Trump Slashed Science Funding. Now the U.S. Could Face a Costly Brain Drain.

The White House’s attacks on academia and budget cuts for research have provided an opening for other countries to poach leading scientists.

By Vivienne Walt

How Plausible Is ‘Project Hail Mary’? Astrophysicists Have Thoughts

Based on hard science fiction, a genre that prioritizes scientific accuracy, the blockbuster gets a lot right but misses a few things, experts say.

By Alexis Soloski

Trilobites

Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others

Researchers argue that a newly examined specimen found decades ago in Utah provides new clues to the ancestors of chelicerates before the group hit it big on land.

By Jack Tamisiea

Artemis II Astronauts Head Home After Historic Journey Around the Moon

The NASA lunar flyby took the four crew members farther from Earth than any humans. They witnessed a solar eclipse and received praise in a call from President Trump.

By Kenneth Chang, Katrina Miller and Thomas Fuller

NASA Families Don’t Go to the Moon, but They’re on the Mission, Too

For the families of the Artemis II astronauts, the mission “begins at assignment.”

By Katrina Miller

With Cheers and Tears, Houston Reclaims Its Place as ‘Space City’

The Artemis II mission elicited deep feelings for many Americans, particularly in Houston, the home of mission control.

By J. David Goodman and Meridith Kohut

An Adorable Stowaway Is Aboard NASA’s Artemis II Mission to the Moon

Lucas Ye, age 8, designed the stuffed toy that will start floating when the Orion capsule reaches orbit.

By Kenneth Chang

Forest Service Will Close Research Stations That Study Wildfire Risk

Scientists say their work on fires and climate change could be lost as the agency moves its headquarters to Utah from Washington and shuts 57 research stations.

By Eric Niiler

Hockey Rinks Turn to Plastic Ice as Planet Warms

Some environmentalists question using plastic to address rising temperatures.

By Ken Belson and Hiroko Tabuchi

Global Health

Trump’s Foreign Aid Overhaul Sent Millions More Dollars to Big U.S.-Based Contractors

While organizations in the developing world were nearly shut out, the big aid agencies DOGE had called wasteful received huge infusions of cash, a new analysis found.

By Stephanie Nolen

Federal Agency Unveils Three Potential Osteoarthritis Treatments

With funding from ARPA-H, three teams of researchers have regrown bone and cartilage, even entire knees, in animal studies. Human trials are not far off.

By Gina Kolata

Doctors Couldn’t Help Them. They Rolled the Dice With A.I.

Some women with complex chronic illnesses are using chatbots to search for diagnoses or relief from their symptoms.

By Maggie Astor

Ideas

The Dogma of Meat

From Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s food pyramid to online influencers, beef has become more than just a source of protein.

By Lisa Miller