Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Old mold: Fossil of world's earliest fungus unearthed in Canada

Microfossils of a globular spore connected to a T-shaped filament excavated in an Arctic region of northwestern Canada represent the oldest-known fungus, a discovery that sheds light on the origins of an important branch in Earth's tree of life. Scientists said on Wednesday the multicellular fungus that they named Ourasphaira giraldae - forerunner to an immensely diverse group that today includes the likes of mushrooms, yeasts and molds - lived in an estuary environment about 900 million to 1 billion years ago. Until now, the oldest-known fungus fossil was one about 410 million years old from Scotland. NASA chooses technology firm Maxar for lunar platform project

NASA has picked space technology company Maxar Technologies Inc as the first contractor to help build its Gateway platform in lunar orbit, a crucial outpost for America's mission to relay astronauts to the moon in 2024, the U.S. agency said on Thursday. Shares of Westminster, Colorado-based Maxar jumped more than 20% following the announcement by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at a meeting sponsored by a Florida college.