Science Times: Omicron Is a Dress Rehearsal for the Next Pandemic

Plus: How Do You Tell the World That Doomsday Has Arrived? —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story December 14, 2021 Hokyoung Kim Omicron Is a Dress Rehearsal for the Next Pandemic America's response to the variant highlights both how much progress we have made over the past two years — and how much work remains By Emily Anthes TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNIVERSE How much material from space enters the Earth's atmosphere on an average day? 500 pounds 18,000 pounds 50 tons 10,000 tons 1 trillion tonsClick on what you think is the correct answer. Niko Tavernise/Netflix Out There How Do You Tell the World That Doomsday Has Arrived? A new film about a killer comet revives memories of a nail-biting night in The Times newsroom two decades ago. By Dennis Overbye R. Chen et al., Nature Communications 2021 Trilobites This Robot Looks Like a Pancake and Jumps Like a Maggot Researchers designed a soft, legless robot that can hop and navigate obstacle courses. By Sabrina Imbler Ball Aerospace New NASA Telescope Will Provide X-Ray Views of the Universe The IXPE spacecraft will use X-ray polarimetry to better measure black holes, supernovas and other astronomical phenomena. By Jonathan O'Callaghan Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. Nathan Myhrvold Geminid Meteor Shower: How to Watch Its Peak in Night Skies A picture from the meteor shower in 2020 highlights how brilliant this winter sky show can be. By Adam Mann Anna Klompen/University of Kansas Trilobites Hydra DNA Reveals There's More Than One Way to Regrow a Head Researchers pinpointed the genetic machinery behind some of these tiny creatures' amazing powers of regeneration. By Sam Jones Jian Luo, Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research Can an Athlete's Blood Enhance Brainpower? Scientists who injected idle mice with blood from athletic mice found improvements in learning and memory. The findings could have implications for Alzheimer's research and beyond. By Pam Belluck Volker J. Sach Trilobites Scientists Have a New Explanation for Mysterious Sand Spikes New research links the geological oddities to intense ground shaking from earthquakes or asteroid impacts. By Katherine Kornei Trilobites How Bat Moms Give Bat Pups Their Sense of Direction Scientists were surprised to discover that at least one bat species carries its young to an unsupervised drop-off point night after night. By Elizabeth Preston Jeff Bezos Is Getting Astronaut Wings. But Soon, the F.A.A. Won't Award Them. Starting in January, space tourists will not receive a participation trophy for flying to space. But everyone will be on the honor roll. By Joey Roulette Manatees, Facing a Crisis, Will Get a Bit of Help: Extra Feeding In a first, wildlife officials have decided to provide food for the mammals, which have suffered catastrophic losses in Florida waters over the last year. By Catrin Einhorn Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE Scott Gelber Postcards From a World on Fire These 193 stories show the reality of climate change. In every country in the world. By The New York Times Opinion Earth's Black Box Earth Is Getting a 'Black Box' to Hold Humans Accountable for Climate Change When a plane crashes, its flight recorder is critical to piecing together the missteps that led to calamity. Now the planet is getting its own in case it self-destructs. By Livia Albeck-Ripka Rising From the Antarctic, a Climate Alarm Wilder winds are altering crucial currents. The sea is releasing ancient carbon dioxide. Vast ice shelves are melting from below. See why the experts are increasingly alarmed. By Henry Fountain and Jeremy White 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. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT HEALTH Rachel Levit Ruiz Personal Health The HPV Vaccine Prevents Cancer, but Most Kids Don't Receive It The human papillomavirus vaccine can prevent six potentially lethal malignancies, but inoculation is meeting with rising resistance from parents. By Jane E. Brody Illustration by Álvaro Bernis Studies Show We're Getting Close to 'Universal' Vaccines. It Hasn't Been Easy. A new class of flu vaccines could eventually save millions of lives — and perhaps stop the next pandemic — if scientists can overcome the remaining obstacles. By Kim Tingley Travis Dove for The New York Times Amid Push to Vaccinate Children, Other Challenges Deluge Pediatricians At one clinic serving low-income children, treatment for health problems that have gone unchecked during the pandemic is more in demand than coronavirus shots. By Noah Weiland Elise Amendola/Associated Press The New Old Age Telehealth Became a Lifeline for Older Americans. But It Still Has Glitches. Medicare has extended coverage of remote health care. While telehealth removed barriers to care for many during the pandemic, some say there is more to be done. By Paula Span ask well Is Gluten-Free Bread Healthier Than Regular Bread? Experts say there are important distinctions to keep in mind. By Alice Callahan Phys Ed A Penny for Your Squats? Among 52 incentives to exercise, giving people a 9-cent award if they returned to the gym after missing a workout helped the most. By Gretchen Reynolds How Nursing Homes' Worst Offenses Are Hidden From the Public Thousands of problems identified by state inspectors were never publicly disclosed because of a secretive appeals process, a New York Times investigation found. By Robert Gebeloff, Katie Thomas and Jessica Silver-Greenberg Surgeon General Warns of Youth Mental Health Crisis The coronavirus pandemic intensified a rise in adolescent depression, anxiety and mental health distress that was underway before the spring of 2020. By Matt Richtel THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK João Silva/The New York Times Global Health I Got Caught in a Pandemic Panic 2 Years Into Covid. It Felt Like Day 1. The Omicron variant turned my trip home from South Africa into a nightmare episode of conflicting public health orders that often seemed to have little connection to science. By Stephanie Nolen Heiko Junge/NTB, via Associated Press Denmark and Norway Predict Drastic Spike in Omicron Cases Health authorities in Europe are warning of a sharp increase in Omicron cases, adding to an existing surge from the Delta variant. By Carl Zimmer and Emily Anthes What It Takes to Understand a Variant Science is unfolding in real time as researchers race to understand the new Omicron variant. Here's a guide to those efforts, and when you can expect more answers. By Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Lazaro Gamio João Silva/The New York Times Global Health As Vaccines Trickle Into Africa, Zambia's Challenges Highlight Other Obstacles Vaccinating Africa is critical to protecting the continent and the world against dangerous variants, but supply isn't the only problem countries face. By Stephanie Nolen Merck, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Merck's Covid Pill Might Pose Risks for Pregnant Women Some laboratory studies suggest that molnupiravir can insert errors in DNA, which could in theory harm a developing fetus, sperm cells or children. By Benjamin Mueller Nanographics, via Reuters The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find The research may help explain why people who are overweight and obese have been at higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid. By Roni Caryn Rabin Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times Pfizer Says Its Booster Offers Strong Protection Against Omicron The company's finding is based on only a small study of blood samples in a laboratory, but others are sure to follow. By Sharon LaFraniere Rachel Wisniewski/Reuters How Philadelphia Achieved High Vaccination Rate for Health Workers Federal officials point to the city's mandate as a success story and a shield against new Covid outbreaks at hospitals and nursing homes. By Reed Abelson 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. 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