Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Pilot-less air taxi takes off in Vienna demonstration flight
As carmakers push ahead with self-driving vehicles, an Austrian aerospace company and its Chinese partner showed off their pilot-less "flying taxi" for the first time in Europe on Thursday. The drone's 16 propellers hummed loudly as it rose above the pitch at Vienna's Generali Arena, home to soccer club Austria Wien. The slim plane, which weighs 340 kg (750 pounds), circled in the air briefly and came down within a few minutes.
Scientists solve mystery of pristine weapons of China's Terracotta Warriors
For decades, scientists have been perplexed by the marvelous preservation of bronze weapons associated with China's famed Terracotta Warriors, retaining shiny, almost pristine surfaces and sharp blades after being buried for more than two millennia. Research by an international team of scientists published on Thursday may solve the mystery while putting to rest an intriguing hypothesis: that ancient Chinese artisans employed an unexpectedly advanced preservation method using the metal chromium.
Pentagon says India debris expected to burn up in atmosphere
The Pentagon said on Thursday that it stood by its assessment that debris from an Indian anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test would eventually burn up in the atmosphere, even after NASA's administrator warned of the danger the debris posed. India used an indigenously developed ballistic missile interceptor to destroy one of its own satellites at a height of 300 km (186 miles), in a test aimed at boosting its defenses in space.
Ancient four-legged whale from Peru walked on land, swam in sea
Scientists have unearthed fossils in a coastal desert of southern Peru of a four-legged whale that thrived both in the sea and on land about 43 million years ago in a discovery that illuminates a pivotal stage in early cetacean evolution. The 13-foot-long (4-meter) mammal, named Peregocetus pacificus, represents a crucial intermediate step before whales became fully adapted to a marine existence, the scientists said on Thursday.
