By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies looking to harness the process that powers the sun and stars to generate electricity expect to spend about $7 billion by the time their first nuclear fusion plants come online, a survey published on Wednesday said. Fusion occurs when the nuclei of two light atoms such as hydrogen,…
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – U.S. officials on Tuesday announced the emergency use of a bird flu vaccine to protect the California condor, a critically endangered and magnificent animal that has already bounced back once from the brink of extinction. After finding a California condor dead from highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, in…
(Reuters) – The World Health Organization called for caution on Tuesday in using artificial intelligence for public healthcare, saying data used by AI to reach decisions could be biased or misused. The WHO said it was enthusiastic about the potential of AI but had concerns over how it will be used to improve access to…
By Blake Brittain (Reuters) – Genetic testing company Natera Inc convinced a Delaware federal jury on Monday to award it $19.3 million in damages from Invitae Corp’s ArcherDX for infringing patents related to cancer detection. The jury agreed with Natera that biotech company ArcherDX Inc’s blood-based DNA tests for detecting and monitoring cancer infringed three…
By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX has tapped NASA’s former human spaceflight boss Kathy Lueders to help oversee development of the company’s moon and Mars rocket called Starship, a person familiar with the hire said on Monday. Lueders, the second former NASA human spaceflight chief to retire and move to SpaceX in…
By Juan Gonzalez SANTA JUANA, Chile (Reuters) – In the southern Chilean city of Santa Juana, hit hard by wildfires earlier this year, locals have a special taskforce helping fight blazes: a herd of goats. The goats have already saved the native forest of the Bosques de Chacay once, preventing the park from being consumed…
By Joey Roulette (Reuters) – Satellite launch company Virgin Orbit is planning to move back the deadline for prospective bidders to buy its assets by a handful of days, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The development was first reported by Sky News. Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, filed for Chapter…
By Joy Malone TOMS RIVER, New Jersey (Reuters) – Ciara Clark, a Black doula, labored for more than nine hours at home before making a last-minute switch to go to the hospital to give birth. With her own Black doula and mother by her side, Clark had hoped to have her baby at home with…
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) – New highly-effective weight loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are not a “silver bullet” for addressing the rapid rise in global obesity rates, the World Health Organization’s nutrition chief told Reuters, as the agency conducts its first review of obesity management guidelines in more than 20 years. The…
By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Vast, a startup backed by cryptocurrency billionaire Jed McCaleb, is aiming to launch a school bus-sized space station to orbit by late 2025 with some help from partner SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket firm. The cylindrical spacecraft dubbed Haven-1 is the latest platform planned as a replacement to the International…