Reuters Science News Summary

The researchers said the neutron star, wildly spinning at 707 times per second, has a mass about 2.35 times greater than that of our sun, putting it perhaps at the maximum possible mass for such objects before they would collapse to form a black hole. Invasive frog and snake species cost world economy $16 billion, study shows Two invasive species, the American bullfrog and the brown tree snake, cost the world an estimated $16 billion between 1986 and 2020 by causing problems ranging from crop damage to power outages, according to a study published on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Gluttonous cosmic 'black widow' is heaviest-known neutron star

Astronomers have observed the most massive known example of an object called a neutron star, one classified as a "black widow" that got particularly hefty by gobbling up most of the mass of a stellar companion trapped in an unhappy cosmic marriage. The researchers said the neutron star, wildly spinning at 707 times per second, has a mass about 2.35 times greater than that of our sun, putting it perhaps at the maximum possible mass for such objects before they would collapse to form a black hole.

Invasive frog and snake species cost world economy $16 billion, study shows

Two invasive species, the American bullfrog and the brown tree snake, cost the world an estimated $16 billion between 1986 and 2020 by causing problems ranging from crop damage to power outages, according to a study published on Thursday. The brown-and-green frog known as lithobates catesbeianus that can weigh over 2 pounds (0.9 kilos), had the greatest impact in Europe, according to research published in Scientific Reports.