Science Times: NASA rushes to rescue a falling space telescope

June 30, 2026

NASA

NASA Rushes to Rescue a Falling Space Telescope and Push It Back Up

Without a rescue mission, NASA’s Swift Observatory, which studies some of the most powerful explosions in the universe, will burn up in the atmosphere within a few months.

Emil Lippe for The New York Times

To Reveal the Rhythmic Roots of Laughter, Just Tickle an Ape

A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.

By Emily Anthes

Emergency workers in red and orange, wearing helmets and head lamps, inspect the site of a large building that has collapsed in the middle of an urban area.

Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters

Why the Venezuelan Earthquakes Happened, and What to Expect Next

Twin earthquakes like those that ripped through the region are unusual but not unheard of. Scientists are already gathering data needed for a more detailed picture.

By Robin George Andrews

Michel Lunanga/Getty Images

The Ebola Outbreak’s Central Mystery: Where Did This Virus Come From?

Scientists believe that the Bundibugyo virus persists in an animal species, occasionally spilling over into humans. But they have yet to identify the species.

By Carl Zimmer

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A small black bird with a bright red cap and blue feathers on its back sits on a tree branch in a thick forest with a small dark berry in its mouth.

Esteban Mendez

These Birds’ Backflips Are Fueled by Sugar

An ancient dietary change made the manakin’s flashy courtship display possible, a new study suggests.

By K. R. Callaway

A black and yellow turtle swimming in a pool.

Jon Elswick/Associated Press

Turtles All the Way Down to … What Exactly?

The origin of turtles has puzzled scientists. A new study provides more evidence that these shelled reptiles share a common ancestor with crocodiles and birds.

By Sara Novak

A spider waits on spun threads over a cone-shaped snare it made on a green leaf, with an ant inspecting the cone shape.

Ajay Narendra et al., Current Biology

Trilobites

This Trap Wants Ants to Take a Bite

Named for an ancient Roman crossbow-like weapon, the newly found “ballista” spider uses a springy snare to catch prey.

By K. R. Callaway

A gray, brown and white sparrow on a dead branch low to the ground, nestled in some tall grass.

How a Bird’s Habitat Can Change Its Song

For the Bachman’s sparrow, whether a song is passed to the next generation could depend, in part, on the wind and trees.

By K. R. Callaway

A single long fruit fly sperm tail is shown in comparison with a tiny human sperm, with written labels.

Trilobites

Fruit Fly Sperm Are Giant. How Do They Stay Untangled?

A fruit fly’s sperm are exceptionally long, and thousands are crammed in together. The physics of this presents a packing nightmare.

By Monique Brouillette

CLIMATE CHANGE

The New York Times

Just How Hot Will the U.S. Get This Week? Here’s a Day-by-Day Forecast.

Dangerous heat is expected across much of the country through the Fourth of July weekend.

By Nazaneen Ghaffar, Judson Jones and Camille Baker

A person in a lab coat and protective glasses maneuvers a column over a shiny steel canister. A white mist, possibly from coolant, swirls around the top of the canister,

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Trump Administration Moves to Preserve Cells and DNA of Imperiled Species

The government is teaming up with Colossal Biosciences, a private company that claims to have revived extinct dire wolves, to store samples from at-risk animals and plants.

By Carl Zimmer and Catrin Einhorn

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HEALTH

An illustration of a cake with violet icing with a large number of GLP-1 pens stuck vertically into the top.

Fortunate Joaquin

Are Weight Loss Drugs Also Longevity Drugs?

Experts are intrigued by the theory. Here’s what early research suggests.

By Dana G. Smith

An IV drip with fluid inside of a plastic tube.

Jenny Kane/Associated Press

‘Too Good to Be True’: A Chinese Study on Timing Cancer Therapy Is Retracted

In a notice flagging a series of problems with a clinical trial, the journal Nature Medicine said its editors “no longer have confidence in the integrity of the results.”

By Rebecca Robbins

Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Inside the C.D.C.’s Mad Scramble to Meet Kennedy’s Demands

A cache of internal emails offers a look at the pressure the nation’s public health officials faced from the new health secretary in the early months of the Trump administration.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg