Reuters Science News Summary

It marked the second discovery announced this year of a tomb of an ancient Egyptian king. NASA, Boeing to start testing Starliner for next flight aimed at early 2026 NASA said on Thursday it was moving toward certifying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026 after its inaugural mission to the International Space Station was marred by a system fault, forcing an extended stay.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Fungi vital to life face growing risk of extinction, study shows

Nearly a third of species of fungi assessed by an international conservation group are at risk of extinction from threats like deforestation and agricultural expansion, the latest 'Red List' of threatened species showed on Thursday. Fungi - which comprise a scientific "kingdom" second only in size to the animal kingdom - play a critical role in a range of functions from decomposition, to mammalian digestion to forest regeneration. For human beings, they also play an important role in making several powerful medicines, including antibiotics, as well as bread and beer.

Webb telescope spots galaxy at pivotal moment in the early universe

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified an ancient and faraway galaxy that provides evidence that an important transition period that brought the early universe out of its "dark ages" occurred sooner than previously thought. Webb, which by peering across vast cosmic distances is looking way back in time, observed the galaxy called JADES-GS-z13-1 as it existed about 330 million years after the Big Bang event that initiated the universe roughly 13.8 billion years ago, the researchers said.

Tomb of unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh discovered

Archaeologists have discovered the large limestone burial chamber of an unidentified ancient Egyptian pharaoh near the city of Abydos dating to about 3,600 years ago during a chaotic period in Egypt's history. The discovery of the tomb seven meters (23 feet) underground at the ancient necropolis of Anubis Mountain was announced by University of Pennsylvania Museum and Egyptian archaeologists. It marked the second discovery announced this year of a tomb of an ancient Egyptian king.

NASA, Boeing to start testing Starliner for next flight aimed at early 2026

NASA said on Thursday it was moving toward certifying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026 after its inaugural mission to the International Space Station was marred by a system fault, forcing an extended stay. The agency is working with Boeing to resolve the Starliner's faulty propulsion system, which caused its debut eight-day crewed mission to stretch into a nine-month stay in space for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

U.S. Space Force awards national security contracts to Rocket Lab, Stoke Space

​The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command said on Thursday it had awarded contracts to Rocket Lab USA and Stoke Space to expand its portfolio of launch systems for critical space capability. Shares of Rocket Lab USA rose 9.7% in extended trading after the announcement. The contract enables the company to compete for future U.S. national security launch missions.

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