Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
U.S.-Russian crew lands in Kazakhstan after 172 days in space
A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts wrapped up a 172-day mission aboard the International Space Station with a parachute descent and landing at dawn on the steppes of Kazakhstan, a NASA TV broadcast showed. The capsule made a parachute descent southeast of Zhezkazgan, disappearing into a layer of haze as it neared the ground.
Tall tale: study reveals that giraffes are four species, not one
Genetic research on the world's tallest land animal has found that there are four distinct species of giraffe, not just one as long believed, with two of them at alarmingly low population levels. Scientists on Thursday unveiled a comprehensive genetic analysis of giraffes using DNA from 190 of the towering herbivores from across their range in Africa.
Some like it hot: scientists drill off Japan for sizzling life
Scientists will start drilling off Japan this month to seek the hottest place where life can survive in a hellish uncharted realm deep below the seabed. The drilling under the Nankai Trough in the Pacific Ocean will be part of a project by 900 experts to map carbon underground, hoping for clues to everything from the origin of life on Earth to the formation of oil and gas.
NASA asteroid probe may find clues to origins of life on Earth
A U.S. space probe was cleared for launch on Thursday to collect and return samples from an asteroid in hopes of learning more about the origins of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system, NASA said on Tuesday. A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to dispatch the robot explorer Osiris-Rex on a seven-year mission.
SpaceX could be grounded for 9-12 months: ULA chief
Elon Musk's SpaceX likely will be grounded for nine to 12 months while it investigates the cause of last week's launch pad accident and makes any repairs, the chief executive of SpaceX's prime U.S. competitor said on Thursday. "It typically takes nine to 12 months for people to return to flight. That's what the history is," Tory Bruno, chief executive of United Launch Alliance, told Reuters.
Scientists find deadly scrub typhus bacteria in South America
Scrub typhus, a deadly disease common in southeast Asia and spread by microscopic biting mites known as chiggers, has now taken hold in a part of South America and may have become endemic there, scientists said on Wednesday. The tropical disease, which kills at least 140,000 people a year in the Asia-Pacific region, has been confirmed in a cluster of cases on a large island off Chile, some 12,000 kilometers from its usual haunts on the other side of the Pacific.
Tiny 'fitbits' to keep tabs on the body from within
Scientists are developing dust-sized wireless sensors implanted inside the body to track neural activity in real-time, offering a potential new way to monitor or treat a range of conditions including epilepsy and control next-generation prosthetics. The tiny devices have been demonstrated successfully in rats, and could be tested in people within two years, the researchers said.
© Copyright Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of Reuters Ltd.
