Expats raise fraud alarm
Around 120 US-based Chinese scientists have signed an open letter to the Chinese science minister expressing concern at reports of scientific fraud in China. They fear the country鈥檚 scientific reputation will suffer if fraud is not exposed, but call on whistleblowers not to name names until cases are proved.
Comet near-miss
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Comet 73P has broken up into at least 58 pieces, which by Thursday will have passed within 12 million kilometres of Earth. That is only 30 times as far away as the moon, making it the closest approach by a comet within the past 20 years. A small meteor shower will be seen between 19 May and 19 June as Earth passes through the fringes of the comet鈥檚 tail.
Deal on malaria drugs
Pharmaceutical companies are to work together to prevent malaria parasites developing resistance to a new class of drugs called artemisinins. Thirteen firms agreed on 11 May to stop selling arteminisins individually, which can encourage resistance to develop. Instead, the firms will only sell the drugs in combinations.
Fatal rendezvous
NASA鈥檚 automated DART spacecraft crashed into the very satellite that it was supposed to dock with on 15 April 2005, according to a NASA report released on Monday. A faulty guidance system caused DART to slam into the Pentagon satellite, and it shut itself down 3 minutes later.
Long-haul relief
Low air pressure does not contribute to the risk of developing blood clots during long-haul flights. Researchers exposed 73 people for 8 hours to reduced pressure and oxygen levels similar to those experienced during a flight. They found no increase in markers associated with blood clotting compared with when the same group was tested under normal conditions.