Science News Roundup: 'Wonderchicken' fossil from Belgium reveals dawn of modern birds; Chinese rocket fails on maiden launch and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

'Wonderchicken' fossil from Belgium reveals dawn of modern birds

A fossil unearthed in Belgium dubbed the "Wonderchicken" is providing a rare glimpse into the early evolution of modern birds at the twilight of the age of dinosaurs, right before an asteroid impact altered the course of life on Earth. Researchers on Wednesday described a partridge-sized bird named Asteriornis maastrichtensis that inhabited a seashore environment 66.7 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It represents the oldest-known anatomically modern bird, sharing skull traits with today's landfowl like chickens, turkeys, quail, and pheasants as well as waterfowl like ducks, geese and swans.

Chinese rocket fails on maiden launch - Xinhua

A new Chinese medium-lift rocket, part of a family of launch vehicles meant to support most of China's launch missions in future, failed on its debut flight, the official news agency Xinhua reported. The Long March 7A, a variant of the Long March 7, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, in the southern island province of Hainan, on Monday morning.

Australian researchers map immune response to coronavirus

Australian researchers said on Tuesday they have mapped the immune responses from one of country's first coronavirus patients, findings the health minister said were an important step in developing a vaccine and treatment. The coronavirus has infected more than 168,000 people worldwide and killed at least 6,610, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

(With inputs from agencies.)