“Science Times: Lost Soviet Moon Lander may have been found.”
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Accessed on 17 February 2026, 1435 UTC.
Content and Source: “The New York Times-Science Times.”
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February 17, 2026
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| Stanislaw Tokarski/Alamy |
Lost Soviet Moon Lander May Have Been Found
Two research teams have identified possible landing sites for Luna 9, the first human-made object to safely reach the lunar surface. “One of them is wrong,” an expert said.
By Becky Ferreira
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 AJ Pow/University of Rochester |
tTrilobites
These Unsinkable Tubes Could Help Harvest Energy From the Ocean
Researchers developed aluminum structures that trap air bubbles, making them able to float perpetually in even the harshest environments.
By Kenneth Chang |
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 John Normile/Getty Images |
Lake Erie’s Storm Surges Become More Extreme
Officials are designing new ways to protect the shorelines from sudden flooding and longer storm seasons.
By Jim Robbins |
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 Julia Rothman |
Pet Theory
TV, It’s Not Just for Humans Anymore
Videos aimed at pets are drawing millions of views. But who’s actually watching?
By Emily Anthes |
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Email us
Let us know how we’re doing at sciencenewsletter@nytimes.com.
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 Chang W. Lee/The New York Times |
Could an Electronic Coach Help Ski Jumpers Leap Farther?
Future Olympic prospects are testing a device that can give them corrective advice in real time as they hurtle into the air.
By Eric Niiler |
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 Qilai Shen for The New York Times |
New Research Absolves the Woman Blamed for a Dynasty’s Ruin
A Chinese king’s infatuation with a woman was seen as the reason that a golden age collapsed. Evidence suggests climate change and internal strife played bigger roles.
By Andrew Higgins |
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 Adam Eastland/Alamy |
Trilobites
Elephant Bone in Spain May Be Proof of Hannibal’s Tanks With Trunks
Archaeologists say a 2,200-year-old specimen is the first direct evidence of how the Carthaginian war machine used the giant mammals in the Punic Wars.
By Franz Lidz |
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 The New York Times |
What a Speech Reveals About Trump’s Plans for Nuclear Weapons
A top arms diplomat at the State Department recently laid out what might come next as Washington upends decades of federal policies on nuclear proliferation.
By William J. Broad |
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 D. Jewitt/University of California, Los Angeles |
This Comet Stopped Spinning. Then It Started Rotating Backward.
The unusual event, never seen before, might be a way small comets are “blown to bits” in the solar system.
By Jonathan O’Callaghan |
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Trilobites
Constant Sexual Aggression Drives Female Tortoises to Walk Off Cliffs
On a remote island in North Macedonia, male Hermann’s tortoises outnumber females 19 to 1, an imbalance driving the population to extinction.
By Elizabeth Preston |
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Trilobites
An Elephant Is Blind Without Its Whiskers
There are about 1,000 tiny hairs on an elephant’s rugged trunk, all designed to help the animal feel, a new study found.
By Alexa Robles-Gil |
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Trilobites
Baboon Sibling Rivalry Suggests Monkeys Feel Jealousy Like People
Young primates in a southern African nature park were observed to constantly interfere when their mother was giving attention to a younger brother or sister.
By Annie Roth |
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Alfred Blumstein, Who Transformed the Study of Crime, Dies at 95
An engineer by training, he used systems theory and quantitative analysis to examine criminal behavior, revealing the systemic patterns of crime.
By Michael S. Rosenwald |
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CLIMATE CHANGE
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 Jeff Swensen/Getty Images |
Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change
The Environmental Protection Agency rejected the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being. It means the agency can no longer regulate them.
By Lisa Friedman |
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 Caine Delacy for The New York Times |
A Climate Supercomputer Is Getting New Bosses. It’s Not Clear Who.
The National Science Foundation said management of the machine, used by researchers for forecasts, disaster warnings and pure science, would be transferred to a “third-party operator.”
By Eric Niiler |
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HEALTH
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 Erin Schaff/The New York Times |
Kennedy Allies Target States to Overturn Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren
Proponents of vaccines warn that the efforts will further dismantle the immunization infrastructure and lead to more outbreaks of disease.
By Christina Jewett |
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 Brian Snyder/Reuters |
Vaccine Makers Curtail Research and Cut Jobs
Federal policies under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that are hostile to vaccines have “sent a chill through the entire industry,” one scientist said.
By Rebecca Robbins |
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 Eric Lee for The New York Times |
U.S. Health Officials Defend Rejection of Moderna’s Flu Vaccine
The F.D.A.’s refusal to examine the company’s mRNA shot drew widespread criticism from doctors and was divisive within the agency.
By Christina Jewett |
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 Luisa Jung |
the new old age
Should Drug Companies Be Advertising to Consumers?
Aging means “becoming a target” of the industry, one expert said. After decades of debate, politicians of all stripes are proposing bans.
By Paula Span |
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 Cassandra Klos for The New York Times |
New Method Can Find Hidden Eggs to Aid in Fertility Treatment
A study reported that the conventional method of searching follicular fluid didn’t find all the eggs. The new technology found extra eggs more than half the time.
By Pam Belluck |
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Global Health
4 Months Trapped in a Hospital for an Obsolete Way of Treating Their Disease
Health workers in developing countries know that isolating tuberculosis patients is an outdated and potentially harmful practice, but lack the resources to move away from it.
By Stephanie Nolen and Arlette Bashizi |
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Bans on Many CBD Products Loom This Year
A federal law taking effect in November severely limits the amount of THC, the euphoric cannabis compound, allowed in over-the-counter items. Many groups are fighting back.
By Jan Hoffman |
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Measles Outbreak Hits Florida College
More than 40 people have fallen ill at Ave Maria University, raising fears that college campuses may soon experience more measles outbreaks.
By Teddy Rosenbluth |
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Mexico Risks Losing Its Measles-Free Status, Months Before Millions Arrive for World Cup
The country’s confirmed cases have topped 9,000 since last year, raising fears that a high-stakes evaluation in April could lead to its status being revoked.
By Emiliano Rodríguez Mega |
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