Science Times: Did scientists just detect an exploding black hole?

April 3, 2026

This week’s non-moon news…

Tuesday’s Science Times newsletter focused on NASA’s Artemis II mission, currently headed for a flyby of the moon. (Here are some of the pretty pictures that have been sent back.)

As promised, we’re still covering the rest of the universe of science and health.

A complex spherical piece of scientific equipment on a yellow crane on the deck of a ship at sea.

KM3NeT

Did Scientists Just Detect an Exploding Black Hole?

An underwater observatory recently detected a startlingly energetic cosmic neutrino. One possible cause involves a phenomenon that so far exists only in theory.

By Dennis Overbye

Greta Rybus for The New York Times

The Fragile Hope for Salmon Recovery in Maine

A long-term project to remove or modify dams may clear the way for endangered wild Atlantic salmon to swim freely up to the Sandy River. But it faces opposition from business and lawmakers.

By Murray Carpenter and Greta Rybus

A portrait of Brian Nosek, who poses in a bright lobby area of a University of Virginia building.

Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

Can Science Predict When a Study Won’t Hold Up?

Conducting research is hard; confirming the results is, too. And artificial intelligence isn’t yet ready to help, a major new study finds.

By Carl Zimmer

Marco Figueroa/Neion Bio

How to Turn a Chicken Egg Into a Drug Factory

A biotech start-up is testing a novel way of efficiently producing pharmaceutical drugs.

By Carl Zimmer

An illustration of a group of people gathered outside a cave entrance, with a dog and several puppies in their midst.

Kathryn Killackey

Humans Had Dogs Before They Had Farming, Ancient DNA Confirms

New research pushes the first genetic evidence of dogs back by 5,000 years and suggests that hunter-gatherer groups may have acquired dogs from one another.

By Emily Anthes

Email us

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

Masato Hattori/Harvard University

Trilobites

Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others

Researchers argue that a newly examined specimen found decades ago in Utah provides new clues to the ancestors of chelicerates before the group hit it big on land.

By Jack Tamisiea

The open palms of a person holding wisps of hairlike material.

Marco Garcia/Reuters

Trilobites

Glass Threads Spun From a Volcano’s Bubbly Magma

A volcanic formation known as Pele’s hair is produced when air-filled magma is stretched, according to a new study by a team of scientists and glass artists.

By Katherine Kornei

A person’s hand plucks a batch of grapes from a leafy vine.

Sebastien Bozon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Ancient Grapes Reveal Long History of Modern Wines

Genetic material preserved in ancient grape seeds reveals when, and how, humans meddled with wine grapes.

By Rebecca Dzombak

Project CETI

Scientists Filmed a Whale Birth. The Surprise: Mom Had Many Helpers.

The episode, involving a group of sperm whales, adds to evidence that humans aren’t the only species that gets some form of assistance during and after delivery.

By Catrin Einhorn

People looking up at trees in bloom, which are protected by plastic fencing.

When Will Japan’s Cherry Blossoms Bloom? A.I. Can Help Answer That

Experts use artificial intelligence to analyze data, plus thousands of crowdsourced photos, to forecast the prized flowers, which are a multibillion-dollar attraction.

By Javier C. Hernández, Kiuko Notoya, Hisako Ueno and Kentaro Takahashi

A young woman with long brown hair sits on a wooden deck in a jungle setting as a group of orangutans crowd about her.

Biruté Galdikas, Champion of Endangered Orangutans, Dies at 79

With Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, she was one of three prominent researchers of great apes who were sometimes called the “trimates.”

By Richard Sandomir

A black-and-white photo of a smiling young man with long dark hair as he sits in a relaxed pose in a suit.

Heisuke Hironaka, Groundbreaking Mathematician, Is Dead at 94

A recipient of his profession’s prestigious Fields Medal, he devised an algorithm that helps solve mathematical “singularities.” It now permeates the field.

By Kenneth Chang

An older Robert Trivers with short white hair, wearing glasses and a black leather jacket over a dark sweater and blue gingham shirt.

Robert Trivers, Eccentric Scientist Who Probed Human Nature, Dies at 83

A visionary evolutionary biologist, he drew comparisons to Charles Darwin with his theories on the genetic roots of seemingly detrimental behaviors like self-deception.

By Michael S. Rosenwald

CLIMATE CHANGE

Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

He Helped Write the Clean Air Act. He Fears for Its Future.

Thomas Jorling, adviser to Republicans who cosponsored the 1970 law, disputes the Trump administration’s claim that it shouldn’t apply to planet-warming greenhouse gases.

By Karen Zraick

Kate Marvel, dressed in a long sleeve blue shirt with a lightning bolt design, leans against a white board covered with scientific notations.

Jackie Molloy for The New York Times

Prominent Climate Scientist Resigns From NASA, Citing Trump’s Attack on Science

Kate Marvel, a well-known author, joins an estimated 95,000 people who have left federal science agencies since President Trump returned to the White House.

By Eric Niiler

A polar bear walks across a wide expanse of blue-white ice.

Olivier Morin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Winter Sea Ice in the Arctic Ties a Record Low

Ice plays a vital role in reflecting away planet-warming sunlight. The Arctic is warming much faster than most other parts of the world.

By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey and Harry Stevens

Nina Riggio for The New York Times

How Do You Measure Snow From Space? First, Climb a Mountain.

A new satellite could transform how water is studied worldwide. But to help unlock its capabilities, scientists first needed to take critical measurements on a mountaintop.

By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey and Nina Riggio

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

HEALTH

Tables and empty chairs at the front of a meeting room inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alyssa Pointer/Reuters

H.H.S. Takes a First Step Toward Restoring Vaccine Advisory Committee

A federal judge last month questioned the legitimacy of the panel and overturned its recent work. A notice suggests that it may be revived on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s terms.

By Apoorva Mandavilli