Science

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light for genetically modified cotton to be used for human consumption, paving the way for a protein-packed new food source – edible cottonseed that tastes a bit like chickpeas – that its developers said could help tackle global malnutrition. Genetically modified cotton plants with an

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Stratolaunch Systems Corp, the space company founded by late billionaire and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder Paul Allen, said on Friday it was continuing operations after transitioning ownership, but did not name the new owner. FILE PHOTO: The world’s largest airplane, built by the late Paul Allen’s company Stratolaunch Systems, makes its first

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Alexei Leonov, who became the first human to walk in space in 1965, died on Friday at the age of 85 after a long illness, Russia’s TASS news agency reported. FILE PHOTO: Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (L), the first human to conduct a space walk, and his compatriot Valentina Tereshkova, the first

HAWTHORNE, Calif. (Reuters) – SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut capsule will be ready for its first manned test flight into orbit in the first quarter of next year, provided that “everything goes according to plan” in upcoming tests, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks to media during a

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two-thirds of bird species in North America, already disappearing at an alarming rate, face extinction unless immediate action is taken to slow the rate of climate change, the National Audubon Society said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Pelicans silhouetted by a setting sun fly as they look for fish along the California

LONDON (Reuters) – A lunar rover which will explore the moon on foot in 2021 was unveiled in London on Thursday. The new concept, with four legs rather than wheels, will send data back to a larger mothership, which will transmit it back to Earth. UK startup Spacebit signed a contract with U.S. space robotics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saturn is now being recognized as the “moon king” of our solar system, with astronomers spotting 20 more of them orbiting the giant ringed planet, bringing its total count to 82 – three more than Jupiter. FILE PHOTO: One of the last looks at Saturn and its main rings as captured by

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fossils of a large carnivorous dinosaur that was a top predator about 115 million years ago have been unearthed in Thailand — a brute that was among the early members of an impressive group of flesh-ripping dinosaurs known for their shark-like teeth. A reconstruction of the skull of the large meat-eating dinosaur

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany should aim to be a leader in technologies needed to make and utilize hydrogen, which offers a green alternative to fossil fuels in the shift toward a low carbon economy, the economy minister said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier attends a joint news conference after a meeting

STOCKHOLM/LONDON (Reuters) – Canadian-American cosmologist James Peebles and Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics on Tuesday for revealing the wonder of the evolution of the universe and discovering planets orbiting distant suns. Peebles, of Princeton University in the United States, was awarded half of the 9-million-Swedish-crown ($910,000)

FILE PHOTO: The International Space Station (ISS) crew member Nick Hague of the U.S. gestures after donning space suits shortly before launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday bestowed a prestigious state award for courage on Nick Hague, the U.S. astronaut

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a bone-building drug from Pfenex Inc to treat osteoporosis in certain patients at high risk for fractures, giving the company its first commercial product. The company said it is seeking the FDA’s authorization to designate the drug, PF708, as therapeutically equivalent to Eli Lilly