News

Trump to Withdraw Musk’s Ally as Nominee for Top NASA Job

Jared Isaacman was a close associate of Elon Musk, whose SpaceX company has multiple contracts with NASA.

Your Cat May or May Not Love You, but It Knows Your Scent

Scientists found a way to get 30 kitties to cooperate with a study exploring the power of the feline sense of smell.

World Scientists Look Elsewhere as U.S. Labs Stagger Under Trump Cuts

With the welcome mat withdrawn for promising researchers from around the world, America is at risk of losing its longstanding pre-eminence in the sciences.

Scientists Say They’ve Found a Dwarf Planet Very Far From the Sun

The small world was found during a search for the hypothetical Planet Nine, and astronomers say the next time it will reach its closest point to the sun is in the year 26186.

Judge Says Government Should Release Russian Scientist

The judge ordered ICE to release Kseniia Petrova, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, who also faces criminal charges.

China Launches Tianwen-2 Mission to Capture Pieces of Near-Earth Asteroid

The robotic Tianwen-2 spacecraft will collect samples from Kamoʻoalewa, which some scientists suspect is a fragment of the moon.

SpaceX Starship Loses Control on Test Flight 9 as Rocket Re-enters Earth

Much was riding on Flight 9 for Elon Musk’s giant moon and Mars rocket after debris from January and March flights fell into the Atlantic Ocean, disrupting air travel.

Sonic Detectives Want to Help SpaceX Listen Up

Physicists who record rocket launches and landings are learning important facts about the acoustics of spaceflight.

Trump’s Proposed Budget Would Cut the Ecosystems Mission Area and Much of Its Work

From bee science to understanding the impact of a warming world on plant life, here’s what the Ecosystems Mission Area does.

Étienne-Émile Baulieu, Who Developed the Abortion Pill, Dies at 98

He became an advocate of a woman’s right to choose and once said, “It is always tragic when politics takes the most vulnerable hostage — in this case, women.”

Trump Administration Ends Program Critical to Search for an H.I.V. Vaccine

The termination is the latest in a series of cuts to H.I.V. research and programs to prevent the disease.

A Court Debates Whether a Climate Lawsuit Threatens National Security

The judge asked lawyers how a suit by Charleston, S.C., claiming oil companies misled people about climate risks, might be affected by a Trump executive order blasting cases like these.

George E. Smith Dead: Nobel Prize Winner Was 95

Together with Willard S. Boyle, he invented an imaging device that is an essential part of nearly every telescope, photocopier and digital camera used today.

CDC Issues New Advice on Covid Vaccines for Children That Contradicted RFK Jr.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday that the vaccine would no longer appear on the childhood immunization schedule. C.D.C.’s update counters his policy.

Energy Dept. Cancels $3.7 Billion for New Technologies to Lower Emissions

The 24 awards would have gone to a range of companies trying in novel ways to reduce the pollution that is heating the planet.

Robert Jarvik, a Designer of the First Artificial Heart, Dies at 79

He worked with a team at the University of Utah to create a mechanical heart. It was later used in patients awaiting an organ transplant.

Some Glaciers Will Vanish No Matter What, Study Finds

Glacial ice will melt for centuries even if global temperatures stop rising now, according to new research.

U.S. Cancels Contract With Moderna to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly questioned the safety of mRNA technology, which is used in the company’s shot.

Will Charleston’s Climate Lawsuit Survive the Week?

The city is suing oil companies over global warming. Trump says lawsuits like these threaten national security. The judge wants to hear what both sides think.

German Court Dismisses Climate Lawsuit Against RWE

The judges ruled that German civil law could be used to hold companies accountable for the worldwide effects of their emissions.

Manhattanhenge Is Back for 2025: When, Where and How to Watch

It is time once again to head to your nearest crosstown view for New York City’s best annual sunsets, if the weather cooperates.

US Archaeologists Face Uncertain Future With Trump Administration Cuts

Federal layoffs and grant terminations threaten efforts to understand and preserve the nation’s past. “We are getting cut off at the knees,” said one archaeologist.