Science News Roundup: How El Nino is helping drive heatwaves and extreme weather; China may launch next-generation crewed spacecraft as early as 2027 and more

All the chicks are female at Yuval Cinnamon’s laboratory in central Israel, where new technology offers an answer to what he calls “the most devastating animal welfare issue worldwide - the culling and sorting of day-old male chicks”. Dramatic fossil shows pugnacious mammal attacking a dinosaur While there is little doubt that many a Mesozoic mammal became a meal for a dinosaur, it may come as a surprise to learn that some mammals also dined on dinos.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Explainer-How El Nino is helping drive heatwaves and extreme weather

Countries around the world from China to the United States are battling heatwaves, with the onset of the climate phenonenon El Nino helping push temperatures higher. Scientists told Reuters that climate change and El Nino are the major drivers of extreme heat that have seen temperature records broken in Beijing and Rome, while leaving some 80 million Americans under excessive heat warnings.

Self-healing metal? It's not just the stuff of science fiction

In the 1991 film "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," a malevolent time-traveling and shape-shifting android called T-1000 that was made of liquid metal demonstrated a unique quality. Hit with blasts or bullets, its metal would heal itself. Self-healing metal is still just science fiction, right? Apparently not.

China may launch next-generation crewed spacecraft as early as 2027

China's next-generation crewed spacecraft, which can transport up to seven astronauts, may fly for the first time between 2027 and 2028, a veteran Chinese astronaut said. China's manned space flights began in 2003 when former fighter pilot, Yang Liwei, was sent into orbit in a small bronze-coloured capsule, the Shenzhou-5, becoming China's first man in space and an instant hero cheered by millions at home.

Gene tech spares male chicks from cull by preventing them from hatching

Every year, egg farmers kill 7 billion day-old male chicks because they cannot grow up to lay eggs and are the wrong breed for meat. A laboratory in Israel has a solution: what if the male eggs don't hatch? All the chicks are female at Yuval Cinnamon’s laboratory in central Israel, where new technology offers an answer to what he calls “the most devastating animal welfare issue worldwide - the culling and sorting of day-old male chicks”.

Dramatic fossil shows pugnacious mammal attacking a dinosaur

While there is little doubt that many a Mesozoic mammal became a meal for a dinosaur, it may come as a surprise to learn that some mammals also dined on dinos. A dramatic fossil unearthed in northeastern China shows a pugnacious badger-like mammal in the act of attacking a plant-eating dinosaur, mounting its prey and sinking its teeth into its victim's ribs about 125 million years ago, scientists said on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies.)