News at a glance: An asteroid ’s organic clues, China’s ethics rules, and collecting African genomes

PLANETARY SCIENCE Asteroid samples rich in water, organics The first look at material from the asteroid Bennu, delivered to Earth last month by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, has revealed high levels of water and organic molecules. Further analysis could yield clues about how asteroid impacts on Earth billions of years ago may have helped life get a start. Technicians at Johnson Space Center have not yet opened the main sample container. But initial tests of dust and grit that leaked into a surrounding compartment show hints of carbonate, which may have precipitated out of flowing water on Bennu’s parent body during the infancy of the Solar System, NASA said last week. After the container is opened and the roughly 250 grams of asteroid material it holds are cataloged, one-quarter will be distributed to scientists worldwide and the rest preserved for future generations. RESEARCH INTEGRITY China tightens ethics reviews China last week further toughened government regulation of biomedical research by requiring ethics reviews of studies done in the private sector. The new measures also clarify review procedures for work involving animals, artificial intelligence, medicine, and genetic data. Previous rules, unveiled in March, covered only research involving human subjects conducted at public institutions. The new rules were prompted, in part, by the controversial genetic engineering of three babies in 2018 by biophysicis...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research