Reuters Science News Summary

Gut bacteria tied to COVID-19 severity, immune response Bezos' Blue Origin aims to fly first space passengers by April - CNBC Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin aims to carry the first passengers on its New Shepard space vehicle as early as April, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Gut bacteria tied to disease severity, immune response; high mental health toll seen in ICUs

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Gut bacteria tied to COVID-19 severity, immune response Bezos' Blue Origin aims to fly first space passengers by April - CNBC

Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space company Blue Origin aims to carry the first passengers on its New Shepard space vehicle as early as April, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Blue Origin completed the fourteenth test flight of its New Shepard rocket booster and capsule on Thursday, marking one of the last remaining steps before the company flies its first crew to space, the report said. (https://cnb.cx/3sswOEc) Germany plays catch-up in bid to monitor coronavirus mutations

Germany wants to jump-start gene sequencing efforts to closely track coronavirus mutations and catch up with European nations such as Britain and Denmark which have taken the lead on decoding viral genomes. More contagious coronavirus variants are believed by scientists to have fuelled a surge in global coronavirus cases which have now passed 90 million, and nations are racing to procure vaccines and tighten lockdown measures.