright Sells Trump’s ‘Energy Dominance’ Vision

✇NYT: Science
By: Brad Plumer
23 September 2026 at 08:50
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is pitching a future of fossil fuel abundance. It’s not always an easy sell while war drags on and oil prices surge.

© Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Chris Wright, the Energy Secretary, speaking before the G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Abundance in Houston last week.
Received — 22 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Judge Dismisses Unusual Climate Suit Claiming Oil Giants Broke Antitrust Law

✇NYT: Science
By: Karen Zraick
22 September 2026 at 18:23
The lawsuit, filed by Michigan, claimed oil companies colluded to obstruct solar power and to misrepresent climate risks, making energy costlier.

© Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general, whose lawsuit accused fossil fuel companies of creating a “cartel” and raising costs for residents.

Texas Halts Data Center Permits, Expanding Environmental Scrutiny

✇NYT: Science
By: Scott Dance
22 September 2026 at 23:23
Less than a year ago, Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed data centers. Now he is confronting concerns about the projects even among fellow Republicans.

© Paul Ratje for The New York Times

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas ordered state environmental regulators on Monday to pause data center permitting processes.

$345 Million Verdict Against Greenpeace Should Be Overturned, Lawyers Say

✇NYT: Science
By: Karen Zraick
22 September 2026 at 14:27
A group of civil-rights and free-speech lawyers accused the judge of bias and “general incompetence.”

© James MacPherson/Associated Press

Greenpeace in 2025 lost a lawsuit brought by pipeline company Energy Transfer over protests against its Dakota Access Pipeline. A protest encampment in 2016.

Mathematics Isn’t Just a Game to Let A.I. Solve. History Shows Why.

✇NYT: Science
By: Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend
22 September 2026 at 11:00
In our field of applied mathematics, the long, human process of trial and error — not just the solutions themselves — is often what has led to progress.

© Bettmann/Getty Images

An early computer. After World War II, computers became the tool with which math and engineering moved forward in tandem. Will they now be math’s undoing?
Received — 21 September 2026 ⏭ NYT: Science

Sadness and Suicidal Behavior Among Teenagers Is Declining, C.D.C. Finds

✇NYT: Science
By: Azeen Ghorayshi
21 September 2026 at 18:38
A national survey has found that key mental health measures for teenagers have significantly improved from their worst levels during the pandemic.

© Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

The C.D.C.’s survey, which has been conducted every two years since 1991, found rates of mental health issues in teenagers had increased every year since 2011 before starting to decline in 2023.

Judge Allows Transfer of Land in Wildlife Refuge to SpaceX, for Now

✇NYT: Science
By: Maxine Joselow
21 September 2026 at 14:25
The ruling clears a path for a land swap deal that would expand Elon Musk’s Starbase launch site in South Texas.

© Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

The SpaceX Starbase complex in Texas, which is seeking more than 700 acres from a nearby wildlife refuge.

Are A.I. Models Being Misled to Act Too Human?

✇NYT: Science
By: Cade Metz
21 September 2026 at 13:00
A corporate spat between two tech giants last week was just the latest volley in a conflict over whether dangerous mistakes are being made in A.I. training.

© Chona Kasinger for The New York Times

Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s A.I. chief, argued in an essay published Wednesday that the tech start-up Anthropic was pushing its systems too hard to mimic human behaviors.

David George Gordon, Apostle for Bugs on the Dinner Plate, Dies at 76

✇NYT: Science
By: Michael S. Rosenwald
21 September 2026 at 05:02
His “The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook” made a case for insects as food, while his boisterous cooking demonstrations brought tarantulas and crickets to TV.

© Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Mr. Gordon in 2012. Among his favorite dishes was deep-fried tarantulas.
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