Science Times: A fossil dream as big as Texas

Plus: A year of cosmic wonder with the James Webb Space Telescope —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story July 18, 2023 Nina Riggio for The New York Times A Fossil Dream as Big as Texas Andre LuJan's ambition is to build a public museum focused on displaying the Lone Star State's paleontological plenty. By Asher Elbein and Nina Riggio NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI) A Year of Cosmic Wonder With the James Webb Space Telescope With a new image, NASA commemorates the first anniversary of doing science with the most powerful observatory ever sent to space. By Katrina Miller Pansani et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B When Did Humans First Occupy the Americas? Ask the Sloth Bones. The discovery of ancient, handcrafted ornaments revives a longstanding debate about the arrival of the earliest Americans. By Franz Lidz J. Flynn et al. Fossils Where They Don't Belong? Maybe We Just Didn't Look Hard Enough. Researchers are fiercely debating whether claims about the origins of mammals result from a bias toward Northern Hemisphere fossil sites. By Anthony Ham Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. The Maverick Design Choices That May Have Doomed Titan Engineers interviewed by The New York Times pointed out several weak points in Titan that were cost-saving departures from proven submersible designs. By Helmuth Rosales, William J. Broad, Eleanor Lutz and Bedel Saget Department of Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries of Notre Dame TRILOBITES What Benjamin Franklin Learned While Fighting Counterfeiters Long before there were Benjamins in circulation, the founding father was all about experimenting with printing techniques as he worked on securing colonial printed currency. By Veronique Greenwood M-NCPPC/Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation, Rare Dinosaur 'Bonebed' Is Discovered in a Maryland Park Experts said it could be the widest-ranging discovery of fossils of different species on the East Coast. By Rebecca Carballo Jan Tove Johansson/Getty Images Some Squirmy Stowaways Got to the Arctic. And They Like It There. The unexpected presence of earthworms in the Far North could cause rapid changes in some of the planet's most fragile ecosystems. By Sofia Quaglia NASA-JPL Break Out the S'mores: This Star Is Cooler Than a Campfire Researchers recently discovered the coldest star ever found that emits radio waves. By Kate Golembiewski Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT India Launches Lunar Mission With a Shot at Winning This Year's Moon Race Chandrayaan-3, a partial redo of a 2019 mission that ended in a crash, is the first of as many as six missions that could land on the moon in the coming months. By Kenneth Chang and Hari Kumar Lightning Can Strike, but It Can't Hide From a New Satellite A powerful new European weather orbiter's cameras capture lightning in near real-time at day or night across a large swath of the world's surface. By Nicholas Bakalar TRILOBITES Saber-Tooth Cats and Dire Wolves Carried a Terrible Disease in Their Bones Researchers say that evidence of osteochondrosis dissecans in the ice age predators offers insights to how they went extinct. By Miriam Fauzia She Steals Surfboards by the Seashore. She's a Sea Otter. California wildlife officials are hoping to apprehend a 5-year-old sea otter, who has a knack for riding the waves after committing longboard larceny. By Annie Roth Everett Mendelsohn, Who Linked Science and Society, Dies at 91 A longtime professor at Harvard, he lectured on atom bombs, genetics and more, examining how science, culture and politics influence one another. By Neil Genzlinger CLIMATE CHANGE John Underwood/Purdue University To Help Cool a Hot Planet, the Whitest of White Coats Scientists at Purdue have created a white paint that, when applied, can reduce the surface temperature on a roof and cool the building beneath it. By Cara Buckley Bryan Tarnowski for The New York Times As Climate Shocks Multiply, Designers Seek Holy Grail: Disaster-Proof Homes The homebuilding industry has been slow to adopt changes that can better protect against extreme weather. Some architects are showing what's possible. By Christopher Flavelle Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Enjoy all of The New York Times in one subscription — the original reporting and analysis, plus puzzles from Games, recipes from Cooking, product reviews from Wirecutter and sports journalism from The Athletic. Experience it all with a New York Times All Access subscription. HEALTH Eli Lilly Treating Alzheimer's Very Early Offers Better Hope of Slowing Decline, Study Finds A trial of donanemab, an experimental drug, found it modestly slowed the worsening of memory and thinking and worked better in patients at earlier stages and those under 75. By Pam Belluck Cydni Elledge for The New York Times OPERATING PROFITS They Lost Their Legs. Doctors and Health Care Giants Profited. Medical device makers have bankrolled a cottage industry of doctors and clinics that perform artery-clearing procedures that can lead to amputations. By Katie Thomas, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Robert Gebeloff Tarso Sarraf/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Racism and Sexism Underlie Higher Maternal Death Rates for Black Women, U.N. Says Black women in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States are more likely than their white counterparts to report denial of medication or physical and verbal abuse in health care settings. By Emily Baumgaertner and Farnaz Fassihi Tim Gruber for The New York Times E.R. Visits for Teenage Girls Surged During the Pandemic The proportion of teen girls visiting emergency rooms in mental health crisis rose 22 percent in the pandemic's second year, while the proportion of teen boys visiting declined. By Ellen Barry F.D.A. Approves R.S.V. Shot for Infants The respiratory virus is a global killer of babies and young children. By Christina Jewett The W.H.O. Says Aspartame Is 'Possibly Carcinogenic.' What Does That Mean? Experts say there's no need to panic about your diet soda habit. By Dani Blum Coronavirus Probably Spread Widely in Deer and Perhaps Back to People, U.S.D.A. Says From late 2021 to early 2022, humans transmitted the coronavirus to white-tailed deer more than 100 times, research suggests. By Emily Anthes F.D.A. Approves First U.S. Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill The move could significantly expand access to contraception. The pill is expected to be available in early 2024. By Pam Belluck WHY NOT TRY The Full-Body Pool Workout That Doesn't Involve Swimming This 20-minute aquatic exercise routine is easy on the joints and provides a fun alternative to the gym, especially in summer. By Hilary Achauer and Zack Wittman Is the New 988 Suicide Hotline Working? One year in, many people still don't know it exists — but those behind it are working to get the word out. By Christina Caron 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. 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