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What’s Best, According to the Italian Mathematician Alessio Figalli

Alessio Figalli studies optimal transport, a field of math that ranges from the movements of clouds to the workings of chatbots.

Β© Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times

Alessio Figalli, a mathematician at ETH Zurich and a current member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., investigates β€œoptimal transport,” the study of starting points, end points and the paths between.

Her Discovery Wasn’t Alien Life, but Science Has Never Been the Same

The internet erupted in controversy over Felisa Wolfe-Simon and colleagues’ claim of a microbe thriving on arsenic. Nearly 15 years later, she’s pursuing new research on the boundaries of life.

Β© Marissa Leshnov for The New York Times

Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a research scientist who presented findings in 2010 that suggested arsenic could be a building block of life.

As Trump Targets Research, Scientists Share Grief and Resolve to Fight

At a conference in Boston, the nation’s scientists commiserated and strategized as funding cuts and federal layoffs throw their world into turmoil.

Β© Olivier Douliery/Agence France-Presse β€” Getty Images

Sudip Parikh, who leads the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington in 2023.

She’s Trying to Stay Ahead of Alzheimer’s, in a Race to the Death

In the Netherlands, doctors and dementia patients must negotiate a fine line: Assisted death for those without capacity is legal, but doctors won’t do it.

Β© Melissa Schriek for The New York Times

Irene Mekel, who seeks medical assistance in dying, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a year ago.

New Insights Into Older Hearts

Heart disease is more common in people over 65, but treatments are better than ever. That can complicate decision-making for older heart patients.

Β© Ann Johansson for The New York Times

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators can deliver a shock to the wearer’s heart in the case of sudden cardiac arrest.

Eleanor Maguire, Memory Expert Who Studied London Cabbies, Dies at 54

By watching the brain process information, she discovered that a specific region plays a key role in spatial navigation β€” and that it can be strengthened like a muscle.

Texas County Declares an Emergency Over Toxic Fertilizer

Johnson County is seeking federal assistance, saying its farmland has become dangerously contaminated with β€œforever chemicals” from the use of fertilizer made from sewage sludge.

Β© Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times

Johnson County, south of Fort Worth, has been roiled since investigators found high levels of PFAS at two cattle ranches that came from contaminated fertilizer.

NIH Research Grants Lag Behind Last Year’s by $1 Billion

After weeks of disruption to scientific federal grants, the National Institutes of Health has fallen behind in funding research into treatments for deadly diseases.

Β© Shuran Huang for The New York Times

A lab at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Md., in 2021. Senators have been raising concerns that grant allocations are lagging behind last year’s at this time by about $1 billion.

Trump’s Funding Freeze Raises a New Question: Is the Government’s Word Good?

Companies that get federal grants or loans usually sign a legally binding agreement and depend on getting reimbursed. The new administration has upended that expectation.

Β© Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

Energy Department officials have ordered an internal review of potentially billions of dollars worth of climate and infrastructure spending that was awarded by the Biden administration after the Nov. 5 election.

California’s Scary Product Warning Labels Might Be Working, Study Says

Products must state if they contain chemicals tied to cancer or other risks. As a result, manufacturers have pulled back from using the chemicals, researchers found.

Β© Robert K. Chin/Alamy

California’s right-to-know law requires companies to warn of certain chemicals in their products.

Behind R.F.K. Jr.’s Vow to β€˜Follow the Science’ on Vaccines

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited a disputed study from a close network of fellow vaccine skeptics during his confirmation hearings. His critics say it is part of a pattern that raises concerns about whose research he would elevate as health secretary.

Β© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been criticized by experts for using flawed science to continue his 20-year effort to raise doubts about vaccines.

Top N.I.H. Official Abruptly Resigns as Trump Orders Deep Cuts

Dr. Lawrence Tabak, the No. 2 official at the National Institutes of Health, did not give a reason for his departure.

Β© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, who resigned from the National Institutes of Health, has weathered past presidential transitions.
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