Alan Burdick

In Romania, a walk in the woods blossomed into a mission to safeguard centuries-old beeches and the history that shaped them.

Plus: squirrel acrobats, gecko navigators, hair thieves and other natural overachievers in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Alan Lightman, Janna Levin and others recall the editor who shaped their work and a literary genre. Plus, more reading recommendations in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Plus, fluorescent flying squirrels, aging golfers and more feats of athleticism in the Friday edition of the Science Times Newsletter.

Archaeological advice on post-pandemic footwear. Plus: brittle stars in a “weirdo box,” a possible Viking ransom and more in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Because benevolent bots are suckers. Plus, racism in medical journals, the sperm-count “crisis” and more in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

So do most people, a recent study found. Plus: amblypigids, a company called Covid, and other staff recommendations in the weekend edition of the Science Times newsletter.

Plus: A plummeting rocket, a superstar ant, staff recommendations and more in the Friday edition of the Science Times newsletter.

What have we learned from the year that lasted a century?

Our “hidden enemy,” in plain sight.

A literary arachnologist, she identified dozens of new species and shed light on the landscape they crept through.

Lost in the swirl of alternative truths is the fact that science is a verb, not a noun.

The past year has been an emotional roller coaster. Did it feel long, or did the time fly by? It depends.

It’s called “the other Galapagos,” a prehistoric island that shelters 700 species found nowhere else on earth, but few have ever heard of it.

They toiled tirelessly to identify species of marine life.

Attack of the Aliens: Florida Tangles With Invasive Species (Published 1995)

ENDPAPER/WORKBOOK; Pope By a Hair (Published 1993)