Science Times: Vanishing Birds

Plus: How Anti-Vaccine Sentiment Took Hold in the United States —

View in browser|nytimes.com SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

Michael Gore/FLPA/Minden Pictures   Hurricanes May Kill Some Birds, but Humans Are the Real Threat When the time comes to assess the environmental damage from Hurricane Dorian, one species may be extinct, but it's not Dorian's fault

Brian Sullivan, Macaulay Library at Cornell Lab of Ornithology   Matter Birds Are Vanishing From North America The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past half-century, scientists find.     Where Theory Meets Chalk, Dust Flies A photo survey of the blackboards of mathematicians. Elaine Thompson/Associated Press   How Anti-Vaccine Sentiment Took Hold in the United States As families face back-to-school medical requirements this month, the country feels the impact of a vaccine resistance movement decades in the making. Michele Spatari/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images   Global Health A Simple Regimen Can Prevent TB. Why Aren't More People on It? Two antibiotics, taken for a month, can stop a leading killer. But "when it's for TB, people just sort of shrug."

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iStock/Getty Images Plus   Trilobites Scientists Identify Neurons That Help the Brain Forget In mice, cells in the hypothalamus clear out old memories while the animals sleep.     India's Chandrayaan-2 Marks 60 Years of Moon Crashes and Hard Landings The solar system is littered with the remains of crushed spacecraft. Frank Gradyan   Trilobites It's a Dirty Job, but Someone Has to Do It and Not Get Eaten Cleaner shrimp appear to have developed a strategy that protects them from predators they get very close to. Amanda Mustard for The New York Times   Thailand Shuttered a Notorious Tiger Zoo, but the Problem Has Only Gotten Worse Activists say Thailand's tiger zoos amount to little more than farms, which produce animal parts for a thriving black market.

CLIMATE CHANGE Carlo Allegri/Reuters   At U.N. Climate Summit, Few Commitments and U.S. Silence China made no new commitments at United Nations climate talks to take stronger action. The United States said nothing at all, and a host of other countries made incremental promises at best. Max Whittaker for The New York Times   In a Race Against the Sun, Growers Try to Outsmart Climate Change From California to Costa Rica and beyond, farmers are experimenting with new crops and growing tactics. NASA, via Associated Press   How to Cool a Planet With Extraterrestrial Dust A study of fossil meteorites suggests that a distant asteroid collision once sent Earth into an ice age.     Scientists Set Out to Drift With Arctic Ice for a Year to Study Climate Change The Mosaic expedition, a $155 million undertaking five years in the making, aims for a better understanding of how global warming will affect the Arctic.

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HEALTH Justin Sullivan/Getty Images   Is the New Meat Any Better Than the Old Meat? The Impossible Whopper and other plant-based burgers are a hit. But are they an improvement for you and the planet? AgriProtein   You Might Not Want to Eat Bugs. But Would You Eat Meat That Ate Bugs? Companies across the globe are banking on it. Drew Angerer/Getty Images   Should You Keep Taking Zantac for Your Heartburn? Versions of the drug have been found to contain low levels of a carcinogen. But it's still on pharmacy shelves. Here's what you need to know. Dustin Chambers for The New York Times   What Should Young Children Drink? Mostly Milk and Water, Scientists Say Infants and toddlers should not be given soda, chocolate milk or other sweetened drinks, according to strict new guidelines. iStock by Getty Images   The Checkup Exploring a Possible Link Between C-Sections and Autism Children born by cesarean section may have important differences that affect their neurodevelopment. Gracia Lam   Personal Health Why Can't We Stop Pancreatic Cancer? There is little a person can do to prevent it, and there is nothing comparable to mammography or colonoscopy to screen for it when it is most amenable to cure.

America's Abortion Rate Has Dropped to Its Lowest Ever New research suggests contraception and fewer pregnancies may be more responsible for the decline than state laws restricting abortion. by pam belluck Purdue Pharma Warns That Sackler Family May Walk From Opioid Deal The company said the cost of fighting lawsuits brought by states could jeopardize its owners' ability to contribute $3 billion to a national opioids settlement. by jan hoffman Vaping Illnesses Increase to 530 Probable Cases, C.D.C. Says More than three-fourths of those sickened are male, health officials said, and half are under 25. Missouri reported the eighth death linked to vaping during this summer's crisis. by matt richtel and sheila kaplan

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