Science Times: Decolonizing the Hunt for Dinosaurs and Other Fossils

Plus: The World's Oldest Wooden Sculpture —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 23, 2021 Classic Image/Alamy Decolonizing the Hunt for Dinosaurs and Other Fossils Younger paleontologists are working to overcome some historical legacies of their discipline and change how people learn about natural history. By Asher Elbein Sverdlovsk Regional Museum How the World's Oldest Wooden Sculpture Is Reshaping Prehistory At 12,500 years old, the Shigir Idol is by far the earliest known work of ritual art. Only decay has kept others from being found. By Franz Lidz   The Water on Mars Vanished. This Might Be Where It Went. Mars once had rivers, lakes and seas. Although the planet is now desert dry, scientists say most of the water is still there, just locked up in rocks. By Kenneth Chang William Hartmann Out There Why Oumuamua, the Interstellar Visitor, Looks Eerily Familiar A piece of an extrasolar Pluto may have passed through our cosmic neighborhood, a new study suggests. By Dennis Overbye Video by A. Aguilera-Castrejon Et Al., Nature 2021 Scientists Grow Mouse Embryos in a Mechanical Womb Biologists have long held that a fetus needs a living uterus to develop. Maybe not anymore. By Gina Kolata Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK Jovelle Tamayo for The New York Times First Covid, Then Psychosis: 'The Most Terrifying Thing I've Ever Experienced' Like a small number of Covid survivors with no previous mental illness, Ivan Agerton developed psychotic symptoms weeks after his coronavirus infection. By Pam Belluck Taylor Glascock for The New York Times They Had Mild Covid. Then Their Serious Symptoms Kicked In. A new study illuminates the complex array of neurological issues experienced by people months after their coronavirus infections. By Pam Belluck Alessandro Grassani for The New York Times U.S. Health Officials Question AstraZeneca Vaccine Trial Results According to federal officials, an independent panel of medical experts said the promising results announced by the company on Monday may have relied on "outdated information." By Rebecca Robbins and Sheila Kaplan James Estrin/The New York Times Coronavirus Reinfections Are Rare, Danish Researchers Report People over 65 are more likely to experience a second bout with the virus, according to a large study of medical records. By Apoorva Mandavilli Chang W. Lee/The New York Times How to Vaccinate Homebound Seniors? Take the Shots to Them. Millions of older Americans, chronically ill and trapped at home, pose a big challenge to inoculation efforts. Doctors are on it. By Roni Caryn Rabin and Chang W. Lee CJ Gunther/EPA, via Shutterstock Moderna Begins Testing Covid Vaccine in Babies and Children The company will study its vaccine in children ages six months through 11 in the United States and Canada. By Denise Grady Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times In a Boost to Reopening Schools, C.D.C. Says Students Can Be 3 Feet Apart The previous recommendation of six feet of distancing was a major obstacle to bringing students back for in-person learning. By Roni Caryn Rabin, Kate Taylor, Dana Goldstein and Shawn Hubler Caroline Tompkins for The New York Times If Everything Smells Bad, You're Not Alone Parosmia, a condition that causes phantom odors and a lingering symptom of Covid-19 for some people, has been affecting relationships. By Alyson Krueger Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT MORE SCIENCE NEWS Andrew Garn The Perseverance of New York City's Wildflowers A park in Williamsburg awaits the miniature beauty of its spring blossoms. By Sabrina Imbler and Andrew Garn Hisashi Murakami, Kyoto Institute of Technology; The University of Tokyo Trilobites If You Look at Your Phone While Walking, You're an Agent of Chaos An experiment by Japanese researchers revealed how just a few distracted walkers really can throw off the movements of a whole crowd. By Veronique Greenwood Sebastian Scheiner/Associated Press Israel Reveals Newly Discovered Fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls The finds, ranging from just a few millimeters to a thumbnail in size, are the first to be unearthed in archaeological excavations in the Judean Desert in about 60 years. By Isabel Kershner Alessio Mamo The World Through a Lens Glimpses of Sudan's Forgotten Pyramids Desecrated by plunderers, threatened by floodwaters and largely overshadowed by their Egyptian counterparts, Sudan's ancient archaeological sites may finally be poised to receive broader recognition. By Alessio Mamo Tyler Martin/NASA Essay NASA's Last Rocket The United States is unlikely to build anything like the Space Launch System ever again. But it's still good that NASA did. By David W. Brown 8 Minutes of Fire: NASA's 2nd Test of Giant New Moon Rocket Is a Success A test earlier this year of the Space Launch System core stage was marred by errors, so the agency conducted a do-over. By David W. Brown and Kenneth Chang Biden Nominates Former Florida Senator to Lead NASA Bill Nelson flew on a space shuttle in 1986 and lost re-election for a fourth Senate term in 2018. Some space advocates fear his approach to the agency could take it backward. By Kenneth Chang 2 Win Abel Prize for Work That Bridged Math and Computer Science Avi Wigderson and László Lovász will share the annual prize that aims to be something like the Nobel for mathematics. By Kenneth Chang How Does That Song Go? This Bird Couldn't Say. New generations of a critically endangered species of songbird are failing to learn the tunes they need for courtship. It could lead to extinction. By Mike Ives Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE Wang Jianmin/Visual China Group, via Getty Images The Rock Standing in the Way of China's Climate Ambitions: Coal Beijing's new development blueprint is meant to steer the country to carbon neutrality before 2060, but companies and regions dependent on the fossil fuel aren't making it easy. By Chris Buckley Matthew Abbott for The New York Times Australia's Worst Floods in Decades Quicken Concerns About Climate Change In a country that suffered the harshest wildfires in its recorded history just a year ago, the deluge has become another awful milestone. By Damien Cave If you've found this newsletter helpful, please consider subscribing to The New York Times — with this special offer. Your support makes our work possible. HEALTH Travis Dove for The New York Times Advanced Cancers Are Emerging, Doctors Warn, Citing Pandemic Drop in Screenings Appointments for mammograms and other tests to detect potential cancers were canceled during lockdowns, possibly leading to undiagnosed malignancies. In some cases, the delay has come at a great cost. By Reed Abelson Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times How to Virtually Become a Doctor Medical schools and students alike have had to adapt to remote cadaver dissections and bedside-manner training via Zoom. By Emma Goldberg Niv Bavarsky A Changing Gut Microbiome May Predict How Well You Age People whose gut bacteria transformed over the decades tended to be healthier and live longer. By Anahad O'Connor Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images Menthol Cigarettes Kill Many Black People. A Ban May Finally Be Near. Advocates are hoping that President Biden will soon come out in favor of banning mint-flavored cigarettes and other tobacco products. By Sheila Kaplan Gracia Lam Personal Health A Documentary Explores Dissociative Identity Disorder The condition, formerly called multiple personality disorder, affects a surprising 1 percent of the population. By Jane E. Brody How Much Weight Did We Gain During Lockdowns? 2 Pounds a Month, Study Hints Many Americans know they've put on weight during the pandemic, but it's been difficult for experts to detail the scope of the problem. By Roni Caryn Rabin The New Old Age Lighting Up Later in Life The number of older adults who use cannabis is on the rise, and some health experts are concerned. By Paula Span Phys Ed The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids Dogs orient and move in synchrony with family members, which may have implications for the emotional development of people and pets. By Gretchen Reynolds The Checkup How Children Read Differently From Books vs. Screens Scrolling may work for social media, but experts say that for school assignments, kids learn better if they slow down their reading. By Perri Klass, M.D. Make a friend's day: Forward this email. Got this from a friend? Subscribe to the Science Times newsletter. Check out other New York Times newsletters (all free!) including: Climate Fwd: for climate coverage and expert analysis. The Upshot for a data-driven look at the news. Well for the latest on health, fitness and nutrition. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Science Times from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018