Science Times: Self-Isolated at the End of the World

Plus: ‘Murder Hornets,’ Swimming Dinosaurs and the Thinnest Paper

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story May 5, 2020

Makoto Funatsu   Out There Self-Isolated at the End of the World Alone in the long Antarctic night, Adm. Richard E. Byrd endured the ultimate in social distancing. By Dennis Overbye

Geoff Evatt/University of Manchester   Antarctica vs. Science For researchers using delicate, one-of-a-kind equipment, the extreme conditions at the bottom of the planet pose special challenges. By Robin George Andrews Ruth Fremson/The New York Times   ‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet Sightings of the Asian giant hornet have prompted fears that the vicious insect could establish itself in the United States and devastate bee populations. By Mike Baker Davide Bonadonna   A Strange Dinosaur May Have Swum the Rivers of Africa The Spinosaurus possessed a long, powerful tail. Paleontologists think the dinosaur used that to propel itself through water. By Kenneth Chang Kazuhiro Nogi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images   The Thinnest Paper in the World The process of making tengujo is fairly simple, but the nearly transparent product that results is almost magical. By Oliver Whang

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Is There a Drug That Can Stop the Coronavirus?

Tuesday, May 5, 4 p.m. ET

Experimental antivirals like remdesivir are showing promise in fighting Covid-19. But could existing drugs — drugs for allergies or cancer, or even the hormone progesterone — prove even more effective? Join us for this digital event as we explore the race to find a cure and answer your questions about this often-baffling virus.

Special guest Carl Zimmer, writer of the Matter column in The Times. Hosted by Lauren Christensen, senior staff editor of Books.

THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK Ivor Prickett for The New York Times   The Covid-19 Riddle: Why Does the Virus Wallop Some Places and Spare Others? Experts are trying to figure out why the coronavirus is so capricious. The answers could determine how to best protect ourselves and how long we have to. By Hannah Beech, Alissa J. Rubin, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Ruth Maclean Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg   Profits and Pride at Stake, the Race for a Vaccine Intensifies Governments, companies and academic labs are accelerating their efforts amid geopolitical crosscurrents, questions about safety and the challenges of producing enough doses for billions of people. By David E. Sanger, David D. Kirkpatrick, Carl Zimmer, Katie Thomas and Sui-Lee Wee Gilead Sciences, via Reuters   How Remdesivir, New Hope for Covid-19 Patients, Was Resurrected The drug failed as a treatment for hepatitis and Ebola. With federal funding, scientists trained it on the coronavirus. By Gina Kolata     How Coronavirus Mutates and Spreads The virus has mutated. But that doesn’t mean it’s getting deadlier. By Jonathan Corum and Carl Zimmer Douglas Magno/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images   Matter Is It Safe to Come Out of Lockdown? Check the Sewer Wastewater could provide early, painless and localized data about the rise or fall of coronavirus levels. By Carl Zimmer Bsip/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images   Find a Vaccine. Next: Produce 300 Million Vials of It. Scaling up the manufacturing of syringes and other medical products required to deliver a vaccine to millions of Americans will be just as important as the vaccine itself. By Knvul Sheikh Science Source   What Is ‘Covid Toe’? Maybe a Strange Sign of Coronavirus Infection Dermatologists say the lesions should prompt testing for the virus, even though many patients have no other symptoms. By Roni Caryn Rabin C.D.C./E.P.A., via Shutterstock   Labs Across U.S. Join Federal Initiative to Study Coronavirus Genome The project, announced by the C.D.C., will help trace patterns of transmission, investigate outbreaks and map how the virus is evolving, which can affect a cure. By Sheri Fink

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MORE SCIENCE NEWS Namouni and Morais, NASA   Out There A Nest of Alien Asteroids Orbits Our Sun Astronomers say they have found orphan rocks from another star, or stars, stashed in the outer solar system. By Dennis Overbye NASA/GSFC/SDO   There’s Something Special About the Sun: It’s a Bit Boring The sun seems a little less active than hundreds of similar stars in our galaxy, which could play a role in why life exists in our solar system. By Adam Mann R. Barquera & N. Bernal   3 Africans in Mexico City Grave Tell Stories of Slavery’s Toll The men might have been among the earliest to be stolen from their homeland and brought to the Americas. By Nicholas St. Fleur Raju Vyas   Trilobites These Birds Eat Fire, or Close to It, to Live Another Day A willingness to experiment with new foods and ways of foraging may make some birds less vulnerable to extinction. By Asher Elbein

NASA Picks Moon Lander Designs by Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Rocket Companies It seems unlikely the space agency will meet President Trump’s goal of a return to the lunar surface by the end of 2024. By Kenneth Chang SpaceX to Bring Crew to Short-Staffed Space Station for Longer Stay Two NASA astronauts will now stay for more than a month and not two weeks during their first flight aboard the Crew Dragon capsule. By Kenneth Chang Coronavirus Disrupts Illegal Wildlife Trafficking, for Now Some conservationists see a chance to do lasting damage to criminal networks in the wake of the pandemic, but poaching may also rise. By Rachel Nuwer

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CLIMATE CHANGE     A Satellite Lets Scientists See Antarctica’s Melting Like Never Before NASA's new ICESat-2 satellite provides the most detailed look yet of where the continent is losing and gaining ice. By Kendra Pierre-Louis, Henry Fountain and Denise Lu Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters   Emissions Declines Will Set Records This Year. But It’s Not Good News. An “unprecedented” fall in fossil fuel use, driven by the Covid-19 crisis, is likely to lead to a nearly 8 percent drop, according to new research. By Brad Plumer Andrew Testa for The New York Times   The Business of Burps: Scientists Smell Profit in Cow Emissions Cattle produce more methane than many large countries. A solution could be an ecological and financial breakthrough — and a Swiss biotech company may be on the cusp. By Adam Satariano

HEALTH Gracia Lam   Personal Health Jane Brody’s Guide to Life in Lockdown I hope to offer some useful survival tips and help you realize that however distressed you may feel, you are neither abnormal nor alone. By Jane E. Brody iStock by Getty Images   The Checkup What’s Scaring the Pediatricians Children are not the focus of the pandemic. But pediatricians are worried for children and families, for now and for the future. By Perri Klass, M.D. Tony Cenicola/The New York Times   Trilobites Your Chicken Is No Longer Pink. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Safe to Eat. Next time you cook chicken, don’t rely on the color of the meat to tell you if it’s cooked enough to avoid food poisoning. By JoAnna Klein Getty Images   Endless Summer Puts Homebound Kids at Risk for Weight Gain With schools shuttered, the inactivity and snacking typical of summer breaks puts more students at risk of obesity and health ills. By Anahad O’Connor iStock   Phys Ed The 4-Second Workout Intense bursts of exercise throughout the day may have surprising metabolic benefits. By Gretchen Reynolds George Etheredge for The New York Times   Faces, Faces Everywhere In this Covid-19 spring, a socially hungry person is inclined to see faces where there are none. By George Etheredge and Benedict Carey

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