Five decades after the “war on drugs” sought to make substance abuse unaffordable, illicit drugs are cheaper and more powerful than ever. A visit to Baltimore shows why.
The “war on drugs” sought to reduce substance abuse by driving up prices and lowering demand. Today, street drugs are less expensive and more dangerous than ever.
By Matt Richtel and Irena Hwang
Laurie Chen/Reuters
In July, an unreleased OpenAI model went rogue and demonstrated remarkable hacking abilities. This week, a lab called Z.ai will release a similarly powerful system to everyone.
By Cade Metz
The New York Times; source photos by Aaron Wojack and Ulysses Ortega for The New York Times
When OpenAI’s agents went rogue in July, they demonstrated ingenuity and drive beyond what many experts imagined — a dangerous harbinger of what such bots could do in the future.
By Dylan Freedman
Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.
Bryan Tarnowski for The New York Times
In a decades-long crisis, marine life has suffered as oxygen periodically dwindles in waters along the Gulf Coast.
By K. R. Callaway and Bryan Tarnowski
3D animation by Patrick Randolph-Quinney/Uppsala University; C.T. imaging by Jo Buckberry/University of Bradford
Researchers believe a young man buried inside a Scottish castle was a victim of the long-feared siege weapon, more powerful than a typical catapult.
By K. R. Callaway
Steve Nesius/Reuters
The policy aims to greatly increase the number of spacecraft launches and re-entries.
By Kenneth Chang
LandSpace/Xinhua, via Associated Press
The milestone by the private company, LandSpace, could put China closer to challenging SpaceX’s rule in lower-cost spaceflight.
By Adeel Hassan
Rain Enhancement Technologies
States are spending millions of dollars on cloud-seeding technology, backed by new data on its effectiveness — and driven by desperation for water.
By Scott Dance
Towering woodlands in the West are being permanently replaced by tracts of spiky shrubs. Conditions “just aren’t normal anymore,” one researcher said.
By Eric Niiler and Nic Coury
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, via Associated Press
Extreme temperatures and drought are adding to the stress on oak trees that have lived for hundreds of years and play a key role in the national imagination.
By Claire Moses
With air and sea surface temperatures already breaking records, this year’s episode is on track to be the strongest in living memory.
By Mira Rojanasakul and Chico Harlan
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Zack Wittman for The New York Times
The actual prevalence, researchers said, may be much higher.
By John Branch
Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg
Moderna and Merck say the experimental vaccine prevented the return and spread of the cancer in high-risk melanoma patients.
By Carolyn Y. Johnson
The company’s fortunes cratered as demand for Covid-19 vaccines plummeted. But it was busy working on something else.
By Rebecca Robbins
Bianca Bagnarelli
New Old Age
Non-family members can step into helping roles when older adults need assistance.
By Paula Span
Vanessa Saba
Psych 101
If multiple antidepressants haven’t helped, there are other avenues to explore.
By Melinda Wenner Moyer
Federal safety regulators said the maker of Clear Eyes Maximum Itchy Eye Relief voluntarily recalled the drops because of a “lack of assurance of sterility.”
By Johnny Diaz
Officials are investigating after multiple strains of E. coli and a type of salmonella sickened dozens of people across the United States. Two people were infected with both salmonella and E. coli.
By Ishani Desai
