Reuters Science News Summary

This surge of gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, unleashed in just a tenth of a second the amount of energy our sun would emit in a span of roughly 10,000 years, they said. Russia, US clash at UN over nuclear weapons in space Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution that called on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space, a move that prompted the United States to question if Moscow was hiding something.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

China's version of Neuralink unveiled at tech forum

A Chinese state-backed company on Thursday unveiled a brain chip similar to the technology developed by Elon Musk's startup Neuralink. The company, Beijing Xinzhida Neurotechnology, developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant, called Neucyber, that has been tested on a monkey, allowing it control a robotic arm with only its thoughts, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency, which added that the technology was "independently developed" and China's first "high-performance invasive BCI".

Scottish spaceport moves closer to satellite launches

Britain's SaxaVord Spaceport moved a step closer to being able to send satellites into orbit after regulators granted it a licence to provide safety services, paving the way for its first launch later this year. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in a statement on Thursday it had approved a range control licence for the SaxaVord site, which is located in the Shetland Islands off the northern coast of Scotland.

Huge energetic flare from magnetic neutron star detected

Magnetars are among the universe's most extreme objects - a class of the compact stellar remnants called neutron stars that possess immensely strong magnetic fields. Once in a while, they produce enormous eruptions of gamma rays in the strongest nondestructive release of energy known in the cosmos. Scientists have now detected the most distant-known instance of one of these eruptions, called a giant flare, from a magnetar residing in a galaxy called Messier 82, or M82. This surge of gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, unleashed in just a tenth of a second the amount of energy our sun would emit in a span of roughly 10,000 years, they said.

Russia, US clash at UN over nuclear weapons in space

Russia on Wednesday vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution that called on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space, a move that prompted the United States to question if Moscow was hiding something. The vote came after Washington accused Moscow of developing a anti-satellite nuclear weapon to put in space, an allegation that Russia has denied. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was against putting nuclear weapons in space.

Understanding of Earth's flowering plants blossoms in genome study

Flowering plants - from corn, wheat, rice and potatoes to maple, oak, apple and cherry trees as well as roses, tulips, daisies and dandelions and even the corpse flower and voodoo lily - are cornerstones of Earth's ecosystems and essential for humankind. New research based on genome data for 9,506 species, as well as an examination of 200 fossils, provides the deepest understanding to date of the evolutionary history of flowering plants, called angiosperms - the largest and most diverse plant group. It details how angiosperms appeared and became dominant during the age of dinosaurs and how they have changed over time.

NASA chief asks nations to work together on climate change

NASA is hoping that nations will work together more closely in the future on topics such as climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions, the space agency's head, Bill Nelson, said on Tuesday. Solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions that rapidly warm the planet and drive the climate crisis already exist, but require unprecedented changes at a new scale and pace.

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