Today, we learn that artificial intelligence can come up with viable viruses. We also ask beginning scientists for their recent career experiences and examine the unexpected failure of a heart disease drug. Plus: the most read science article this week and a quiz! A.I.-created viruses
On Thursday, scientists at the Arc Institute, a research organization in Palo Alto, Calif., announced they had taught A.I. to recognize patterns of DNA structure in nature, and then to use that data to write recipes for entirely new viruses. It’s the first time scientists have used A.I. to create new kinds of viruses. It raises hopes for medical advances while also raising the disturbing possibility that the technology could someday be used to invent dangerous pathogens. Are you a student scientist?The Trump administration has made sweeping changes to American science, including deep cuts to funding, terminations of active research grants and mass layoffs of federal workers. As a result, the next generation of scientists will have to navigate a career landscape that may no longer look like the one they intended to enter. Are you a student trying to navigate a challenging Ph.D. application cycle or seeing your research upended by a canceled grant? Maybe you’re an early career scientist who welcomes these changes and sees some benefit to your future or to science as a whole. The New York Times is working on an article and wants to hear from you. Share your experience with Katrina Miller, a science reporter (katrina.miller@nytimes.com), or Vimal Patel, who writes about higher education (vimal.patel@nytimes.com). A moon crash
A discarded SpaceX rocket stage crashed into the moon earlier this week, but astronomers hoping to spot a flash of light when it hit were disappointed. But it did not miss. Within a day, telescopes in Chile and Arizona detected the telltale colors of sodium in the dust plume, and a Korean spacecraft flying overhead photographed a new crater in the lunar surface. Meet the bee vet
Most veterinary students are required to master the biological basics of a range of domestic creatures, such as dogs, cats, horses, cows and pigs. “I think the honeybee deserves a similar status,” said Dr. Jörg Mayer, a professor at the University of Georgia’s vet school. Now veterinarians are gingerly embracing the honeybee, a vital pollinator for agriculture but one that’s in increasing danger. A shocking failureNovo Nordisk stunned the cardiology world last week when it announced that a large study it was running on an experimental drug for heart disease had failed. The drug, which reduces inflammation and was widely expected to be a blockbuster, was no better than a placebo. The drug’s failure is raising a troubling question: Is inflammation really a cause or is it just a marker of atherosclerosis, the way gray hair is a marker of aging? “I actually thought this would be the new frontier,” said Dr. Martha Gulati of Houston Methodist, past president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. Now she is asking a new question: “Does treating inflammation even matter by the time you have atherosclerosis? Or is it too late?” We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
One more thingTEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE Charles Darwin loved a deep dive. The famed evolutionary biologist devoted years to studying barnacles and obsessed over breeding pigeons. He was also fascinated with a certain type of plant, which inspired this question. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link will be free.) Which species did Charles Darwin call “one of the most wonderful plants in the world”? Thanks for joining us this week! Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.
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