Science News Roundup: Zambia find shows humans have built with wood for 476,000 years; In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger and more

In a scientific first, researchers said on Tuesday they have recovered RNA - genetic material present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA - from the desiccated skin and muscle of a Tasmanian tiger stored since 1891 at a museum in Stockholm. Rocket Lab's shares tank as latest mission ends abruptly Shares of Rocket Lab USA tumbled about 8% on Tuesday after the space company's latest mission failed about 2-1/2 minutes following launch due to an undisclosed issue.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Zambia find shows humans have built with wood for 476,000 years

Along the banks of the Kalambo River in Zambia near Africa's second-highest waterfall, archaeologists have excavated two logs of the large-fruited bushwillow tree that were notched, shaped and joined nearly half a million years ago. These artifacts, researchers said on Wednesday, represent the oldest-known example of humans - in this case a species that preceded our own - building wooden structures, a milestone in technological achievement that indicates that our forerunners displayed more ingenuity than previously thought.

In a first, RNA is recovered from extinct Tasmanian tiger

The Tasmanian tiger, a dog-sized striped carnivorous marsupial also called the thylacine, once roamed the Australian continent and adjacent islands, an apex predator that hunted kangaroos and other prey. Because of humans, the species is now extinct. But that does not mean scientists have stopped learning about it. In a scientific first, researchers said on Tuesday they have recovered RNA - genetic material present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA - from the desiccated skin and muscle of a Tasmanian tiger stored since 1891 at a museum in Stockholm.

Rocket Lab's shares tank as latest mission ends abruptly

Shares of Rocket Lab USA tumbled about 8% on Tuesday after the space company's latest mission failed about 2-1/2 minutes following launch due to an undisclosed issue. The company said it would delay its next mission, which was scheduled before the end of the third quarter, and expects to revise its third-quarter revenue forecast in the coming days.