Science

Politico reports: Sen. Marco Rubio said Saturday that he doesn’t believe a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus should have the right to an abortion — even if she had reason to believe the child would be born with severe microcephaly. “I understand a lot of people disagree with my view – but I believe that all human life …

Fusion reports: Our sci-fi future just got a whole lot closer to becoming a reality, after the Food and Drug Administration gave the okay to a field trial that would release genetically modified Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. On Friday, the FDA released a final environmental assessment of the trial, finding that it “will not have significant impacts on …

CNN reports: Thirty-three members of the US military have contracted the Zika virus overseas in countries where the virus has been identified, according to the Pentagon. One of the military service members is a pregnant female. Under Pentagon health policies, female service members are permitted to move out of countries where Zika exists. An additional six people who have military …

But it’s not a complete win. Reuters reports: A high court judge ruled on Tuesday that an HIV pill to prevent infection can be funded by the state health service in England, in a victory for AIDS campaigners who have been calling for its widespread use. So-called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, using Gilead Sciences’ medicine Truvada, can cut the …

Matt Drudge’s rarely used and infamous red siren is blaring. Via CNBC: Roger Ailes has resigned from his role as CEO of Fox News Channel, the company said on Thursday. Rupert Murdoch will assume the role of Chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, the company said. Embattled Fox News CEO Roger Ailes stands accused …

But not AIDS itself. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Australia’s peak AIDS organisations and scientists have announced an end to the AIDS epidemic, as the country joins the few nations in the world to have beaten the syndrome. The number of annual cases of AIDS diagnoses is now so small, top researchers and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations have …

CNN reports: NASA says it has received a signal from 540 million miles across the solar system, confirming its Juno spacecraft has successfully started orbiting Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. “Welcome to Jupiter!” flashed on screens at mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. The Juno team cheered and hugged. “This is phenomenal,” said …

The big moment starts around 10:30PM but I’m putting the feed up now so you can come back to it later. From the New York Times: The countdown for the Juno spacecraft to reach its destination at Jupiter is now a matter of hours. “Happy Fourth of July, everyone,” Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of the mission, said during a …

This one will definitely get me to fork out the IMAX bucks. Slate recaps: Few projects in the history of filmmaking have spent as long gestating as Terrence Malick’s IMAX movie The Voyage of Time, which explores our universe “billions of years in the making” and took about as long to produce. But after decades of stops and starts and …

Finally some good climate news. The Los Angeles Times reports: For the first time in 30 years, the gaping hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is showing signs of healing. Every year since it was discovered in 1985, scientists have watched the hole grow bigger from one Antarctic spring to the next, eventually covering 10.9 million square miles in …

Really cool stuff for science nerds! CNN reports: A spinning, solar-powered spacecraft as wide as a basketball court will arrive at Jupiter on July 4 to study the giant planet and to take the highest-resolution images of Jupiter in history. NASA’s robotic Juno probe is carrying seven science instruments designed to help scientists figure out how Jupiter formed and evolved. …

CBS News reports: Early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease may be more possible than ever thanks to a group of researchers from Rowan University. The team of researchers was led by Dr. Robert Nagele from the university’s School of Osteopathic Medicine and Durin Technologies. The group announced that they have developed a blood test that uses the immune system to find …

“I have to tip my hat to the left, this has been one of the greatest propaganda campaigns in world history that the left has pulled off. I mean, they’ve taken this dingbat idea of global climate change and they’ve put it in the schools, they’ve put it in the movies, they’ve put it in the media and the churches …

The Guardian reports: Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest ever May extent, prompting fears that this year could beat 2012 for the record of worst ever summer sea ice melt. Data published by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) this week showed average sea ice extent for last month was more than 500,000 sq km (193,000 …

The BBC reports: NHS England has reiterated it will not fund a “game-changer” drug treatment that can prevent HIV, angering HIV charities which had been campaigning to reverse the decision. The NHS is standing firm and says it has no responsibility to provide the treatment, known as Prep. It says the onus should fall on local authorities instead. Charities have …

The term was coined by astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson. Via CNN: Get your cameras and phones ready! The most picturesque sunset is coming to New York City this weekend. Two times a year, people in Manhattan gather in several spots to get a perfect shot of the sun aligning with the city’s carefully laid out streets. The phenomenon known as …

Yikes. From the Washington Post: For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort, an alarming development that the top U.S. public health official says could mean “the end of the road” for antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant strain was found last month in the urine of a 49-year-old Pennsylvania …

Gizmodo recaps: In need of a quick refresher course on, well, the science of pretty much everything? Here’s a cheeky, irreverent summation of the universe in just four minutes from Exub1a, YouTube purveyor of “spacey stuff and existential angst.” Loosely reminiscent of the classic “Powers of Ten” motif, the video starts with “the Tyrion Lannister of physics,” better known as …

The Independent reports: Scientists have managed to remove DNA of the HIV virus from living tissue for the first time in a breakthrough that could lead to an outright cure. At the moment, treating the disease involves the use of drugs that suppress levels of the virus so the body’s immune system can cope. Now researchers in the US have …

From the Associated Press: Three out of every 10 gay or bisexual men in several cities in the U.S. South have been diagnosed with the AIDS virus, three times the national rate, according to a study about how common HIV infections are in metro areas. The study echoes other research that reported higher rates of HIV diagnoses in the South, …