NASA’s Next Great Leap

While it may seem like the whole world has come to a standstill, NASA is notably continuing to prep for one of the most important missions in recent memory, set to launch on the 27th of May, coinciding with the week of Memorial Day. Riding aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket, the two veteran astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will attempt to dock with the International Space Station in orbit.

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Oldest 'nearly complete' HIV genome found in forgotten tissue sample from 1966

The oldest known nearly complete gene sequence from the HIV strain that spread across the world has been found in a tissue sample from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a new study finds. The tissue sample was taken and preserved in 1966, making this HIV sequence 10 years older than the previous oldest genome, which came from a blood sample taken in 1976 in the DRC. Gene sequences like these – which come from before the virus that causes AIDS was discovered in 1983 – help pinpoint the timing of genetic mutations in the virus.

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Evidence that curtailing proactive policing can reduce major crime

Using the 2014 New York Police Department slowdown as a natural experiment, the authors show that civilian complaints of major crime decreased during and after reductions in proactive policing, which challenges existing research on the topic. (PDF)

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SpaceX’s Dragon launch ushers in a new era for Americans in space

On Wednesday afternoon, two NASA astronauts are set to take off from Kennedy Space Center aboard a capsule built by Elon Musk’s space company.

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NASA astronauts blast off into space on SpaceX rocket

A rocket ship designed and built by Elon Musk's SpaceX company has lifted off with two Americans on a history-making flight to the International Space Station.

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SpaceX's Starship Prototype Just Erupted in a Dramatic Fireball During Testing

To realize its ambitious plans for sending up to 100 passengers to the Moon and Mars inside a massive Starship spacecraft, SpaceX is racing through prototypes.

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The Mysterious Anomaly Weakening Earth's Magnetic Field Seems to Be Splitting

New satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) reveal that the mysterious anomaly weakening Earth's magnetic field continues to evolve, with the most recent observations showing we could soon be dealing with more than one of these strange phenomena.

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