Science News Roundup: Space station's Italian commander, with lookalike Barbie, tells girls about science in orbit; Nobel prize goes to pioneers of Lego-like "click chemistry" and more

The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Endurance, was set for liftoff at noon EDT (1600 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nobel physics prize goes to sleuths of 'spooky' quantum science Scientists Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments in quantum mechanics that laid the groundwork for rapidly-developing new applications in computing and cryptography.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Space station's Italian commander, with lookalike Barbie, tells girls about science in orbit

The first European female commander on the International Space Station, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, answered young girls' questions -- accompanied by a lookalike Barbie doll. Cristoforetti recently took time to describe some of the experiments conducted aboard the ISS, as well as answer questions from five girls 8 to 11 years old from across Europe. She and her spacesuit-clad Barbie floated in zero gravity, as she spoke.

Nobel prize goes to pioneers of Lego-like "click chemistry"

Scientists Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create new compounds and that offer insight into cell biology. The field of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry has been harnessed to improve the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals now being tested in clinical trials, along with a host of health, agricultural and industrial applications.

Rugby-Research shows huge spike in MND risk among former international players

A new study looking at the impact of concussion on a group of former Scottish international rugby players has found that they were 15 times more likely to develop motor neuron disease (MND) than the general population. The figure is likely to send shock waves through the sport, which is already embroiled in a legal fight over the link between concussion and early onset dementia and which is scrambling to find ways of reducing incidences of concussion in matches and training at all levels.

Rocket builder Firefly nails crucial milestone with first mission success

Rocket builder Firefly Aerospace reached orbit for the first time this weekend, hitting a crucial milestone that kick-starts its launch business and opens new funding opportunities for growth, the company's chief executive said on Monday. Firefly, based near Austin, Texas, launched its two-stage Alpha rocket in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday from a U.S. Space Force base in Southern California, sending its first payloads into orbit after an initial attempt over a year ago failed mid-flight.

Lowly wax worm's saliva may boost fight against plastic pollution

Two substances in the saliva of wax worms - moth larvae that eat wax made by bees to build honeycombs - readily break down a common type of plastic, researchers said on Tuesday, in a potential advance in the global fight against plastic pollution.

The researchers said the two enzymes identified in the caterpillar saliva were found to rapidly and at room temperature degrade polyethylene, the world's most widely used plastic and a major contributor to an environmental crisis extending from ocean trenches to mountaintops.

Russian cosmonaut hitching ride with SpaceX as part of next space station crew

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX was due to launch the next long-duration crew of the International Space Station into orbit on Wednesday, with a Russian cosmonaut hitching a ride with two Americans and a Japanese astronaut as part of the mission. The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Endurance, was set for liftoff at noon EDT (1600 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Nobel physics prize goes to sleuths of 'spooky' quantum science

Scientists Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments in quantum mechanics that laid the groundwork for rapidly-developing new applications in computing and cryptography. "Their results have cleared the way for new technology based upon quantum information," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said of the laureates -- Aspect, who is French, Clauser, an American and Zeilinger, an Austrian.

(With inputs from agencies.)