Science News Roundup: NASA astronaut Christina Koch returning to Earth after record stay

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

'Weird,' sharp-nosed thalattosaur species identified from Alaska fossil

An iguana-like creature with a needle-sharp snout has been confirmed from a fossilized skeleton as a species of the marine reptile thalattosaur previously unknown to science that roamed the coast of what is now Alaska some 200 million years ago. Dating from the Triassic period and identified from a lone fossil found the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the new creature has been named Gunakadeit joseeae, after a Native Tlingit name for a legendary sea monster, according to an article published on Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports.

Data suggests virus infections under-reported, exaggerating fatality rate

Fatalities from the coronavirus epidemic are overwhelmingly concentrated in central China's Wuhan city, which accounts for over 73% of deaths despite having only one-third the number of confirmed infections. In Wuhan, the epicenter of the disease, one person has died for every 23 infections reported. That number drops to one on 50 nationally, and outside mainland China, one death has been recorded per 114 confirmed cases.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch returning to Earth after record space station mission

U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, who led the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, was due to return to Earth on Thursday after a record stay aboard the International Space Station, capping a busy mission that could yield key insights into deep-space travel. Koch, 41, was scheduled to climb into a Russian Soyuz capsule docked at the station with two other returning crew members and depart at 9:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday (0230 GMT on Thursday) after logging 328 days on the orbiting laboratory.

(With inputs from agencies.)