Science Times: Jonathan McDowell tracks humanity’s mark on space

Plus: Octopuses, neutrinos and the far side of the moon —

View in browser|nytimes.com April 15, 2025 Tony Luong for The New York Times A Conversation With … There's a Lot of History to Unpack for This Space Expert Jonathan McDowell is retiring from studying the universe. But he's ramping up efforts to chronicle humanity's exploration of space. By Katrina Miller NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU DOGE Cuts Hobble Office That Would Aid NASA and SpaceX Mars Landings The Astrogeology Science Center, which has helped astronauts and robots reach other worlds safely, is facing a substantial number of job reductions. By Matthew Phelan Shai Halevi/Israel Antiquities Authority How to Evade Taxes in Ancient Rome? A 1,900-Year-Old Papyrus Offers a Guide. A manuscript discovered in the Judean desert contains trial notes on an intricate tax-evasion scheme that involved forgery, fiscal fraud and the false sale of slaves. By Franz Lidz Niki Chan Wylie for The New York Times The Many Ways Kennedy Is Already Undermining Vaccines The health secretary has chipped away at the idea that immunizing children against measles and other diseases is a public health good. By Apoorva Mandavilli Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. Uwe Anspach/picture alliance, via Getty Images Neutrinos Are Shrinking, and That's a Good Thing for Physics A new estimate of the ghostly particle's maximum possible mass brings physicists a tad closer to understanding the universe. By Katrina Miller CNSA, via EPA, via Shutterstock Chinese Lunar Rocks Suggest a Thirsty Far Side of the Moon Using samples gathered from the Chang'e-6 mission, scientists found that the interior of the moon on the half we never see from Earth might be drier than the near side. By Katrina Miller Allen Institute An Advance in Brain Research That Was Once Considered Impossible Scientists achieved "a milestone" by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections. By Carl Zimmer Yousuke Kaifu ORIGINS With a Jawbone, Scientists Expand the Ancient Range of a Mysterious Human Relative A bone discovered in Taiwan turns out to have belonged to a Denisovan, a lineage previously identified only thousands of miles away. By Carl Zimmer A Cautionary Tale of 408 Tentacles One pet octopus suddenly became more than four dozen. They went viral. Then it all went south. By Emily Anthes Blue Origin Crew Including Gayle King and Katy Perry Returns Safely After Space Launch They were among the six women who made a 10-minute trip on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, as the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years. By Amanda Holpuch The Bees Are Disappearing Again For beekeepers, the problem isn't just climate change and extreme weather: It's also DOGE, the trade war and the immigration crackdown. By Ivan Penn and Graham Dickie A Sign Your Fish Might Be on Drugs: Risky Behavior Researchers studying pharmaceutical pollution tracked salmon that had been exposed to anti-anxiety medication. The fish appeared to lose their inhibitions. By Rebecca Dzombak Xavier Le Pichon, Who Modeled Movement of Earth's Crust, Dies at 87 With a computer rendering, he helped scientists understand that the earth, with its shifting tectonic plates, is "an extraordinary living being" that is "continuously changing." By Adam Nossiter CLIMATE CHANGE Michael Swensen/Getty Images Trump Administration Cuts Funding and Staff for Flagship Climate Report The move raises concerns among scientists that the assessment, which is required by Congress, is now in jeopardy. By Brad Plumer Michael A. McCoy/Bloomberg White House Plan Calls for NOAA Research Programs to Be Dismantled A Trump administration budget proposal would essentially eliminate one of the world's foremost Earth sciences research operations. By Austyn Gaffney HEALTH Illustrations by Todd St. John Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong? With diagnoses at a record high, some experts have begun to question our assumptions about the condition — and how to treat it. By Paul Tough Jeffrey Andree/Mass General Brigham This Kidney Was Frozen for 10 Days. Could Surgeons Transplant It? Scientists developed a way to freeze a large mammal's kidney, which could ease organ shortages in the future. First, they had to see if their method would work in a pig. By Gina Kolata A Scientist Is Paid to Study Maple Syrup. He's Also Paid to Promote It. Funded by the maple industry, a researcher has exaggerated his findings to suggest that syrup could help prevent serious diseases. By Will Evans, Ellen Gabler and Anjali Tsui The New York Times Can You Stop an Outbreak of a Contagious Disease? An interactive explanation of outbreaks, vaccines and herd immunity. By Aatish Bhatia and Francesca Paris Polina Pugacheva She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her President Trump's immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there. By Ellen Barry Older People Seeking Care for Cannabis Use at Greater Risk for Dementia, Study Finds Users needing emergency care or hospitalization were more likely to later develop dementia, researchers reported. That does not prove cannabis was the cause. By Roni Caryn Rabin Experts Doubt Kennedy's Timetable for Finding the Cause of Autism The nation's health secretary announced that he planned to invite scientists to provide answers by September, but specialists consider that target date unrealistic. By Christina Jewett Kennedy Accuses F.D.A. of Drug Industry Influence That Barred Alternative Remedies The nation's health secretary addressed agency employees, asking them to shed any corporate influence. But he did not address the mass layoffs that have gutted oversight of tobacco and vapes, food safety and drug reviews. By Christina Jewett and Rebecca Robbins Massage Can Help After a Workout, But Not for the Reason You Think There's no question it feels good and relaxes you. But does massage really affect sore muscles? By Christie Aschwanden 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. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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