By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL Giant manta rays are otherworldly leviathans gliding through the world’s seas on massive wings. But even though they are the largest ray species in the world, a fundamental part of their lives remains obscure: where they give birth. “The big unknown for us now is where females go to pup and where these pups hang out,” said Joshua Stewart, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University. Now a team of scientists in Mexico has reported the first use of underwa

By RAYMOND ZHONG Last month tied July 2023 as the planet’s hottest month on record, European scientists said Thursday, as human-caused warming pushes the Northern Hemisphere’s muggiest, most uncomfortable time of year into new realms of stickiness and discomfort. Dangerous heat hammered Europe for the fifth time since May. Temperatures soared into the triple digits across the southern United States from California to Texas. South Korea recorded its highest temperature reading

Houses destroyed by flash flooding stand next to a swollen river in Devighat, Nepal, Aug. 30, 2026. The country’s government estimates that the recent catastrophic floods caused $5 billion in damage; that’s one-tenth of Nepal’s entire economy. (Atul Loke/The New York Times) By JASON GULLEY Like much of the world, I’ve watched and rewatched videos of the catastrophic flood that have filtered out of Nepal with horror and sadness. But unlike many, I have an intimate knowledge of

Major medical organizations issued recommendations for all three vaccines, COVID-19, influenza and RSV based on reviews of the latest evidence published in the medical journal JAMA. (Eugene Chystiakov, Unsplash) By MAGGIE ASTOR and DANI BLUM With the respiratory virus season approaching, pharmacies and doctors’ offices are starting to offer annual vaccines to protect against COVID-19, influenza and RSV. On Wednesday, major medical organizations issued recommendations for all

A student scrolls through Instagram on her phone during a lunch break at school in Norton Shores, Mich., on May 26, 2023. Psychologists and child advocates welcomed news of the landmark settlement Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, over claims that the social media giant Meta had harmed young users with its addictive platforms, but many expressed skepticism that the company’s planned changes would have a meaningful effect on adolescents’ mental health. (Elaine Cromie/The New York Time

A woman preforms dead bugs with diaphragmatic breathing at a park in Atlanta, on Aug. 12, 2026. Making time to practice good movement habits can keep you feeling limber and strong. (Bee Trofort/The New York Times) By DANIELLE FRIEDMAN In many cases, aches and pains can be a reflection of your daily routines. Habits like sitting at a desk all day, looking down at your phone or even straining to pick your socks up off the floor can lead to a body that feels creaky, tight and so

This year’s El Niño, which is expected to be record-breaking, is already strong and having big effects, nudging up global temperatures and causing dry spells and crop failures on multiple continents. (Unsplash)) By RAYMOND ZHONG and CHICO HARLAN El Niño is the planet’s naturally recurring chaos agent, scrambling weather patterns, spiking global temperatures and typically reaching full strength by December. But this year’s El Niño, which is expected to be record-breaking, is a

By SOPAN DEB The video is haunting: A dolphin carries the deceased body of her two-week-old calf amid a pod of dolphins south of Perth, Australia. The footage was posted July 20 by Geographe Marine Research, a whale conservation organization. The group is familiar with this particular mother, whom it has named Fraggle, and her struggles. She had already lost three other calves, and giving birth to a fourth during winter in the Southern Hemisphere posed an immediate challenge

A still image from video provided by Hector Franz shows two orcas swimming amid fragments of a sunfish carcass, which had been pulverized by one orca, lower left, swimming towards it at high speed. Marine biologists in Mexico have captured video of the strange maneuver that killer whales used to shred their meal. (Hector Franz via The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL Ocean sunfish are the largest bony fish in the world — some species can weigh more than 2,000 pounds and s

The solar eclipse seen from Indianapolis, April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse, the first that mainland Europe has seen in nearly 30 years, is happening on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times) By KATRINA MILLER A total solar eclipse, the first that mainland Europe has seen in nearly 30 years, is happening Wednesday. The moon will swallow the sun whole, casting a shadow hundreds of thousands of miles long onto Earth and plunging part of our world in