Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Scientists make gene-edited chickens in bid to halt next pandemic

British scientists are developing gene-edited chickens designed to be totally resistant to flu in a new approach to trying to stop the next deadly human pandemic. The first of the transgenic chicks will be hatched later this year at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said Wendy Barclay, a professor of virology at Imperial College London who is co-leading the project. Europe's Arianespace takes on SpaceX by cutting Ariane 5 rocket launch price

Europe's Arianespace is discounting the price of satellite launches with its Ariane 5 rockets as it competes against U.S. rival SpaceX for customers before the release of the cheaper Ariane 6 rocket next year, a senior executive said on Wednesday. Arianespace is aiming for the cost of launching the Ariane 6 to fall by around 40 percent versus the Ariane 5 through design changes and higher volume production, bringing its prices more in line with Elon Musk's SpaceX, Arianespace Managing Director and Head of Sales for Asia-Pacific Vivian Quenet said. Root and branch reform: Swedish scientist makes fuel from tree waste

Might tree roots, twigs and branches one day be used to power cars? That's what a Swedish researcher is hoping after developing a pulp byproduct that - on a modest scale - does just that. Chemical engineering scientist Christian Hulteberg, from Lund University, has used the black liquor residue from pulp and paper manufacturing to create a polymer called lignin.

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