A Covid testing lab at the heart of the UK’s swabbing scheme processed potentially hundreds of contaminated samples every day, an undercover probe has claimed. A BBC Panorama investigation found a number of safety breaches and failings at the Lighthouse Lab in Milton Keynes during the second wave. Lab workers had rushed vital checks, discarded … Read more
Sperm and egg samples from 6.7 million of Earth’s species should be sent to an ark built on the moon as a ‘modern global insurance policy’, scientists have proposed. The lunar gene bank — which could also house seed and spore samples — is envisaged as being built under the lunar surface, in a hollow, cooled … Read more
China has shared a look at the first moon samples to be brought back to Earth in more than 45 years. The lunar regolith was collected by the nation’s Chang’e 5 mission that returned in December with 3.8 pounds of soil and rocks from our natural satellite. The images show the samples as small as … Read more
HALF of air samples taken from hospital hallways and a fifth from bathrooms have high levels of coronavirus, study finds Researchers looked at 24 studies from eight countries between January 1 and October 27 that examined COVID-19 and air contamination Air samples from ICU rooms were more than twice as likely to be positive for … Read more
A capsule released by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft containing samples from a distant asteroid has landed in southern Australia after travelling three billion miles on a six year voyage. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the Hayabusa2 craft had successfully released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it towards Earth to deliver samples from … Read more
A Chinese probe sent to bring back rocks from the Moon has collected the first samples since landing on the surface yesterday afternoon, officials confirmed. The Chang’e 5 probe touched down shortly after 15:00 GMT on Tuesday after descending from an orbiter, the China National Space Administration said. Images released by the Chinese government show … Read more
Herby fraud: One in four samples of sage contain the leaves of other plants, study finds More than 25 per cent of samples of the herb sage were found to be adulterated Scientists found olive leaves and leaves from other trees though none were toxic The same team of experts discovered adulterated oregano samples back … Read more
Minnesota scientists find coronavirus in samples of beach water for the first time – but it is not likely the disease is able to spread through the body of water Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School have been testing water samples at eight beaches along Lake Superior since July Over the weekend of … Read more
For the first time scientists have successfully cloned a Przewalski’s horse, the world’s last remaining breed of truly wild horses. Named Kurt, the foal was born to a surrogate, a domestic mare, on August 6 at Timber Creek Veterinary in Canyon, Texas. His sire, a Przewalski stallion named Kuporovic, had DNA samples taken and preserved … Read more
Robot tests for the coronavirus 10 minutes faster than human workers by probing the nose with a long swab and sticking samples in a vial A new robot can test patients for the coronavirus 10 minute faster than humans The system uses facial recognition and 3D imaging to administer the test It glides a long … Read more