Science Times: The researcher who didn’t want to know
Plus: Nearly everyone veers left when walking —
Science Times
June 16, 2026
A large spacecraft landed on the moon, with the Earth hanging low in the sky.

Blue Origin

What NASA Needs to Stay on Track for the Moon

The agency gave a rosy update on Artemis III, a test flight for its goal to return humans to the moon, but experts say the timeline is ambitious.

By Katrina Miller

An overhead view of several people in white helmets standing in a circular enclosure, who then move about randomly in the enclosure.

Echeverría-Huarte et al.

Nearly Everyone, Everywhere, Veers Left When Walking

Researchers are at a loss for why people across cultures and ages, regardless of their dominant hand, have a natural bias toward wandering in a counterclockwise direction.

By Rachel Nuwer

Article Image

Steven Bridges/University of Tennessee

The Scientific Quest for a Perfect World Cup Field

Every match must be played on natural grass that gives players as consistent a surface as possible, no matter the venue. Cue the years of sod studies.

By Alan Burdick

Email us

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

A cluster of about six or eight cells of a fertilized human embryo under a microscope.

Zephyr/Science Source

Medical Cure or Designer Baby? A New Approach to Editing Embryos Ignites Debate.

Fertility specialists, biotech companies and ethicists are divided over whether progress in early gene editing would wipe out diseases or trigger a rush toward enhancement.

By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn

A colorful microscope image of a fungal network.

Loreto Oyarte Gálvez/VU Amsterdam/AMOLF/SPUN

68 Quadrillion Underground Miles of Fungi

With machine learning and a high-resolution imaging robot, scientists measured and mapped the extent of Earth’s carbon circulatory system.

By Emily Anthes

Article Image

Paradigm

They Bought a Famous Puzzle in Cryptography. Now They’re Opening It Up.

A San Francisco company paid nearly $1 million for the solution to an unsolved code in Kryptos, a sculpture on the C.I.A. grounds. Soon it will become an online challenge.

By John Schwartz

Four views of a brain with various portions of it highlighted in yellow, orange and red.

WDCN/Univ. College London, via Science Source

How Does One Brain Speak Two Languages?

A new study of bilingual speakers suggests that a single “grammatical engine” in the brain can power multiple languages at once.

By K. R. Callaway

Four male astronauts in blue jumpsuits smile on a stage.

NASA Leader Pushes Back on Complaints That No Women Will Be on the Next Artemis Mission

NASA’s missions these days rarely feature all-male crews. Jared Isaacman, its administrator, said women play prominent roles throughout the space agency.

By Kenneth Chang

A metal excavation tool next to a small gray hole with a cache of fossilized fecal pellets.

Trilobites

Ancient Squirrels Ate Woolly Mammoth Meat. The Proof Is in the Poop.

In a new study, fossilized droppings suggested that ancient ground squirrels ate the meat of much larger animals, including mammoths, bison and saber-toothed cats.

By Kate Golembiewski

Neil Shubin, wearing a white shirt under a black vest, sits at a table next to a whiteboard busy with all sorts of equations and other markings.

A Conversation With

Neil Shubin on Trusted Science in a ‘Deeply Partisan Age’

An eminent fossil hunter takes the reins at the National Academy of Sciences in a turbulent moment for American researchers.

By Carl Zimmer

Southern Lights Seen From International Space Station

The southern lights, also known as the aurora australis, were captured by the NASA astronaut Jessica Meir from the International Space Station on Saturday.

By Cynthia Silva

CLIMATE CHANGE

Cracked, brown earth alongside a row of brown crops in the distance.

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

NOAA Officially Declares El Niño Is Here and Flashing Danger Signs

The global weather pattern threatens to worsen floods and heat waves already intensifying due to climate change. But it may also mean fewer hurricanes.

By Chico Harlan

Democratic senators sit in a wood-paneled hearing room behind signs that say “energy affordability roundtable” and show rising electricity prices.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Democrats Once Vowed to Stop Oil and Gas. Now They’re Not So Sure.

As the midterm elections approach, many leading Democrats are rethinking their approach to climate change.

By Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

HEALTH

Article Image

Arlette Bashizi for The New York Times

Scientists Race to Test Treatments as Ebola Outbreak Widens

Trials are beginning on several drugs that have shown promise in preliminary studies against the virus that is causing the current outbreak.

By Carl Zimmer and Stephanie Nolen

A woman dressed in a black blouse and gray slacks sits on the floor, cross-legged, looking up at the light.

Cig Harvey for The New York Times

Can’t Pay Medical Bills? Trump Officials Suggest Getting a Loan.

One-third of Americans shoulder health care debt. Insurers are being asked to consider lending money to Obamacare consumers who can’t afford higher deductibles.

By Reed Abelson

A collage illustration featuring images of: a grimacing woman's eye, an adult woman's feet and a child's feet.

Vanessa Saba

Psych 101

Are You ‘Triggered’ or Just Upset?

This popular term is often misused, experts say, which may cause more harm than good.

By Melinda Wenner Moyer

Cybele Malonewears glasses, a black tank top and forest green pants as she kneels on a patch of grass with trees seen in the distance behind her.

Jillian Freyer for The New York Times

Millions of Women Are Left Out of Menopause’s Moment

Women who can’t take hormone therapy because of breast cancer or other diseases say they are deeply frustrated.

By Liz Krieger

A woman in a black T-shirt sits on a bed beside a man in a white T-shirt, with his back to the camera.

The Pain of Caring for a Parent Who Abused You

The United States is reliant on unpaid family caregivers, and millions of adult children are caring for parents who didn’t really care for them.