Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Ancient Peru throne room points to possible female ruler, archaeologists say
Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered evidence that could point to a woman ruling in a coastal valley during the ancient Moche culture more than 1,300 years ago, including a stone throne and unique scenes depicted in elaborate wall paintings. The nature of the ancient murals "could indicate it was a woman who used the space, possibly a ruler," said Jessica Ortiz, research director for the project at the Panamarca archeological site on Peru's northwest coast.
Scientists explain Mount Everest's anomalous growth
Mount Everest is Earth's tallest mountain - towering 5.5 miles (8.85 km) above sea level - and is actually still growing.
While it and the rest of the Himalayas are continuing an inexorable uplift that dates back to their birth roughly 50 million years ago when the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia, Everest is growing more than expected from this alone. Scientists now think they know the reason why, and it has to do with the monumental merger of two nearby river systems.
SpaceX capsule for stuck astronauts docks at space station
A SpaceX Crew Dragon space capsule, which is due to bring home stuck astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams next year, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, according to NASA and SpaceX. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov boarded the ISS shortly after the Dragon capsule docked at the station at 2130 GMT, NASA said in a post on X.
US FAA grounds SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after second-stage malfunction
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Monday said SpaceX must investigate why the second stage of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket malfunctioned after a NASA astronaut mission on Saturday, grounding the rocket for the third time in three months. After SpaceX on Saturday launched two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, the rocket body that had boosted the crew further into space failed to properly re-light its engine for its "disposal burn," a routine procedure that discards the booster into the ocean after completing its mission.
CERN ends cooperation with Russian scientists
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will end cooperation with up to 500 scientists affiliated with Russian institutions, it said on Monday, because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Swiss-based CERN, best known for its studies in particle physics and its Large Hadron Collider, will not renew its cooperation agreement with Russia when it ends on November 30 2024.
