An image provided by NASA/Johns Hopkins APL shows the asteroid named Dimorphos. Dimorphos is about 525 feet around and orbits a larger parent asteroid, Didymos. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL via The New York Times) By KATRINA MILLER In 2022, NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid named Dimorphos. The goal of this interplanetary smashup was to prove that if a killer space rock ever threatened Earth in the future, humans could deflect it and save our world. The

A user consults with a chatbot created by the far-right social media platform Gab, in Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 29, 2025. A new study found that chatbots were no better than Google — already a flawed source of health information — at guiding users toward correct medical diagnoses or helping them determine what they should do next. (Andria Lo/The New York Times) By TEDDY ROSENBLUTH A new study published last month provided a sobering look at whether chatbots, which have fast beco

A photo provided by the Max Planck Institute shows Nobel Prize-winning Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo with a reconstructed Neanderthal skull. As a result of interbreeding between Neanderthals and humans tens of thousands of years ago, most people alive today carry a bit of Neanderthal DNA in their genome — and that residual DNA, in turn, is giving scientists a detailed look at the ancient sexual encounters that put it there. (Frank Vinken/Max Planck Institute via The New Yor

A field station of the Tromso Geophysical Observatory and the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association, or EISCAT, project outside Tromso, Norway, Jan. 21, 2026. Norway’s northern region has led the scientific quest to understand the aurora borealis, with a 10,000-antenna radar system expected to begin the next phase of exploration this summer. (Michal Siarek/The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL The world’s first permanent northern lights observatory occupies a s

A flu vaccine is prepared in Mountain Lakes, N.J., Sept. 16, 2025. (Laila Stevens/The New York Times) By CHRISTINA JEWETT and REBECCA ROBBINS The Food and Drug Administration reversed its decision on Moderna’s flu vaccine and has agreed to review it for possible approval. On Feb. 10, Moderna announced that the agency had rejected its application for review of a new flu vaccine. The FDA said the company’s research design had been flawed. But in subsequent discussions, the agen

A photo provided by Dr. Axelle Delaunay shows a baboon family in Namibia. Young primates in a southern African nature park were observed to constantly interfere when their mother was giving attention to a younger brother or sister. (Dr. Axelle Delaunay via The New York Times) By ANNIE ROTH Ever been jealous of your brother or sister for getting too much attention from your mom or dad? Scientists believe you’re not the only creature in the animal kingdom to feel that way. A t

An empty classroom at the high school in Williston, N.D., during an outbreak of measles there, May 19, 2025. Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, have launched a new effort to repeal laws that for decades have required children to be vaccinated against measles, polio and other diseases before they enter day care or kindergarten. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times) By CHRISTINA JEWETT Longtime allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s healt

When it comes to longevity, bigger is not always better. (Jackson Gibbs/The New York Times) By HILARY ACHAUER These days, you might think you have to become a power lifter to age well. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, a celebrity physician, calls muscles “the organ of longevity.” For Dr. Peter Attia, they’re “the most important retirement accounts you can have.” We’re often reminded that muscle mass starts to decline as early as 30, and that it becomes harder to build muscle as we get ol

Sabrina and Cameron Scully with their 2-month-old son in Denver, Jan. 27, 2026. Rattled by the CDC’s actions and the spread of measles, some parents are scrambling to figure out how to best protect their children. (Matt Nager for The New York Times) By MAGGIE ASTOR A father in North Carolina is delaying taking his infant son to see his parents. A mother in Washington state is switching pediatricians. And some parents are vaccinating their babies against measles early. They ar

A photo provided by Ape Initiative shows Kanzi, a bonobo living at the Ape Initiative in Des Moines, Iowa, was able to play make-believe with researchers studying the ape imagination. In a playtime experiment, scientists found that apes, our closest living relatives, have the capacity for make-believe, too. (Ape Initiative via The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL Having an imaginary friend, playing house or daydreaming about the future were long considered uniquely human