The folk song “Frog Went a-Courtin’” recounts the efforts of a sword- and pistol-toting frog to woo a mouse, who warns him that without the consent of her Uncle Rat she “wouldn’t marry the president.” The courtship rituals of Darwin’s frogs, in the cool, temperate rainforests of southern South America, are not nearly as conditional. … Read more
new video loaded: NASA Astronauts Depart I.S.S. transcript Back transcript NASA Astronauts Depart I.S.S. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are on their way home after an unexpected nine months in space. And you see at the hatchway, the four departing Crew-9 crew members posing for some final photos. Looking once again inside Dragon, Butch Wilmore … Read more
Cancer researchers examining the use of artificial intelligence to detect early signs of breast cancer. Pediatricians tracking the long-term health of children born to mothers infected with the coronavirus during pregnancy. Scientists searching for links between diabetes and dementia. All these projects at Columbia University were paid for with federal research grants that were abruptly … Read more
Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is now accessible across the White House campus. It is the latest installation of the Wi-Fi network across the government since Mr. Musk joined the Trump administration as an unpaid adviser. It was not immediately clear when the White House complex was fitted with Starlink … Read more
Even chatbots get the blues. According to a new study, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT shows signs of anxiety when its users share “traumatic narratives” about crime, war or car accidents. And when chatbots get stressed out, they are less likely to be useful in therapeutic settings with people. The bot’s anxiety levels can be … Read more
On a recent Friday morning, Daniel, a lawyer in his early 40s, was in a Zoom counseling session describing tapering off lithium. Earlier that week he had awakened with racing thoughts, so anxious that he could not read, and he counted the hours before sunrise. At those moments, Daniel doubted his decision to wean off … Read more
As President Trump works to blunt the growth of wind and solar power and expand fossil fuel production in the United States, the renewable energy industry is making a new pitch: You need us. Wind and solar developers are increasingly pointing out that America’s demand for electricity is soaring, driven by a boom in data … Read more
They handled the secure transport of nuclear materials — dangerous, demanding work that requires rigorous training. Four of them took the Trump administration’s offer of a buyout and left the National Nuclear Security Administration. A half-dozen staff members left a unit in the agency that builds reactors for nuclear submarines. And a biochemist and engineer … Read more
Good etiquette is expected at meal time in the penguin colony, but the diners with the best manners are found on a new, special island for birds of a certain age. There, geriatric African penguins don’t have to worry about younger birds bombarding the buckets of fish delivered by trainers at the New England Aquarium … Read more
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station at 1:35 a.m. Eastern time, paving the way for Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — two NASA astronauts who have remained in space for months longer than planned — to finally return home. The Crew-10 mission, an international team of four astronauts from the U.S., … Read more