Science

"The explosion probably won’t cool the planet as some previous eruptions have done, but it could affect weather in the short term."

"For Chuck McGinley, an engineer who devised the go-to instrument for measuring odors, helping people understand what they smell is serious science."

"The White House today [Tuesday] released a wide-ranging plan to strengthen the work of government scientists and protect them from political meddling."

"From a distance, the canids of Galveston Island, Texas, look almost like coyotes, prowling around the beach at night, eyes gleaming in the dark. But look closer and oddities appear."

"Richard Leakey, the world-renowned paleoanthropologist-turned-conservationist, has died at 77."

"Edward O. Wilson, a biologist and author who conducted pioneering work on biodiversity, insects and human nature — and won two Pulitzer Prizes along the way — died on Sunday in Burlington, Mass. He was 92."

"Thomas E. Lovejoy III, an ecologist who dedicated his career to preserving the Amazon rainforest and educating Washington policymakers and the public about the dangers of climate change, died Dec. 25 at his home in McLean, Va. He was 80."

"Scores of studies presented this week at the world’s largest climate science conference offered an unequivocal and unsettling message: Climate change is fundamentally altering what kind of weather is possible, and its fingerprint can be found in the rising number of disasters that have claimed lives and upended livelihoods around the world."