Science Times: Growing replicas of brain parts raises ethical questions
Plus: Kim Kardashian asked about the interstellar comet that probably isn’t an alien spaceship —
Science Times
November 11, 2025
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How Inventors Find Inspiration in Evolution

Soft batteries and water-walking robots are among the many creations made possible by studying animals and plants.

By Carl Zimmer

A multicolored line of dots in a dense starfield.

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Meech (IfA/U. Hawaii); image processing: Jen Miller & Mahdi Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

The Harvard Scientist, Kim Kardashian and the Comet That Probably Isn’t an Alien Spaceship

Scientists who study comets are struggling to keep up with popular speculation that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS was sent to our solar system by an alien intelligence.

By Kenneth Chang

Leah Stavenhagen wears a pink and white floral patterned blouse and sits in a wheelchair, having her makeup done. A tube-like device is attached to her nose.

Lucy Lu for The New York Times

The Young Women Grappling With an ‘Old Man’s Disease’

Diagnosed with A.L.S., they traded stories, drank tequila and made grim jokes at a unique annual gathering on Cape Cod.

By Roni Caryn Rabin and Lucy Lu

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

A portrait of him in middle age sitting with one hand propped against his chin. A large painting of the double helix is on a wall behind him. He wears a blue sport jacket and red and white pinstriped shirt without a necktie.

NYPL/Science Source

James D. Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97

His decoding of the blueprint for life with Francis H.C. Crick made him one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He wrote a celebrated memoir and later ignited an uproar with racist views.

By Cornelia Dean

A square crystallography photo revealing the double-helix structure of DNA, mounted on a larger sheet of paper.

Science Source

News Analysis

The DNA Helix Changed How We Thought About Ourselves

“The laws of inheritance are quite unknown,” Charles Darwin acknowledged in 1859. The discovery of DNA’s shape altered how we conceived of life itself.

By Carl Zimmer

A spiral shell bearing vivid orange, yellow blue and green colors.

Hiroaki Imai

Trilobites

How a Sea Creature’s Fossils Show All the Colors of the Rainbow

The brilliant iridescent hues found in ammolite come from tiny air gaps in the fossils’ layers, a new study finds.

By Alexa Robles-Gil

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Caroline Gutman for The New York Times

Why Everyone Wants to Meet the ‘World’s Most Boring Man’

Politicians, oil giants and climate activists hang on his every word. The Trump administration has blasted him. How did Fatih Birol get so big?

By Max Bearak

Stinking, Spongy, Dark, Huge: A Spider Web Unlike Any Seen Before

A pitch-black cave in the Balkans is home to what researchers say is a singular work of cooperation by two usually-hostile species of spider.

By Adeel Hassan

A wide view of sea ice floating on the ocean.

What Can Cosmic Dust Tell Us About the Changing Arctic?

Extraterrestrial particles found at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean could unlock at least 30,000 years of sea ice history, a new study finds.

By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey

Three people in spacesuits walk through a crowd of people waving to them.

China Delays Return of Astronauts After Debris May Have Hit Spacecraft

The country’s space authorities said they were investigating whether an object had hit a Chinese spacecraft and the risks tied to it.

By Alexandra Stevenson and Selam Gebrekidan

CLIMATE CHANGE

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The New York Times

10 Years After a Breakthrough Climate Pact, Here’s Where We Are

Has anything really changed in the decade since the Paris Agreement was reached? Actually, quite a lot.

By Somini Sengupta, Max Bearak, Harry Stevens, Mira Rojanasakul and Catrin Einhorn

A building with a sign that reads “COP30 U.N. Climate Change Conference.”

Fernando Llano/Associated Press

Tackling Climate Change Without the U.S.

This year’s U.N. climate talks are being held in Brazil. So far, they’ve been noteworthy for who isn’t attending.

By Katrin Bennhold

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HEALTH

A close-up view of an orange pill bottle with greenish pills spilling out of it onto an off-white surface.

Photo Researchers, Inc./Science Source

F.D.A. Will Remove Black Box Warnings From Hormone Treatments for Menopause

The benefits of hormone replacement have been underappreciated, Dr. Marty Makary, the agency’s commissioner, said on Monday. Critics described evidence for the change as insufficient.

By Roni Caryn Rabin

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seen in profile, wearing a dark suit.

Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

Big Food’s Fight Against Kennedy Is Heating Up

A new industry group wants to set aside the piecemeal state-by-state approach imposing food dye and labeling laws in favor of federal control. The opposition has roiled the MAHA coalition.

By Christina Jewett and Julie Creswell

A woman in a hospital gown and wearing a blanket lies on a platform of a large radiation therapy device. Green lasers shine on her body.

Mark Kostich/iStock, via Getty Images Plus

Radiation May Be Unnecessary for Many Breast Cancer Patients

Doctors have already begun reducing radiation treatment for women at low risk of recurrence or spread of the disease. A new study finds that some women at greater risk can safely avoid radiation.

By Roni Caryn Rabin

Brittany Bucicchia stands on a lawn, looking off to her right, with her hands clasped in front of her waist.

Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times

Are A.I. Therapy Chatbots Safe to Use?

Psychologists and technologists see them as the future of therapy. The Food and Drug Administration is exploring whether to regulate them as medical devices.

By Cade Metz

Workers sit at desks in an office, facing a row of screens on a wall.

Rosem Morton for The New York Times

The ‘Worst Test in Medicine’ is Driving America’s High C-Section Rate

Round-the-clock fetal monitoring leads to unnecessary C-sections. But it’s used in nearly every birth because of business and legal concerns, The Times found.

By Sarah Kliff