Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Ig Nobel science award: An alligator on helium sounds like ...?

If humans sound like Minnie Mouse after inhaling helium, would an alligator squeak on the gas used to float balloons? This profound puzzle challenged a global research team to record an alligator bellowing with normal air, and then breathing heliox, a helium-oxygen mixture.

T cell shortage linked to severe COVID-19 in elderly; antiseptic spray may limit virus spread

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Shortage of 'naive' T cells raises COVID-19 risk in elderly

If you do not snooze you lose: sleep seen as essential for the brain

Scientists are providing a fuller understanding of the essential role that sleep plays in brain health, identifying an abrupt transition at about 2.4 years of age when its primary purpose shifts from brain building to maintenance and repair. Researchers on Friday said they conducted a statistical analysis on data from more than 60 sleep studies. They looked at sleep time, duration of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, brain size and body size, and devised a mathematical model for how sleep changes during development.

China aims to operate regular space flights by 2045, official says

China aims to set up a space programme operating thousands of flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tons of cargo and passengers by 2045, state news agency Xinhua quoted an official as saying on Friday. China is trying to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030.