In an undated photo from M. Eulàlia Subirà, a lower jawbone from Individual 39, found at the settlement site of Puig Castellar, with a cut mark from decapitation visible on its chin. Skulls displayed in public 2,000 years ago were intended as a warning to enemies and a celebration of comrades, a new paper argues. (M. Eulàlia Subirà via The New York Times) By FRANZ LIDZ Some 2,000 years ago, a macabre ritual was observed in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, a region of Spain

Ultraprocessed foods make up more than half of the calories consumed daily in the United States and in Britain. (Freepik) By ALICE CALLAHAN On Tuesday, in a series of three review papers published in The Lancet, 43 public health experts from around the world issued a call for government policies aimed at reducing the consumption of ultraprocessed foods which, they write, are driving global increases in obesity and chronic diseases. The papers compile years of evidence on the

More than half the plastics found in sea turtles were soft types, such as plastic bags that can resemble their jellyfish prey. (Freepick) By SACHI KITAJIMA MULKEY Two baseballs for a sea turtle. Three sugar cubes for a puffin. A soccer ball for a harbor porpoise. That’s roughly how much ingested plastic would be deadly for each animal, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers analyzed data from more than 10,000 auto

Walking for exercise in New York, June 1, 2024. A new study suggests exercise may be especially beneficial for older adults at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. (Nicholas Sansone/The New York Times) By DANA G. SMITH Walking a few thousand steps a day can slow cognitive decline in older adults who are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to research published this month. Getting about 3,000 to 5,000 daily steps was advantageous compared with doing l

In an image provided by Marco Villegas, an orca swimming with a young great white shark with a visible wound in waters off Baja California, Mexico. New research has documented how a pod of orcas in the Gulf of California has repeatedly hunted juvenile white sharks to feast on their livers. (Marco Villegas via The New York Times) By ALEXA ROBLES-GIL In mid-August 2020, Erick Higuera’s drone recorded a brutal hunt off Baja California in Mexico. A pod of orcas was hitting a grea

Glasses of wine at Frog, a wine bar in New York, Sept. 14, 2024. Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, a new study found. The paper, published Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in the journal Neurology, examined the link between alcohol and intracerebral hemorrhages — the deadliest, most disabling type of stroke. (Marissa Alper/The New York Times) By SIMAR BAJAJ Heavy drinking is tied to earlier and more severe brain bleeds, a new study found. The paper, publ

Nearly 20 percent of Americans 45 and older have knee osteoarthritis. (Patricia Voulgaris/The New York Times) By JEN MURPHY Nearly 20% of Americans 45 and older have knee osteoarthritis. Worldwide, the number is predicted to increase nearly 75% by 2050, because of aging, population growth and obesity. Knee osteoarthritis is a long-term, degenerative condition that can’t be reversed. It develops in four stages as cartilage in the joint wears down, eventually leaving the bones

James Watson, who helped discover the double-helix structure of DNA, in the Library of the Human Genome at the Wellcome Collection in London, June 20, 2007. The discovery of the structure of DNA in the early 1950s is one of the most riveting dramas in the history of science, crammed with brilliant research, naked ambition, intense rivalry and outright deception. (Jonathan Player/The New York Times) By CARL ZIMMER The discovery of the structure of DNA in the early 1950s is one

A.I. search tools, chatbots and social media are associated with lower cognitive performance, studies say. What to do? (Derek Abella/The New York Times) By BRIAN X. CHEN Last spring, Shiri Melumad, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, gave a group of 250 people a simple writing assignment: Share advice with a friend on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. To come up with tips, some were allowed to use a traditional Google search, while others cou

A woman walks for exercise in New York, March 13, 2024. A new study suggests that going on longer walks may have more health benefits than taking the same number of steps a day over multiple short walks. (Nicholas Sansone/The New York Times) By SIMAR BAJAJ A new study suggests that going on longer walks may have more health benefits than taking the same number of steps a day over multiple short walks. Hundreds of studies have shown that higher step counts are tied to lower ri