Science Times: Feb. 26, 2013

The Owl Comes Into Its Own

By NATALIE ANGIER

S. Avdeyuk/Amur-Ussuri Centre for Avian Biodiversity

Jonathan Slaght released this Blakiston's fish owl near the Sha-Mi River in Russia following capture in 2008. The same owl was struck by a vehicle and killed in 2012.

Only lately have scientists begun to understand owls in detail, and to puzzle out the subtleties of behavior, biology and sensory prowess that set them apart.

News Analysis

Rafael Yuste, a neuroscientist at Columbia, wants to start by mapping a mouse brain.

Connecting the Neural Dots

By JOHN MARKOFF

The Obama administration has set an ambitious goal to map the 85 to 100 billion neurons in the human brain, but scientists say they are long way from developing the necessary tools.

Francis Crick with his son, Michael, around 1942.

A DNA Lesson, From the Expert’s Pen

By NICHOLAS WADE

A letter from Francis Crick to his son, Michael, two weeks after solving the DNA puzzle in 1953, is the first written description of the code and is being put up for auction.

Document: My Dear Michael, We’ve Discovered DNA

The Consmer

Questions About Robotic Hysterectomy

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Doctors promise that robot-assisted surgeries reduce complications and speed up recovery, but new studies show the differences with laparoscopic hysterectomy to be minimal, while the cost is significantly higher.

An Asian needle ant, left, stinging a termite.

War of the Ants Intensifies in U.S.

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

An aggressive species is being displaced in North America by a more aggressive — and potentially dangerous — species, according to a new study.

Discord Over Scholar’s Tribal Research

By NICHOLAS WADE

An anthropologist has resigned from the National Academy of Sciences to protest the group’s decision to admit a researcher whose work he has long criticized.

More Observatory Columns »

Healthy Bacteria in Babies

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

Infants may fail to develop a healthy mixture of intestinal bacteria if they are delivered by Caesarean section or do not drink breast milk, researchers report.

Q & A

Taking Sides

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY

Organs are perfectly arranged to carry out their tasks, experts say, including the asymmetrically arranged ones like the liver and heart.

More Q & A Columns »

Books

Simple Only on the Surface

By ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D.

Despite centuries’ worth of efforts to penetrate the complicated thickets where health and beauty intertwine, there is always more to explore, as two new books make clear.

Global Health

After Measles Success, Rwanda to Get Rubella Vaccine

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

Encouraged by Rwanda’s steady gains in curbing measles, donors are paying for a more expensive dual vaccine that will target rubella, too.

From the Magazine

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

By MICHAEL MOSS

Grant Cornett for The New York Times

Inside the hyperengineered, savagely marketed, addiction-creating battle for American “stomach share.”

Oil cleanup on the Gulf Coast in 2010. BP has set aside about $42 billion to pay for the spill.

As BP Trial Opens, Hints of Progress on a Deal

By BARRY MEIER and CLIFFORD KRAUSS

No one involved in the case has commented on any progress, but several lawyers briefed on the negotiations said that a $16 billion proposal had been made.