Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Bionic jellyfish? Yes, and they are here to help

It may sound more like science fiction than science fact, but researchers have created bionic jellyfish by embedding microelectronics into these ubiquitous marine invertebrates with hopes to deploy them to monitor and explore the world's oceans. A small prosthetic enabled the jellyfish to swim three times faster and more efficiently without causing any apparent stress to the animals, which have no brain, central nervous system or pain receptors, the researchers said.

New telescope reveals sun's surface in closest detail yet

Images from a powerful new telescope installed on top of a volcano in Hawaii show the surface of the sun in the closest detail yet, revealing features as small as 30km (18 miles) across. They were captured by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, which sits at around 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) above sea level near the summit of Haleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii.

On eve of Brexit, Britain faces critical test to defend drug trial crown

It's 2023. Britain's brightest and best drug researchers are packing their bags as clinical trials start to dwindle, leaving a nation renowned as a global leader in pharmaceutical development to face a future in the slow lane. This is a worst-case scenario outlined by some scientists and industry experts in the wake of Brexit, which they say could deprive the country of its role as Europe's leader in early-stage drug research, designing and hosting pan-EU trials.