Science Times: Retracing the Viking seafarers

August 12, 2025

A small, square-rigged boat sails on dark seas against a grey sky.

Greer Kimsa Jarrett

To Study Viking Seafarers, He Took 26 Voyages in Traditional Boats

An archaeologist in Sweden spent three years traveling in vessels built like those from 1,000 years ago. He discovered lost sea routes, hidden trade harbors and new respect for Viking seamanship.

By Franz Lidz

John P. Dessereau

Bonds Beats the Babe! Statistical Model Crowns a New ‘Greatest’ in Baseball

A new ranking methodology places Barry Bonds over Babe Ruth as the game’s best player ever. Statisticians, at least, are cheering.

By Alexander Nazaryan

A person with a head lamp and fancy telescope/camera sits in a camping chair and looks up at the night sky with the Milky Way visible.

Georgi Licovski/EPA, via Shutterstock

How to Watch the Strongest Meteor Shower of the Summer

The summer’s most active shower, the Perseids, is reaching its peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning

By Katrina Miller

An illustration of a purple-and-pink world cloaked in shadow with two stars in the distance, one closer and brighter than the other.

NASA

Possible Planet Is Spotted Around Neighboring Alpha Centauri Star

Astronomers found strong evidence that a gassy Jupiter-size world is orbiting one of three stars in the stellar system closest to our own.

By Katrina Miller

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A small, furry mammal with stripes and dots against sitting baring sharp teeth amid a swampy terrain.

Hamzah Imran

Trilobites

Fossil Shows a Sharp-Toothed Mammal That Thrived Among Dinosaurs

Named for its razor-like teeth, Novaculadon mirabilis came from a rodent-like order that outlived the dinosaur extinction before vanishing about 30 million years ago.

By Sara Novak

An overhead view of cows walking through an opening in a border fence.

Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

Gene Editing and Fly Factories: The Fight Against a Flesh-Eating Pest

The American and Mexican governments are exploring “all options” to battle a deadly parasite threatening cattle and wildlife.

By Linda Qiu and Alexa Robles-Gil

The spindly, beetle-damaged crowns of two coconut palms.

Michelle Mishina Kunz for The New York Times

The Fight to Save Hawaii’s Coconut Palms

An invasive beetle is killing coconut trees across the archipelago, and spreading fast. Researchers are racing to contain it.

By Jack Truesdale

A black-and-white photo of James Lovell, wearing a white space suit decorated with an American flag, sitting next to another astronaut and gesturing with one hand.

Associated Press

James A. Lovell Jr., Commander of Apollo 13, Is Dead at 97

He led the three-man crew that survived a near catastrophic explosion in space in 1970, and was later immortalized by Tom Hanks in the movie “Apollo 13.”

By Richard Goldstein

Fragments of a silver-colored meteorite that were taken from a home.

Space Rock That Punched Through Roof Almost Struck Resident

Fragments of a meteorite that fell to Earth as part of a mysterious daytime fireball in late June missed striking a man near Atlanta, a researcher has found.

By Adeel Hassan

A close-up of a tick with a red lower body on the edge of a stalk of vegetation.

Trilobites

Seven Ticks Hitched Very Long Rides to Connecticut

The nonnative species from Europe, Latin America and Eastern Africa reached the United States by latching on to travelers, a study by researchers in the state shows, offering clues about how ticks spread in a warming world.

By Jacey Fortin

A digital rendering of a tall device on the moon’s surface. It has several panels fanning out from a central beam.

NASA Is Getting Fired Up About a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

Placing an atomic energy source on the lunar surface is “not science fiction,” experts say, but does pose technical challenges.

By Kenneth Chang

A close-up of an older Nicholas Clapp, wearing a black cowboy hat, glasses and a denim shirt.

Nicholas Clapp, 89, Dies; ‘Real-Life Indiana Jones’ Pursued a Lost City

A documentary filmmaker and amateur archaeologist, he was consumed by the desire to find an ancient city in the Arabian desert known as Atlantis of the Sands.

By Jeré Longman

CLIMATE CHANGE

A wide angle view of a snow-covered landscape with mountains and clouds in a blue sky.

Moritz Koch

A Famously Stable Glacier in Argentina Suddenly Looks Anything But

After holding steady for decades, the beloved Perito Moreno has thinned considerably since 2019, scientists said.

By Raymond Zhong

Firefighters climb a steep hill toward a canyon where a fire is burning at the top.

Philip Cheung for The New York Times

As Earth Warms, California Fire Season Is Starting Earlier, Study Finds

Summertime fire activity is creeping into spring, and the balmier climate is a major driver, scientists said.

By Raymond Zhong

The United States Environmental Protection Agency sign, which includes a symbol of a flower, the ocean and the sky.

Ting Shen/Reuters

Popular E.P.A. Database Is in Limbo Amid Science Cuts

The database helps companies calculate their greenhouse gas emissions. Its creator left the E.P.A. after being investigated for criticizing the Trump administration.

By Harry Stevens

Four white wind turbines emerge from blue waters in the Atlantic Ocean.

Randi Baird for The New York Times

Suddenly, the Trump Administration Tightens the Vise on Wind Farms

Federal agencies have recently issued a barrage of restrictions that could halt construction of solar and wind farms on public and private lands.

By Brad Plumer and Lisa Friedman

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HEALTH

Two hands in blue gloves hold a syringe containing Covid vaccine against a woman’s bare shoulder.

Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

On Vaccines, Kennedy Has Broken Sharply With the Mainstream

While many officials and scientists embrace other parts of the secretary’s agenda, his stance on vaccines is alienating allies who fear a public health crisis.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

A view over the shoulder of a nurse in a mask and blue gloves administering a pediatric Covid shot to the thigh of an infant held by her mother.

Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Why Young Children May Not Get Covid Shots This Fall

Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., federal officials may withdraw an endorsement for the vaccine in younger children.

By Apoorva Mandavilli

Pete Kiehart for The New York Times

News Analysis

Kennedy’s Next Target: the Federal Vaccine Court

The system for compensating people injured by vaccines needs significant reform. But the health secretary could alter it in ways that ultimately reduce vaccine access for everyone.

By Christina Jewett and Apoorva Mandavilli

Hannah Norman/KFF Health News