Science Times: Tourist Rockets to Space Are a Boon to Science

Plus: Finally, a Room-Temperature Superconductor —

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 20, 2020 Blue Origin, via Associated Press Jeff Bezos’ Company Is Carrying Scientific Cargo to Space. It’s Not Amazon. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket hasn’t flown space tourists yet, but it has found a business niche with NASA and private science experiments. By Kenneth Chang Blue Origin   How a 2nd-Grade Class Sent a Science Experiment to Space “Any school district now that affords football can afford spaceflight.” By Kenneth Chang Andrew Walmsley   Trilobites Slow Lorises Are Adorable but They Bite With Flesh-Rotting Venom Slow lorises are one of the world’s only venomous mammals. Even rarer, they use their venom on one another. By Rachel Nuwer Johny Islas/Peru's Ministry of Culture-Nasca-Palpa, via Associated Press   2,000-Year-Old Cat Etching Found at Nazca Lines Site in Peru Archaeologists came across the faded feline outline while conducting maintenance work at the UNESCO heritage site. By Tiffany May Adam Fenster/University of Rochester   Finally, the First Room-Temperature Superconductor It conveys electricity in the climate of a crisp fall day, but only under pressures comparable to what you’d find closer to Earth’s core. By Kenneth Chang Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Email us Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com. THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times   A Viral Theory Cited by Health Officials Draws Fire From Scientists A manifesto urging reliance on “herd immunity” without lockdowns was warmly received by administration officials. But the strategy cannot stem the pandemic, many experts say. By Apoorva Mandavilli and Sheryl Gay Stolberg Marco Bello/Reuters   Pfizer Says It Won’t Seek Vaccine Authorization Before Mid-November Friday’s announcement represents a shift in tone for the company and its leader, who has repeatedly emphasized the month of October in interviews and public appearances. By Katie Thomas and Noah Weiland Doug Mills/The New York Times   What Does ‘Negative’ on a Coronavirus Test Really Mean? President Trump’s recent tests are a reminder that although many products exist, none test for infectiousness. By Katherine J. Wu Visar Kryeziu/Associated Press   Some Signs of Recovery From Severe Covid Lung Damage In two early studies, researchers said some patients showed signs of healing just weeks after leaving the hospital. By Lina Zeldovich Chang W. Lee/The New York Times   Biden’s Covid Response Plan Draws From F.D.R.’s New Deal Mr. Biden has staked his campaign on a more muscular federal role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. But some of his big government proposals may be difficult to put into effect. By Abby Goodnough and Sheryl Gay Stolberg Mike Blake/Reuters   Matter 3 Covid-19 Trials Have Been Paused for Safety. That’s a Good Thing. Experts were comforted that companies are following safety precautions. They pointed out that pauses in vaccine trials are common, but pauses in treatment trials like Eli Lilly’s are rare. By Carl Zimmer John Minchillo/Associated Press   Coronavirus Reinfections Are Real but Very, Very Rare A case in Nevada has spurred new concerns that people who have recovered from the infection may still be vulnerable. That’s unlikely, experts say. By Apoorva Mandavilli Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters   Remdesivir Fails to Prevent Covid-19 Deaths in Huge Trial Critics said the study, sponsored by the W.H.O., was too poorly conducted to be definitive. By Katherine J. Wu and Gina Kolata Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT MORE SCIENCE NEWS SPL/Science Source   Doctors May Have Found Secretive New Organs in the Center of Your Head They appear to be a fourth pair of large salivary glands, tucked into the space where the nasal cavity meets the throat. By Katherine J. Wu The Natural History Museum, London, via Alamy   How Many Plants Have We Wiped Out? Here Are 5 Extinction Stories Botanists have laid out evidence that dozens of North American trees, herbs, plants and shrubs have gone extinct since European settlers arrived. By Marion Renault Todd Olszewski/Getty Images   Why a Perfect Spiral Football Pass Doesn’t Break the Laws of Physics These physicists were never amazing football players, but they’ve helped explain some of the magic when a quarterback goes deep. By Kenneth Chang M. Kornmesser/ESO   Out There A Black Hole’s Lunch: Stellar Spaghetti Astronomers observed a star become a “feast” for a cosmic monster. By Dennis Overbye trilobites The Dire Wolf Might Have Prowled Asia, Fossil Suggests The carnivores likely crossed the Bering Land Bridge into Asia. By Katherine Kornei Restoring Farmland Could Drastically Slow Extinctions, Fight Climate Change Returning strategic parts of the world’s farmlands to nature could help mitigate both climate change and biodiversity loss, a new study found. By Catrin Einhorn those we’ve lost Stuart Bowyer, Astronomer Who Lent His Ear to the Cosmos, Dies at 86 He was a scientist who succeeded in seeing the unseeable and hoped to tune in to extraterrestrial life. By Dennis Overbye Mario Molina, 77, Dies; Sounded an Alarm on the Ozone Layer He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research that showed how chemicals in hair spray and other products could cause grave environmental damage. By John Schwartz Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE     The World’s Largest Tropical Wetland Has Become an Inferno This year, roughly a quarter of the vast Pantanal wetland in Brazil, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, has burned in wildfires worsened by climate change. By Catrin Einhorn, Maria Magdalena Arréllaga, Blacki Migliozzi and Scott Reinhard Zachary Wieland   A Field Guide to the Election and Climate Change The climate crisis has risen as a major concern among voters. The two candidates have profoundly different approaches on energy, public lands and environmental priorities. By Brad Plumer Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA, via Shutterstock   Nearly Half of the U.S. Is in Drought. It May Get Worse. The most widespread drought in the continental United States since 2013 covers more than 45 percent of the Lower 48 states, federal scientists said. By Henry Fountain Brook Mitchell for The New York Times   The Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half Its Corals Researchers in Australia blamed climate change for the loss, which they said could diminish critical habitats for fish and other marine life. By Maria Cramer HEALTH D. Roberts/Science Source   Scientists Synthesize Jawbones From Pig Fat The bones are among the hardest to replace in the body. A trial of the new technique in humans is about to begin. By Gina Kolata Getty Images   Using the Pandemic as an Opportunity to Lose Weight and Get in Shape While many people gained weight during the lockdowns, others have used the change in routine to eat better and exercise more. By Abby Ellin Getty Images   Phys Ed Try High-Intensity Interval Training. You Might Like It. Many inactive adults who tried a sampling of exercises preferred intense efforts to gentler workouts. By Gretchen Reynolds iStock by Getty Images   What Scandinavians Can Teach Us About Embracing Winter In the pandemic, rather than feeling depressed that the arrival of cold weather will mean you’ll be isolated indoors, try adopting a positive winter mind-set. By Kari Leibowitz The Challenges of Remote Learning for Children Who Stutter Feeling put on the spot on a video screen when you can’t get words out can be intimidating. Experts offer advice. By Jenny Marder the new old age Having Dementia Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Vote Yes, you can help a cognitively impaired person participate in the election. But heed these two guidelines. By Paula Span Drug May Extend A.L.S. Patients’ Lives by Several Months, Study Finds The two-drug combination invented by college students is one of many potential therapies being tested for this paralyzing fatal condition. By Pam Belluck 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. 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