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NEW YORK (Reuters) – The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Monkeys who survive coronavirus infection immune to reinfection Two studies in monkeys offer some of the first scientific evidence

The disc around the young AB Aurigae star, where ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has spotted signs of planet birth is seen in an image obtained with the VLT’s SPHERE instrument in polarized light and released May 20, 2020. Close to the centre of the image, in the inner region of the disc, A ‘twist’

The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has approved six healthcare-focussed tech projects for commercialisation in an effort to combat the coronavirus outbreak in India. The government body has approved a project to detect and track multiple people using facial recognition even if they’re wearing masks, apart from projects

FILE PHOTO: Workers pressure wash the logo of NASA on the Vehicle Assembly Building before SpaceX will send two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo (Reuters) – NASA’s human spaceflight chief Doug Loverro

Hydroxychloroquine, double-blind studies, convalescent plasma, herd immunity — the coronavirus pandemic has thrust the language of science into public view as never before. Having escaped the confines of the laboratory, these and other once-obscure terms are fast becoming part of household parlance. But familiarity with the terminology does not necessarily lead to a better understanding,

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Paleontologists from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences said on Monday they found the 70-million-year-old remains of a megaraptor, making it one of the last carnivorous dinosaurs to inhabit the earth. The discovery was made in the southern province of Santa Cruz in the middle of March this year. After studying

The US Air Force on Sunday successfully launched its high-tech drone X-37B, placing the reusable vehicle into orbit for its sixth secretive mission in space. The drone, which resembles a smaller version of the manned space shuttles retired by the US space program in 2011, was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida, the Air Force

As many countries around the world relax their coronavirus lockdown measures, densely-packed cities face particular challenges in enforcing physical distancing rules. Urban residents going out for shopping or daily exercise often struggle to keep the recommended distance apart from others – prompting authorities and traders to come up with some novel ways of enforcing the

NASA on Friday set the stage for a global debate over the basic principles governing how humans will live and work on the moon, as it released the main tenets of an international pact for moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. The accords seek to establish ‘safety zones’ that would surround future moon bases to

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – NASA on Friday set the stage for a global debate over the basic principles governing how humans will live and work on the moon, as it released the main tenets of an international pact for moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. FILE PHOTO: The full moon, also known as the Supermoon or

A “Super-Earth” has been found closer to the centre of our galaxy through a rare observation by researchers. The newly discovered planet, though heavier than our Earth, is one of those few planetary bodies that are similar to the Earth in terms of size and orbit. The planet’s parent star has roughly 1/10th the mass

As long, jostling queues formed outside liquor stores in India during the easing of a coronavirus lockdown, Karthik Velayutham found a way to maintain social distancing — by building a robot to shop for him. The humble machine — a cardboard box resting on a four-wheel wooden platform — took the computer engineer two days

LONDON (Reuters) – The science of sewage surveillance could be deployed in countries across the world to help monitor the spread of national epidemics of COVID-19 while reducing the need for mass testing, scientists say. A scientist works in the lab at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease

Tom Cruise is actually going to shoot a movie in space, NASA has confirmed. A day on from a report claimed that the Mission: Impossible star was in discussions with the US government space agency, in addition to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine revealed that Cruise would film aboard the International Space Station.

(Reuters) – The following is a brief roundup of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a “Vaccine COVID-19” sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken April

A top world health official Monday warned that countries are essentially driving blind in reopening their economies without setting up strong contact tracing to beat back flare-ups of the coronavirus. The warning came as France and Belgium emerged from lockdowns, the Netherlands sent children back to school, and many US states pressed ahead by lifting

FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERS NEW

On the National Technology Day on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed all those at the forefront of research and innovation to defeat coronavirus and remembered the “exceptional achievement” of the country”s scientists in carrying out the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. The National Technology Day marks the anniversary of the underground nuclear tests conducted in

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fragmentary bone fossils and a molar found in Bulgaria dated to roughly 45,000 years ago show that Homo sapiens populations swept into Europe – until then a bastion for the Neanderthals – earlier than previously known, scientists said on Monday. Researchers engage in excavations at Bacho Kiro Cave where Homo sapiens bones

Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have discovered a new black hole lying just 1,000 light-years away from Earth. This black hole is the closest to the planet, and has two companion stars visible to the naked eye. Unlike most other black holes, this one does not interact violently with the environment – which

Apple said on Thursday that it was awarding $10 million (roughly Rs. 75 crores) to a maker of nasal swabs and other materials for collecting samples for COVID-19 tests in a move aimed at boosting the swab maker’s production to 1 million collection kits per week by early July. The two companies said the award

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – BP Plc has won Australian government backing for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using wind and solar power to split water and converting the hydrogen to ammonia in Western Australia. FILE PHOTO: The logo of BP is seen at a petrol station in Kloten, Switzerland October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann The

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – At an outer suburban manufacturing plant, engineer Byron Kennedy is resetting a machine to spray-print a layer of copper on to a door handle, aiming to use the metal’s antiviral properties to counter the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. A view of the SPEE3D advanced manufacturing machine, which can spray print copper

China’s new prototype spacecraft “successfully landed” on Friday, marking an important step in its ambitions to run a permanent space station and send astronauts to the moon. The spacecraft — which was launched Tuesday — arrived safely at a predetermined site, the China Manned Space Agency said, after a hitch in an earlier part of

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The following is a brief roundup of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative

LONDON (Reuters) – Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments to kickstart growth, advocates spy a golden chance to drag the niche energy into the mainstream of a post-pandemic world. FILE PHOTO: The new Febus hydrogen bus is seen before a presentation in

The full moon, also known as the Supermoon or Flower Moon, is seen above Tower Bridge, London, Britain, May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Simon Dawson (Reuters) – The last “supermoon” of 2020 rose in the night sky on Thursday over a world beginning to re-emerge after weeks of coronavirus-related lockdowns. The supermoon phenomenon occurs when the moon

A cargo capsule that was part of a key test in China’s space programme experienced an “anomaly” Wednesday during its return trip, the space authority said. The cargo capsule was launched Tuesday aboard a new type of carrier rocket along with a prototype spacecraft, and the latter is expected to return to Earth on Friday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Wednesday said a U.S.-proposed legal blueprint for mining on the moon would need to be analysed thoroughly to check if it complies with international law. The Trump administration is drafting the proposals under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – The days of English football’s once notorious drinking culture are long gone and few professionals would now list the once obligatory ‘steak and chips’ as their favourite meal but things are moving to a different level entirely when it comes to what players used to call ‘looking after yourself’. FILE PHOTO:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Astronomers have spotted the closest black hole to Earth ever discovered and are surprised about its living arrangements – residing harmoniously with two stars in a remarkable celestial marriage that may end in a nasty breakup. An artist’s impression depicts the orbits of the two stars and the black hole in the

China plans to send four crewed space missions and the same number of cargo craft to complete work on its permanent space station within about two years, officials said after the launch of a newly designed spacecraft aboard the latest heavy-lift rocket. The announcement by the country’s crewed space program further cements China’s aspirations to

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The following is a brief roundup of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. FILE PHOTO: Scientists work in a lab testing COVID-19 samples at New York City’s health department, during the outbreak of the

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A llama called Winter could prove useful in the hunt for a treatment for COVID-19, according to U.S. and Belgian scientists who have identified a tiny particle that appears to block the new coronavirus. A llama named Winter is seen in this undated photo released by the VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology

WASHINGTON(Reuters) – The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The full moon, known as the “Buck Moon”, is seen from West Orange, in New Jersey, U.S. July 16, 2019.

China on Tuesday successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, which was carrying a new-generation spacecraft, state broadcaster CCTV said. The Long March-5B carrier rocket took off at 6pm local time (3:30pm IST) at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan. It was the first mission carried out by the Long

The Long March 5B carrier rocket takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province, China May 5, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Tuesday successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, which was carrying a new-generation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have solved a lingering mystery about koala behavior – how these tree-dwelling marsupials native to Australia consume enough water to live. A female koala licks water off the smooth trunk of an eucalyptus tree after a rainfall in the You Yangs Regional Park, Little River, Victoria, Australia in this undated photo

NASA and SpaceX said Friday they were pressing ahead with plans to launch astronauts to space from US soil for the first time in nearly a decade later on this month, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both veterans of the Space Shuttle program that was shuttered in 2011, will blast off

FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus linked to the Wuhan outbreak, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERS NEW

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian government on Monday set aside A$300 million ($191 million) to jumpstart hydrogen projects with the help of low-cost financing as the country aims to build the industry by 2030, the country’s energy minister said on Monday. The hydrogen push marks one of the few areas where the conservative government’s ambitions

Robots delivering meals, ghostly figures in hazmat suits and cameras pointed at front doors: China’s methods to enforce coronavirus quarantines have looked like a sci-fi dystopia for legions of people. Authorities have taken drastic steps to ensure that people do not break isolation rules after China largely tamed the virus that had paralysed the country

Virgin Galactic’s spaceship VSS Unity landed in the New Mexico desert on Friday, marking its first glide flight from Spaceport America as the company moves toward commercial operations. The company announced the flight on social media and shared photos of the craft on the runway and members of the crew stationed far apart around the

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The sun appears to be far less active than similar stars in terms of brightness variations caused by sunspots and other phenomena – a “boring” personality, according to scientists, that may not be a bad thing for us Earthlings. FILE PHOTO: A medium-sized (M2) solar flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME)

The logo of Swiss pharmaceutical group Lonza is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (Reuters) – Moderna Inc and Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza Group AG said on Friday they would accelerate the manufacturing of the U.S. drug developer’s potential coronavirus vaccine. The announcement comes at a time when drugmakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two NASA astronauts gearing up to ride SpaceX’s new space taxi will now be on a mission planned to last more than a month, instead of a week, to help the short-handed crew aboard the International Space Station, the U.S. space agency said on Friday. The launch is scheduled for May 27 from Kennedy Space

CHAMBLON, Switzerland (Reuters) – In the battle against coronavirus, Swiss soldiers are using smartphones to test a new contact tracing application that could prevent infections while also protecting users’ privacy. A Swiss soldier shows on a mobile device the contact tracking application created by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), using Bluetooth and