The New York Times - Science

1. How NASA Astronauts Celebrated Christmas 250 Miles Above Earth

   The astronauts on the I.S.S. — including two who were scheduled to return months ago — held a zero-gravity cookie-decorating contest and built a reindeer from storage bags.

2. Human Thought Is Far Slower Than Your Internet Connection

   A new study is “a bit of a counterweight to the endless hyperbole about how incredibly complex and powerful the human brain is,” one researcher said.

3. Indian Ocean Tsunami Was the Deadliest in History. 20 Years Later, Challenges Still Remain.

   Experts said they were “blind” to the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Twenty years later, working toward a world without tsunami deaths is a challenge.

4. The Animal Celebrities Who Surprised, Soothed and Screamed at Us in 2024

   Moo Deng the pygmy hippo, Flaco the escaped eagle-owl, Charlotte the maybe-pregnant stingray — they distracted us from the messy human world but were also clear reflections of it.

5. The 12,000-Year-Old Wolves That Ate Like Dogs

   Animal remains unearthed in Alaska give clues to how wolves were domesticated.

6. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Will Attempt the Closest Ever Pass of the Sun’s Surface

   The Parker Solar Probe is attempting the closest ever pass of the sun’s surface on Christmas Eve.

7. How Hallucinatory A.I. Helps Science Dream Up Big Breakthroughs

   Hallucinations, a bane of popular A.I. programs, turn out to be a boon for venturesome scientists eager to push back the frontiers of human knowledge.

8. A 1,000-Year-Old Seed Grows in Israel

   For 14 years, scientists have been growing a tree akin to the Judean balsam — the source of the balm of Gilead — but with no modern counterpart.

9. A Mouse That Swims and Dozens More Species Are Discovered in a Peruvian Jungle

   A 38-day expedition in the remote Alto Mayo region, where development threatens wild habitats, turned up one previously unknown animal after another.

10. In Some Doctors’ Offices, the Weigh-In Is No Longer Required

    It may be a longstanding practice, but critics say routine weight measurements are driving some patients away from care.