Science News Roundup: Zimbabwe suspects bacterial disease behind elephant deaths; David Attenborough leads call for world to invest $500 billion and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

David Attenborough leads call for world to invest $500 billion a year to protect nature

British broadcaster David Attenborough on Wednesday led a campaign by conservation groups for the world to invest $500 billion a year to halt the destruction of nature, saying the future of the planet was in "grave jeopardy". Attenborough, whose new film "A Life on Our Planet" documents the dangers posed by climate change and the extinction of species, made his statement as the United Nations convened a one-day summit aimed at galvanising action to protect wildlife.

Zimbabwe suspects bacterial disease behind elephant deaths

Zimbabwe suspects a bacterial disease called haemorrhagic septicaemia is behind the recent deaths of more than 30 elephants but is doing further tests to make sure, the parks authority said. The elephant deaths, which began in late August, come soon after hundreds of elephants died in neighbouring Botswana in mysterious circumstances.

U.S. astronaut crew on SpaceX's Crew Dragon to cast ballots from space

Three NASA astronauts launching next month on SpaceX's first operational Crew Dragon mission plan to vote in the upcoming presidential election from the International Space Station, the crew said Tuesday as they named the spacecraft "Resilience." SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience capsule will carry NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station Oct. 31 as the company's first non-test mission after completing a successful two-man preliminary mission last summer.

(With inputs from agencies.)