Reuters Science News Summary

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Got any signal up here? Nokia to build mobile network on the moon

Struggling to get a phone signal at home on planet Earth? Perhaps you'll have better luck on the moon. Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon, the Finnish company said on Monday, as the U.S. space agency plans for a future where humans return there and establish lunar settlements.

UK scientific advisor says coronavirus unlikely to be eradicated

The coronavirus will be around for "evermore" as it is unlikely it will be eradicated, a British scientist on the government's advisory committee for the pandemic said on Wednesday, although a vaccine would help improve the situation. Britain, like other countries in Europe, is currently in the grip of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections, with much of the country under local restrictions and more than 21,000 daily cases reported on Tuesday.

NASA spacecraft grabs sample of rocks from asteroid

A NASA spacecraft touched down on the rugged surface of the Bennu asteroid on Tuesday, grabbing a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of our solar system to bring home. The minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin , extended its 11-foot (3.35 m) robotic arm toward a flat patch of gravel near Bennu's north pole and plucked the sample of rocks, the space agency's first handful of pristine asteroid rocks.

Long-term problems in younger low-risk COVID-19 patients; flu shot may offer some protection

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. Long-term health problems seen in low-risk COVID-19 patients