Science Times: Yes, the Octopus Is Smart as Heck. But Why?

Plus: 600 Million Years Ago, the First Scavengers Lurked in Dark Ocean Gardens —

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An octopus in an aquarium in Brest, France. The animals are highly intelligent, but researchers are uncertain how the trait evolved. Fred Tanneau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Yes, the Octopus Is Smart as Heck. But Why? By CARL ZIMMER It has eight arms, three hearts — and a plan. Scientists aren't sure how the cephalopods got to be so intelligent.

Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times Puritan Tiger Beetles, 'Vicious Predators,' May Soon Hunt Again By KAREN WEINTRAUB The beetles are New England's most endangered species. Now scientists have begun an unlikely effort to return them to the banks of the Connecticut River. David M. Phillips/Science Source The Placenta, an Afterthought No Longer By APOORVA MANDAVILLI An ephemeral organ, long dismissed merely as afterbirth, increasingly is viewed as critical to understanding the health and course of pregnancy. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona NASA's Osiris-Rex Arrives at Asteroid Bennu After a Two-Year Journey By KENNETH CHANG The spacecraft now begins a close study of the primitive space rock, seeking clues to the early solar system. Auscape/UIG, via Getty Images 600 Million Years Ago, the First Scavengers Lurked in Dark Ocean Gardens By ASHER ELBEIN The bizarre organisms of the Ediacaran Period have long puzzled researchers. Fossil discoveries suggest these ecosystems may have been more complicated than once thought.

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Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times In the Blink of an Eye, a Hunt for Oil Threatens Pristine Alaska By HENRY FOUNTAIN AND STEVE EDER For decades, opposition to drilling has left the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off limits. Now the Trump administration is hurriedly clearing the way for oil exploration. • Drilling in the Arctic: Questions for a Polar Bear Expert • The Race for Alaskan Oil: 6 Key Takeaways Heather Ainsworth for The New York Times Knickers the Steer Really Is Big. But Most of Us Don't Know a Cow's Normal Size. By JAMES GORMAN If you thought Knickers was a once-in-a-lifetime giant, you may not be spending enough time with cattle. • What Makes Knickers the Steer (Not Cow) So Big? Cattle's Mysterious Genes Don Emmert/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Rough Drafts of Richard Feynman's Ideas — Sold! By KENNETH CHANG On Friday, Sotheby's auctioned the Nobel Prize of Richard Feynman, the brilliant 20th century physicist, for $975,000, as well as some of his papers. This is a preview of the auction that we published last week. Chen Zhanqi Meet the Spiders That Feed Milk to Their Young By DOUGLAS QUENQUA The jumping arachnids' secretions have four times as much protein as cow milk. ESA/Hubble & NASA All the Light There is to See? 4 x 10⁸⁴ Photons By DENNIS OVERBYE Astronomers have calculated all the light ever produced by all the stars in the cosmos. It's a lot, but on the cosmic whole, not that much. NASA/Project Apollo Archive NASA Chooses Private Companies for Future Moon Landings By KENNETH CHANG Nine companies will vie for a share of more than $2 billion dollars to build small landers to carry experimental payloads to the lunar surface.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Denies Misconduct Accusations By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS A Famous Alpha Wolf's Daughter, Spitfire, Is Killed by a Hunter By JIM ROBBINS Soyuz Rocket Launches Flawlessly, Weeks After Malfunction By ANDREW E. KRAMER Q&A While do winds travel clockwise around high-pressure centers and counterclockwise around low-pressure centers? Is it different in the Southern Hemisphere? By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

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Climate Change Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times Study Warns of Cascading Health Risks From the Changing Climate By SOMINI SENGUPTA AND KENDRA PIERRE-LOUIS Global warming is posing immediate health hazards around the world and in the United States, from kidney disease to dengue fever, two new studies say. Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times Trump's 'Energy Dominance' Doctrine Is Undermined by Climate Change By LISA FRIEDMAN Rising temperatures undermine the president's vision of an energy-dominant America, affecting coal-fired power plants, oil production and the electrical grid, a federal report says. Colleen Gill News Networks Fall Short on Climate Story as Dolphins Die on the Beach By JIM RUTENBERG A crusader films the red-tide carnage in Florida. But in a time of climate-change denialism encouraged by the president, her work draws nasty comments. Luke Sharrett for The New York Times Fact Check The Baseless Claim That Climate Scientists Are 'Driven' by Money By LINDA QIU Critics of a major United States climate report, including the president and conservative pundits, have dismissed its findings with several inaccurate claims.

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Health Travis Dove for The New York Times Giving Patients a Voice in Their Mental Health Care Before They're Too Ill to Have a Say By PAM BELLUCK Psychiatric advance directives allow patients with serious mental illness to specify the treatment they want if they become too sick to say so. Gracia Lam Personal Health The Secret to Good Health May Be a Walk in the Park By JANE E. BRODY In Minneapolis-St. Paul, the nation's healthiest urban region, almost everyone lives within a 10-minute walk of a good public park. Shouldn't we all? Rahav Segev for The New York Times Why Hospitals Should Let You Sleep Frequent disruptions are more than just annoying for patients. They can also cause harm. Getty Images The Best Foods for Athletes By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS More fat? More carbs? How should we eat for peak athletic performance? Matt Roth for The New York Times You Don't Want Fries With That By CHRISTOPHER MELE Fries are unhealthy but undeniably tasty, so if you do indulge, here is some expert advice. iStock Drink or Breathe? Babies Have to Do Both By PERRI KLASS, M.D. Small children are especially vulnerable to dehydration, and it's not only stomach bugs that are a problem. Upper respiratory infections can make it difficult for them to drink. Junior D. Kannah/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 'From Nothing to Gangbusters': A Treatment for Sickle-Cell Disease Proves Effective in Africa By DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. Already used in Western countries, hydroxyurea eased painful episodes in African children with the condition. It also reduced the risk of malaria infection. Kin Cheung/Associated Press News Analysis Genetically Modified People Are Walking Among Us By CARL ZIMMER And, so far, they're just fine. America needs a sober debate about the pros and cons of Crispr instead of a paranoid ban on the technology. • In China, Gene-Edited Babies Are the Latest in a String of Ethical Dilemmas

Ask Well What are the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency if left untreated? By RONI CARYN RABIN How to Prevent Nasty Stomach Bugs This Winter? More Bleach. By MELINDA WENNER MOYER As Measles Surges, 'Decades of Progress' Are in Jeopardy By RICK GLADSTONE 'The Numbers Are So Staggering.' Overdose Deaths Set a Record Last Year. By JOSH KATZ AND MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

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