Science Times: In search of the Simpsonville massacre
Plus: The ‘mathematical quagmire’ of gerrymandering —
Science Times
November 4, 2025
A portrait of Moon Duchin, who poses with her arms folded outside a building on the University of Washington campus on an autumn day.

Meron Tekie Menghistab for The New York Times

A Conversation With

Moon Duchin on the ‘Mathematical Quagmire’ of Gerrymandering

Why the challenge of truly representative democracy is so complex.

By Siobhan Roberts

An adult killer whale swims at the water’s surface, towing along a white shark that is gravely wounded.

Marco Villegas

In Mexico, Killer Whales Take Down Great White Sharks

A pod of orcas in the Gulf of California has repeatedly hunted juvenile white sharks to feast on their livers.

By Alexa Robles-Gil

An empty office chair on a manufacturing floor of a dormant factory.

The Workers Left Out of Trump’s Drug-Manufacturing Renaissance

President Trump wants pharmaceutical production to return to the United States. A shuttered factory in Louisiana shows how hard that will be for generic medicines.

By Rebecca Robbins and Annie Flanagan

Email us

Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.

An artist's concept of several very tall rocket-shaped landers on the moon's surface, with one unloading cargo on a platform from its payload bay. The tiny Earth hangs in the dark sky near the horizon.

SpaceX

NASA Gets Moon Lander Plan B’s From SpaceX and Blue Origin

As NASA worries that China will win the next moon race, Elon Musk and his company tangled with critics.

By Kenneth Chang

An artist's concept of several Nanotyrannuses attacking a young T. Rex in a Cretaceous landscape.

Anthony Hutchings

Trilobites

The Case of the Tiny Tyrannosaurus Might Have Been Cracked

Did certain small tyrannosaur fossils belong to “teen rex” or another species? New analysis of a recent fossil appears to have settled the debate.

By Asher Elbein

Article Image

Corbis, via Getty Images

News Analysis

Trump’s Call to Resume Nuclear Testing After Decades Revives a Cold War Debate

President Trump explained the order by saying other, unnamed nations were testing their own nuclear weapons, even though no country has tested since 2017.

By David E. Sanger and William J. Broad

A microscope image of a mosquito with somebody parts glowing green and others glowing red.

Huiyu Sheng

Trilobites

This Genetically Engineered Fungus Could Help Fix Your Mosquito Problem

In experiments, researchers showed that the disease-spreading insects couldn’t resist the sweet smell of a fungus that infected and killed them.

By Jason P. Dinh

An undersea view of corals and other growths on a sunken piece of World War II machinery. Fish, crabs and jellyfish swim or crawl on or around the machinery as well.

Nazi Missiles That Terrorized Britain Are Now Home to Starfish

Tons of toxic German munitions, dumped in the Baltic and North Seas after World War II, have become an unlikely refuge for marine life, a new study has found.

By Alexander Nazaryan

Lost Science

He Studied Why Some Female Birds Look Like Males

Jay Falk explored a fundamental question: How do genes give rise to different bodies? But without funding, “there’s not really a future here.”

By Carl Zimmer

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HEALTH

A view of the Equifax headquarters in Atlanta, with its large red-lettered logo mounted on glass windows above the entrance.

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

‘A Big Positive’: How One Company Plans to Profit From Medicaid Cuts

New work requirements are expected to leave millions of poor Americans uninsured. For Equifax, which charges states steep prices for its trove of employment data, it is a business opportunity.

By Sarah Kliff, Margot Sanger-Katz and Asmaa Elkeurti

At the F.D.A. headquarters, the building has a brick facade with long vertical windows.

Andrew Kelly/Reuters

F.D.A. Drug Unit Chief Resigns, and Is Sued by Drug Company

The official, Dr. George Tidmarsh, has become embroiled in an ethical dispute and is now the target of a lawsuit over his actions involving certain drugs tied to a business associate.

By Christina Jewett

A large banner advertises Obamacare insurance services on a partly cloudy day in Miami, Fla.

Eva Marie Uzcategui for The New York Times

How to Shop for Obamacare When Subsidies Are in Limbo

Enrollment for A.C.A. health coverage begins Nov. 1, with some staggering price increases. Here is a guide to help you choose a plan while Congress is at an impasse over tax credits.

By Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz

An illustration of a person looking at a brain drawn with flowers on one half and factories and their emissions on the other half.

Lehel Kovács

the new old age

What the Air You Breathe May Be Doing to Your Brain

Studies increasingly find links between higher concentrations of certain pollutants and the prevalence of dementia.

By Paula Span

A half-dozen or so runners on a bridge pass through long shadows cast by a tangle of steel beams overhead.

Take a Deep Breath? How Bad Air Affects Your Marathon Finish Time

Marathon runners consistently finished slower in cities with higher levels of dangerous particles in the air, researchers found.

By Hiroko Tabuchi and Brad Plumer

Two phone screen grabs showing text-based therapy and a video call.

Study Finds Evidence That Text-Based Therapy Eases Depression

A large-scale randomized trial of texting therapy concluded that its outcomes were as good as video sessions in treating depression.

By Ellen Barry

A box of the Amjevita injection medication on a wooden surface.

F.D.A. Moves to Speed Approvals for Cheaper Copycat Drugs

The agency announced moves to cut regulatory obstacles for the makers of biosimilar drugs, which are akin to generics and may help lower drug costs.

By Rebecca Robbins

A storefront with letters that spell Obamacare on a window.

Obamacare Prices Become Public, Highlighting Big Increases

The government website now shows consumers how much their health insurance costs will increase next year, as Congress remains at an impasse over the plans’ subsidies.

By Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz

In a black and white photo, she peers through a microscope on a table. The photo was taken from slightly behind her, showing her in semi-profile.

Marthe Gautier, 96, Dies; Had Key Role in Down Syndrome Breakthrough

She had to fight for recognition after a male colleague took credit for her work in identifying an extra chromosome as the cause of that genetic condition.

By Denise Grady