Science Times: Ancient Guide to a Perilous Afterlife

Plus: Science under attack in the Trump administration

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story December 31, 2019

Werner Forman/Universal Images Group, via Getty Images   An Afterlife So Perilous, You Needed a Guidebook Archaeologists unearthed the remains of a 4,000-year-old “Book of Two Ways” — a guide to the Egyptian underworld, and the earliest copy of the first illustrated book. By Franz Lidz

Victor J. Blue for The New York Times   Science Under Attack: How Trump Is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work In three years, the administration has diminished the role of science in policymaking while disrupting research projects nationwide. Experts say the effects could be felt for years. By Brad Plumer and Coral Davenport Kin Cheung/Associated Press   Chinese Scientist Who Genetically Edited Babies Gets 3 Years in Prison He Jiankui’s work was also carried out on a third infant, according to China’s state media, in a new disclosure that is likely to add to the global uproar over such experiments. By Sui-Lee Wee Brian L. Frank for The New York Times   Deadly Germs, Lost Cures Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt First Big Pharma fled the field, and now start-ups are going belly up, threatening to stifle the development of new drugs. By Andrew Jacobs Lee Celano/Reuters   A Trump Policy ‘Clarification’ All but Ends Punishment for Bird Deaths In one of its first environmental acts, the Trump administration absolved businesses from responsibility for "incidental" bird deaths. Avian carnage has followed. By Lisa Friedman

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2019 IN REVIEW Thomas Peter/Reuters   What We Learned in Science News in 2019 Developments in science that we’re still thinking about at year’s end. By The New York Times Event Horizon Telescope, via Associated Press   What We Learned in Space and Astronomy News in 2019 Developments in and out of this world that we’re still thinking about at year’s end. By The New York Times Richard Vogel/Associated Press   What We Learned in 2019: Health and Medicine Developments in medicine and health that we’re still thinking about at year’s end. By Knvul Sheikh     2019: The Year in Climate Change The biggest climate stories you might have missed — but still have time to read. By The New York Times

‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse Dazzles Asia and Middle East An annular solar eclipse, in which the moon covers the sun’s center, leaving a ring of light around it, was visible on Thursday. “You can actually see the solar system in motion,” an astronomer said. by derrick bryson taylor Watching an Interstellar Comet and Hoping for a Bang Seeing Comet Borisov won’t be easy for the typical sky gazer, but astronomers still have a lot to learn from this extrasolar tourist. by nicholas st. fleur Chuck Peddle Dies at 82; His $25 Chip Helped Start the PC Age His invention brought digital technology to a new breed of consumer devices and powered early Apple and Commodore computers. by cade metz Asian Giant Hornet Invasion Threatens Honey Bees in Pacific Northwest An expert said of the hornets: “They are sworn enemies of honey bees. I would say a bee’s worst nightmare.” by neil vigdor In Indonesia, Outlaw Gold Miners Poison Themselves to Survive One large mining company is trying to shut illegal operations, which use mercury. The small-scale miners say there’s no other way to earn a living. by richard c. paddock and adam dean Earth Science Has a Whiteness Problem Barely 10 percent of doctoral degrees in the geosciences go to recipients of color. The lack of diversity limits the quality of research, many scientists say. by emma goldberg

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HEALTH Reina Takahashi   Make 2020 the Year of Less Sugar One of the best things you can do for your health is to cut back on foods with added sugar. Our 7-Day Sugar Challenge will show you how. By Tara Parker-Pope Gracia Lam   Personal Health For Better Brain Health, Preserve Your Hearing Hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia, exceeding that of smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and social isolation. By Jane E. Brody J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press   F.D.A. Failed to Ensure Safe Prescribing of Opioids, Documents Show The agency, whose oversight of opioid safety has largely eluded scrutiny, did not improve flawed programs designed to reduce addiction and overdoses. By Abby Goodnough and Margot Sanger-Katz Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for LARAS   Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests The tests, from companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry, have become popular holiday gifts, but the military is warning service members of risks to their careers. By Heather Murphy and Mihir Zaveri

Opioid Deaths Rise When Auto Plants Close, Study Shows Research found 85 percent more deaths among those of prime working age in places where car factories closed compared with where they stayed open. by niraj chokshi Certain Foods May Help Postmenopausal Women Sleep Better Eating foods like vegetables and nuts with a low glycemic index were tied to sounder sleep. by nicholas bakalar the new health care The Watch Is Smart, but It Can’t Replace Your Doctor Apple has been advertising its watch’s ability to detect atrial fibrillation. The reality doesn’t quite live up to the promise. by aaron e. carroll phys ed A Decade of Fitness Dogs and high-intensity exercise in. Barefoot running out. by gretchen reynolds

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