Science

NASA launches Mars rover to look for signs of ancient life
The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built — a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers — blasted off Thursday as part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.
Rapid, cheap, less accurate coronavirus testing has a place, scientists say
A single test that can give false reassurance sounds bad. But a $10 test for the coronavirus, if repeated daily, would discover real infections, say proponents of such tests as screening tools.
CDC employees call out agency's 'toxic culture of racial aggression'
Pointing to the coronavirus's disproportionate impact on people of color, 1,007 workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call on the agency to declare racism a public health threat.
Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show
Comet Neowise swept within Mercury's orbit a week ago. Its close proximity to the sun caused dust and gas to burn off its surface and create an even bigger debris tail. Now the comet is headed our way, with closest approach in two weeks.