Science News Roundup: U.S. FAA authorizes next three SpaceX launches; Colombia warns of nine new strains of dangerous coffee fungus and more

Vaccine protects COVID-19 survivors against variants Colombia warns of nine new strains of dangerous coffee fungus Colombia's coffee federation has discovered nine new, more aggressive variants of the fungus that causes coffee rust, it said on Thursday, urging producers to plant more resistant coffee varieties to avoid spreading the disease.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Deep-sea mining tests resume after robot rescued from Pacific Ocean floor

Belgium's Global Sea Mineral Resources has resumed tests that could lead to the mining of battery minerals from the Pacific Ocean floor after it managed to recover a robot stranded at a depth of thousands of metres. Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR) has been testing Patania II, a 25-tonne mining robot prototype, 4 km (13,000 ft) below the surface in its concession in the Clarion Clipperton Zone since April 20.

U.S. FAA authorizes next three SpaceX launches

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it authorized the next three launches of the SpaceX Starship prototype and confirmed the agency's head spoke to Chief Executive Elon Musk about safety last month. The FAA said that prior to the launch of SN15, the FAA would

Vaccine protects COVID-19 survivors against variants; virus' spike protein damages blood vessels

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. Vaccine protects COVID-19 survivors against variants

Colombia warns of nine new strains of dangerous coffee fungus

Colombia's coffee federation has discovered nine new, more aggressive variants of the fungus that causes coffee rust, it said on Thursday, urging producers to plant more resistant coffee varieties to avoid spreading the disease. Colombia, the world's top producer of washed arabica, has 855,000 hectares (2.1 million acres) of coffee crops, while some 500,000 families depend on the industry.

Polish scientists discover ancient Egyptian mummy was pregnant woman

An ancient Egyptian mummy once believed to be the remains of a male priest is actually the embalmed body of a woman in the third trimester of pregnancy, Polish scientists said on Friday. Marzena Ozarek-Szilke, an anthropologist at the Warsaw Mummy Project, was examining a CT scan of a mummy at the National Museum in the Polish capital when she spotted something peculiar.

China launches key module of space station planned for 2022

China launched an unmanned module on Thursday containing what will become living quarters for three crew on a permanent space station that it plans to complete by the end of 2022, state media reported. The module, named "Tianhe", or "Harmony of the Heavens", was launched on the Long March 5B, China's largest carrier rocket, at 11:23 a.m. (0323 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan.

(With inputs from agencies.)