New York Times Science News

  1. Scientists Finally Make Heads of Giant Stingray Tails

    The long structures seen in manta rays and their relatives function as an early warning system, rather than a defensive weapon.
  2. What Trump’s Pledge to Plant the U.S. Flag on Mars Really Means

    The president’s Inaugural Address linked landing on the Red Planet with Manifest Destiny, but left many of the specifics unclear.
  3. Mother Chimp and Daughter Share a Special Sign

    Humans are known to invent private hand gestures. Chimps in the wild do, too, a new study suggests.
  4. Do Chimps Who Pee Together Stay Together?

    Scientists suspect that contagious urination, a behavior they observed among a troop of apes in Japan, may play an important role in primate social life.
  5. Trump Picks Ex-Congressman to Manage U.S. Nuclear Arsenal

    Brandon Williams served aboard a nuclear submarine and represented a New York congressional district for one term, but has said little about his experience in the management of atomic weapons.