SCIENCE

Coronavirus might have multiple animal origins: Study
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The findings, posted on the virological.org discussion forum and not yet peer reviewed, may challenge the hypothesis that SARS-COV-2 escaped from a laboratory, Nature reported. The finding could be the "dagger into the heart" of the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab, rather than originating from the wildlife trade, Robert Garry, a virologist at Tulane University in Louisiana.
Thousands of massive, ancient volcanic eruptions on Mars: NASA
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Spewing water vapour, carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide into the air, these explosions tore through the Martian surface about 4 billion years ago, according to scientists' estimates, reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. "Each one of these eruptions would have had a significant climate impact -- maybe the released gas made the atmosphere thicker or blocked the Sun and made the atmosphere colder," said Patrick Whelley.
Astronomers capture best images yet of peculiar 'dog-bone' asteroid
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The observations have allowed the team to constrain the 3D shape and mass of this peculiar asteroid, which resembles a dog bone, to a higher accuracy than ever before. Their research also provides clues as to how this asteroid and the two moons that orbit it formed. "Kleopatra is truly a unique body in our Solar System," said lead researcher Franck Marchis.
Oxygen therapy may put a brake on Alzheimer's: Study
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The study, by scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel, showed that breathing pure oxygen for some time in a pressurised -- or hyperbaric -- chamber can boost the functioning of the human brain. In animals, the therapy helped fight the build-up of brain plaque, the Times of Israel reported.
Perseverance's rock sample to give insight into Mars' history
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Analysis of the rocks from which the Montdenier and Montagnac samples were taken show signs that they were in contact with water for a long period of time, boosting the case for ancient life on the Red Planet. aceIt looks like our first rocks reveal a potentially habitable sustained environment. It's a big deal that the water was there for a long time," said Ken Farley of Caltech.
'Will we see humans as machines?'
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Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-Special Forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It's 2095 and people don't usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive but also allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy.
NASA confirms James Webb telescope launch in December
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The agency set the new target launch date in coordination with Arianespace after Webb recently and successfully completed its rigorous testing regimen -- a major turning point for the mission, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday. The new date also follows French company Arianespace successfully launching an Ariane 5 rocket in late July and scheduling a launch that will precede Webb.
Milky Way galaxy is not homogeneous as previously thought
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Until now, theoretical models considered that these three elements were homogeneously mixed and reached the Solar composition everywhere in our galaxy, with a slight increase in metallicity in the centre, where the stars are more numerous. For 25 hours, a team of scientists observed the atmosphere of 25 stars using Hubble and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.
ISRO commemorates two years of Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter
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Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space K. Sivan inaugurated two day Lunar Science Workshop 2021 on Monday. He also released Chandrayaan-2 data product and science documents, along with data from Chandrayaan-2 orbiter payloads. The eight payloads onboard Chandrayaan-2 are conducting scientific observations of the Moon by remote sensing and in-situ techniques.
Coronavirus epidemics 1st hit over 21,000 years ago: Study
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The study, published in the journal Current Biology, showed that humanity may have been exposed to sarbecoviruses -- which has the potential to jump from animals to humans -- since the Paleolithic period -- roughly 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BC. Despite having a very rapid rate of evolution over short timescales, to survive, viruses must remain highly adapted to their hosts -- this imposes severe restrictions on their freedom to accumulate mutations without reducing their fitness.
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