Science Times: Richard Garwin, the hydrogen bomb designer who became an arms control adviser

Plus: 9 federally funded breakthroughs that changed everything —

View in browser|nytimes.com May 20, 2025 James J. MacKenzie A Scientist Fighting Nuclear Armageddon Hid a 50-Year Secret Richard Garwin's role in designing the hydrogen bomb was obscured from the public, even his family, as he advised presidents and devoted his life to undoing the danger he created. By William J. Broad 9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything The U.S. is slashing funding for scientific research, after decades of deep investment. Here's some of what those taxpayer dollars created. By Alan Burdick, Emily Anthes and Ruru Kuo Delaney Drummond/Field Museum Trilobites This Dinosaur Had Feathers and Probably Flew Like a Chicken New insights into the flying capabilities of a nonbird dinosaur were drawn from an unusually well-preserved specimen known as the Chicago Archaeopteryx. By Asher Elbein Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Baby Is Healed With World's First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment The technique used on a 9½-month-old boy with a rare condition has the potential to help people with thousands of other uncommon genetic diseases. By Gina Kolata Email us Let us know how we're doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. Biophoto Associates/Science Source Trilobites A Genetic Clue to Why Men Are Taller Than Women Researchers studied data from a million people and found evidence that a height gene shared by both sexes is amplified in men. By Gina Kolata Brendan Barrett/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Trilobites This Was Odd: These Monkeys Kidnapped Babies From Another Species. Male capuchin monkeys on a Panamanian island were documented carrying around infant howler monkeys for no clearly discernible reason. By Elizabeth Landau Martin Köhler/The University of Queensland Trilobites How a Two-Story Boulder Ended Up on a 120-Foot-High Cliff The rock called Maka Lahi is important in the mythology of the people of Tonga, and scientists have worked out part of its origin story. By Katherine Kornei Alex McDougal-Page/University of Strathclyde First Visible Aurora Spotted Over Mars by NASA Rover A serendipitous solar outburst let scientists point the robot's cameras toward the Red Planet's sky to spot a feature shared with our Blue Marble. By Robin George Andrews U.S. Moves Russian Scientist's Case to Criminal Court in Boston For months, the Harvard researcher Kseniia Petrova has challenged efforts to deport her to her native Russia for a customs violation. This week, the government charged her with a criminal felony. By Ellen Barry Trilobites This Fossil's 3 Eyes Are Not Its Most Surprising Feature Cambrian Period creatures known as sea moths seemed alien because of their additional eye, but a study finds anatomical features more in line with modern animals. By Jack Tamisiea Peter Lax, Pre-eminent Cold War Mathematician, Dies at 99 As the computer age dawned, he saw how the new technology could be harnessed to mathematics to solve problems in everything from designing weapons to predicting the weather. By Michael J. Barany and Brit Shields Ed Smylie, Who Saved the Apollo 13 Crew With Duct Tape, Dies at 95 He and his team of NASA engineers jumped into action to help three astronauts bound for the moon. His quick thinking earned him a shout-out from Richard Nixon. By Michael S. Rosenwald CLIMATE CHANGE Eric Lee/The New York Times The U.S. Under Trump: Alone in Its Climate Denial The administration is not only allowing more greenhouse gases. It is undermining the nation's ability to understand and respond to a hotter planet. By David Gelles Minnesota as a Refuge From Climate Change? Three Wildfires Show Otherwise. Wildfires are common in the state. But scientists say this week's damaging blazes in a northeastern region are a sign of more severe effects from a warming planet. By Soumya Karlamangla, Jeff Ernst and David Guttenfelder Bing Guan/Reuters An Effort to Kill Off Lawsuits Against Oil Giants Is Gaining Steam The Trump administration has declared litigation to hold oil companies responsible for climate change a threat to the American economy and has taken aggressive steps to fight it. By Karen Zraick HEALTH Timo Lenzen Yes, Microplastics Are Everywhere. So What Do We Do? We asked experts how to minimize your exposure, and how worried you should be about the health effects. By Nina Agrawal Kyle Grillot for The New York Times Surgeons Perform First Human Bladder Transplant The procedure could be life-changing for some people with debilitating conditions. By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn Luisa Jung the new old age A Ministroke Can Have Major Consequences So-called transient ischemic attacks can eventually lead to cognitive declines as steep as those following a full-on stroke, new research finds. By Paula Span Eric Lee/The New York Times What a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Like Biden's Means for Patients While prognoses for prostate cancer patients were once measured in months, experts say that advances in treatment and diagnosis now improve survival by years. By Gina Kolata Jim Wilson/The New York Times When a Vaccine Safety Trial Becomes Unethical New vaccines are often evaluated in trials in which some participants receive a placebo. But not all studies can be designed this way. By Teddy Rosenbluth F.D.A. Approves Novavax Covid Vaccine With Stricter New Conditions The agency narrowed who can get the shot and added new study requirements that could cost the company tens of millions. By Christina Jewett and Apoorva Mandavilli As Congress Debates Cutting Medicaid, a Major Study Shows It Saves Lives The most extensive research on Medicaid coverage to date found that it reduced the risk of death by 21 percent. By Sarah Kliff and Margot Sanger-Katz Studies of Breast Cancer and Other Diseases Threatened by New Policy N.I.H. restrictions on payments to foreign partners may jeopardize research into conditions that would benefit Americans. By Roni Caryn Rabin Trump Budget Cuts Hobble Antismoking Programs The elimination of a key C.D.C. office has slashed funding to states for help lines used by thousands to stop smoking and vaping. By Christina Jewett and Kristian Thacker Overdose Deaths Plummeted in 2024. Will Trump's Cuts Slow the Momentum? The progress comes as the Trump administration is proposing to cut funding for many programs believed to have contributed to the improvement. By Jan Hoffman 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. If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here. 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 Science Times, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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