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Russia’s space chief complains about American jokes

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Americans should show more respect for Russia’s space program after relying on it for nine years as the only way to send U.S. astronauts into orbit, the head of Russia’s space agency said. The United States launched the first astronauts from... More »

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Robot built for Japan’s aging workforce finds coronavirus role

TOKYO (Reuters) – Mira Robotics developed its “ugo” robot to reinforce greying Japan’s shrinking workforce, but as the coronavirus threat persists, the Japanese startup is offering its machine as a tool in the fight against the outbreak, the company’s CEO said... More »

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Ground-penetrating radar reveals splendor of ancient Roman city

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a glimpse into the future of archeology, researchers have used ground-penetrating radar to map an entire ancient Roman city, detecting remarkable details of buildings still deep underground including a temple and a unique public monum... More »

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Oldest and largest ancient Maya structure found in Mexico

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists using an aerial remote-sensing method have discovered the largest and oldest-known structure built by the ancient Maya civilization – a colossal rectangular elevated platform built between 1,000 and 800 BC in Mexico’s Tabasco ... More »

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Hides that reveal: DNA helps scholars divine Dead Sea Scrolls

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Genetic sampling of the Dead Sea Scrolls has tested understandings that the 2,000-year-old artefacts were the work of a fringe Jewish sect, and shed light on the drafting of scripture around the time of Christianity’s birth. The research ... More »

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Virtual no more – real Michelangelo awes again in Vatican Museums

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – If you’ve ever dreamed of being in the Sistine Chapel without feeling like you are craning your neck in a packed open-top tourist bus, now is your chance. The Vatican Museums re-opened to the public on Monday after being closed for nea... More »

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How sewer science could ease testing pressure and track COVID-19

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. Experts in the field – known as wastewa... More »

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China says it is not yet the time to relax coronavirus measures

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s health authority said on Tuesday that the reappearance of local clusters of coronavirus cases in recent days suggests that counter-epidemic measures cannot be relaxed yet. While prevention and control efforts have normalised, that d... More »

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UK should extend part of furlough scheme to end of year: think tank

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government should extend a costly job support programme until the end of the year for retail and hospitality workers hit hardest by the coronavirus, a think tank said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected government announcement. The Re... More »

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Bulgarian fossils show early arrival of Homo sapiens into Europe

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... More »

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A British nurse is the chosen superhero in new Banksy artwork

LONDON (Reuters) – A young boy chooses a nurse as the superhero he wants to play with over Batman and Spiderman in a new artwork by Banksy that encapsulates the gratitude Britons have felt toward the country’s National Health Service during the coronavirus cri... More »

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New coronavirus adapts to populations- vaccine works in monkeys

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. New coronavirus is adapting to different populations A ge... More »

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Masked and standing apart, the world creeps out of lockdown

ROME/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Italy and the United States were among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday to resurrect economies, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly as global deaths from the coronavirus neared a quarter of a... More »

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President queries Tanzania coronavirus kits after goat test

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Coronavirus test kits used in Tanzania were dismissed as faulty by President John Magufuli on Sunday, because he said they had returned positive results on samples taken from a goat and a pawpaw. Magufuli, whose government has already... More »

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Robots on hand to greet Japanese coronavirus patients in hotels

TOKYO (Reuters) – Coronavirus patients with light symptoms arriving to stay at several Tokyo hotels are likely to get a lift from a pleasant surprise – a robot greeter in the lobby. Japan is now using hotels to house patients who have tested positive for the c... More »

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Swiss soldiers pick up smartphones to fight COVID-19

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. Switzerland hopes to launch the app on May 1... More »

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The sun is less active than similar stars. That’s good news

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. Researche... More »

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Swiss researchers see sewage as early warning sign for COVID flares

ZURICH (Reuters) – Researchers in Switzerland have been able to detect the new corovarirus at even low concentrations in wastewater, offering a potential early warning system for flareups in infections as countries emerge from emergency lockdowns. Should the s... More »

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A piece of the moon for sale: just $2.5 million

LONDON (Reuters) – One of the world’s largest lunar meteorites goes on private sale at Christie’s on Thursday, valued at 2 million pounds ($2.49 million). The moon rock, weighing over 13.5 kg, was probably struck off the surface of the moon by a collision with... More »

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Back at work, British PM Johnson faces lockdown Catch-22

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday to the biggest dilemma of his premiership: how to lift the coronavirus lockdown that is destroying swathes of the British economy without triggering a deadly second wave of the outbreak.... More »

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Coronavirus pandemic inspires demand for UV airplane cleaner

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that ultraviolet light could be inserted into coronavirus patients was widely panned on Friday, but a California company thinks it’s a perfect solution for decontaminating airplanes. Dimer UCV Innovations cr... More »

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Before becoming frozen wasteland, Antarctica was home to frogs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When paleontologist Thomas Mörs was peering into a microscope while sorting through tiny 40 million-year-old fossils unearthed on Seymour Island near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, he came across quite a surprise – hip and skull bon... More »

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China unveils name of first Mars exploration mission

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s space agency on Friday unveiled the name of its first Mars exploration mission, coinciding with China’s annual Space Day and the 50th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite. The Mars mission has been named Tianwen-1, the o... More »

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Scientists observe celestial smash-up around nearby star

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have observed what appears to be the aftermath of a violent collision between two planetary building blocks orbiting a large and luminous star, a glimpse of the type of carnage that may have been commonplace early in our solar... More »

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Remember the 1980s glut: Ex-BP boss Browne warns oil will stay low

LONDON (Reuters) – The oil price will stay low for some time as supply exceeds demand and the current situation on global oil markets is reminiscent of the 1980s oil glut, former BP boss John Browne said on Tuesday. “The prices will be very low and I think the... More »

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Interstellar gatecrasher 2I/Borisov is no ordinary comet

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have discovered that a comet called 2I/Borisov – only the second interstellar object ever detected passing through the solar system – is surprisingly different in its composition from comets hailing from our celestial neighbor... More »

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Rift opens over European coronavirus contact tracing apps

BERLIN (Reuters) – A rift has opened up over the design of smartphone apps to trace people in Europe at risk of coronavirus infection, potentially hindering efforts to curb the pandemic and ease crippling travel restrictions. Scientists and researchers from mo... More »

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Coronavirus forces detour for homecoming astronauts

ALMATY (Reuters) – NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir will take an unusual – and more exhausting – route home after safely landing in the Kazakh steppe on Friday, a Russian healthcare official said, because of lockdowns caused by the novel coronavi... More »

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Bathroom Banksy: Street-artist stays home for new lockdown work

LONDON (Reuters) – Street-artist Banksy has followed official advice to stay at home during the coronavirus crisis by creating a new artwork in his bathroom that shows his trademark stencilled rats running amok around the sink and toilet. The elusive artist po... More »

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‘Stink flirting’ is a thing – just ask a ring-tailed lemur

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For human beings, “stink flirting” may not sound like a prudent dating strategy. For ring-tailed lemurs, it is the way to go. Scientists on Thursday described the results of a comprehensive study of this behavior – unique in the animal k... More »

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Scientists enthralled by biggest star explosion ever observed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have observed the biggest supernova – stellar explosion – ever detected, the violent death of a huge star up to 100 times more massive than our sun in a faraway galaxy. The supernova, releasing twice as much energy as any othe... More »

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Space scientists use COVID-19 lockdown as dry run for Mars mission

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) – French space scientists are using the COVID-19 lockdown as a dry run for what it will be like to be cooped up inside a space craft on a mission to Mars. The guinea pigs in the experiment are 60 students who are confined to their do... More »

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Ancient string provides further evidence of Neanderthals talents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Neanderthals used plant fibers to create string more than 40,000 years ago at a site in France where they hunted reindeer, further evidence according to scientists of the ingenuity and cognitive capabilities of our closest extinct human ... More »

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Boeing plans to retest Starliner flight after botched mission

(Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Monday it would send its Starliner astronaut spacecraft on another unmanned mission to the International Space Station, months after its last flight was cut short because of a software bug. During the December test, a series of so... More »

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Science platform ResearchGate launches COVID-19 community

BERLIN (Reuters) – ResearchGate, a social network site for scientists and researchers, has launched a new forum to facilitate collaboration between COVID-19 experts on research into beating the flu-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The site here de... More »

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Masks do reduce spread of flu and some coronaviruses, study finds

LONDON (Reuters) – Face masks could help limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to researchers who studied the effect of surgical masks on the transmission of other corona and flu viruses. In the study, the use of surgical masks by sufferers sign... More »

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Frozen and desolate Antarctica once boasted warm, swampy rainforests

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Antarctica is now a harsh land of ice and snow, but has not always been that way. Earth’s southernmost continent long ago was home to temperate, swampy rainforests teeming with life, scientists said on Wednesday based on pristinely prese... More »

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Landmark skull fossil provides surprising human evolution clues

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have solved a longstanding mystery over the age of a landmark skull found in 1921 in Zambia – the first fossil of an extinct human species discovered in Africa – in research with big implications for deciphering the origin of ... More »

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Loss of taste and smell key COVID-19 symptoms, app study finds

LONDON (Reuters) – Losing your sense of smell and taste may be the best way to tell if you have COVID-19, according to a study of data collected via a symptom tracker app developed by scientists in Britain and the United States to help monitor the coronavirus ... More »

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Mother of invention: the new gadgets dreamt up to fight coronavirus

LONDON/OAKLAND/BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Driving to work at his factory to the west of London last week, designer Steve Brooks had coronavirus on his mind. What could he make that would let him open a door without touching the handle? “Everyone has to use their li... More »

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Coronavirus strands Peruvian singer in Finnish Arctic

ROVANIEMI, Finland (Reuters) – When Peruvian musician Victor Alarcon set out on his dream trip to shoot a music video in the Finnish Arctic for his single called ‘Aurora Boreal’ (Northern Lights), he did not expect the coronavirus outbreak to leave him strande... More »

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In battle against coronavirus, Colombia transforms military hospital

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s central military hospital, which for decades was inundated with victims of landmines and other casualties of the country’s internal conflict, is being outfitted to battle a new enemy: coronavirus. The hospital’s staff parking lot ... More »

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Coronavirus deals blow to NASA’s 2024 return-to-moon plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The coronavirus has dealt a blow to NASA’s plan to return Americans to the moon by 2024, as the space agency chief on Thursday ordered the temporary closure of two rocket production facilities after an employee tested positive for the il... More »

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Google exploring using location info to slow coronavirus spread

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google is exploring ways to use location information to slow the spread of the coronavirus by, for example, determining the effectiveness of social distancing. U.S. Senator Ed Markey, who has long championed consumer priva... More »

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Fins of prehistoric fish reveal origins of the human hand

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Inside the stout fins of a fish that prowled the shallow waters of an estuary in what is now eastern Canada about 380 million years ago, scientists have found what they call the evolutionary origins of the human hand. The researchers exa... More »

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‘Wonderchicken’ fossil from Belgium reveals dawn of modern birds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A fossil unearthed in Belgium dubbed the “Wonderchicken” is providing a rare glimpse into the early evolution of modern birds at the twilight of the age of dinosaurs, right before an asteroid impact altered the course of life on Earth. R... More »

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Chinese rocket fails on maiden launch – Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) – A new Chinese medium-lift rocket, part of a family of launch vehicles meant to support most of China’s launch missions in future, failed on its debut flight, the official news agency Xinhua reported. The Long March 7A, a variant of the Long... More »

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Germany confirms case of H5N8 bird flu in poultry farm

HAMBURG (Reuters) – A case of H5N8 bird flu has been confirmed in a poultry farm in the eastern German state of Saxony, German authorities said on Monday. The social affairs and protection ministry in the state of Saxony said the case involved bird flu of type... More »

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Joint Russian-European Mars mission postponed over coronavirus

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A joint Russian-European mission to send a rover to Mars has been postponed by two years because its final phase has been compromised by the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the European and Russian space agencies said on Thursday. T... More »

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Skull of smallest-known bird embedded in 99-million-year-old amber

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists are marveling over the exquisitely preserved skull of what appears to be the smallest-known bird – tinier than any hummingbird – encased in 99-million-year-old amber and boasting many odd traits including jaws studded with num... More »