Science News Roundup: Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space; Branson's Virgin Orbit to recall small team from near-total furlough and more

The California-based company's 110-foot tall Terran 1 rocket, which is 85% made of 3D-printed parts, lifted off on its debut flight around 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT on Thursday) from a launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Base. Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Locks of hair compose a symphony of genetic information on Beethoven

Using five locks of hair, scientists have sequenced the genome of one of history's greatest musical composers - Ludwig van Beethoven - nearly two centuries after his death, gaining insight into his fatal liver disease but not his hearing loss. Researchers said on Wednesday his genome showed the German composer was both genetically predisposed to liver disease and had hepatitis B virus infection. An autopsy after his 1827 death at age 56 in Vienna determined he had cirrhosis of the liver, a disease often caused by chronic drinking. The new findings suggest there were multiple factors behind his liver disease including genetics, viral infection and alcohol consumption.

Scientists explain alien comet 'Oumuamua's strange acceleration

The quirky comet 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar object found visiting our solar system, has been the subject of fascination since being spotted in 2017, including its curious acceleration as it hurtled away from the sun. Hypotheses were floated in light of its unexpected behavior, including fleeting speculation that it might actually have been an alien spacecraft. A new study has offered a more sober explanation - that 'Oumuamua's speed-up was due to the release of hydrogen gas as the comet warmed up in the sunlight.

Relativity's debut rocket launch proves durability, fails in space

Relativity Space's 3D-printed rocket lifted off for the first time on Wednesday, passing a key milestone to demonstrate the vehicle's in-flight strength before its second stage failed upon reaching space, a company live stream showed. The California-based company's 110-foot tall Terran 1 rocket, which is 85% made of 3D-printed parts, lifted off on its debut flight around 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT on Thursday) from a launchpad at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Base.

Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space

Two organic compounds essential for living organisms have been found in samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu, buttressing the notion that some ingredients crucial for the advent of life arrived on Earth aboard rocks from space billions of years ago. Scientists said on Tuesday they detected uracil and niacin in rocks obtained by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft from two sites on Ryugu in 2019. Uracil is one of the chemical building blocks for RNA, a molecule carrying directions for building and operating living organisms. Niacin, also called Vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid, is vital for their metabolism.

Branson's Virgin Orbit to recall small team from near-total furlough

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit plans to recall on Thursday a small group of employees from a near company-wide furlough to work on rocket upgrades, an email to staff said, with the company confirming some team members would return. The number of employees due to come back to work at the cash-strapped company was not clear, but in the email seen by Reuters sent on Tuesday evening, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said it involved a "small subset" of employees.

(With inputs from agencies.)