Science News Roundup: Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'; Chicago museum acquires new specimen of famed Archaeopteryx and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Chicago museum acquires new specimen of famed Archaeopteryx

An exquisitely preserved fossil of the earliest-known bird Archaeopteryx, a pigeon-sized specimen revealing new anatomical details of a creature whose 19th century discovery lent support to Charles Darwin's ideas about evolution, has been acquired by the Field Museum in Chicago and will go on public display. The museum announced on Monday the acquisition of the fossil, which it said had been in the hands of a series of private collectors since being unearthed in southern Germany sometime before 1990. It has the best-preserved skull, vertebral column and soft tissues of the 13 known Archaeopteryx specimens, the museum said.

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'

The various species of whales inhabiting Earth's oceans employ different types of vocalizations to communicate. Sperm whales, the largest of the toothed whales, communicate using bursts of clicking noises - called codas - sounding a bit like Morse code. A new analysis of years of vocalizations by sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean has found that their system of communication is more sophisticated than previously known, exhibiting a complex internal structure replete with a "phonetic alphabet." The researchers identified similarities to aspects of other animal communication systems - and even human language.

Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed over Atlas rocket glitch

The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will be no earlier than Friday, NASA said, after the planned launch on Monday was halted over a fault with the Atlas V rocket that will carry the new capsule into orbit. The CST-100 Starliner's inaugural voyage carrying astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) has been highly anticipated and much-delayed as Boeing scrambles to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX for a greater share of lucrative NASA business.

Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed flight delayed over rocket glitch

Boeing's long-awaited first crewed test flight of the new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams could not resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off. The latest flight was scrubbed with less two hours left in the countdown as the capsule stood poised for blastoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.

People with two copies of a risk gene have genetic form of Alzheimer's, scientists say

People who carry two copies of the APOE4 gene are virtually guaranteed to develop Alzheimer's and face symptoms at an earlier age, researchers reported on Monday in a study that could redefine such carriers as having a new genetic form of the mind-wasting disease. The reclassification could change Alzheimer's research, diagnosis and approaches to treatment, according to the researchers, whose study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

(With inputs from agencies.)