Science News Roundup: Boeing's Starliner space capsule launched on key test flight to orbit; Vaccination after infection may curb long COVID; desktop 'air curtains' may deflect virus particles and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Boeing's Starliner space capsule launched on key test flight to orbit

Boeing's new Starliner capsule was launched Thursday on a do-over uncrewed test flight bound for the International Space Station, aiming to deliver the company a much-needed success after more than two years of delays and costly engineering setbacks. The gumdrop-shaped CST-100 Starliner blasted off shortly before 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral U.S. Space Force Station in Florida, soaring aloft atop an Atlas V rocket furnished by the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA).

Vaccination after infection may curb long COVID; desktop 'air curtains' may deflect virus particles

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Post-infection vaccination may reduce long COVID

Bezos' Blue Origin delays 5th crewed flight

Jeff Bezos' space tourism venture Blue Origin delayed its fifth crewed launch that was scheduled for Friday as one of the New Shepard rocket's back-up systems did not meet expectations. Blue Origin's fourth flight landed successfully in March in west Texas after taking six passengers for a 10-minute journey to the edge of space.

U.S. launches $3.5 billion programs to speed development of up carbon removal tech

The U.S. Energy Department launched a program on Thursday to fund four large-scale projects across the country that can remove carbon dioxide from the air, investing $3.5 billion in a nascent technology the Biden administration says is necessary to meet a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century. The agency released a formal notice saying it would fund the $3.5 billion program created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that would create four regional direct air capture hubs to spur the widespread deployment of the technology and carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure.

Grunt, hoo, pant, scream: Chimps use complex vocal communication

Scientists exploring the evolutionary origin of language have detected a vocal communication system among wild chimpanzees more complex and structured than previously known, with a dozen cell types combined into hundreds of different sequences. The researchers made more than 4,800 recordings of vocalizations produced by members of three groups of chimpanzees inhabiting Ivory Coast's Taï National Park, one of the last major remnants of old-growth tropical forest in West Africa and home to a rich array of plants and animals.

(With inputs from agencies.)