NASA‘s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has made a historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu and collected samples from its surface for several seconds before backing away Tuesday evening. As of 5pm Tuesday EST the spacecraft was activating its sensors and instruments as it further descended into the orbit of the asteroid that contains material from the early … Read more
Minnesota scientists find coronavirus in samples of beach water for the first time – but it is not likely the disease is able to spread through the body of water Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School have been testing water samples at eight beaches along Lake Superior since July Over the weekend of … Read more
For the first time scientists have successfully cloned a Przewalski’s horse, the world’s last remaining breed of truly wild horses. Named Kurt, the foal was born to a surrogate, a domestic mare, on August 6 at Timber Creek Veterinary in Canyon, Texas. His sire, a Przewalski stallion named Kuporovic, had DNA samples taken and preserved … Read more
Robot tests for the coronavirus 10 minutes faster than human workers by probing the nose with a long swab and sticking samples in a vial A new robot can test patients for the coronavirus 10 minute faster than humans The system uses facial recognition and 3D imaging to administer the test It glides a long … Read more
A courier truck carrying highly-infectious Covid-19 samples has been hijacked in South Africa. The truck was transporting the specimens in Port Elizabeth in the country’s Eastern Cape Province when it was taken over by thieves at gunpoint on Monday. The truck has since been recovered but the specimens are missing, according to local media reports. … Read more
Blood samples taken from New Yorkers reveal some had coronavirus antibodies in late February – more than a week BEFORE the first case in the state was announced Researchers looked at 5,500 blood samples taken from patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City starting the week ending in February 9 Coronavirus antibodies were detected … Read more
Researchers identify 13-million-year-old bacteria in permafrost samples collected in the Swiss Alps, which could be used in bioreactors to break down plastic waste Swiss researchers have discovered a new species of bacteria in the Swiss Alps It was found in permafrost samples and is believed to be 13million years old The team describes permafrost as … Read more
European Space Agency enlists Airbus to help it build a Mars rover called ‘Fetch’ that will find and retrieve rock samples on the Red Planet The Airbus firm has won the next phase of the contract to develop the rover It will travel more than 9 miles across the red planet to pick up rock … Read more
British health officials have told companies offering Covid-19 antibody tests to stop processing blood samples from patients in the UK, MailOnline can reveal. Private tests to see whether people have already had the disease and recovered are now available from various online pharmacies from around £69. Superdrug became the first high street retailer to offer … Read more
China has acknowledged it destroyed early samples of COVID-19, confirming a claim put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late last month. On Friday, Liu Dengfeng, a supervisor with China’s National Health Commission, admitted that ‘the Chinese government issued an order on January 3 to dispose of coronavirus samples’ at unauthorized laboratories, according … Read more