Science News Roundup: Boeing's Aurora to build Virgin Galactic spaceship carrier plane; Ancient jawbone could give glimpse of Europe's earliest humans and more

The surprise find, which could be about 1.4 million years old, could also give vital clues to the evolution of the human face over the millennia, the team from the Atapuerca Foundation said. Wastewater study technique finds virus variants sooner; many patients are using meds affected by Paxlovid The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Boeing's Aurora to build Virgin Galactic spaceship carrier plane

Virgin Galactic inked an agreement with Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to build the company's new twin-fuselage carrier plane that will ferry its next-generation spaceship toward space, the companies announced on Wednesday. Virgin Galactic, the space tourism firm founded by billionaire businessman Richard Branson, has been building a more durable, mass-producable successor to its flagship SpaceShipTwo spaceplane, which drops from the underbelly of a carrier plane before rocketing to the edge of space for a few minutes.

Ancient jawbone could give glimpse of Europe's earliest humans

Archaeologists in Spain said on Friday they had dug up an ancient jawbone that could help them look into the face of some of the earliest human ancestors in Europe. The surprise find, which could be about 1.4 million years old, could also give vital clues to the evolution of the human face over the millennia, the team from the Atapuerca Foundation said.

Wastewater study technique finds virus variants sooner; many patients are using meds affected by Paxlovid

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. New wastewater study technique find variants earlier

Argentine 'gargoyle' shows how huge predatory dinosaurs evolved

Fossils found in Argentina of a ferocious dinosaur with a huge head covered in bumps and crests reminiscent of a gargoyle are providing insight into the evolution of some of Earth's biggest predatory dinosaurs including a curious trend toward puny arms. Scientists said on Thursday they discovered in northern Patagonia extensive skeletal remains of a previously unknown species called Meraxes gigas, including one of the most complete skulls of a large meat-eating dinosaur ever unearthed. Meraxes, which lived about 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, was roughly 36-39 feet (11-12 meters) long and weighed about 9,000 pounds (4 metric tons).

(With inputs from agencies.)