Category: Science

(Reuters) – U.S. astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made history on Friday when they stepped outside the International Space Station (ISS) on the first all-female spacewalk. The much-anticipated milestone for NASA was achieved during a relatively routine mission to swap faulty batteries on the station’s exterior. WATCH: The first all-female spacewalk from the International…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new way of studying planets in other solar systems – by doing sort of an autopsy on planetary wreckage devoured by a type of star called a white dwarf – is showing that rocky worlds with geochemistry similar to Earth may be quite common in the cosmos. In a study published…

LONDON (Reuters) – Uncertainty surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union has hit science funding to the tune of almost half a billion euros and is putting off international researchers from coming to Britain, a leading institution said on Wednesday. An analysis conducted by the Royal Society scientific academy found that the UK’s annual share…

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – When astronauts orbit the moon or live on its surface in the decade ahead, they will probably be doing so inside inflatable space lodges now in development. Dozens of NASA officials and veteran astronauts are wrapping up a review of five space habitat mockups built by different companies. The mockups offer…

PARIS (Reuters) – A Paris zoo showcased a mysterious new organism on Wednesday, dubbed the “blob”, a yellowish unicellular small living being which looks like a fungus but acts like an animal. This newest exhibit of the Paris Zoological Park, which goes on display to the public on Saturday, has no mouth, no stomach, no…

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has decided to participate in a U.S. plan for putting astronauts back on the moon by 2024 and the government will officially inform the United States within this year, the Kyodo News agency reported on Thursday. The decision was made by the Cabinet Office’s space policy committee, the news agency said.…

LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists who resurrected a 50,000-year-old gene sequence have analyzed it to figure out how the world’s deadliest malaria parasite jumped from gorillas to humans – giving insight into the origins of one of human history’s biggest killers. The researchers said their work also deepens understanding of a process known as zoonosis -…

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – U.S. astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will make history on Friday when they conduct the first ever all-female spacewalk to replace the power source on the International Space Station (ISS). The pair will exit the ISS at 7:50 a.m. EDT (11:50 GMT) to fix the station’s faulty battery charge/discharge…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – One of the world’s largest freshwater fish is protected by the natural equivalent of a “bullet-proof vest,” helping it thrive in the dangerous waters of the Amazon River basin with flexible armor-like scales able to withstand ferocious piranha attacks. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego and University of California, Berkeley…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – NASA on Tuesday showed off two new spacesuits tailored for future moonwalking astronauts, signaling development of a crucial component to the space agency’s accelerated drive to return to the moon by 2024. Two NASA engineers strutted on a stage inside the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, donning the new spacesuits, modeling and doing…