Science Times: How to Map a Fly Brain in 20 Million Easy Steps

Plus: A Future for People With Disabilities in Outer Space Takes Flight —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 26, 2021 David Scharf/Science Source How to Map a Fly Brain in 20 Million Easy Steps An enormous new analysis of the wiring of the fruit fly brain is a milestone for the young field of modern connectomics, scientists say. By Emily Anthes TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE How many neurons are there in the brain of a fruit fly? 100,000 4.3 million 690 million 2.2 billion 85 billion Click on what you think is the correct answer. Al Powers/AstroAccess/Zero G Corporation A Future for People With Disabilities in Outer Space Takes Flight People with different types of disabilities tested their skills and technologies on a zero-gravity research flight with the goal of proving that they can safely go to space. By Amanda Morris Harry Tuazon, Bhamla Lab at Georgia Tech Behold, the Worm Blob and Its Computerized Twin It wriggles. It pulls. It falls apart and comes back together. It is everything you wish for and everything you fear. By Sabrina Imbler Nolis Anderson for The New York Times M.I.T.'s Choice of Lecturer Ignited Criticism. So Did Its Decision to Cancel. Dorian Abbot is a scientist who has opposed aspects of affirmative action. He is now at the center of an argument over free speech and acceptable discourse. By Michael Powell Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times Ancient-DNA Researchers Set Ethics Guidelines for Their Work New, international standards for handling ancient genetic material draw support from many scientists, criticism from others. By Sabrina Imbler Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. Filippo Carugati Trilobites Madagascar's Got Talent: Lemurs That Sing With Rhythm For the first time, researchers have found a nonhuman animal that seems to have a sense of the beat. By Sam Jones Chris Gunn/NASA Out There The Webb Telescope's Latest Stumbling Block: Its Name The long-awaited successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in December. But the NASA official for whom it is named has been accused of homophobia. By Dennis Overbye Universal Images Group/DeAgostini, via Alamy Trilobites Dinosaurs May Have Been Socializing Nearly 200 Million Years Ago A trove of fossilized eggs and skeletons in Argentina revealed that some dinosaurs likely traveled in herds and socialized by age. By Nicholas Bakalar Anthony Romilio and Kamil PorembinskI Trilobites Fearsome Dinosaur That Stalked Australia Was a Timid Plant Eater A new analysis of fossilized footprints corrects what earlier scientists mistook for a very early carnivore in the dinosaur era. By Corinne Purtill Glenn Nagel Photography Trilobites Vikings Were in the Americas Exactly 1,000 Years Ago By studying tree rings and using a dash of astrophysics, researchers have pinned down a precise year that settlers from Europe were on land that would come to be known as Newfoundland. By Katherine Kornei Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Jeff Bezos' Rocket Company Wants to Build a Space Station Blue Origin says it will team up with Sierra Space, Boeing and other companies to build an outpost that could help replace the International Space Station. By Joey Roulette She Is Breaking Glass Ceilings in Space, but Facing Sexism on Earth Sanitary pads and makeup: A Chinese astronaut's six-month stay aboard the country's space station has revealed conflicted cultural values toward gender. By Steven Lee Myers NASA Plans February Moon Launch With Giant Rocket A flight of the Space Launch System and Orion capsule without astronauts aboard is planned for early next year, a first, long-delayed step toward returning astronauts to the moon's surface. By Michael Roston Trilobites Tuskless Elephants Escape Poachers, but May Evolve New Problems Scientists identified the genes that played a role in many female elephants of Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park being born without tusks. By Elizabeth Preston Trilobites The Horse You Rode In On May Have Been Made in Southern Russia A comprehensive new paper tested 273 ancient horse genomes to pinpoint when and where modern horses were domesticated. By Sabrina Imbler Join us at the Climate Hub As world leaders gather in Glasgow for consequential climate change negotiations, join us at The New York Times Climate Hub to uncover answers to one of the most urgent questions of our time: How do we adapt and thrive on a changing planet? Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 3–11, in person and online. Get tickets at nytclimatehub.com. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE David Goldman/Associated Press Climate Change Poses a Widening Threat to National Security Intelligence and defense agencies issued reports warning that the warming planet will increase strife between countries and spur migration. By Christopher Flavelle, Julian E. Barnes, Eileen Sullivan and Jennifer Steinhauer Emile Ducke for The New York Times How Russia Is Cashing In on Climate Change Global warming may pose grave dangers around the world, but as one tiny Russian town on the Arctic Ocean shows, it can also be a ticket to prosperity. By Andrew E. Kramer Subscribe Today We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times with this special offer. HEALTH Amir Hamja for The New York Times In a First, Surgeons Attached a Pig Kidney to a Human, and It Worked A kidney grown in a genetically altered pig functions normally, scientists reported. The procedure may open the door to a renewable source of desperately needed organs. By Roni Caryn Rabin Here's Why Developing Countries Can Make mRNA Covid Vaccines Pfizer and Moderna are skeptical, but we found 10 companies in Africa, Asia and South America well-positioned to produce the gold-standard mRNA shots. By Stephanie Nolen Paul Ratje for The New York Times A 30-Year Campaign to Control Drug Prices Faces Yet Another Failure Democrats have made giving government the power to negotiate drug prices a central campaign theme for decades. With the power to make it happen, they may fall short yet again. By Jonathan Weisman Getty Images Phys Ed What Scientists Are Learning About Estrogen and Exercise A study in mice raises intriguing questions about the ways that hormones influence the brain and motivate the body to move. By Gretchen Reynolds Gracia Lam Personal Health The Emotional Toll of Adult Acne The skin blemishes can affect people in their 30s, 40s and beyond and lead to depression, anxiety and social isolation. By Jane E. Brody Moni Orife Nadia Chaudhri, Scientist With an End-of-Life Mission, Dies at 43 She documented her last months with ovarian cancer on Twitter while raising funds to support students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the sciences. By Annabelle Williams This Flu Season Is Different. Here's How to Prepare. We've had two light years in a row, which some experts worry could mean we'll be in for a rough few months. By Melinda Wenner Moyer The Best Workout for Middle-Aged Bodies Research shows that becoming fit in middle age will give you more years of good health — and the most effective exercise for a middle-aged body can be easier and faster than you might think. By Tara Parker-Pope Studies Show Why Is Good Medical Advice for Pregnant Women So Hard to Find? A recent warning about the pain reliever acetaminophen is a reminder that health risks in pregnancy remain maddeningly, dangerously understudied. By Kim Tingley How to Fend Off Winter Depression As the days get shorter and the nights start earlier, take these steps to help prevent seasonal affective disorder. By Christina Caron Jim Wilson/The New York Times Are Vaccine Boosters Widely Needed? Some Federal Advisers Have Misgivings. "In our hearts, I think people don't quite agree with this notion of a booster dose," said one leading vaccine expert. By Apoorva Mandavilli Getty Images Is It Covid-19 or the Flu? Though the symptoms of flu and Covid-19 can be similar, there are ways to tell them apart. Here's how. By Melinda Wenner Moyer Brittainy Newman for The New York Times C.D.C. Recommends Covid Booster Shots for Millions of Americans Recipients of the Moderna and the J.&J. vaccines may receive extra doses. The agency also embraced a "mix-and-match" strategy. By Apoorva Mandavilli EPA, via Shutterstock Gates Foundation Pledges $120 Million to Help Get Covid Pills Quickly to Poor Countries Regulatory hurdles and supply chain issues could slow efforts to produce generic versions of Merck's antiviral molnupiravir for developing nations, despite licensing agreements. By Stephanie Nolen Jim Wilson/The New York Times Mix-and-Match Covid Boosters: Why They Just Might Work The F.D.A. may authorize booster shots of vaccines different from the ones that Americans originally received. The science behind the move is promising. By Carl Zimmer Shawn Rocco/Duke University, via Reuters Small Needles and Short Lines: Biden's Plan to Vaccinate Young Children White House officials, anticipating the approval of coronavirus shots for 5- to 11-year-olds within weeks, will rely on doctors, clinics and pharmacies instead of mass inoculation sites. By Katie Rogers 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. 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