• NASA HQ Renamed After First Black Female Engineer
  The NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be named after the agency’s first Black female engineer.
• AI Robot to Play Lead in Sci-Fi Film
  A robot was cast to play the lead role in an upcoming science-fiction flick, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
• Newborn Triplets Test Positive for Coronavirus in Mexico
  Newborn triplets in Mexico have tested positive for coronavirus only hours after they were born.The two boys and a girl were born on June 17 in a hospital in the central state of San Luis Potosí to a mother who tested positive for the virus while pregnant. The babies…
• Summer Sun Can Kill Coronavirus in 34 Minutes Says Study
  A new and very encouraging study said the summer midday sun is extremely effective in killing 90% of coronavirus living on surfaces.
• Google Faces Employee Petition to End Tech Sales to Police
  More than 1,600 workers at Alphabet Inc are petitioning its Google unit to stop selling email and other services to police departments, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The workers in a petition seen by Reuters expressed disappointment with Google not…
• Yale Partners With NBA to Study Saliva-Based COVID-19 Test
  Yale School of Public Health researchers have developed a COVID-19 testing method called SalivaDirect and will be using the volunteers from the National Basketball Association (NBA) players, coaches, and staff to test the product.
• Researchers Concentrate Vaccine Efforts on Helping Elderly
  Coronavirus vaccine researchers are concentrating their efforts on ensuring that shots will help the vulnerable elderly group, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
• UK Study: Are Vitamin D Deficient Minorities More Vulnerable to COVID-19?
  After being revealed 94% of United Kingdom doctors who died from COVID-19 infections were black, Asian, and minorities, a study is exploring whether vitamin D deficiency is a root cause of vulnerability….
• Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Best Hope for Shot by Year End
  A potential vaccine manufactured at Oxford University and then shipped to an Italian lab for production has turned into the West’s best, and perhaps only, chance for a coronavirus vaccine by year’s end, The Washington Post reported.
• NIH Halts HCQ Study in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
  The National Institutes of Health has halted its study into the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, Politico reports.
• NASA Funding Search for Alien Civilization
  For the first time in over three decades, NASA is funding the work of a group of research scientists looking for signs of alien civilization, Forbes reported.
• AI Can Help Sort Through Science of Coronavirus, to a Point
  Up to a point, science is moving at warp speed to understand COVID-19, and artificial intelligence will be a valuable tool to make sense of it all, according to Axios.
• Twitter Adds Voice Messages to Tweets
  Twitter is adding voice messages to tweets, with the ability of up to 140 seconds of audio at a time, the company announced Wednesday.
• Gov. Kristi Noem: Bad Virus Models Caused ‘Financial Catastrophe’
  The nation’s financial crisis was triggered by the leaders of states who carelessly relied on flawed virus models predicting the COVID-19 pandemic would result in far worse numbers than it has, according to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
• Officials: COVID Vaccines Aimed First for ‘Vulnerable,’ Frontline Workers
  A vaccine for COVID-19 appears to remain on schedule to be released by January 2021, but people determined to be “vulnerable,” such as people in nursing homes, or “essential” frontline workers are expected to get their shots first, for free, with everyone else to get their…
• Japanese Science Ministry Predicts Humans Will Talk to Pets in 2040
  In 20 years, you may be able to communicate with your pet if the predictions of Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology come true, The Asahi Shimbum reports. The ministry’s White Paper on Science and Technology made 37 predictions…
• Agency Violated Science Policy by Backing Trump Hurricane Tweet, Report Finds
  The head of the U.S. agency that warns of dangerous weather violated its policy on scientific integrity with a statement last year backing a tweeted forecast by President Donald Trump about the path of a hurricane, according to a report released on Monday. Trump wrote on…
• CDC: Coronavirus Patient With Underlying Health Conditions 12 Times More Likely to Die
  People with underlying health conditions have six times the risk of being hospitalized with illnesses related to coronavirus and 12 times the risk of dying than healthy people with coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.Cardiovascular disease,…
• New Research Shows Milky Way Could Have 36 Alien Civilizations
  The Milky Way galaxy could be home to 36 alien civilizations, according to new research at the University of Nottingham released on Monday, Sky News reported. The researchers arrived at this number on the assumption that life forms elsewhere in a similar way to how it does…
• ‘Neutralizing Antibody’ Test Key to COVID-19 Level of Immunity
  An antibody test unveiled by the Mayo Clinic and its corporate partners will be able to determine “neutralizing” antibodies for COVID-19, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported….
• Meet the British Modeler Known as ‘Professor Lockdown’
  After stunning the world with his March prediction that without drastic measures COVID-19 would kill up to 2.2 million Americans, Neil Ferguson earned the nickname “Professor Lockdown.”
• New Syndrome Triggered by Coronavirus Could Be Life-Threatening for Kids
  Pediatricians warn a rare but life-threatening syndrome linked to COVID-19 has been reported among young children.
• HHS Secretary Azar to Newsmax TV: Vaccine Research Will Be ‘Ethical, Appropriate’
  Any drug or vaccine created to help treat the coronavirus will be done ethically, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told Newsmax TV.
• HHS Secretary Azar to Newsmax TV: ‘We Have a 6-Part Strategy’ to Combat Future Outbreaks
  To respond to any future coronavirus outbreaks, the federal government has developed a six-part strategy, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Newsmax TV.
• HHS Secretary Azar to Newsmax TV: Contact Tracing Won’t Involve IT
  The federal government will not impinge on people’s privacy with their plan for contact tracing, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Newsmax TV.

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