Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Scientists make potential breakthrough in ​search for dark matter

Scientists have made a possible breakthrough ​in the hunt for dark matter — observing hints ‌of ​it during an experiment about a mile (1.6 km) underground in South Dakota — though they stopped short of saying they have finally detected this elusive cosmic component. The researchers described a particle ‌interaction documented at the Sanford Underground Research Facility — built in a former gold mine in the state's Black Hills region — that may have involved a hypothesized particle called a WIMP, short for "weakly interacting massive particle." This is one of the proposed candidates for being a ‌dark matter particle.

US, China arm for space warfare: hunter satellites and orbital weapons

In June, a secretive unmanned Chinese spaceplane ‌closely monitored by U.S. military analysts released a small satellite hundreds of miles above Earth in an orbital region crowded with commercial and military satellites. The object then looped around another Chinese satellite before returning towards the spaceplane, according to U.S. space-tracking firm LeoLabs. Little is known about the satellite or the ⁠mission. But ​the U.S. military operates a similarly ⁠secretive spaceplane resembling a small shuttle, also with no crew. Both programs reflect the rapidly evolving field of military space operations as Beijing and Washington prepare ⁠for the possibility of conflict extending into space, according to a Reuters review of documents, space-tracking data and interviews with current and former military ​officials.

Spain's PLD Space adds $125 million to its latest funding round

Aerospace engineering firm PLD Space said on Tuesday it had extended ⁠its equity funding round by €108 million ($125 million), bringing the round's total to €288 million. The company's cumulative funding stands at €488 million, as it seeks to boost its capacity to ⁠launch ​rockets into space.

Researchers defend older age of key archaeological site in Chile

Two groups of researchers are defending the view that the Monte Verde archaeological site in Chile was occupied by ancient hunter-gatherers about 14,500 years ago after another study indicated it ⁠was much younger — a debate with major implications for understanding the initial peopling of the Americas. This creek valley site, located in ⁠southern Chile about 36 ⁠miles (58 km) from the Pacific coast, was discovered in the 1970s. The scientific testing announced in 1997 that concluded that people were present at this locale deep in South America about 14,500 years ‌ago suggested a ‌much earlier arrival for humans in the New World than had ​been believed at the time.