Science: What Geeks are talking about from Reuters News

Brain scans show how LSD mimics mind of a baby
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists have for the first time scanned the brains of people using LSD and found the psychedelic drug frees the brain to become less compartmentalized and more like the mind of a baby.

ULA to partner with Bigelow on commercial space habitats
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) – United Launch Alliance will team with billionaire entrepreneur Robert Bigelow to market and fly habitats for humans in space, a project that hinges on space taxis being developed by SpaceX, Boeing Co and other firms, ULA and Bigelow said on Monday.

Billionaire Yuri Milner bids another $100 million to explore the cosmos
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Billionaire Internet investor Yuri Milner announced another $100 million initiative on Tuesday to better understand the cosmos, this time by deploying thousands of tiny spacecraft to travel to our nearest neighboring star system and send back pictures.

Genes used to extend banana lifespan
Bananas never last very long — within a few days of buying them, the rot sets in. But now Israeli scientists have found a way to significantly slow the decomposition down by altering the genes of the fruit.

U.S. needs up to 18 more Russian rocket engines: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon will need to buy up to 18 more Russian-built RD-180 engines to power rockets carrying U.S. military satellites into space over the next six years or so, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said in an interview on Friday.

Inflatable habitat heading for test run on space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – An inflatable human habitat was scheduled for launch to the International Space Station on Friday for a two-year test to see how the lightweight, fabric module compares with traditional orbiting enclosures made from metal, NASA said.

South America’s prehistoric people spread like ‘invasive species’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When the first prehistoric people trekked into South America toward the end of the Ice Age, they found a wondrous, lush continent inhabited by all manner of strange creatures like giant ground sloths and car-sized armadillos.

Suit that mimics life at age 85 has no creases, just creaks
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Reuters) – With the push of a button, a perfectly healthy 34-year-old museum-goer named Ugo Dumont was transformed into a confused 85-year-old man with cataracts, glaucoma and a ringing in his ears known as tinnitus.

GM adenovirus used by doctors to attack tumor cells
Researchers in Argentina say they have genetically modified an adenovirus – which can cause colds, conjunctivitis and bronchitis – to home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue.

Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for launching commercial satellites and the effort has raised concern among companies that have invested millions of dollars in potential rival rockets.

Bezos praises third Blue Origin launch-and-land rocket test as ‘perfect’
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Jeff Bezos’ space transportation company Blue Origin successfully launched and landed for the third time a suborbital rocket capable of carrying six passengers, taking another step on its path in developing reusable boosters, the company said on Saturday.

Europe gives green light to first gene therapy for children
LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s first life-saving gene therapy for children, developed by Italian scientists and GlaxoSmithKline, has been recommended for approval in Europe, boosting the pioneering technology to fix faulty genes.

Pentagon awards $75 million for advanced textiles institute
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sensors that can detect tears in parachute nylons before they become deadly, troop uniforms studded with electronics that can sense chemical agents, and self-powered tents that can save fuel: the U.S. military is banking on a new public-private partnership to make these a reality.

A gorilla named Susie illustrates genome similarities with humans
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A gorilla named Susie is helping provide fresh insight into the genetic similarities and differences between people and these endangered apes that are among our closest living relatives.

Probe of ULA rocket engine early cutoff focuses on fuel system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – The Russian-made rocket motor that catapulted a United Launch Alliance booster toward orbit last week shut down six seconds early apparently because of a fuel system problem, the company said on Thursday, in its first explanation of the issue.

Could this megacopter carry people?
Students who have a remote-controlled multicopter drone that set a Guinness World Record for the heaviest payload ever lifted by such a vehicle say they hope to get permission to fly a person in its structure.

Chinese AI team plans to challenge Google’s AlphaGo: state media
BEIJING (Reuters) – A team from China plans to challenge Google’s AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence (AI) program that beat a world-class player in the ancient board game Go, the state-owned Shanghai Securities News reported on Thursday.

Diminutive ‘Hobbit’ people vanished earlier than previously known
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The extinct human species dubbed the “Hobbit” vanished from its home on the Indonesian island of Flores far earlier than previously thought, according to scientists who suspect our species may have had a hand in these diminutive people’s demise.

Sanofi poaches AstraZeneca scientist as new research head
LONDON (Reuters) – French drugmaker Sanofi has poached one of AstraZeneca’s top scientists to be its new research head in another high-profile departure for the British drugmaker.

U.S. firms target investment in Israeli cannabis R&D
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Already a pioneer in high-tech and cutting-edge agriculture, Israel is starting to attract American companies looking to bring medical marijuana know-how to a booming market back home.

Giant rats to sniff out tuberculosis in Tanzania, Mozambique prisons
DAR ES SALAAM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Scientists in East Africa plan to exploit trained rats’ highly developed sense of smell to carry out mass screening for tuberculosis among inmates of crowded prisons in Tanzania and Mozambique.