Science News Roundup: Novacyt says winning race for high-speed virus; White House calls for the biggest NASA budge and more
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Novacyt biotech company says winning race for high-speed virus test
Franco-British biotech company Novacyt says it can offer a coronavirus test that is faster than rival methods by focusing on a narrow sequence of DNA coding, as it fights stiff competition to turn the outbreak into a business opportunity. In an appeal for sharing virus samples and speeding up research into drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics, the World Health Organization on Tuesday said China's coronavirus outbreak posed a "very grave threat for the rest of the world."
Solar probe embarks on an unprecedented mission to map the sun's polar regions
A new probe built by NASA and the European Space Agency set off on a blazing hot journey to the sun on Sunday to take the first close-up look at the star's polar regions, a mission expected to yield insight into how solar radiant energy affects Earth. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:03 p.m. ET (0403 GMT Monday), kicking off a 10-year voyage.
White House calls for the biggest NASA budget in decades to reach the moon, Mars
The White House on Monday asked Congress for $25.2 billion for NASA in 2021, the agency's biggest budget in decades, calling for steady increases over five years to meet President Donald Trump's goal of landing astronauts on the moon and Mars. The request would boost the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's budget by 12 percent for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, with nearly half of the funds going toward the "Moon to Mars" program, which includes the development of lunar landers, robotic rovers, heavy-lift rockets, and new spacesuits.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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