Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Science platform ResearchGate launches COVID-19 community
ResearchGate, a social network site for scientists and researchers, has launched a new forum to facilitate collaboration between COVID-19 experts on research into beating the flu-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The site https://www.researchgate.net/community/COVID-19/discussions, developed in 10 days and launched late last week, boosts the visibility of articles, pre-prints and research proposals, as well as offering an expert finder https://www.researchgate.net/COVID-19?utm_source=logged_out_community&utm_medium=RG#contact-form to help build international or interdisciplinary project teams.
Fossil teeth yield oldest genetic material from extinct human species
Scientists have extracted from dental enamel the oldest human genetic material ever obtained, helping clarify the pivotal place in the human evolutionary lineage of a mysterious extinct species called Homo antecessor known from Spanish cave fossils. The researchers said they obtained genetic material from an 800,000-year-old Homo antecessor molar unearthed near the village of Atapuerca in northern Spain and from a 1.77 million-year-old molar of another extinct human species called Homo erectus found near the town of Dmanisi in Georgia.
