Reuters Science News Summary

Reuters

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Distant asteroid calamity shaped life on Earth 466 million years ago

The cataclysmic asteroid impact off Mexico's coast that doomed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was not the only time an astronomical event shaped the history of life on Earth. Scientists on Wednesday said dust spawned by a gigantic collision in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter 400 million years earlier triggered an ice age on Earth that ushered in a significant increase in marine biodiversity.

U.S. builds alliances in 'wild, wild west' of space: general

The new U.S. Space Command is working with allies in the “wild, wild west” of space and will harden future satellite networks against attacks, the unit’s top general said, as the Trump administration reorganizes its military space bureaucracy. General John Raymond, head of the Space Force created in August, said Washington would work with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, composed of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.