Science News Roundup: China's version of Neuralink unveiled at tech forum; Scottish spaceport moves closer to satellite launches and more

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.

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.

Argentine scientists find speedy 90-million-year-old herbivore dinosaur

Paleontologists from Argentina announced the discovery of a new medium-sized herbivorous dinosaur, which was a fast runner and lived about 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period in present day Patagonia. The animal, named Chakisaurus nekul, was found in the Pueblo Blanco Natural Reserve, in the southern province of Río Negro, an area rich in fossils where many mammals, turtles, and fish have been found along with other species of dinosaur.

China sends astronauts to Chinese space station for six-month stay

China on Thursday sent three astronauts to its permanently inhabited space station for a six-month stay, in a regular rotation of Chinese astronauts onboard the "Tiangong" orbiting high above the Earth's atmosphere. The spacecraft Shenzhou-18, or "Divine Vessel", and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 8:58 p.m. (1258 GMT), according to state media.

(With inputs from agencies.)