Science News Roundup: Coal mine in Serbia gives up new Roman treasure; Mammoth skeletons dug up at Mexico City airport construction site and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 30-05-2020 18:37 IST | Created: 30-05-2020 18:30 IST
Science News Roundup: Coal mine in Serbia gives up new Roman treasure; Mammoth skeletons dug up at Mexico City airport construction site and more
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Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Mammoth skeletons dug up at Mexico City airport construction site

Alongside construction crews racing to build the Mexican capital's new airport, skulls and curving tusks of massive mammoths peek through the dirt as archaeologists dig up more and more bones belonging to the ice age's most famous mammal. The latest discoveries include two huge skulls, along with scattered ribs and limbs, found just inside the perimeter of where a new civilian airport is being built, about 30 miles (50km) north of downtown Mexico City.

Exclusive: GSK says science does not link pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine to sleep disorder

British drugmaker GSK said on Thursday that its previous flu pandemic vaccine, which used some of the same ingredients as COVID-19 vaccines currently under development, was not linked to a rise in cases of the sleep disorder narcolepsy. A spokesman for GSK said the "science has moved on" since concerns were raised about links between narcolepsy and its H1N1 vaccine, called Pandemrix, which was developed during the flu pandemic 10 years ago.

SpaceX, NASA to try again for landmark launch of two astronauts from Florida

Elon Musk's private rocket company SpaceX was set for a repeat attempt at launching two Americans into orbit on Saturday from Florida for a mission that would mark the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil in nine years. The mission's first launch try on Wednesday was called off with less than 17 minutes remaining on the countdown clock due to stormy weather around the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Coal mine in Serbia gives up new Roman treasure

As the sun sank over a vast opencast coal mine in eastern Serbia earlier this month, a small crane eased the front half of a Roman ship from the steep sides of the pit. An excavator cutting through the coal-rich soil had pulled out some muddy timber weeks before, but coronavirus restrictions had meant the retrieval had to wait.

Spanish dig unearths human remains in hunt for Irish rebel lord

Spanish archaeologists may have uncovered the final resting place of an Irish nobleman whose bloody 16th-century rebellion almost toppled Ireland's English rulers. With some Spanish support, Red Hugh O'Donnell waged war against the English for nine years before his rebels suffered a defeat at the 1602 Battle of Kinsale.

Prototype of new SpaceX rocket Starship explodes on Texas test pad

A prototype of SpaceX's upcoming heavy-lift rocket, Starship, exploded on Friday during ground tests in south Texas as Elon Musk's space company pursued an aggressive development schedule to fly the launch vehicle for the first time. The testing explosion was unrelated to SpaceX's upcoming launch of two NASA astronauts from Florida's Kennedy Space Center using a different rocket system, the Falcon 9 with the Crew Dragon capsule fixed on top.

Coronavirus infection rate may shift toward younger ages; death risk higher in cancer patients

The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Coronavirus infection burden may shift to younger age groups

(With inputs from agencies.)

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