Science News Roundup: Mystery virus in Thailand; Path to immortality for a fee and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

U.S. flood risk model to be publicly available in a boon for homebuyers

A climate research organization will offer access to a risk model that predicts the probability of flooding for homes across the United States, giving the public a look at the data institutional investors use to gauge risk. First Street Foundation on Tuesday launched Flood Lab, a research partnership that provides eight universities with its model that maps previous instances of flooding as well as future risks. Using the dataset, Wharton, MIT and John Hopkins University among others will quantify the impacts of flooding on the U.S. economy.

Fly me to the moon: Japanese billionaire Maezawa seeks girlfriend for SpaceX voyage

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa's search for a girlfriend to join him on a voyage around the moon will be the subject of a new documentary program, in the latest attention-grabbing stunt by the entrepreneur. 44-year-old Maezawa, who sold his online fashion retailer Zozo Inc to SoftBank Group Corp, is seeking single females aged over 20 for the show, which will be shown on streaming service AbemaTV.

Oldest stuff on Earth found inside a meteorite that hit Australia

A meteorite that crashed into rural southeastern Australia in a fireball in 1969 contained the oldest material ever found on Earth, stardust that predated the formation of our solar system by billions of years, scientists said on Monday. The oldest of 40 tiny dust grains trapped inside the meteorite fragments retrieved around the town of Murchison in Victoria state dated from about 7 billion years ago, about 2.5 billion years before the sun, Earth and rest of our solar system formed, the researchers said.

Chinese woman with mystery virus quarantined in Thailand

A Chinese woman has been quarantined in Thailand with a mystery strain of coronavirus, authorities said on Monday, the first time it has been detected outside China. Thai authorities are stepping up monitoring at airports ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, beginning on Jan. 25, when hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists are expected to visit.

Brain freeze: Russian firm offers a path to immortality for a fee

When Alexei Voronenkov's 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life. It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers - which Russian company KrioRus calls its "patients" - floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several meters-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.

(With inputs from agencies.)