Were Neanderthals Able to Hunt Elephants? The Proof Is in an Ancient Bone

A new study found that a pachyderm skeleton, dismissed for decades as unimportant, offers evidence of careful planning, teamwork and a calculated kill.

By Franz Lidz

Dark Skies and Dark Energy Converge at a West Texas Star Party

In the Big Bend region, a portal to the early universe is enabled by the largest dark-sky reserve on Earth.

By Katrina Miller and Emily Elconin

New Gene Therapy Enables Children With a Rare Form of Deafness to Hear

The treatment, the first of its kind, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. “Our baby was born deaf, and now he can hear,” said one parent.

By Gina Kolata

Pace of N.I.H. Funding Slows Further in Trump’s Second Year

The agency has approved far fewer new grants than it did in years past. A renewed effort to screen for disfavored terms and a loss of personnel are contributing.

By Benjamin Mueller and Irena Hwang

Trump Fires Board Members of Group That Oversees U.S. Science Funding

The dismissals from an independent board that oversees the National Science Foundation marked the president’s latest assault on scientific research organizations.

By Adam Sella

40 Years After the Meltdown, War Layers Another Disaster on Chernobyl

Ideas have been floated for how the contaminated zone could bring economic benefits to Ukraine. But for the foreseeable future, it will be an army-controlled security belt.

By Andrew E. Kramer, Evelina Riabenko and Brendan Hoffman

Targeted Hunts Were Supposed to Curb ‘Zombie Deer Disease.’ Now What?

In Illinois and other states, officials hoped that culls could halt the progress of chronic wasting disease. Now they are losing hope.

By Jim Robbins and Julia Rendleman

Could an Earthly Fungus Contaminate Mars? NASA May Have Found One Hardy Enough.

Researchers identified a species that can survive radiation, extreme heat and simulated Martian soil, posing a new challenge for protocols intended to keep the red planet pristine.

By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn

A New Idea to Save the Climate? Dam the Bering Strait.

Blocking the narrow waterway between Russia and Alaska could help stabilize a vulnerable system of ocean currents, scientists found in a study.

By Raymond Zhong

An Installation in Nature has Climate Lessons for Humans

With lichen, mechanical artwork and a barrel of snowflakes, “Climate Clock” will wind along a trail through the forests across Oulu, Finland.

By David Belcher

Longevity Science Is Overhyped. But This Research Really Could Change Humanity.

A new therapy has the potential to cure hundreds of diseases — and even reverse aging.

By Susan Dominus

Pregnancy With Lupus Is Risky. Would She Be Able to Carry Her Baby to Term?

Fatimah Shepherd’s kidneys were compromised, and pregnancy could send her into kidney failure.

By Roni Caryn Rabin and Heather Khalifa

Global Health

AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance

A once-robust H.I.V. treatment and prevention system, credited with saving hundreds of thousands of lives, has begun to crumble.

By Stephanie Nolen and Arlette Bashizi

The ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Movement Is Cooling on Trump and Republicans

Vaccine skeptics, “organic moms” and anti-pesticide activists came together to elect President Trump. But some voters are disillusioned and might not turn out again.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg