Science News Roundup: First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant; Shanghai aims to become production hub for space technology by 2025 and more

Scientists on Wednesday said their observations involving the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy Messier 77 and its surrounding cloud lend support to predictions made three decades ago about what are called "active galactic nuclei." Shanghai aims to become production hub for space technology by 2025 The local government in the China's Shanghai said on Wednesday that the city aims to be a hub for the development of space technologies, including reusable rockets which can vertically take off and land, by 2025.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Higher estrogen levels linked to lower COVID death risk; antacid shows promise addressing symptoms

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Higher estrogen levels tied to lower COVID death risk

Rare baby ghost shark discovery delights New Zealand scientists

While typically heard in an omnipresent children's song, the phrase baby shark has delighted New Zealand scientists after the rare discovery of a juvenile ghost shark during a survey off the east coast of the country's South Island. Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are not really sharks but are related to sharks since both of their skeletons consist of cartilage rather than bone.

First woman reported cured of HIV after stem cell transplant

A U.S. patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus that causes AIDS, researchers reported on Tuesday. The case of a middle-aged woman of mixed race, presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunisitic Infections in Denver, is also the first involving umbilical cord blood, a newer approach that may make the treatment available to more people.

New observations help explain universe's most energetic objects

Observations showing a roughly donut-shaped cloud of cosmic dust and gas shrouding a huge black hole at the heart of a galaxy similar in size to our Milky Way are providing scientists with new clarity about the universe's most energetic objects. Scientists on Wednesday said their observations involving the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy Messier 77 and its surrounding cloud lend support to predictions made three decades ago about what are called "active galactic nuclei."

Shanghai aims to become production hub for space technology by 2025

The local government in the China's Shanghai said on Wednesday that the city aims to be a hub for the development of space technologies, including reusable rockets which can vertically take off and land, by 2025. The city will also set up mass production lines for low-cost commercial satellites and assembly lines for rockets, according to a notice published on the web site of Shanghai's government.

EU states agree on need to build own satellite constellation

European Union ministers, meeting on space policy in Toulouse, on Wednesday agreed that the bloc needed an autonomous satellite constellation infrastructure for high-speed internet access, France's Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said. "This is probably the most important achievement of today's meeting," Le Maire told a news conference after the meeting.