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On January 14 a saucer-shaped spacecraft weighing 320 kilograms made the “splat” heard round the solar system. The successful landing of the Huygens probe on Titan, Saturn’s large and mysterious satellite, delighted planetary scientists, who thrilled at the probe’s images of icy ridges and dark, riverlike channels. In the following weeks, though, the euphoria turned to head-scratching as researchers struggled to decipher the data collected by the probe. Although the four-hour-long mission provided the first close look at Titan’s surface and atmosphere, Huygens raised at least as many questions as it answered....

Computer-generated imagery is supposed to be one of the success stories of computer science. Starting in the 1970s, the algorithms for realistically depicting digital worlds were developed in a monumental joint effort between academic, commercial and federal research labs. Today, we stream the results onto the screens in our homes. Escaping into worlds where computer-generated superheroes right all wrongs, or toys come to life to comfort us, are welcome respites from stories of real-life systemic racism, the ubiquitous dimensions of which are becoming clearer every day....

The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly worldwide. New travel restrictions and mounting anxiety have followed this heavily mutated version of the coronavirus, which has been reported now in more than 60 countries. In South Africa, where Omicron’s 50 or so mutations were first identified, the variant has shown that it can reinfect people who already caught and survived earlier versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as people who have been vaccinated against it....

Earlier this week, a 14-year-old, 200-pound (90-kilogram) pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., left a woman in critical condition after attacking her—mutilating her face and hands. The owner, Sandra Herold, who tried to stop the attack, was also injured and briefly hospitalized. The victim remains in critical condition. The chimp, Travis, who was shot and killed by police officers at the scene, was apparently a friendly fixture around the neighborhood. He appeared in television commercials and had a sapiens-level CV that included using a computer, bathing and sipping wine from a stemmed glass, according to The New York Times....

1968 Heart Attack Specialists “The development of coronary care units promises a profound change in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease. These units, although small and unpretentious facilities within a hospital, seldom exceeding eight beds, constitute a major therapeutic innovation in dealing with the inordinate mortality from heart attacks. Each year more than 1.5 million Americans suffer coronary attacks, and of these about 600,000 die. A person who suffers a heart attack and who is taken to a hospital that lacks a coronary care unit has no better chance for survival today than a person so stricken 30 years ago....

Forego Fossil Fuels—The first challenge is eliminating the burning of coal, oil and, eventually, natural gas. This is perhaps the most daunting challenge as denizens of richer nations literally eat, wear, work, play and even sleep on the products made from such fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations want and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely thanks to the energy stored in such fuels. Oil is the lubricant of the global economy, hidden inside such ubiquitous items as plastic and corn, and fundamental to the transportation of both consumers and goods....

Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin was evacuated today (Dec. 1) from the South Pole due to illness, where he had been visiting as part of a tourist group. Aldrin is 86 years old, and was the second man to walk on the moon (after Neil Armstrong) during NASA’s historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission in July 1969. According to a Twitter post by Aldrin, he departed for the South Pole on Tuesday (Nov....

For $1,000 and up, several new companies will scan an individual’s entire genome for clues about ancestry, potential health limitations and the inheritance of traits such as lactose intolerance. Clients can compare their DNA with a celebrity’s or invite friends and family members to share genetic profiles. Despite the comprehensive reports and background data these Web-based services deliver, some observers believe the information is more recreational than relevant. Direct-to-consumer genetic tests have existed for at least a decade, and in recent years the number of choices has exploded....

Meteorologist Eric Luebehusen had a tough week at the end of September. He called it a “living hell.” As a member of the Agriculture Department team that compiles the U.S. Drought Monitor, Luebehusen created what looked like an omelet on a map of the United States. Yellow and brown swirls covered much of Texas and swaths of the Southeast, with splotches of red mixed in. “Here you have a divergent signal where many of these folks have had near-historic wetness and drought all within 60 to 90 days,” he said, describing a kind of weather whiplash....

Violence is a big problem in modern society and in cities in particular. Homicides were rampant in my hometown of Cali, Colombia, when I became mayor in 1992. Few people saw murder as a pressing health problem, but I did—probably because I had earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. I decided to apply the statistical methods used by public health experts to identify the sources of homicide and to reveal social and policy changes that might make a difference....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer will give a boost to 2014 political candidates from seven U.S. states who work to combat climate change, countering political support from fossil fuel interests. NextGen Climate, Steyer’s political group, said Thursday it would back candidates in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania who face challenges from opponents who either doubt that humans cause climate change or receive donations from the fossil fuel industry....

Over the past three decades, scientists have looked to molecular biology and genetics to shed light on the complex interactions between the eyes and brain that give humans the ability to see and make sense of our surroundings. According to Johns Hopkins University researchers, genes, proteins and photoreceptors in the eyes hold the key to new ways of preventing and treating of potentially blinding diseases such as diabetic retinopathy (damage to the blood vessels in the retina—the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye) and age-related macular degeneration (progressive damage to the central and most vital area of the retina, resulting in gradual loss of vision)....

In the week since UK voters chose to leave the European Union, the consequences for science continue to play out. Reports have surfaced that some EU scientists are reconsidering offers to work in the United Kingdom, and that British scientists could start being cut out of grant applications made with colleagues on the continent. And contributing to the confused state of UK politics, Boris Johnson — a prominent ‘Leave’ campaigner — announced on June 30 that he was dropping out of the race to replace David Cameron as prime minister....

Thinking about forging a check? Might want to reconsider. It just got a whole lot easier to track you down. Using a new application of a recent technology, forensic specialists can figure out when a check was signed, what pen was used and even the origin of the ink used to sign it. Until now, ink could only be traced if a piece of the document were soaked in certain solutions....

People allergic to whey may be able to drink newly engineered milk without the unpleasant digestive consequences, according to research released October 1. A team of New Zealand researchers genetically engineered a cow named Daisy to produce milk free of β-lactoglobulin protein that can cause allergic skin, digestive and respiratory reactions predominantly in infants. “Since the protein is not produced in human milk, it’s not surprising that this protein may be recognized as a foreign protein in infants and cause allergies,” study author and scientist at AgResearch in New Zealand Stefan Wagner told LiveScience....

By Michael Hogan HAMBURG, Nov 21 (Reuters) - German authorities are preparing to cull 8,800 geese on a farm in the north of the country where a low risk strain of bird flu has been found, authorities said on Monday. Some 1,800 geese on a farm in Dithmarschen have a low risk H5 bird flu, said the environment ministry in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Another 7,000 geese at a different location owned by the same farm are also suspected to have bird flu but it is not known whether this is the low risk type or the highly contagious H5N8 strain, the state ministry said....

Every year since the contest began in 2014, hopeful early-career scientists at Stony Brook University line up to compete for the university’s Discovery Prize. This $200,000 award for high-risk, high-reward projects is not like a typical research grant, obtained only through mountains of exhaustively methodical paperwork and lengthy discussions between specialists. Instead the prize simply goes to whichever contestant can best pitch their research to a small panel of judges in a single, high-stakes 10-minute public presentation—a move meant to reinforce the value of public science communication and outreach....

INDONESIA Jakarta is sinking fast. Indonesia’s capital is built on ground that is subsiding as a result of flooding and sea-level rise, and about 95 percent of North Jakarta could be underwater by 2050. The government is now building a 32-kilometer seawall to protect the city. U.S. Scientists mapped one of the world’s fastest-moving underwater faults in Alaska, which has a slip rate of five centimeters a year. These data could help coastal communities in Alaska and Canada prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis....

More than 6,000 chemicals pollute U.S. drinking water, yet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added only one new pollutant to its regulatory roster in the past 15 years. Environmental groups have long raised questions about this track record, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office recently joined the chorus, releasing a report that charges the agency with taking actions that have “impeded … progress in helping assure the public of safe drinking water....

The world’s greatest archeologist may not be human, but it is human-made. Global warming, the explorer in question, has melted glaciers that have preserved and hidden many past lives. From a celebrity mummy to graveyards of fish-lizards, ancient remnants have begun to spill out of the disappearing ice—faster, even, than researchers can recover them. And as the artifacts emerge, so has the science. The fledgling field of glacial archaeology seeks to find and recover these relics before the glaciers disappear, a time that may come all too soon....