Science Times: The Wuhan Coronavirus

Plus: For a Decades-Old C.I.A. Mystery, a New Clue —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story February 4, 2020

THE WUHAN CORONAVIRUS CHINATOPIX, via Associated Press   The Wuhan Coronavirus: Symptoms, Treatments and Science A respiratory virus that originated in China has infected more than 17,000 people in at least 23 countries, killing at least 360. By Roni Caryn Rabin Chinatopix, via Associated Press   Global Health Wuhan Coronavirus Looks Increasingly Like a Pandemic, Experts Say Rapidly rising caseloads alarm researchers, who fear the virus may make its way across the globe. But scientists cannot yet predict how many deaths may result. By Donald G. McNeil Jr. Tyrone Siu/Reuters   Global Health Mask Hoarders May Raise Risk of a Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S. Stores are selling out of masks, and health care workers risk infection if they cannot get the protective gear. By Donald G. McNeil Jr. China Institute of Veterinary Drug Control, via Reuters   Researchers Are Racing to Make a Coronavirus Vaccine. Will It Help? New technology and better coordination have sped up development. But a coronavirus vaccine is still months — and most likely years — away. By Knvul Sheikh and Katie Thomas     How Bad Will the Coronavirus Outbreak Get? Here Are 6 Key Factors Here’s what early research says about how the pathogen behaves and the factors that will determine whether it can be contained. By Knvul Sheikh, Derek Watkins, Jin Wu and Mika Gröndahl

Continue reading the main story

ADVERTISEMENT

Yulia Grigoryants for The New York Times   In Paris, a Mathematician Confronts the Political Odds Is a scientist in politics incongruous? Cédric Villani, Fields Medal winner and mayoral candidate, doesn’t think so. By Siobhan Roberts     This Sculpture Holds a Decades-Old C.I.A. Mystery. And Now, Another Clue. Kryptos has been in a courtyard at C.I.A. headquarters for almost 30 years. Three of its four passages have been decoded. Will one more clue unlock the last? By John Schwartz and Jonathan Corum NSO/NSF/AURA   Out There These Images Show the Sun’s Surface in Greater Detail Than Ever Before A new telescope in Hawaii takes aim at our nearest star and its mysteries. By Dennis Overbye The Natural History Museum/Alamy   Matter Neanderthal Genes Hint at Much Earlier Human Migration From Africa Modern humans may have left the continent as long 200,000 years ago, a new analysis suggests. By Carl Zimmer

J. Härer   Trilobites Fossilized Tooth Captures a Pterosaur’s Failed Squid Meal The unlikely fossil sheds new light on the flying reptile’s dining habits. By Cara Giaimo NASA/JPL   NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope Ends 16-Year Mission of Discovery NASA’s Spitzer space telescope spotted 7 Earth-size worlds orbiting another star, a new ring around Saturn and many more wonders in space. By Adam Mann Bordy et al. 2020, Plos ONE   Trilobites When Dinosaurs Left Tracks in a Land Consumed by Lava and Fire Dozens of footprints left by dinosaurs and other creatures were left in what is now South Africa before the Gondwana supercontinent broke up. By Becky Ferreira Merlin D. Tuttle/Science Source   How Do Bats Live With So Many Viruses? They are considered the probable source of the coronavirus outbreak spreading from China. It turns out that they may have an immune system that lets them coexist with many disease-causing viruses. By James Gorman

Continue reading the main story

ADVERTISEMENT

Louis Nirenberg, ‘One of the Great Mathematicians,’ Dies at 94 Winner of the math world’s equivalent of a Nobel, he puzzled out equations describing the vibrating of strings, the flow of heat and the movement of water. by kenneth chang trilobites Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs Was Great for Bacteria The smoldering crater left by the apocalyptic space rock became a nice home for blue-green algae within years of the impact. by shannon hall Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Calls Off TV Search for Moon Trip ‘Life Partner’ Yusaku Maezawa had posted an advertisement seeking a woman to go with him on a SpaceX flight around the moon. He said he canceled the search for “personal reasons” and apologized. by mihir zaveri The Killer Neural Wiring That Links Eyes and Wings in 2 Predators An ancient ancestor’s visual system helps dragonflies and jewel wing damselflies capture prey in very different ways. by veronique greenwood U.S. Accuses Harvard Scientist of Concealing Chinese Funding Prosecutors say Charles M. Lieber, the chair of Harvard’s chemistry department, lied about contacts with a Chinese state-run initiative that seeks to draw foreign-educated talent. by ellen barry

CLIMATE CHANGE NASA/OIB/Jeremy Harbeck   Temperatures at a Florida-Size Glacier in Antarctica Alarm Scientists Researchers in Antarctica found unusually warm water beneath a massive glacier that is already melting and contributing to sea level rise.  By Shola Lawal Shutterstock   ‘Every Day Matters’: Guardian Stops Accepting Fossil Fuel Ads It said the decision was based on the efforts by the industry to prevent meaningful climate action by governments. By Amie Tsang and Stanley Reed

Continue reading the main story

ADVERTISEMENT

Email us

Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.

HEALTH Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times   Teens Find a Big Loophole in the New Flavored Vaping Ban The policy allows mint, dessert and fruit flavors to continue to be sold in disposable e-cigarettes, prompting many teens to switch from Juul to those devices. By Sheila Kaplan iStock by Getty Images   The Checkup Helping Teenagers With Menstrual Pain Painful periods are common around the world but, with treatment, should not cause a teenager to miss school, sports or social outings. By Perri Klass, M.D. Gracia Lam   Personal Health She Was Losing Fistfuls of Hair. What Was Causing It? Sudden hair loss may seem alarming, but it may be caused by a temporary stress and grow back. By Jane E. Brody iStock   Phys Ed Keeping Aging Muscles Fit Is Tied to Better Heart Health Later For men at least, entering middle age with plenty of muscle may lower the later risk of developing heart disease by more than 80 percent. By Gretchen Reynolds Katie Hayes Luke for The New York Times   Doctors on TikTok Try to Go Viral They have M.D.s, but are they up for this challenge? By Emma Goldberg Jeremy M. Lange for The New York Times   How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk Pharmacists across the U.S. warn that the push to do more with less has made medication errors more likely. “I am a danger to the public,” one wrote to a regulator. By Ellen Gabler

American Life Expectancy Rises for First Time in Four Years Life expectancy, the most basic measure of the health of a society, rose slightly in 2018, after a rare and troubling decline driven by the opioid epidemic. by sabrina tavernise and abby goodnough As Other Democrats Feud, Bloomberg Hammers Trump on Health Care While the presidential candidates argue about each other’s health plans, Michael Bloomberg’s ads have attacked the president over pre-existing conditions. by nick corasaniti and abby goodnough

Make a friend’s day: Forward this email.

Got this from a friend? Subscribe to the Science Times newsletter. Check out other New York Times newsletters (all free!) including:

Climate Fwd: for climate coverage and expert analysis. The Upshot for a data-driven look at the news. Well for the latest on health, fitness and nutrition.

Continue reading the main story

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Science Times from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The Times |Get The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your Email|Privacy Policy|Contact Us The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018