Science Times: A Boy Who Had Spinal Surgery in the Womb Stands on His Own Two Feet

Plus: Giant Squid, Phantom of the Deep, Reappears on Video —

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Lexi and Joshuwa Royer play with their 17-month-old son, Charley, at their home in Alpine, Calif. After an operation to close his spine that was performed while still in utero, Charley is now learning to walk and dance. Tara Pixley for The New York Times A Boy Who Had Spinal Surgery in the Womb Stands on His Own Two Feet By DENISE GRADY Operating before birth can minimize nerve damage caused by severe defects in tissue around the spinal column. • Earlier articles from "The Healing Edge" series

Giant Squid, Phantom of the Deep, Reappears on Video By BROOKE JARVIS Seven years after scientists caught the elusive deep-sea cephalopod on video, they saw another. Then lightning struck a third time. • 8 utterly fascinating things about cephalopods Charlie Shoemaker for The New York Times Drug Companies Are Focusing on the Poor After Decades of Ignoring Them By DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. The pharmaceutical industry once sued to keep AIDS drugs from dying Africans. Now companies boast of their efforts to get medicines to the developing world. Andriy Popov/Alamy Would You Return This Lost Wallet? By PAM BELLUCK An intriguing new study found that people across the world are more inclined to give back a lost wallet if there is money inside. How NASA Sold the Science and Glamour of Space Travel By CLYDE HABERMAN At the time of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission in the 1960s, some Americans had reservations about the wisdom of reaching for the stars when troubles swelled on Earth.

ONE GIANT LEAP: THE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING, 50 YEARS ON On July 21, The New York Times presents the reading of a short play by Tony Award-winning author J.T. Rogers. Commissioned specifically for this event, the play weaves together transcripts of the Apollo 11 mission, Times coverage from the period and excerpts from interviews with the men and women who made it happen. Following the reading, Michael Barbaro of "The Daily" will host an onstage conversation with Michael Collins, command module pilot on Apollo 11, Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station, and Poppy Northcutt, the first female engineer to work in NASA's mission control, starting with Apollo 8. Tickets $50–$200. For more information, see https://timesevents.nytimes.com/onegiantleap.

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Joe Skipper/Reuters SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Launches on 3rd Mission By SHANNON STIRONE The powerful rocket is carrying an assortment of cargo to orbit, including a solar sail, an atomic clock and the ashes of 152 people. Eric Thayer for The New York Times Can 'Big Data' Help Fight Big Fires? Firefighters Are Betting on It By JOSE A. DEL REAL As wildfires grow more intense, fire chiefs in Southern California are looking to big data and machine learning for help in managing fast-moving blazes. DNA Microscope Sees 'Through the Eyes of the Cell' By KNVUL SHEIKH A new imaging tool works more like Google Maps than a traditional microscope. Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times Does Fluffy Really Want to Be an Adventure Cat? By WUDAN YAN With a leash and a harness, any feline can safely explore the great outdoors. But owners need to be mindful of signs of stress. Marvin A. Altamia and Reuben Shipway This Creature Eats Stone. Sand Comes Out the Other End. By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD Shipworms are known for boring into wood and digesting it, but scientists found a new species with a very different diet. John Lloyd Watch Soap Bubbles Turn Into Tiny Snow Globes as They Freeze By KNVUL SHEIKH The freeze front creates an unusual liquid flow on the surface of the soap bubbles, new research suggests.

In Hawaii, Construction to Begin on Disputed Telescope Project By DENNIS OVERBYE How an Arctic Hyena Was Found in Canada, Then Lost, Then Found Again By CARA GIAIMO Who Liked Hurricane Sandy? These Tiny, Endangered Birds By ANNIE ROTH Meet the Narluga, Hybrid Son of a Narwhal Mom and a Beluga Whale Dad By JOANNA KLEIN Chennai, an Indian City of Nearly 5 Million, Is Running Out of Water By SOMINI SENGUPTA Q&A When the chicks have just hatched, how do chicken farmers tell future hens from future roosters? By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

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Health Shahar and Sayers/Scientific Reports About the Idea That You're Growing Horns From Looking Down at Your Phone … By DENISE GRADY Neck strain and bone spurs are certainly possible from poor posture, but some experts doubt that cellphones are the only culprit. Gracia Lam Personal Health For Vitiligo Patients, New Treatments Offer Hope By JANE E. BRODY "We now have a much better understanding of the immunological pathways involved in vitiligo, which is providing insight on how to target and treat the disease better," an expert says. Eamon Queeney for The New York Times Boarding Now: Parents of Children With Food Allergies By RONI CARYN RABIN Airlines must permit some parents — or passengers with food allergies themselves — to preboard in order to wipe down seats, federal regulators said. HBO The 'Euphoria' Teenagers Are Wild. But Most Real Teenagers Are Tame. By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ AND AARON E. CARROLL Kids these days are the "cautious generation," the evidence shows. Emile Wamsteker for The New York Times An Anti-Aging Pill? Think Twice By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS The diabetes drug metformin, sometimes taken to slow aging, may blunt the health benefits of exercise. Eve Edelheit for The New York Times People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down. By FARAH STOCKMAN More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals — dogs, ducks, even insects — for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status. Elinor Carucci for The New York Times When You're Told You're Too Fat to Get Pregnant By VIRGINIA SOLE-SMITH Does it make sense, medically or ethically, when fertility clinics refuse to treat prospective mothers they consider too large? Daniel Becerril/Reuters Why Transparency on Medical Prices Could Actually Make Them Go Higher By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ It could depend on how much the health care system resembles the Danish concrete market.

E-Cigarette Exploded in a Teenager's Mouth, Damaging His Jaw By SHEILA KAPLAN Arsenic in Bottled Water Prompts a Product Removal: How Much Is Safe? By EMILY S. RUEB New Sex Drug for Women to Improve Low Libido Is Approved by the F.D.A. By KATIE THOMAS You asked: Any hope for diminished (or nonexistent) sexual desire in a postmenopausal woman? By JEN GUNTER

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