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• NASA is scheduled to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30, 2026, using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. • The telescope features a mirror similar in size to Hubble's but possesses a field of view approximately 100 times wider, allowing it to map dark energy and search for exoplanets. • By monitoring roughly 200 million stars for gravitational microlensing, the mission aims to discover over 1,000 planets, specifically targeting cold, distant worlds that current detection methods often miss.

State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in BrazilA US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a ⁠global conference in Brazil ⁠this week, ​causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online.Reuters viewed a video of the presentation given at the Aids 2026 conference in ⁠Rio de Janeiro, which shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the state department’s new health agreements. Continue reading...

• Democrats must flip four Republican-held seats to gain control of the U.S. Senate as primary elections conclude. • Republicans are currently playing a defensive strategy, arguing that voters seeking centrist policies will reject candidates proposing high tax burdens. • The political landscape is categorized into tiers based on the likelihood of seats flipping, utilizing race ratings from the Cook Political Report.

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is launching a YouTube channel and QR code system on November 3, 2025, to increase transparency in highway projects. • Global tensions are rising as Thailand implemented a coastal curfew on December 14, 2025, due to escalating border disputes with Cambodia. • In Australia, a shooting on December 14, 2025, has sparked concerns over public safety and rising anti-Semitism, prompting a strong condemnation from Prime Minister Modi.

• A multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasite causing severe diarrhea, has spread across 41 U.S. states. • Health officials have linked the surge in cases to contaminated shredded lettuce, with specific mentions of products used at Taco Bell. • This outbreak highlights the risks of foodborne parasites in fresh produce, which can lead to prolonged illness and dehydration.

Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different virusesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than a decade after the human microbiome was comprehensively mapped, scientists have now identified the vast communities of microbes that make up the Great Barrier Reef.Analysing DNA from seawater samples of 48 reefs, researchers have mapped the microbiome of the Great Barrier Reef, documenting more than 360,000 distinct viruses as well as more than 500 new bacterial species not previously known to science. Continue reading...

• NASA is utilizing the SPHEREx mission to conduct an all-sky spectral survey of the galaxy to better understand the origins of the universe. • The mission aims to collect extensive data on over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars located within the Milky Way. • Astronaut Sunita Williams highlights that space exploration drives innovation and problem-solving by pushing humans to think beyond Earth's known physics.