Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
NASA sees moon lunar mining trial within the next decade
NASA is looking to develop resources on the moon that initially include oxygen and water, and eventually may expand to iron and rare earths, and has already taken steps toward excavating moon soil in 2032, a scientist said on Wednesday. The U.S. space agency plans to return Americans to the moon as part of its Artemis mission, including the first woman and person of colour by 2025, and to learn from the mission to facilitate a trip to Mars.
Republican lawmakers urge U.S. to scrap China science deal
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday urged the U.S. State Department not to renew a decades-old U.S-China agreement on scientific cooperation, arguing that Beijing would seek to use it to help its military. The deal, signed when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic ties in 1979 and renewed about every five years since, has resulted in cooperation in areas from atmospheric and agricultural science to basic research in physics and chemistry.
French sugar beet pesticide alternative could be five years away
Research into alternatives to neonicotinoid pesticides, found to be toxic to bees, is unlikely to deliver a solution capable of fully protecting sugar beet crops for five years, a leading French scientist said. After the beet yellows virus carried by aphids reduced the French harvest by 30% in 2020, and farmers and sugar makers lobbied the government, France suspended a European Union ban on neonicotinoids until 2023 and launched a research programme to find alternatives to the chemical in the meantime.
Tooth analysis confirms the megalodon - a huge ancient shark - was warm-blooded
The megalodon, a huge shark that was the scourge of the ancient oceans and is a star in modern movie theaters, is named for its "large tooth" - and for good reason. Its serrated teeth - up to about 7 inches long (18 cm) - could tear through any prey in the deep blue sea. Those teeth now are providing a fuller understanding of this extinct predator, with an analysis of the mineral makeup of their enamel-like tissue confirming that megalodon was warm-blooded - a trait scientists suspect contributed both to its tremendous success and eventual downfall.
