Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Science Times: An ancient spell book for the dead

Plus: Doctors wrestle with A.I. in patient care —
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Science Times

October 31, 2023

Dr. Roy Fagan in his office, which has medical certificates and taxidermied animals mounted on a dark green wall behind him. He wears a blue button-down shirt with a red tie and stands with his hands behind his back.

Jesse Barber for The New York Times

Doctors Wrestle With A.I. in Patient Care, Citing Lax Oversight

The F.D.A. has approved many new programs that use artificial intelligence, but doctors are skeptical that the tools really improve care or are backed by solid research.

By Christina Jewett

Article Image

Kevin Langergraber/Arizona State University

Origins

Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Too

A new study challenges a prominent evolutionary theory about why women live long after their childbearing years.

By Carl Zimmer

A rooster in a small experimental set-up with black walls and a wooden, green floor and a mirror. The rooster looks its reflection with a sideways glance.

Sonja Hillemacher

Trilobites

A Mirror Reveals a Surprise About Bird Brains

A modified version of the classic mirror test suggested that roosters recognize their reflections.

By Darren Incorvaia

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An illustration shows a velociraptor-like dinosaur standing on a fallen tree trunk in a dusty, overcast, bleak gray landscape. A larger dinosaur's skeleton sits in the distance. All the plant matter in the picture appears dead.

Mark A. Garlick

Trilobites

Dust Might Have Snuffed Out the Dinosaurs

A simulation suggests that fine particles played a stronger role in cooling the planet and stalling photosynthesis after an asteroid impacted the Earth.

By Miriam Fauzia

Article Image

Catania, Current Biology 2023

Trilobites

These Tiny, Beautiful Wasps Eat the Hearts Out of Cockroaches

Jewel wasps carve up cockroaches like jack-o'-lanterns in a way scientists have never seen before.

By Jason Bittel

A cylinder sits on lumpy gray rock with a tube leading to a geyser cone of Old Faithful, with other instruments and wires resting next to the cylinder. Steam rises from the inactive geyser in the middle ground.

Lisa Keller

Trilobites

Old Faithful Is Boiling, Smelly and the Perfect Home for These Living Things

In one of Yellowstone National Park's most well-known attractions, researchers discovered an extraordinary diversity of microbial life.

By Sarah Derouin

Article Image

Colorado State University

6 Great Space Images in October

An eclipse's shadow from space, India's astronaut capsule and a confused space telescope.

By Michael Roston

Billions of Years Ago, Venus May Have Had a Key Earthlike Feature

A new study makes the case that the solar system's hellish second planet once may have had plate tectonics that could have made it more hospitable to life.

By Kenneth Chang

A side-by-side comparison of the two globes of Venus, which is yellow and desolate, and the Earth, taken by various satellites, against a black background with labels indicating which planet is which.

A Radioactive Sea of Magma Hides Under the Surface of Mars

The discovery helped to show why the red planet's core is not as large as earlier estimates had suggested it might be.

By Robin George Andrews

An illustrated cross-section shows layers of Mars's interior, with its crust, mantle, radioactive molten layer and core, all in bright yellows, reds and oranges.

Joseph J. Kohn, Who Broke New Ground in Calculus, Dies at 91

The techniques he developed in the field of complex numbers have found use in tackling a wide range of fundamental equations in physics.

By Kenneth Chang

Joseph J. Kohn, a balding man with glasses wearing a dark sports jacket and a striped shirt but no tie, smiles at the camera.
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CLIMATE CHANGE

All the photographs in this article are black-and-white. David Obura holds finger coral.

Thea Traff for The New York Times

the Climate Issue

The Scientists Watching Their Life's Work Disappear

Some are stubborn optimists. Others struggle with despair. Their faces show the weight they carry as they witness the impact of climate change.

By Catrin Einhorn and Thea Traff

Large brown metal tubes are stacked up, with power lines in the background.

Jamil Baldwin for The New York Times

Energy Dept. Pours Billions Into Power Grids but Warns It's Not Enough

America's electric grids may need to expand by two-thirds by 2035 to handle future growth in clean energy, the agency said. The nation isn't on track.

By Brad Plumer

Black smoke billows out of chimneys at a power plant at sunset, making the sky red and sun appear white.

Patrick Pleul/DPA, via Associated Press

Window for Meeting Key Climate Goal Is Even Narrower Than Thought

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would be harder than ever, new calculations show, but less ambitious targets are still in reach.

By Raymond Zhong

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HEALTH

Three photographs show, from left, Peggy Hudson sitting near a window; Sandy Aken taking a photo of herself in a mirror, her abdomen bulging; and Jennifer Gulledge looking out the window of her car.

Daniel Lozada for The New York Times; Sandy Aken; Laura Thompson for The New York Times

Operating Profits

How a Lucrative Surgery Took Off Online and Disfigured Patients

More surgeons are opting for a complicated hernia repair that they learned from videos on social media showing shoddy techniques.

By Sarah Kliff and Katie Thomas

Alexandra and her mother holding hands.

Kholood Eid for The New York Times

Bariatric Surgery at 16

If childhood obesity is an 'epidemic,' how far should doctors go to treat it?

By Helen Ouyang

Article Image

Juan Bernabeu

the new old age

Hearing Aids Are More Affordable, and Perhaps More Needed, Than Ever

Over-the-counter devices have been available for a year now. New research suggests they may have unexpected benefits.

By Paula Span

A patient in a face mask and red T-shirt sits in a hospital chair as he receives a blood transfusion. There is an array of equipment to his left and bags of blood hooked into that equipment. A laptop rests in his lap over a blanket.

Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service, via Getty Images

F.D.A. Experts Will Vote on Safety of a Cure for Sickle Cell Disease

The treatment from the company Vertex would be the first medicine to use the gene editing tool CRISPR.

By Gina Kolata

A close-up, slightly blurry view of the Instagram logo on a tablet screen with a marker showing three unread messages at its top.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Is Social Media Addictive? Here's What the Science Says.

A major lawsuit against Meta has placed a spotlight on our fraught relationship with online social information.

By Matt Richtel

A nurse closes her eyes while she wears a face shield, scrubs and a mask.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Why Health Care Workers Are Burning Out

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that health workers last year experienced significant rates of anxiety and depression.

By Noah Weiland

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Eyedrops From Major Brands May Cause Infection, F.D.A. Says

Target, CVS and Rite Aid are pulling products from shelves after federal investigators found unsanitary conditions and recommended a recall.

By Rebecca Carballo

A sign for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration outside its offices in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Few Americans Have Gotten the New Covid Shots, C.D.C. Finds

About 7 percent of adults have rolled up their sleeves for the new vaccines, according to new agency data.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

A Walgreens pharmacy sign has a marquee that reads

What to Know About Dengue Fever as Cases Spread to New Places

Dengue, the excruciating mosquito-borne disease, is surging throughout the world and coming to places that had never had it. California just confirmed a rare U.S. case.

By Stephanie Nolen

A close-up view of a mosquito at the end of a pair of scissors with a lab technician's face out of focus in the background.

Dr. Donlin Long, Wide-Ranging Medical Innovator, Is Dead at 89

A neurosurgeon, he helped develop an insulin pump for diabetes patients and a device to relieve pain, and joined Ben Carson in a historic operation on conjoined infants.

By Sam Roberts

A black and white photo of Dr. Long and Dr. Carson standing side by side in front of a bank of microphones. Dr. Long, wearing eyeglasses and a light-colored suit, is holding a model of a brain. Dr. Carson, slightly out of focus beside him, wears a white doctor's coat and is looking at the brain model.

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