Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Trunk show: Elephant genome study offers surprises
The most comprehensive elephant genome study ever conducted, covering seven living and extinct species, is offering some surprises about the family tree of the world's largest land animal while also settling a debate about Africa's elephants. Researchers said on Monday their research confirmed that the two types of African elephants, those inhabiting forests and those roaming savannas, are separate species that have lived in nearly complete isolation from one another for the past half million years despite their close proximity.
China spends $279 bln on R&D in 2017: science minister
China's total spending on research and development is estimated to have hit 1.76 trillion yuan ($279 billion) last year, China's science minister said on Monday, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent. "China needs to enter the ranks of innovative countries and become a big technological innovation power by 2050," minister Wan Gang told a media briefing.
