The exact words used to explain the scientific law are copyrighted by the writer (presumably the paper's authors). Rephrasings are not copywrited by the source, but by the rephrasing entity (e.g. the NYT, or a teacher that made a handout for their class).
Copyright on scientific papers is most definitely a thing, by the way.
What makes you think my opinions will change based on how legacy systems work in real world? Just because a stupid system exists doesn't mean it's correct.
Copyright on scientific papers is most definitely a thing, by the way.