April–June 2020 in science#May

This article lists a number of significant events in science that have occurred in the second quarter of 2020.

Events

=April=

File:Aptian - Acrocanthosaurus.png ca. 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, suggesting that the climate was exceptionally warm at the time. The Image shows Earth ca. 120 Ma.]]

1 April
A scientific review finds that substantial recovery for most components of marine ecosystems within two to three decades can be achieved if climate change is addressed adequately and efficient interventions are deployed at large scale. It documents the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions, identifies nine components integral to conservation and recovery and recommend actions along with opportunities, benefits, possible roadblocks and remedial actions. The researchers caution about a narrow window of opportunity in which decisions can choose between "a legacy of a resilient and vibrant ocean or an irreversibly disrupted ocean". They assess the goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations to be a "doable Grand Challenge for humanity, an ethical obligation and a smart economic objective to achieve a sustainable future".{{cite news |title=Wrecked sea life could be largely revived in 30 years under action plan, say scientists |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/sea-ocean-marine-life-2050-ecosystem-nature-climate-change-study-a9442601.html |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=The Independent |date=2 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Landmark study concludes marine life can be rebuilt by 2050 |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-landmark-marine-life-rebuilt.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |title=Oceans can be restored to former glory within 30 years, say scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/01/oceans-can-be-restored-to-former-glory-within-30-years-say-scientists |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=1 April 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Duarte |first1=Carlos M. |last2=Agusti |first2=Susana |last3=Barbier |first3=Edward |last4=Britten |first4=Gregory L. |last5=Castilla |first5=Juan Carlos |last6=Gattuso |first6=Jean-Pierre |last7=Fulweiler |first7=Robinson W. |last8=Hughes |first8=Terry P. |last9=Knowlton |first9=Nancy |last10=Lovelock |first10=Catherine E. |last11=Lotze |first11=Heike K. |last12=Predragovic |first12=Milica |last13=Poloczanska |first13=Elvira |last14=Roberts |first14=Callum |last15=Worm |first15=Boris |title=Rebuilding marine life |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7801 |pages=39–51 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2146-7 |pmid=32238939 |bibcode=2020Natur.580...39D |s2cid=214736503 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02502619/file/MergedFinalFile.pdf }}
Researchers report to have discovered and analysed fossil roots embedded in a mudstone matrix containing diverse pollen and spores which indicate that rainforests existed near the South Pole ca. 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Their findings suggest that the climate was exceptionally warm at the time and that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were substantially higher than expected during the mid-Cretaceous period, 115-80 million years ago.{{cite news |title=Traces of ancient rainforest in Antarctica point to a warmer prehistoric world |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-ancient-rainforest-antarctica-warmer-prehistoric.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Amos |first1=Jonathan |title=Dinosaurs walked through Antarctic rainforests |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52125369 |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=BBC News |date=1 April 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Strickland |first1=Ashley |title=Evidence of ancient rainforests found in Antarctica |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/01/world/antarctica-ancient-rainforest-scn/index.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite journal |last1=Klages |first1=Johann P. |last2=Salzmann |first2=Ulrich |last3=Bickert |first3=Torsten |last4=Hillenbrand |first4=Claus-Dieter |last5=Gohl |first5=Karsten |last6=Kuhn |first6=Gerhard |last7=Bohaty |first7=Steven M. |last8=Titschack |first8=Jürgen |last9=Müller |first9=Juliane |last10=Frederichs |first10=Thomas |last11=Bauersachs |first11=Thorsten |last12=Ehrmann |first12=Werner |last13=van de Flierdt |first13=Tina |last14=Pereira |first14=Patric Simões |last15=Larter |first15=Robert D. |last16=Lohmann |first16=Gerrit |last17=Niezgodzki |first17=Igor |last18=Uenzelmann-Neben |first18=Gabriele |last19=Zundel |first19=Maximilian |last20=Spiegel |first20=Cornelia |last21=Mark |first21=Chris |last22=Chew |first22=David |last23=Francis |first23=Jane E. |last24=Nehrke |first24=Gernot |last25=Schwarz |first25=Florian |last26=Smith |first26=James A. |last27=Freudenthal |first27=Tim |last28=Esper |first28=Oliver |last29=Pälike |first29=Heiko |last30=Ronge |first30=Thomas A. |last31=Dziadek |first31=Ricarda |title=Temperate rainforests near the South Pole during peak Cretaceous warmth |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7801 |pages=81–86 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2148-5 |pmid=32238944 |bibcode=2020Natur.580...81K |s2cid=214736648 |url=http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42650/1/Klages_Salzmann_etal_Nature2020.pdf }}
Researchers report that stretching cells alone can activate genes without intermediates, enzymes or signaling molecules in the cell being necessary. They applied cyclic forces of frequencies which cells experience due to common activities such as breathing, exercising or vocalizing and found that the induced transcription up-regulation does not follow the weak power law with force frequency. They also describe why some genes can be activated by mechanical force and some cannot.{{cite news |title=Physical force alone spurs gene expression, study reveals |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-physical-spurs-gene-reveals.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Jian |last2=Chen |first2=Junwei |last3=Mohagheghian |first3=Erfan |last4=Wang |first4=Ning |title=Force-induced gene up-regulation does not follow the weak power law but depends on H3K9 demethylation |journal=Science Advances |date=1 April 2020 |volume=6 |issue=14 |pages=eaay9095 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aay9095 |pmid=32270037 |pmc=7112933 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.9095S |language=en |issn=2375-2548}}
Scientists report that for the first time they have retrieved genetic information from the fossils of H. antecessor as old as 772,000–949,000 years and Homo erectus as old as 1.77 million years via dental enamel proteomes . They show that H. antecessor is a closely related sister-lineage to subsequent Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins, including modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.{{cite news |title=Oldest-ever human genetic evidence clarifies dispute over our ancestors |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-oldest-ever-human-genetic-evidence-dispute.html |access-date=14 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Welker |first1=Frido |last2=Ramos-Madrigal |first2=Jazmín |last3=Gutenbrunner |first3=Petra |last4=Mackie |first4=Meaghan |last5=Tiwary |first5=Shivani |last6=Rakownikow Jersie-Christensen |first6=Rosa |last7=Chiva |first7=Cristina |last8=Dickinson |first8=Marc R. |last9=Kuhlwilm |first9=Martin |last10=de Manuel |first10=Marc |last11=Gelabert |first11=Pere |last12=Martinón-Torres |first12=María |last13=Margvelashvili |first13=Ann |last14=Arsuaga |first14=Juan Luis |last15=Carbonell |first15=Eudald |last16=Marques-Bonet |first16=Tomas |last17=Penkman |first17=Kirsty |last18=Sabidó |first18=Eduard |last19=Cox |first19=Jürgen |last20=Olsen |first20=Jesper V. |last21=Lordkipanidze |first21=David |last22=Racimo |first22=Fernando |last23=Lalueza-Fox |first23=Carles |last24=Bermúdez de Castro |first24=José María |last25=Willerslev |first25=Eske |last26=Cappellini |first26=Enrico |title=The dental proteome of Homo antecessor |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7802 |pages=235–238 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2153-8 |pmid=32269345 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..235W |s2cid=214736611 |pmc=7582224 }}
2 April
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report the creation of a promising possible COVID-19 vaccine, named PittCoVacc, against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and are hoping for a fast approval track, lasting less than the usual year of testing, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.{{cite news |last=Martines |first=Jamie |title=Pittsburgh scientists develop possible coronavirus vaccine, hope FDA can fast-track it |url=https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-scientists-say-coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-fast-tracked-after-key-animal-testing/ |date=2 April 2020 |work=Pittsburgh Tribune-Review |access-date=2 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Kim, Eun |display-authors=et al. |title=Microneedle array delivered recombinant coronavirus vaccines: Immunogenicity and rapid translational development |date=2 April 2020 |journal=EBioMedicine |volume=55 |pages=102743 |doi=10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102743 |pmid=32249203 |pmc=7128973 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers at the University of British Columbia report the discovery of a trial drug that can substantially block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues.{{cite news |author=University of British Columbia |title=Trial drug can significantly block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues - 'There is hope for this horrible pandemic,' says UBC scientist Dr. Josef Penninger |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uobc-tdc040220.php |date=2 April 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=4 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Monteil, Vanessa |display-authors=et al. |title=Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infections in engineered human tissues using clinical-grade soluble human ACE2 |url= |date=April 2020 |journal=Cell |volume=181 |issue=4 |pages=905–913.e7 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.004 |pmid=32333836 |pmc=7181998 }}
Scientists report the discovery of the oldest known fossils, dated to as old as 2.04 million years old, of Homo erectus in the palaeocave Drimolen in South Africa, which may have overlapped, in the same area and time, as other hominins, such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus.{{cite news |last=St. Fleur |first=Niocholas |title=Skull Fossils in Cave Show Mix of Human Relatives Roamed South Africa - The excavation found the oldest known Homo erectus, a direct ancestor of our species, living around the same time as other extinct hominins. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/science/skulls-africa-caves.html |date=2 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=3 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Herries, Andy I.R. |display-authors=et al. |title=Contemporaneity of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo erectus in South Africa |date=3 April 2020 |journal=Science |volume=368 |issue=6486, eaaw7293 |pages=eaaw7293 |doi=10.1126/science.aaw7293 |pmid=32241925 |doi-access=free |hdl=11568/1040368 |hdl-access=free }}
Scientists report finding large communities of microbes living under the seafloor in solid rocks determined to be up to 104 million years old. According to the study the results may have implications for the possibility of life on Mars and other planetary bodies due to potentially similar conditions and rocks or minerals.{{cite news |author=University of Tokyo |title=Discovery of life in solid rock deep beneath sea may inspire new search for life on Mars - Bacteria live in tiny clay-filled cracks in solid rock millions of years old |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uot-dol033020.php |date=2 April 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=2 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Suzuki, Yohey |display-authors=et al. |title=Deep microbial proliferation at the basalt interface in 33.5–104 million-year-old oceanic crust |date=2 April 2020 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=3 |issue=136 |pages=136 |doi=10.1038/s42003-020-0860-1 |pmid=32242062 |pmc=7118141 |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers report further evidence of the possible fragmentation of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov.{{cite news |last=Starr |first=Michelle |title=Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Really Is Breaking Apart, According to New Data |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/interstellar-comet-2i-borisov-is-breaking-apart |date=3 April 2020 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=3 April 2020}}{{cite news |author=Jewitt, David |display-authors=et al. |title=ATel #13611: Interstellar Object 2I/Borisov Double |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13611 |date=2 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=3 April 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Bolin, Bryce T. |display-authors=et al. |title=ATel #13613: Possible fragmentation of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13613 |date=3 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=3 April 2020 }} A follow-up study, reported on 6 April 2020, observed only a single object, and noted that the fragment component had now disappeared.{{cite news |last=Sokol |first=Joshua |title=It Came From Outside Our Solar System and Now It's Breaking Up - Comet Borisov, only the second interstellar object spotted by astronomers, shed at least one big chunk as it rounded our sun. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/science/comet-borisov-break-up.html |date=7 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=8 April 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Zhang, Qicheng |display-authors=et al. |title=ATel #16318: Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov is Single Again |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13618 |date=6 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=6 April 2020 }}
6 April
Astronomers announce, on "The Astronomer's Telegram", the possible disintegration of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS).{{cite news |last1=Ye |first1=Quanzhi |last2=Zhang |first2=Qicheng |title=ATel #13620: Possible Disintegration of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13620 |date=6 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=7 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last1=Steele |first1=I.A. |last2=Smith |first2=R.J. |last3=Marchantn |first3=J. |title=ATel #13622: C/2019 Y4 ATLAS - confirmation of nuclear change |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13622 |date=6 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=7 April 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Lin, Zhang-Yi |display-authors=et al. |title=ATel #13629: The fragmentation of comet C/2019 Y4 (Atlas) observed at Lulin observatory |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13629 |date=13 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=13 April 2020}}
Scientists report the discovery of metabolic genes in the genomes of 501 widespread Nucleocytoviricota even though viruses don't have metabolism. Some of their findings suggest that these large viruses can reprogram fundamental aspects of their host's carbon metabolism and that they are drivers of evolutionary innovation in metabolic genes.{{cite news |title=Viruses don't have a metabolism; but some have the building blocks for one |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-viruses-dont-metabolism-blocks.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Moniruzzaman |first1=Mohammad |last2=Martinez-Gutierrez |first2=Carolina A. |last3=Weinheimer |first3=Alaina R. |last4=Aylward |first4=Frank O. |title=Dynamic genome evolution and complex virocell metabolism of globally-distributed giant viruses |journal=Nature Communications |date=6 April 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1710 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15507-2 |pmid=32249765 |pmc=7136201 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1710M |language=en |issn=2041-1723}}
Scientists using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite report a "mini-hole" in the ozone layer over the Arctic, likely caused by unusual atmospheric conditions, including freezing temperatures in the stratosphere.{{cite news |title=In not so good news for earth, unusual mini-ozone hole opens over Arctic |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science%20technology/in-not-so-good-news-for-earth-unusual-mini-ozone-hole-opens-over-arctic-69724 |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=The Tribune India}}{{cite web |title=Unusual ozone hole opens over the Arctic |url=https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-5P/Unusual_ozone_hole_opens_over_the_Arctic |website=www.esa.int |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en}}
Researchers report that they have discovered and filmed{{cite web |title=Snippet: Seemingly longest organism ever recorded, other deep-sea species discovered | date=10 April 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKh5Ehn5pRk |publisher=Science Magazine on YouTube |access-date=15 May 2020}} one the longest organisms known so far with the SuBastian underwater robot in the Ningaloo Canyons off the coast of Western Australia: a siphonophore of the genus Apolemia with an estimated length of almost 50 meters which coiled itself into a spiral form. Specimens of lion's mane jellyfish are known to be larger. They also discovered up to 30 new underwater species and collected DNA samples and specimens of various deep sea creatures.{{cite news |title=New species discovered during exploration of abyssal deep sea canyons off Ningaloo |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-species-exploration-abyssal-deep-sea.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Colarossi |first1=Natalie |title=The longest ocean creature may have just been discovered near Australia — and it looks like a giant galactic swirl |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/siphonophore-150-foot-may-be-longest-ocean-creature-ever-2020-4 |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=Business Insider}}{{cite news |last1=Lockwood |first1=Devi |title=This Might Be the Longest Creature Ever Seen in the Ocean |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/science/longest-animal-ocean.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=14 April 2020}}{{cite web |title=Check out this beautiful *giant* siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyons expedition. It seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded, and in strange UFO-like feeding posture. Thanks @Caseywdunn for info @wamuseum @GeoscienceAus @CurtinUni @Scripps_Oceanpic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6S |url=https://twitter.com/SchmidtOcean/status/1247231196347674625 |website=@SchmidtOcean |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en |date=6 April 2020}}
7 April
Scientists report the results of a survey of the Great Barrier Reef. For the first time, all its three regions experienced severe bleaching.{{cite web |title=Climate change triggers Great Barrier Reef bleaching – ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies |url=https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/climate-change-triggers-great-barrier-reef-bleaching |website=www.coralcoe.org.au |access-date=12 May 2020}} On March 25 – day three of the nine-day survey – they reported its third mass bleaching event within five years.{{cite news |title=Great Barrier Reef suffers third mass coral bleaching event in five years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/25/great-barrier-reef-suffers-third-mass-coral-bleaching-event-in-five-years |access-date=12 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=25 March 2020 |language=en}}
Astronomers publish a study which includes the first photograph of a relativistic jet from an ongoing galaxy merger. The young jet from one of the two galaxies active galactic nuclei with a direction pointed near Earth and proves that such merge events can trigger such jets.{{cite news |title=First-ever photo proof of powerful jet emerging from colliding galaxies |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-first-ever-photo-proof-powerful-jet.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Paliya |first1=Vaidehi S. |last2=Pérez |first2=Enrique |last3=García-Benito |first3=Rubén |last4=Ajello |first4=Marco |last5=Prada |first5=Francisco |last6=Alberdi |first6=Antxon |last7=Suh |first7=Hyewon |last8=Chandra |first8=C. H. Ishwara |last9=Domínguez |first9=Alberto |last10=Marchesi |first10=Stefano |last11=Matteo |first11=Tiziana Di |last12=Hartmann |first12=Dieter |last13=Chiaberge |first13=Marco |title=TXS 2116−077: A Gamma-Ray Emitting Relativistic Jet Hosted in a Galaxy Merger |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=7 April 2020 |volume=892 |issue=2 |pages=133 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab754f |arxiv=2004.02703 |bibcode=2020ApJ...892..133P |s2cid=214803067 |language=en |issn=1538-4357 |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers publish a study which includes the highest resolution images of the Sun from NASA's FOXSI Sounding Rocket. The images show coronal loops – magnetic threads filled with million-degree hot plasma – of narrower widths than the ones previously seen.{{cite web |title=New images reveal fine threads of million-degree plasma woven throughout the Sun's atmosphere |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-images-reveal-fine-threads-million-degree.html |website=phys.org |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Thomas |last2=Walsh |first2=Robert W. |last3=Winebarger |first3=Amy R. |last4=Brooks |first4=David H. |last5=Cirtain |first5=Jonathan W. |last6=De Pontieu |first6=Bart |last7=Golub |first7=Leon |last8=Kobayashi |first8=Ken |last9=McKenzie |first9=David E. |last10=Morton |first10=Richard J. |last11=Peter |first11=Hardi |last12=Rachmeler |first12=Laurel A. |last13=Savage |first13=Sabrina L. |last14=Testa |first14=Paola |last15=Tiwari |first15=Sanjiv K. |last16=Warren |first16=Harry P. |last17=Watkinson |first17=Benjamin J. |title=Is the High-Resolution Coronal Imager Resolving Coronal Strands? Results from AR 12712 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=7 April 2020 |volume=892 |issue=2 |pages=134 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab6dcf |arxiv=2001.11254 |bibcode=2020ApJ...892..134W |s2cid=210966042 |language=en |issn=1538-4357 |doi-access=free }}
8 April
In two research papers scientists show that microbes can actively colonize high-pH environments of radioactive waste storage sites. Their findings have implications for the safety, design and operation of such sites and the knowledge about extremophile microbial life.{{cite news |title=Research uncovers microbial life in radioactive waste storage sites |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-uncovers-microbial-life-radioactive-storage.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Foster |first1=Lynn |last2=Boothman |first2=Christopher |last3=Ruiz-Lopez |first3=Sharon |last4=Boshoff |first4=Genevieve |last5=Jenkinson |first5=Peter |last6=Sigee |first6=David |last7=Pittman |first7=Jon K. |last8=Morris |first8=Katherine |last9=Lloyd |first9=Jonathan R. |title=Microbial bloom formation in a high pH spent nuclear fuel pond |journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=10 June 2020 |volume=720 |pages=137515 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137515 |pmid=32325573 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.720m7515F |s2cid=213506585 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720310263 |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en |issn=0048-9697}}{{cite journal |last1=Foster |first1=Lynn |last2=Muhamadali |first2=Howbeer |last3=Boothman |first3=Christopher |last4=Sigee |first4=David |last5=Pittman |first5=Jon K. |last6=Goodacre |first6=Royston |last7=Morris |first7=Katherine |last8=Lloyd |first8=Jonathan R. |title=Radiation Tolerance of Pseudanabaena catenata, a Cyanobacterium Relevant to the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond |journal=Frontiers in Microbiology |date=2020 |volume=11 |page=515 |doi=10.3389/fmicb.2020.00515 |pmid=32318035 |pmc=7154117 |language=en |issn=1664-302X|doi-access=free }}
Scientists publish a study which suggests that the Universe is no longer expanding at the same rate in all directions and that therefore the widely accepted isotropy hypothesis might be wrong. While previous studies already suggested this, the study is the first to examine galaxy clusters in X-rays and, according to Norbert Schartel, has a much greater significance. The study found a consistent and strong directional behavior of deviations – which have earlier been described to indicate a "crisis of cosmology" by others – of the normalization parameter A, or the Hubble constant H0. Beyond the potential cosmological implications, it shows that studies which assume perfect isotropy in the properties of galaxy clusters and their scaling relations can produce strongly biased results.{{cite web |title=Rethinking cosmology: Universe expansion may not be uniform (Update) |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-basic-assumption-universe.html |website=phys.org |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Nasa study challenges one of our most basic ideas about the universe |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/universe-expanding-direction-nasa-esa-cosmology-isotropic-a9455641.html |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=The Independent |date=8 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Parts of the universe may be expanding faster than others |url=https://newatlas.com/physics/universe-expansion-not-uniform/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=9 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Doubts about basic assumption for the universe |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uob-dab040820.php |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Migkas |first1=K. |last2=Schellenberger |first2=G. |last3=Reiprich |first3=T. H. |last4=Pacaud |first4=F. |last5=Ramos-Ceja |first5=M. E. |last6=Lovisari |first6=L. |title=Probing cosmic isotropy with a new X-ray galaxy cluster sample through the LX–T scaling relation |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |date=8 April 2020 |volume=636 |pages=A15 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201936602 |arxiv=2004.03305 |bibcode=2020A&A...636A..15M |s2cid=215238834 |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2020/04/aa36602-19/aa36602-19.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en |issn=0004-6361}}
9 April
Scientists report direct evidence of the use of fiber technology by Neanderthals in southeastern France, 50,000 years ago.{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Siobhan |title=Early String Ties Us to Neanderthals - A 50,000-year-old fragment of cord hints at the cognitive abilities of our ancient hominid cousins. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/science/neanderthals-fiber-string-math.html |date=9 April 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Hardy, B.L. |display-authors=et al. |title=Direct evidence of Neanderthal fibre technology and its cognitive and behavioral implications |date=9 April 2020 |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=10 |issue=4889 |pages=4889 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-61839-w |pmid=32273518 |pmc=7145842 |bibcode=2020NatSR..10.4889H |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers report the first direct measurement of winds on a brown dwarf (2MASS J10475385+2124234).{{cite news |author=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |title=Astronomers measure wind speed on a brown dwarf - Atmosphere, interior rotating at different speeds |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/nrao-amw040620.php |date=9 April 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=10 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Allers |first1=Katelyn N. |last2=Vos |first2=Johanna M. |last3=Biller |first3=Beth A. |last4=Williams |first4=Peter K. G. |title=A measurement of the wind speed on a brown dwarf |journal=Science |date=10 April 2020 |volume=368 |issue=6487 |pages=169–172 |doi=10.1126/science.aaz2856 |pmid=32273464 |bibcode=2020Sci...368..169A |s2cid=215551310 |language=en |issn=0036-8075|url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/154026451/Windspeed_accepted.pdf |hdl=20.500.11820/06e2e379-467a-456f-956c-b37912b8d95a |hdl-access=free }}
In a preprint to be published by a journal online in April and in its issue in May 2020 scientists show the glycan structures which coat SARS-CoV-2's spike protein. With these coatings the virus disguises itself to enter human cells. Their study may have implications in viral pathobiology and vaccine design and shows that the protein's coating is relatively weak and that the spike protein may be relatively vulnerable to antibodies.{{cite news |title=Scientists reveal the coronavirus camouflage that will aid hunt for vaccine |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-reveal-coronavirus-camouflage-aid.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Watanabe |first1=Yasunori |last2=Allen |first2=Joel D. |last3=Wrapp |first3=Daniel |last4=McLellan |first4=Jason S. |last5=Crispin |first5=Max |title=Site-specific glycan analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 spike |journal=Science |date=4 May 2020 |volume=369 |issue=6501 |pages=330–333 |doi=10.1126/science.abb9983 |pmid=32366695 |pmc=7199903 |bibcode=2020Sci...369..330W }}
Scientists report fossil evidence which suggests an extinct parapithecid rafted across the Atlantic in the Paleogene and at least briefly colonized South America next to the African-origin mammals New World monkeys and caviomorph rodents. The Ucayalipithecus perdita remains dating from the Early Oligocene of Amazonian Peru are deeply nested within the Parapithecidae, and have dental features markedly different from those of platyrrhines. Qatrania wingi of lower Oligocene Fayum deposits is considered the closest known relative of Ucayalipithecus.{{cite web |title=Ancient teeth from Peru hint now-extinct monkeys crossed Atlantic from Africa |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-ancient-teeth-peru-hint-now-extinct.html |website=phys.org |access-date=15 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal|last1= Seiffert|first1= E.R.|last2= Tejedor|first2= M.F.|last3= Fleagle|first3= J.G.|last4= Novo|first4= N.M.|last5= Cornejo|first5= F.M.|last6= Bond|first6= M.|last7=de Vries|first7= D.|last8= Campbell|first8= K.E.|title=A parapithecid stem anthropoid of African origin in the Paleogene of South America |journal= Science|volume= 368|issue= 6487|year= 2020|pages= 194–197|doi= 10.1126/science.aba1135|pmid= 32273470|bibcode= 2020Sci...368..194S|s2cid= 215550773}}{{cite journal |last1=Godinot |first1=Marc |title=Rafting on a wide and wild ocean |journal=Science |date=10 April 2020 |volume=368 |issue=6487 |pages=136–137 |doi=10.1126/science.abb4107 |pmid=32273458 |bibcode=2020Sci...368..136G |s2cid=215551148 }} Models of winds and ocean currents indicate that such crossings would have taken only 11–15 days at the time.{{cite journal |last1=Houle |first1=Alain |title=The origin of platyrrhines: An evaluation of the Antarctic scenario and the floating island model |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=August 1999 |volume=109 |issue=4 |pages=541–559 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199908)109:4<541::AID-AJPA9>3.0.CO;2-N |pmid=10423268 }} The absence of later finds from this group in South America indicates they were outcompeted by platyrrhines, which descend from a parallel anthropoid colonization of South America.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Scientists report the discovery of six novel coronaviruses, and one known alphacoronavirus previously identified in other southeast Asian countries were detected for the first time in bats in Myanmar where ongoing land use change is a prominent driver of zoonotic disease emergence. Future studies have been said to evaluate the potential for transmission across species.{{cite news |title=Scientists discover six new coronaviruses in bats (Update) |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-coronaviruses.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Valitutto |first1=Marc T. |last2=Aung |first2=Ohnmar |last3=Tun |first3=Kyaw Yan Naing |last4=Vodzak |first4=Megan E. |last5=Zimmerman |first5=Dawn |last6=Yu |first6=Jennifer H. |last7=Win |first7=Ye Tun |last8=Maw |first8=Min Thein |last9=Thein |first9=Wai Zin |last10=Win |first10=Htay Htay |last11=Dhanota |first11=Jasjeet |last12=Ontiveros |first12=Victoria |last13=Smith |first13=Brett |last14=Tremeau-Brevard |first14=Alexandre |last15=Goldstein |first15=Tracey |last16=Johnson |first16=Christine K. |last17=Murray |first17=Suzan |last18=Mazet |first18=Jonna |title=Detection of novel coronaviruses in bats in Myanmar |journal=PLOS ONE |date=9 April 2020 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=e0230802 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0230802 |pmid=32271768 |pmc=7144984 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1530802V |language=en |issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free }} The study was conducted as part of the United States' PREDICT program which was ended by March 2020 by the nation's Trump administration but extended on 1 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Zachary Cohen, [https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/10/politics/trump-usaid-prevent-program-coronavirus/index.html Trump administration shuttered pandemic monitoring program, then scrambled to extend it], CNN (April 10, 2020).Emily Baumgaertner & James Rainey, [https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-04-02/coronavirus-trump-pandemic-program-viruses-detection Trump administration ended coronavirus detection program], Los Angeles Times (April 2, 2020).
10 April
Medical scientists report the possible reinfection of COVID-19 patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Experts note that false test results or "reactivation" of the virus could also have caused these results.{{cite news |last=Politi |first=Daniel |title=WHO Investigating Reports of Coronavirus Patients Testing Positive Again After Recovery |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/who-reports-coronavirus-testing-positive-recovery.html |date=11 April 2020 |work=Slate |access-date=11 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Feng |first=Emily |title=Mystery In Wuhan: Recovered Coronavirus Patients Test Negative ... Then Positive |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/27/822407626/mystery-in-wuhan-recovered-coronavirus-patients-test-negative-then-positive |date=27 March 2020 |work=NPR |access-date=11 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Josh |last2=Cha |first2=Sangmi |title=South Korea reports recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-southkorea/south-korea-reports-recovered-coronavirus-patients-testing-positive-again-idUSKCN21S15X |date=10 April 2020 |work=Reuters |access-date=11 April 2020 }} In May 2020 the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that patients who tested positive a second time were not infectious, were immune to the disease, showed symptoms and likely test positive again due to dead fragments of the virus.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Chris |title=Study finds that people who test positive for coronavirus after recovering are not infectious |url=https://bgr.com/2020/05/19/coronavirus-immunity-and-reinfection-covid-19-relapse-not-possible/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=BGR |date=19 May 2020 |language=en}}
Researchers show that a new type of X-ray detector, based on a thin film of the low-cost semiconductor mineral perovskite, is 100 times more sensitive than a conventional silicon-based device. The technology could reduce unhealthy radiation exposure and improve the resolution and applications of security scanners and research tools.{{cite news |title=Self-powered X-ray detector to revolutionize imaging for medicine, security and research |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-self-powered-x-ray-detector-revolutionize-imaging.html |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Thin-film perovskite detectors could enable extremely low-dose medical imaging |url=https://physicsworld.com/a/thin-film-perovskite-detectors-could-enable-extremely-low-dose-medical-imaging/ |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=Physics World |date=16 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Scientists fashion new class of X-ray detector |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200423143036.htm |access-date=15 May 2020 |work=ScienceDaily |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Tsai |first1=Hsinhan |last2=Liu |first2=Fangze |last3=Shrestha |first3=Shreetu |last4=Fernando |first4=Kasun |last5=Tretiak |first5=Sergei |last6=Scott |first6=Brian |last7=Vo |first7=Duc Ta |last8=Strzalka |first8=Joseph |last9=Nie |first9=Wanyi |title=A sensitive and robust thin-film x-ray detector using 2D layered perovskite diodes |journal=Science Advances |date=1 April 2020 |volume=6 |issue=15 |pages=eaay0815 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aay0815 |pmid=32300647 |pmc=7148088 |bibcode=2020SciA....6..815T |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report to have achieved wireless control of adrenal hormone secretion in genetically unmodified rats through the use of injectable, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and remotely applied alternating magnetic fields heats them up. Their findings may aid research of physiological and psychological impacts of stress and related treatments and present an alternative strategy for modulating peripheral organ function than problematic implantable devices.{{cite news |title=Researchers achieve remote control of hormone release using magnetic nanoparticles |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-remote-hormone-magnetic-nanoparticles.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Rosenfeld |first1=Dekel |last2=Senko |first2=Alexander W. |last3=Moon |first3=Junsang |last4=Yick |first4=Isabel |last5=Varnavides |first5=Georgios |last6=Gregureć |first6=Danijela |last7=Koehler |first7=Florian |last8=Chiang |first8=Po-Han |last9=Christiansen |first9=Michael G. |last10=Maeng |first10=Lisa Y. |last11=Widge |first11=Alik S. |last12=Anikeeva |first12=Polina |title=Transgene-free remote magnetothermal regulation of adrenal hormones |journal=Science Advances |date=1 April 2020 |volume=6 |issue=15 |pages=eaaz3734 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aaz3734 |pmid=32300655 |pmc=7148104 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.3734R }}

File:Comet 20171025-16 gif.gif, the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System, may have been formed.]]

13 April
Astronomers suggest the first comprehensive possible natural way that ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System, may have been formed. It may have been produced through extensive tidal fragmentation and ejected during close encounters of their parent bodies with their host star or stars.{{cite news |author=University of California, Santa Cruz |title=New formation theory explains the mysterious interstellar object 'Oumuamua - A new scenario based on computer simulations accounts for all of the observed characteristics of the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uoc--nft041020.php |date=13 April 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=13 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yun |last2=Lin |first2=Douglas N.C. |title=Tidal fragmentation as the origin of 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua) |date=13 April 2020 |journal=Nature Astronomy |volume=254 |issue=9 |pages=852–860 |doi=10.1038/s41550-020-1065-8 |arxiv=2004.07218 |bibcode=2020NatAs...4..852Z |s2cid=215768701 }}
Astronomers report to have recorded the most energetic supernova so far: SN 2016aps. The supernova also caused an unusually large amount of the energy to be released in the form of radiation, probably due to the interaction of the supernova ejecta and a previously lost gas shell. The scientists believe that the supernova could be an example of a pair-instability supernova or a pulsational pair-instability supernova, possibly formed from two massive stars that merged before the explosion.{{cite news |title=Scientists discover supernova that outshines all others |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-supernova-outshines.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Nicholl |first1=Matt |last2=Blanchard |first2=Peter K. |last3=Berger |first3=Edo |last4=Chornock |first4=Ryan |last5=Margutti |first5=Raffaella |last6=Gomez |first6=Sebastian |last7=Lunnan |first7=Ragnhild |last8=Miller |first8=Adam A. |last9=Fong |first9=Wen-fai |last10=Terreran |first10=Giacomo |last11=Vigna-Gómez |first11=Alejandro |last12=Bhirombhakdi |first12=Kornpob |last13=Bieryla |first13=Allyson |last14=Challis |first14=Pete |last15=Laher |first15=Russ R. |last16=Masci |first16=Frank J. |last17=Paterson |first17=Kerry |title=An extremely energetic supernova from a very massive star in a dense medium |journal=Nature Astronomy |date=13 April 2020 |volume=4 |issue=9 |pages=893–899 |doi=10.1038/s41550-020-1066-7 |arxiv=2004.05840 |bibcode=2020NatAs...4..893N |s2cid=215744925 }} The event was discovered on 22 February 2016 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii,{{cite web |title=AT 2016aps |url=https://wis-tns.weizmann.ac.il/object/2016aps |access-date=14 April 2020 |publisher=Transient Name Server |date=25 February 2016}} with follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope.
A study which included aircraft measurements of methane emissions from offshore oil and gas platforms collected over the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in January 2018 indicates that the United States via the Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) underestimated methane emissions at the time from these sites by a factor of 2. They attribute the discrepancy between regional airborne estimates and their data as well as their estimations for total methane emissions from these sites and the GHGI estimations adjusted for 2018 to incomplete platform counts and emission factors that underestimate emissions for shallow water platforms and don't account for disproportionately high emissions from large shallow water facilities.{{cite news |title=U.S. underestimates methane emissions from offshore oil industry -study |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-methane-study/us-underestimates-methane-emissions-from-offshore-oil-industry-study-idUSL2N2C112G |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=Reuters |date=13 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Offshore oil and gas platforms release more methane than previously estimated |url=https://news.umich.edu/offshore-oil-and-gas-platforms-release-more-methane-than-previously-estimated/ |website=University of Michigan News |access-date=16 May 2020 |date=14 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Offshore oil platforms spew lots of methane |url=https://www.futurity.org/offshore-oil-platforms-gulf-of-mexico-methane-2336032/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=Futurity |date=14 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Offshore oil and gas platforms release more methane than previously estimated |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-offshore-oil-gas-platforms-methane.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Gorchov Negron |first1=Alan M. |last2=Kort |first2=Eric A. |last3=Conley |first3=Stephen A. |last4=Smith |first4=Mackenzie L. |title=Airborne Assessment of Methane Emissions from Offshore Platforms in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |date=21 April 2020 |volume=54 |issue=8 |pages=5112–5120 |doi=10.1021/acs.est.0c00179 |pmid=32281379 |bibcode=2020EnST...54.5112G |issn=0013-936X|doi-access=free }}
14 April
News outlets report that U.S. State Department cables indicate that, although there may be no conclusive proof at the moment, the COVID-19 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic may, possibly, have accidentally come from a Wuhan (China) laboratory, studying bat coronaviruses that included modifying virus genomes to enter human cells,{{cite journal |author=Yang, Yang |display-authors=et al. |title=Two Mutations Were Critical for Bat-to-Human Transmission of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus |date=June 10, 2015 |journal=Journal of Virology |volume=89 |issue=17 |pages=9119–9123 |doi=10.1128/JVI.01279-15 |pmid=26063432 |pmc=4524054 |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Chen |first=Stephen |title=Coronavirus: bat scientist's cave exploits offer hope to beat virus 'sneakier than Sars' - Shi Zhengli is one of the scores of scientists joining a global effort to hunt down the new coronavirus - But some people have blamed her for creating it in the first place |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3049397/bat-ladys-cave-exploits-offer-hope-beat-virus-sneakier-sars |date=6 February 2020 |work=South China Morning Post |access-date=15 April 2020 }} and determined to be unsafe by U.S. scientists in 2018, rather than from a natural source.{{cite news |last=Rogin |first=Josh |title=State Department cables warned of safety issues at Wuhan lab studying bat coronaviruses |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/ |date=14 April 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=15 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Josh |last2=Atwood |first2=Kylie |last3=Perez |first3=Evan |title=US explores possibility that coronavirus spread started in Chinese lab, not a market |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/politics/us-intelligence-virus-started-chinese-lab/index.html |date=16 April 2020 |work=CNN News |access-date=16 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Rincon |first=Paul |title=Coronavirus: Is there any evidence for lab release theory? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52318539 |date=16 April 2020 |work=BBC News |access-date=17 April 2020 }} US intelligence and national security officials say that the U.S. government is looking into the possibility. As of 18 May 2020, an official UN investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus, supported by over 120 countries, was being considered.{{cite news |last=Porter |first=Tom |title=More than 120 countries are backing a UN motion to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, despite China's objections |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/120-nations-support-un-investigating-coronavirus-origin-china-angry-2020-5 |date=18 May 2020 |work=Business Insider |access-date=18 May 2020 }} As of 5 May, assessments and internal sources from the Five Eyes nations indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic being the result of a laboratory accident was "highly unlikely", since the human infection was "highly likely" a result of natural human and animal interaction.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/04/politics/coronavirus-intelligence/index.html| title=Intel shared among US allies indicates virus outbreak more likely came from market, not a Chinese lab |date=5 May 2020|publisher= CNN| first1= Alex |last1=Marquardt |first2=Kylie |last2=Atwood |first3=Zachary |last3=Cohen |access-date=7 May 2020}} Virologist Peter Daszak states that an estimated 1–7 million people in Southeast Asia who live or work in proximity to bats are infected each year with bat coronaviruses.{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2020/4/23/21226484/wuhan-lab-coronavirus-china |title=Why these scientists still doubt the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab |date=23 April 2020|website=Vox |first=Eliza |last=Barclay}}
A new study shows that the duration of anoxia approximately 444 million years ago was longer than 3 million years and affirms that the prolonged lack of oxygen in the oceans contributed to the Ordovician–Silurian mass extinction events at the time.{{cite news |title='A bad time to be alive': Study links ocean deoxygenation to ancient die-off |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-bad-alive-links-ocean-deoxygenation.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Mass extinction 444 million years ago linked to loss of oxygen in Earth's oceans |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mass-extinction-oxygen-ocean-study-climate-change-ordovician-a9463866.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=The Independent |date=14 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Stockey |first1=Richard G. |last2=Cole |first2=Devon B. |last3=Planavsky |first3=Noah J. |last4=Loydell |first4=David K. |last5=Frýda |first5=Jiří |last6=Sperling |first6=Erik A. |title=Persistent global marine euxinia in the early Silurian |journal=Nature Communications |date=14 April 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1804 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15400-y |pmid=32286253 |pmc=7156380 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1804S |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report to have developed a predictive algorithm which can show in visualizations how combinations of genetic mutations can make proteins highly effective or ineffective in organisms – including for viral evolution for viruses like SARS-CoV-2.{{cite news |title=Predicting the evolution of genetic mutations |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-evolution-genetic-mutations.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Juannan |last2=McCandlish |first2=David M. |title=Minimum epistasis interpolation for sequence-function relationships |journal=Nature Communications |date=14 April 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1782 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15512-5 |pmid=32286265 |pmc=7156698 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1782Z |doi-access=free }}
Stephen Wolfram announces the launch of the "Wolfram Physics Project" which seeks to collaboratively develop a new approach to the theory of everything by modelling physics based on minimal rules out of which complexities of physics may emerge.{{cite news |title=The Wolfram Physics Project hopes to find fundamental theory of physics |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-wolfram-physics-fundamental-theory.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Becker |first1=Adam |title=Physicists Criticize Stephen Wolfram's 'Theory of Everything' |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-criticize-stephen-wolframs-theory-of-everything/?amp |website=Scientific American |access-date=17 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite magazine |title=Stephen Wolfram Invites You to Solve Physics |url=https://www.wired.com/story/stephen-wolfram-invites-you-to-solve-physics/ |access-date=17 May 2020 |magazine=Wired |language=en}}

File:PIA23774-Comparison-Earth-Keper1649c-20200415.jpg, the most Earth-like planet yet found in data from the Kepler space telescope.]]

15 April
NASA reports the discovery of Kepler-1649c, an exoplanet that, according to Jeff Coughlin, the director of SETI's K2 Science Office, is closer to Earth in size and likely temperature than any other world yet found in data from the Kepler Space Telescope. The planet was originally deemed a false positive by Kepler's robovetter algorithm, highlighting the value of human inspection of planet candidates even as automated techniques improve.{{cite news |last1=Strickland |first1=Ashley |title=New potentially habitable exoplanet is similar in size and temperature to Earth |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/15/world/kepler-earth-size-exoplanet-discovery-scn/index.html |access-date=22 May 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite web |title=Earth-Size, Habitable-Zone Planet Found Hidden in Early NASA Kepler Data |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7639 |date=15 April 2020 |access-date=15 April 2020|work=NASA}}{{cite journal |last1=Vanderburg |first1=Andrew |last2=Rowden |first2=Pamela |last3=Bryson |first3=Steve |last4=Coughlin |first4=Jeffrey |last5=Batalha |first5=Natalie |last6=Collins |first6=Karen A. |last7=Latham |first7=David W. |last8=Mullally |first8=Susan E. |last9=Colón |first9=Knicole D. |last10=Henze |first10=Chris |last11=Huang |first11=Chelsea X. |last12=Quinn |first12=Samuel N. |title=A Habitable-zone Earth-sized Planet Rescued from False Positive Status |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=15 April 2020 |volume=893 |issue=1 |pages=L27 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab84e5 |arxiv=2004.06725 |bibcode=2020ApJ...893L..27V |s2cid=215768850 |language=en |issn=2041-8213 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers demonstrate a proof-of-concept silicon quantum processor unit cell which works at 1.5 Kelvin – many times warmer than common quantum processors that are being developed. It may enable integrating classical control electronics with the qubit array and reduce costs substantially. The cooling requirements necessary for quantum computing have been called one of the toughest roadblocks in the field.{{cite news |last1=Crane |first1=Leah |title=Quantum computer chips demonstrated at the highest temperatures ever |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2240539-quantum-computer-chips-demonstrated-at-the-highest-temperatures-ever/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite news |last1=Delbert |first1=Caroline |title=Hot Qubits Could Deliver a Quantum Computing Breakthrough |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32170397/hot-qubits-quantum-computing-breakthrough/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=Popular Mechanics |date=17 April 2020}}{{cite news |title='Hot' qubits crack quantum computing temperature barrier - ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-04-16/hot-qubits-crack-quantum-computing-temperature-barrier/12132400 |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=www.abc.net.au |date=15 April 2020 |language=en-AU}}{{cite news |title=Hot qubits break one of the biggest constraints to practical quantum computers |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-hot-qubits-biggest-constraints-quantum.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=C. H. |last2=Leon |first2=R. C. C. |last3=Hwang |first3=J. C. C. |last4=Saraiva |first4=A. |last5=Tanttu |first5=T. |last6=Huang |first6=W. |last7=Camirand Lemyre |first7=J. |last8=Chan |first8=K. W. |last9=Tan |first9=K. Y. |last10=Hudson |first10=F. E. |last11=Itoh |first11=K. M. |last12=Morello |first12=A. |last13=Pioro-Ladrière |first13=M. |last14=Laucht |first14=A. |last15=Dzurak |first15=A. S. |title=Operation of a silicon quantum processor unit cell above one kelvin |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7803 |pages=350–354 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2171-6 |pmid=32296190 |arxiv=1902.09126 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..350Y |s2cid=215775496 }}
Scientists report that the Greenland ice sheet lost around 600 billion tonnes of water in 2019, which would raise sea levels by about 1.5 millimetres and make up ca. 40% of the year's total sea level rise. The runoff ranked second only after the exceptional year 2012. The study affirms the exceptional nature of the 2019 season and shows that high-pressure atmospheric conditions over Greenland due to changing atmospheric circulation patterns – which have become more frequent due to climate change – were a cause of the melting next to the warmer temperatures. This suggests that scientists may be underestimating the melting of Greenland's ice – likely by a factor of two according to co-author Xavier Fettweis.{{cite news |title=Alarms ring as Greenland ice loss causes 40% of 2019 sea level rise |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-alarms-greenland-ice-loss-sea.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Greenland ice sheet shrinks by record amount: climate study |url=https://in.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-greenland/greenland-ice-sheet-shrinks-by-record-amount-climate-study-idINKCN21X1UG |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415135840/https://in.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-greenland/greenland-ice-sheet-shrinks-by-record-amount-climate-study-idINKCN21X1UG |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 April 2020 |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=Reuters |date=15 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Tedesco |first1=Marco |last2=Fettweis |first2=Xavier |title=Unprecedented atmospheric conditions (1948–2019) drive the 2019 exceptional melting season over the Greenland ice sheet |journal=The Cryosphere |date=15 April 2020 |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=1209–1223 |doi=10.5194/tc-14-1209-2020 |bibcode=2020TCry...14.1209T |url=https://www.the-cryosphere.net/14/1209/2020/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |language=en |issn=1994-0416|doi-access=free }}
Scientists describe and visualize the atomical structure and mechanical action of the bacteria-killing bacteriocin R2 pyocin and construct engineered versions with different behaviours than the naturally occurring version. Their findings may aid the engineering of nanomachines such as for targeted antibiotics.{{cite news |title=Bactericidal nanomachine: Researchers reveal the mechanisms behind a natural bacteria killer |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-bactericidal-nanomachine-reveal-mechanisms-natural.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Ge |first1=Peng |last2=Scholl |first2=Dean |last3=Prokhorov |first3=Nikolai S. |last4=Avaylon |first4=Jaycob |last5=Shneider |first5=Mikhail M. |last6=Browning |first6=Christopher |last7=Buth |first7=Sergey A. |last8=Plattner |first8=Michel |last9=Chakraborty |first9=Urmi |last10=Ding |first10=Ke |last11=Leiman |first11=Petr G. |last12=Miller |first12=Jeff F. |last13=Zhou |first13=Z. Hong |title=Action of a minimal contractile bactericidal nanomachine |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7805 |pages=658–662 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2186-z |pmid=32350467 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..658G |s2cid=215774771 |pmc=7513463 }}
Scientists claim to have developed a biodegradable material for face masks which is effective at removing particles smaller than 100 nanometres including viruses and has a high breathability.{{cite news |last1=Layt |first1=Stuart |title=Queensland researchers hit sweet spot with new mask material |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-researchers-hit-sweet-spot-with-new-mask-material-20200414-p54jr2.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=Brisbane Times |date=14 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Technology (QUT) |first1=Queensland University of |title=New mask material can remove virus-size nanoparticles |url=https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=161468 |website=QUT |access-date=17 May 2020 |language=en}} A number of novel face masks and face mask technologies are being researched and developed as of May 2020.

File:Lemur catta 001.jpgs exude three pheromones during breeding season in a testosterone-dependent manner.]]

16 April
Australia's Morrison government announces the launch of the research and development phase of its Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program after a two-year feasibility study. The selected 43 strategies of the program include climate engineering concepts such as brightening clouds with salt crystals, technologies to increase survival rate of coral larvae, coral seeding strategies and methods to facilitate faster recovery of coral reefs.{{cite news |last1=Readfearn |first1=Graham |title=Artificial fog and breeding coral: study picks best Great Barrier Reef rescue ideas |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/16/brightening-clouds-and-coral-larvae-study-picks-best-great-barrier-reef-rescue-ideas |access-date=13 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=15 April 2020}}{{cite web |title=Joint Media Release: $150 million to drive innovations to boost Reef resilience {{!}} Ministers |url=https://minister.awe.gov.au/ley/media-releases/150-million-drive-innovations-boost-reef-resilience |website=minister.awe.gov.au |access-date=13 May 2020}} The Australian Marine Conservation Society welcomed the work but remarked that policies which address global warming – the main cause of increasingly severe and frequent mass coral bleaching events – should be prioritised, that the projects could take years or decades to develop and that solutions to climate change – such as renewable energies – are already available.{{cite news |title=Fight to save Great Barrier Reef after third bleaching event |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/fight-to-save-great-barrier-reef-after-third-bleaching-event/news-story/ae4bdbcef4d98863504ecade0dbc41eb |newspaper=News.com.au |access-date=13 May 2020 |language=en |date=21 April 2020}}
Scientists prove the existence of the Rashba effect in bulk perovskites. Previously researchers have hypothesized that the materials' extraordinary electronic, magnetic and optical properties – which make it a commonly used material for solar cells and quantum electronics – are related to this effect which to date hasn't been proven to be present in the material.{{cite news |title=New discovery settles long-standing debate about photovoltaic materials |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-discovery-long-standing-debate-photovoltaic-materials.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal | last1=Liu | first1=Z. | last2=Vaswani | first2=C. | last3=Yang | first3=X. | last4=Zhao | first4=X. | last5=Yao | first5=Y. | last6=Song | first6=Z. | last7=Cheng | first7=D. | last8=Shi | first8=Y. | last9=Luo | first9=L. | last10=Mudiyanselage | first10=D.-H. | last11=Huang | first11=C. | last12=Park | first12=J.-M. | last13=Kim | first13=R. H. J. | last14=Zhao | first14=J. | last15=Yan | first15=Y. | last16=Ho | first16=K.-M. | last17=Wang | first17=J. | title=Ultrafast Control of Excitonic Rashba Fine Structure by Phonon Coherence in the Metal Halide Perovskite CH{{subscript|3}}NH{{subscript|3}}PbI{{subscript|3}} | journal=Physical Review Letters | volume=124 | issue=15 | date=2020-04-16 | page=157401 | issn=0031-9007 | doi=10.1103/physrevlett.124.157401| pmid=32357060 | arxiv=1905.12373 | bibcode=2020PhRvL.124o7401L | s2cid=214606050 }}
Scientists report that during their breeding season male ring-tailed lemurs exude three compounds at higher levels in their wrist glandular odor. The study suggests that these may be pheromones which are involved in the attractiveness of the males to females as the females seem to be attracted to the smell during their breeding season. The amounts of dodecanal, 12-methyltridecanal, and tetradecanal increase in a testosterone-dependent manner.{{cite news |title=Male ring-tail lemurs exude fruity-smelling perfume from their wrists to attract mates |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-male-ring-tail-lemurs-exude-fruity-smelling.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Strickland |first1=Ashley |title=Male lemurs use 'stink flirting' to attract mates, study says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/16/africa/male-lemurs-stink-flirting-scn/index.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite journal |last1=Shirasu |first1=Mika |last2=Ito |first2=Satomi |last3=Itoigawa |first3=Akihiro |last4=Hayakawa |first4=Takashi |last5=Kinoshita |first5=Kodzue |last6=Munechika |first6=Isao |last7=Imai |first7=Hiroo |last8=Touhara |first8=Kazushige |title=Key Male Glandular Odorants Attracting Female Ring-Tailed Lemurs |journal=Current Biology |date=16 April 2020 |volume=30 |issue=11 |pages=2131–2138.e4 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.037 |pmid=32302584 |s2cid=215798423 |language=en |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free }}

File:WheatYield.png alone cannot meet the demand for most food crops' "current production and consumption patterns" and the current locations of food production{{clarify|date=June 2020}} for 72–89% of the global population and 100–km radiuses as of early 2020. The image shows a map of global wheat production.]]

17 April
Researchers report that the 2000–2018 Southwestern North American drought was the second driest 19-year period since 800 CE, exceeded only by a late-1500s megadrought and that anthropogenic trends in temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation estimated from 31 climate models account for approximately 47% of the 2000–2018 drought severity.{{cite news |title=Climate-driven megadrought is emerging in western US, study says |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-climate-driven-megadrought-emerging-western.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Fountain |first1=Henry |title=Southwest Drought Rivals Those of Centuries Ago, Thanks to Climate Change |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/climate/drought-southwest-climate-change.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=16 April 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Freedman |first1=Andrew |last2=Fears |first2=Darryl |title=The western U.S. is locked in the grips of the first human-caused megadrought, study finds |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/04/16/southwest-megadrought-climate-change/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=16 April 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=A. Park |last2=Cook |first2=Edward R. |last3=Smerdon |first3=Jason E. |last4=Cook |first4=Benjamin I. |last5=Abatzoglou |first5=John T. |last6=Bolles |first6=Kasey |last7=Baek |first7=Seung H. |last8=Badger |first8=Andrew M. |last9=Livneh |first9=Ben |title=Large contribution from anthropogenic warming to an emerging North American megadrought |journal=Science |date=17 April 2020 |volume=368 |issue=6488 |pages=314–318 |doi=10.1126/science.aaz9600 |pmid=32299953 |bibcode=2020Sci...368..314W |s2cid=215789824 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8127q52g }}
A study indicates that local food crop production alone cannot meet the demand for most food crops "current production and consumption patterns" – which include the share of meat in local diets – and the current locations of food production{{clarify|date=June 2020}} for 72–89% of the global population and 100–km radiuses as of early 2020. While local production may be more sustainable and decrease risks of disrupted global food supply chains due to crises like the COVID-19 pandemic it cannot be relied on solely.{{cite news |last1=Dunphy |first1=Siobhán |title=Majority of the world's population depends on imported food |url=https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/agriculture/majority-of-the-worlds-population-depends-on-imported-food/ |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=European Scientist |date=28 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Relying on 'local food' is a distant dream for most of the world |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-local-food-distant-world.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kinnunen |first1=Pekka |last2=Guillaume |first2=Joseph H. A. |last3=Taka |first3=Maija |last4=D'Odorico |first4=Paolo |last5=Siebert |first5=Stefan |last6=Puma |first6=Michael J. |last7=Jalava |first7=Mika |last8=Kummu |first8=Matti |title=Local food crop production can fulfil demand for less than one-third of the population |journal=Nature Food |date=April 2020 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=229–237 |doi=10.1038/s43016-020-0060-7 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report to have traced the origins of shark fins of endangered hammerhead sharks from a retail market in Hong Kong back to their source populations and therefore the approximate locations where the sharks were first caught using DNA analysis.{{cite news |title=Fins from endangered hammerhead sharks in Hong Kong market traced mainly to Eastern Pacific |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-fins-endangered-hammerhead-sharks-hong.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Fields |first1=A. T. |last2=Fischer |first2=G. A. |last3=Shea |first3=S. K. H. |last4=Zhang |first4=H. |last5=Feldheim |first5=K. A. |last6=Chapman |first6=D. D. |title=DNA Zip-coding: identifying the source populations supplying the international trade of a critically endangered coastal shark |journal=Animal Conservation |year=2020 |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=670–678 |doi=10.1111/acv.12585 |s2cid=218775112 }}
19 April
Researchers report that the Arctic Ocean will likely be occasionally sea-ice free in summers before 2050 in scenarios where global warming is kept below 2 °C.{{cite news |title=North Pole soon to be ice free in summer |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-north-pole-ice-free-summer.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |title=Arctic Sea Ice in CMIP6 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |date=2020 |volume=47 |issue=10 |pages=e2019GL086749 |doi=10.1029/2019GL086749 |doi-access=free |author=SIMIP Community |bibcode=2020GeoRL..4786749C |hdl=21.11116/0000-0006-69A7-8 |hdl-access=free }}
20 April
Researchers report a new approach to fabricate metallic polymers with atomic precision.{{Cite web|title=Researchers developing metallic polymers by exploiting topological order and π-conjugation|url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-metallic-polymers-exploiting-topological-conjugation.html|website=phys.org|language=en|access-date=2020-05-06}}{{cite journal |last1=Cirera |first1=Borja |last2=Sánchez-Grande |first2=Ana |last3=de la Torre |first3=Bruno |last4=Santos |first4=José |last5=Edalatmanesh |first5=Shayan |last6=Rodríguez-Sánchez |first6=Eider |last7=Lauwaet |first7=Koen |last8=Mallada |first8=Benjamin |last9=Zbořil |first9=Radek |last10=Miranda |first10=Rodolfo |last11=Gröning |first11=Oliver |last12=Jelínek |first12=Pavel |last13=Martín |first13=Nazario |last14=Ecija |first14=David |title=Tailoring topological order and π-conjugation to engineer quasi-metallic polymers |journal=Nature Nanotechnology |date=20 April 2020 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=437–443 |doi=10.1038/s41565-020-0668-7 |pmid=32313219 |arxiv=1911.05514 |bibcode=2020NatNa..15..437C |s2cid=207930507 }}{{cite journal |last1=Corso |first1=Martina |last2=de Oteyza |first2=Dimas G. |title=Topological engineering for metallic polymers |journal=Nature Nanotechnology |date=20 April 2020 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=421–423 |doi=10.1038/s41565-020-0667-8 |pmid=32313218 |bibcode=2020NatNa..15..421C |s2cid=216032355 }}
In a preprint researchers report a method to quickly identify different variants of SARS-CoV-2 using "Informative Subtype Markers"-labels, which may allow tracking the emergence of subtypes in different regions over time and aid tools to help enhance containment, therapeutic, and vaccine targeting strategies.{{cite news |title=Genetic tracing 'barcode' is rapidly revealing COVID-19's journey and evolution |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-genetic-barcode-rapidly-revealing-covid-.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite bioRxiv |last1=Zhao |first1=Zhengqiao |last2=Sokhansanj |first2=Bahrad A. |last3=Rosen |first3=Gail L. |title=Characterizing geographical and temporal dynamics of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using informative subtype markers |date=20 April 2020 |biorxiv=10.1101/2020.04.07.030759}}
Scientists report that the coma of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov contains more than three times more carbon monoxide gas than water vapor than previously measured for any comet in the inner (<2.5 au) Solar System. In two studies they publish data collected via the Hubble Space Telescope which, according to the authors, provide a "first glimpse into the ice content and chemical composition of the protoplanetary disk of another star that is substantially different from our own" and likely formed in a CO-rich environment of the cold, outer regions of a distant protoplanetary accretion disk.{{cite news |last1=Crane |first1=Leah |title=Interstellar comet Borisov came from a cold and distant home star |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2240989-interstellar-comet-borisov-came-from-a-cold-and-distant-home-star/ |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite news |title=ALMA reveals unusual composition of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-alma-reveals-unusual-composition-interstellar.html |access-date=16 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Bodewits |first1=D. |last2=Noonan |first2=J. W. |last3=Feldman |first3=P. D. |last4=Bannister |first4=M. T. |last5=Farnocchia |first5=D. |last6=Harris |first6=W. M. |last7=Li |first7=J.-Y. |last8=Mandt |first8=K. E. |last9=Parker |first9=J. Wm |last10=Xing |first10=Z.-X. |title=The carbon monoxide-rich interstellar comet 2I/Borisov |journal=Nature Astronomy |date=20 April 2020 |volume=4 |issue=9 |pages=867–871 |doi=10.1038/s41550-020-1095-2 |arxiv=2004.08972 |bibcode=2020NatAs...4..867B |s2cid=215827703 }}{{cite journal |last1=Cordiner |first1=M. A. |last2=Milam |first2=S. N. |last3=Biver |first3=N. |last4=Bockelée-Morvan |first4=D.|author4-link=Dominique Bockelée-Morvan |last5=Roth |first5=N. X. |last6=Bergin |first6=E. A. |last7=Jehin |first7=E. |last8=Remijan |first8=A. J. |last9=Charnley |first9=S. B. |last10=Mumma |first10=M. J. |last11=Boissier |first11=J. |last12=Crovisier |first12=J. |last13=Paganini |first13=L. |last14=Kuan |first14=Y.-J. |last15=Lis |first15=D. C. |title=Unusually high CO abundance of the first active interstellar comet |journal=Nature Astronomy |date=20 April 2020 |volume=4 |issue=9 |pages=861–866 |doi=10.1038/s41550-020-1087-2 |arxiv=2004.09586 |bibcode=2020NatAs...4..861C |s2cid=216036159 }}
Researchers demonstrate a method to direct self-assembly – in terms of size, position and geometry – of a multitude of materials made out of components of more than four orders of magnitude different in size and mass using femtosecond laser pulses.{{cite news |title=Scientists uncover principles of universal self-assembly |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-scientists-uncover-principles-universal-self-assembly.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Makey |first1=Ghaith |last2=Galioglu |first2=Sezin |last3=Ghaffari |first3=Roujin |last4=Engin |first4=E. Doruk |last5=Yıldırım |first5=Gökhan |last6=Yavuz |first6=Özgün |last7=Bektaş |first7=Onurcan |last8=Nizam |first8=Ü Seleme |last9=Akbulut |first9=Özge |last10=Şahin |first10=Özgür |last11=Güngör |first11=Kıvanç |last12=Dede |first12=Didem |last13=Demir |first13=H. Volkan |last14=Ilday |first14=F. Ömer |last15=Ilday |first15=Serim |title=Universality of dissipative self-assembly from quantum dots to human cells |journal=Nature Physics |date=20 April 2020 |volume=16 |issue=7 |pages=795–801 |doi=10.1038/s41567-020-0879-8 |bibcode=2020NatPh..16..795M |s2cid=218792895 |hdl=11693/75776 |hdl-access=free }}
Researchers demonstrate a diffusive memristor fabricated from protein nanowires of the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens which functions at substantially lower voltages than previously described ones and may allow the construction of artificial neurons which function at voltages of biological action potentials. The nanowires have a range of advantages over silicon nanowires and the memristors may be used to directly process biosensing signals, for neuromorphic computing and/or direct communication with biological neurons.{{cite news |title=Scientists create tiny devices that work like the human brain |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/brain-computing-memory-artificial-synapse-memristor-a9473671.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=The Independent |date=20 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Researchers unveil electronics that mimic the human brain in efficient learning |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-unveil-electronics-mimic-human-brain.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Fu |first1=Tianda |last2=Liu |first2=Xiaomeng |last3=Gao |first3=Hongyan |last4=Ward |first4=Joy E. |last5=Liu |first5=Xiaorong |last6=Yin |first6=Bing |last7=Wang |first7=Zhongrui |last8=Zhuo |first8=Ye |last9=Walker |first9=David J. F. |last10=Joshua Yang |first10=J. |last11=Chen |first11=Jianhan |last12=Lovley |first12=Derek R. |last13=Yao |first13=Jun |title=Bioinspired bio-voltage memristors |journal=Nature Communications |date=20 April 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1861 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15759-y |pmid=32313096 |pmc=7171104 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1861F |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report that Eurasian ice sheet collapse was a major source meltwater pulse 1A sea level rise 14,600 years ago, causing up to half of the ca. 16 meter rise.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Scott K. |title=A puzzling past sea level rise might have its missing piece |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/a-puzzling-past-sea-level-rise-might-have-its-missing-piece/ |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=Ars Technica |date=26 April 2020 |language=en-us}}{{cite news |title=Eurasian ice sheet collapse raised seas eight metres: study |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-eurasian-ice-sheet-collapse-seas.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Brendryen |first1=Jo |last2=Haflidason |first2=Haflidi |last3=Yokoyama |first3=Yusuke |last4=Haaga |first4=Kristian Agasøster |last5=Hannisdal |first5=Bjarte |title=Eurasian Ice Sheet collapse was a major source of Meltwater Pulse 1A 14,600 years ago |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=May 2020 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=363–368 |doi=10.1038/s41561-020-0567-4 |bibcode=2020NatGe..13..363B |hdl=11250/2755925 |s2cid=216031874 |hdl-access=free }}
Researchers report that by the end of the 21st century people could be exposed to avoidable indoor {{CO2}} levels of up to 1400 ppm, which would be triple the amount commonly experienced outdoors today and, according to the authors, may cut humans' basic decision-making ability by ~25% and complex strategic thinking by ~50%.{{cite journal |title=Rising carbon dioxide levels will make us stupider |journal=Nature |date=20 April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7805 |pages=567 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01134-w |pmid=32317783 |bibcode=2020Natur.580Q.567. |s2cid=216075495 |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |title=Rising {{CO2}} causes more than a climate crisis—it may directly harm our ability to think |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-co2-climate-crisisit-ability.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Karnauskas |first1=Kristopher B. |last2=Miller |first2=Shelly L. |last3=Schapiro |first3=Anna C. |title=Fossil Fuel Combustion Is Driving Indoor {{CO2}} Toward Levels Harmful to Human Cognition |journal=GeoHealth |date=2020 |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=e2019GH000237 |doi=10.1029/2019GH000237 |pmid=32426622 |pmc=7229519 |bibcode=2020GHeal...4..237K |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report the development of perovskite electrochemical cells which can efficiently convert electricity and water into hydrogen and back.{{cite news |title=Advancing high temperature electrolysis: Splitting water to store energy as hydrogen |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-advancing-high-temperature-electrolysis-energy.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Ding |first1=Hanping |last2=Wu |first2=Wei |last3=Jiang |first3=Chao |last4=Ding |first4=Yong |last5=Bian |first5=Wenjuan |last6=Hu |first6=Boxun |last7=Singh |first7=Prabhakar |last8=Orme |first8=Christopher J. |last9=Wang |first9=Lucun |last10=Zhang |first10=Yunya |last11=Ding |first11=Dong |title=Self-sustainable protonic ceramic electrochemical cells using a triple conducting electrode for hydrogen and power production |journal=Nature Communications |date=20 April 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1907 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15677-z |pmid=32312963 |pmc=7171140 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1907D |doi-access=free }}
An unusual plant collected by a team of botanists in early 2010 while exploring the remote deserts of Karas, Namibia was found to represent not only a new genus, but a completely new family. Tiganophytaceae is described as the newest member of the order Brassicales, and is the newest botanical family to be described since Kewaceae in 2014.{{Cite journal|last1=Swanepoel|first1=Wessel|last2=Chase|first2=Mark W.|last3=Christenhusz|first3=Maarten J. M.|last4=Maurin|first4=Olivier|last5=Forest|first5=Félix|last6=Wyk|first6=Abraham E. Van|date=2020-04-20|title=From the frying pan: an unusual dwarf shrub from Namibia turns out to be a new brassicalean family|url=https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.439.3.1|journal=Phytotaxa|language=en|volume=439|issue=3|pages=171–185|doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.439.3.1|s2cid=219084344|issn=1179-3163|doi-access=free}}
22 April
Microplastic pollution is recorded in Antarctic sea ice for the first time.{{cite web |title=Microplastics found for first time in Antarctic ice where krill source food |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/microplastics-found-for-first-time-in-antarctic-ice-where-krill-source-food |date=22 April 2020 |access-date=22 April 2020|work=The Guardian}}{{cite web |title=Microplastic pollution recorded for first time in Antarctic sea ice |url=https://www.imas.utas.edu.au/news/news-items/microplastic-pollution-recorded-for-first-time-in-antarctic-sea-ice |date=22 April 2020 |access-date=22 April 2020|work=University of Tasmania}}
After studying the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption researchers report that extreme rainfall can modulate volcanic activity.{{cite news |title=Excessive rain triggered 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption, study finds |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-excessive-triggered-klauea-volcano-eruption.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Farquharson |first1=Jamie I. |last2=Amelung |first2=Falk |title=Extreme rainfall triggered the 2018 rift eruption at Kīlauea Volcano |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7804 |pages=491–495 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2172-5 |pmid=32322079 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..491F |s2cid=216076767 }}
Scientists report ferroelectricity in a material structure with functional features down to a thickness of one nanometre, making it a candidate for powering very small devices and for other electronics.{{cite news |title=Researchers discover ferroelectricity at the atomic scale |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-ferroelectricity-atomic-scale.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Cheema |first1=Suraj S. |last2=Kwon |first2=Daewoong |last3=Shanker |first3=Nirmaan |last4=dos Reis |first4=Roberto |last5=Hsu |first5=Shang-Lin |last6=Xiao |first6=Jun |last7=Zhang |first7=Haigang |last8=Wagner |first8=Ryan |last9=Datar |first9=Adhiraj |last10=McCarter |first10=Margaret R. |last11=Serrao |first11=Claudy R. |last12=Yadav |first12=Ajay K. |last13=Karbasian |first13=Golnaz |last14=Hsu |first14=Cheng-Hsiang |last15=Tan |first15=Ava J. |last16=Wang |first16=Li-Chen |last17=Thakare |first17=Vishal |last18=Zhang |first18=Xiang |last19=Mehta |first19=Apurva |last20=Karapetrova |first20=Evguenia |last21=Chopdekar |first21=Rajesh V. |last22=Shafer |first22=Padraic |last23=Arenholz |first23=Elke |last24=Hu |first24=Chenming |last25=Proksch |first25=Roger |last26=Ramesh |first26=Ramamoorthy |last27=Ciston |first27=Jim |last28=Salahuddin |first28=Sayeef |author28-link=Sayeef Salahuddin |title=Enhanced ferroelectricity in ultrathin films grown directly on silicon |journal=Nature |date=April 2020 |volume=580 |issue=7804 |pages=478–482 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2208-x |pmid=32322080 |bibcode=2020Natur.580..478C |osti=1633850 |s2cid=216076611 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/04b1h8jp }}{{Erratum|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2297-6|pmid=32433606}}
Researchers report that a mass DNA analysis of over 27,000 Icelanders shows that the Neanderthal population that mixed with modern Icelanders was more similar to a Neanderthal found in Croatia than to Neanderthals found in Russia, that Icelanders carry more traces of Denisovan DNA than expected, that on average these Neanderthal children had older mothers and younger fathers compared to modern humans and that Neanderthal DNA has a relatively minor effect on human health and appearance today.{{cite news |title=Neandertals had older mothers and younger fathers |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-neandertals-older-mothers-younger-fathers.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Skov |first1=Laurits |last2=Coll Macià |first2=Moisès |last3=Sveinbjörnsson |first3=Garðar |last4=Mafessoni |first4=Fabrizio |last5=Lucotte |first5=Elise A. |last6=Einarsdóttir |first6=Margret S. |last7=Jonsson |first7=Hakon |last8=Halldorsson |first8=Bjarni |last9=Gudbjartsson |first9=Daniel F. |last10=Helgason |first10=Agnar |last11=Schierup |first11=Mikkel Heide |last12=Stefansson |first12=Kari |title=The nature of Neanderthal introgression revealed by 27,566 Icelandic genomes |journal=Nature |date=22 April 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7810 |pages=78–83 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2225-9 |pmid=32494067 |bibcode=2020Natur.582...78S |s2cid=216076889 }}
A study using satellite data shows that oil and gas operations in the United States' Permian Basin are releasing the greenhouse gas methane at twice the average rate found in earlier studies of 11 other major oil and gas regions of the United States. According to the authors insufficient infrastructure to process and transport natural gas may be one cause of the high rate.{{cite news |title=Satellite data show 'highest emissions ever measured' from U.S. oil and gas operations |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-satellite-highest-emissions-oil-gas.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yuzhong |last2=Gautam |first2=Ritesh |last3=Pandey |first3=Sudhanshu |last4=Omara |first4=Mark |last5=Maasakkers |first5=Joannes D. |last6=Sadavarte |first6=Pankaj |last7=Lyon |first7=David |last8=Nesser |first8=Hannah |last9=Sulprizio |first9=Melissa P. |last10=Varon |first10=Daniel J. |last11=Zhang |first11=Ruixiong |last12=Houweling |first12=Sander |last13=Zavala-Araiza |first13=Daniel |last14=Alvarez |first14=Ramon A. |last15=Lorente |first15=Alba |last16=Hamburg |first16=Steven P. |last17=Aben |first17=Ilse |last18=Jacob |first18=Daniel J. |title=Quantifying methane emissions from the largest oil-producing basin in the United States from space |journal=Science Advances |date=1 April 2020 |volume=6 |issue=17 |pages=eaaz5120 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aaz5120 |pmid=32494644 |pmc=7176423 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.5120Z |doi-access=free }}
23 April
NASA reports building, in 37 days, a successful COVID-19 ventilator (named VITAL ("Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally")) which is currently undergoing further testing. NASA is seeking fast-track approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).{{cite news |last1=Good |first1=Andrew |last2=Greicius |first2=Tony |title=NASA Develops COVID-19 Prototype Ventilator in 37 Days |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-develops-covid-19-prototype-ventilator-in-37-days |date=23 April 2020 |work=NASA |access-date=24 April 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Mike |title=NASA engineers build new COVID-19 ventilator in 37 days |url=https://www.space.com/nasa-covid-19-ventilator-passes-test.html |date=24 April 2020 |work=Space.com |access-date=24 April 2020 }} On 30 April, NASA reports receiving FDA approval for emergency use of the new ventilator.{{cite news |last1=Inclán |first1=Bettina |last2=Rydin |first2=Matthew |last3=Northon |first3=Karen |last4=Good |first4=Andrew |title=NASA-Developed Ventilator Authorized by FDA for Emergency Use |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7655 |date=30 April 2020 |work=NASA |access-date=1 May 2020 }} On 29 May, NASA reports that eight manufacturers were selected to manufacture the new ventilator.{{cite news |last1=Inclán |first1=Bettina |last2=Rydin |first2=Matthew |last3=Northon |first3=Karen |last4=Good |first4=Andrew |title=Eight US Manufacturers Selected to Make NASA COVID-19 Ventilator |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7668 |date=29 May 2020 |work=NASA |access-date=29 May 2020 }}
Researchers report that top gamers shared the same mental toughness as olympian athletes.{{cite news |author=Queensland University of Technology |title=Elite gamers share mental toughness with top athletes, study finds - The influence of mental toughness in elite esports |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/quot-egs061120.php |date=11 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=11 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Poulus |first1=Dylan |last2=Coulter |first2=Tristan J. |last3=Trotter |first3=Michael G. |last4=Polman |first4=Remco |title=Stress and Coping in Esports and the Influence of Mental Toughness |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |date=23 April 2020 |volume=11 |page=628 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00628 |pmid=32390900 |pmc=7191198 |doi-access=free }}
24 April
Researchers report discovering nitrogen-bearing organics in Allan Hills 84001, a Martian meteorite found on Earth.{{cite news |title=4-billion-year-old nitrogen-containing organic molecules discovered in Martian meteorites |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-billion-year-old-nitrogen-containing-molecules-martian-meteorites.html |access-date=24 July 2020 |work=Phys.org}}{{cite journal |author=Koike, Mizuho |display-authors=et al. |title=In-situ preservation of nitrogen-bearing organics in Noachian Martian carbonates |date=24 April 2020 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |number=1988 |page=1988 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15931-4 |pmid=32332762 |pmc=7181736 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1988K }}
Researchers report to have developed an inexpensive, small smartphone-based testing device which can detect pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 within 30 minutes.{{cite news |title=Portable Microfluidic Platform Developed for Detecting Coronavirus Using Smartphone |url=https://www.genengnews.com/news/portable-microfluidic-platform-developed-for-detecting-coronavirus-using-smartphone/ |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News |date=24 April 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Fu |last2=Ganguli |first2=Anurup |last3=Nguyen |first3=Judy |last4=Brisbin |first4=Ryan |last5=Shanmugam |first5=Krithika |last6=Hirschberg |first6=David L. |last7=Wheeler |first7=Matthew B. |last8=Bashir |first8=Rashid |last9=Nash |first9=David M. |last10=Cunningham |first10=Brian T. |title=Smartphone-based multiplex 30-minute nucleic acid test of live virus from nasal swab extract |journal=Lab on a Chip |date=5 May 2020 |volume=20 |issue=9 |pages=1621–1627 |doi=10.1039/D0LC00304B |pmid=32334422 |s2cid=216145806 |language=en |issn=1473-0189|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |title=Inexpensive, portable detector identifies pathogens in minutes |website=phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-inexpensive-portable-detector-pathogens-minutes.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |language=en}}
Researchers report that gaps due to an improper fit of a face mask can decrease the filtration efficiency by over 60% and that filtration efficiencies of hybrid homemade face mask such as cotton–chiffon are larger than single-layer homemade masks – over 80% for particles <300 nm.{{cite news |title=The best material for homemade face masks may be a combination of two fabrics |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-material-homemade-masks-combination-fabrics.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Here's why the combination of cotton, silk may be best home made masks |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/heres-why-combination-cotton-silk-may-be-best-home-made-masks-818427 |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=International Business Times, India Edition |date=26 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Konda |first1=Abhiteja |last2=Prakash |first2=Abhinav |last3=Moss |first3=Gregory A. |last4=Schmoldt |first4=Michael |last5=Grant |first5=Gregory D.|author6-link=Supratik Guha |last6=Guha |first6=Supratik |title=Aerosol Filtration Efficiency of Common Fabrics Used in Respiratory Cloth Masks |journal=ACS Nano |date=24 April 2020 |volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=6339–6347 |doi=10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 |pmid=32329337 |pmc=7185834 |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report verifying measurements 2011-2014 via ULAS J1120+0641 of what seem to be a spatial variation in four measurements of the fine-structure constant, a basic physical constant used to measure electromagnetism between charged particles, which indicates that there might be directionality with varying natural constants in the Universe which would have implications for theories on the emergence of habitability of the Universe and be at odds with the widely accepted theory of constant natural laws and the standard model of cosmology which is based on an isotropic Universe.{{cite news |title=The laws of physics may break down at the edge of the universe |url=https://futurism.com/the-byte/laws-physics-break-down-edge-universe |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=Futurism |language=en}}{{cite news |title=New findings suggest laws of nature 'downright weird,' not as constant as previously thought |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-laws-nature-downright-weird-constant.html |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Field |first=David |title=New Tests Suggest a Fundamental Constant of Physics Isn't The Same Across The Universe |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/new-tests-suggest-the-fundamental-forces-of-nature-aren-t-constant-across-the-universe |date=28 April 2020 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=29 April 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Wilczynska |first1=Michael R. |last2=Webb |first2=John K. |last3=Bainbridge |first3=Matthew |last4=Barrow |first4=John D. |last5=Bosman |first5=Sarah E. I. |last6=Carswell |first6=Robert F. |last7=Dąbrowski |first7=Mariusz P. |last8=Dumont |first8=Vincent |last9=Lee |first9=Chung-Chi |last10=Leite |first10=Ana Catarina |last11=Leszczyńska |first11=Katarzyna |last12=Liske |first12=Jochen |last13=Marosek |first13=Konrad |last14=Martins |first14=Carlos J. A. P. |last15=Milaković |first15=Dinko |last16=Molaro |first16=Paolo |last17=Pasquini |first17=Luca |title=Four direct measurements of the fine-structure constant 13 billion years ago |journal=Science Advances |date=1 April 2020 |volume=6 |issue=17 |pages=eaay9672 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aay9672| pmc=7182409 |pmid=32426462 |arxiv=2003.07627 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.9672W |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report to be able to identify the genomic pathogen signature of all 29 different SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences available to them using machine learning and a dataset of 5000 unique viral genomic sequences. They suggest that their approach can be used as a reliable real-time option for taxonomic classification of novel pathogens.{{cite news |title=Researchers crack COVID-19 genome signature |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-covid-genome-signature.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Randhawa |first1=Gurjit S. |last2=Soltysiak |first2=Maximillian P. M. |last3=Roz |first3=Hadi El |last4=Souza |first4=Camila P. E. de |last5=Hill |first5=Kathleen A. |last6=Kari |first6=Lila |title=Machine learning using intrinsic genomic signatures for rapid classification of novel pathogens: COVID-19 case study |journal=PLOS ONE |date=24 April 2020 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=e0232391 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0232391 |pmid=32330208 |pmc=7182198 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1532391R |doi-access=free }}

File:PanellusStipticusAug12 2009.jpg plants to glow much brighter than previously possible by inserting genes of the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi. The image shows the mushroom Panellus Stipticus displaying bioluminescence]]

27 April
Scientists report to have genetically engineered plants to glow much brighter than previously possible by inserting genes of the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi. The glow is self-sustained, works by converting plants' caffeic acid into luciferin and, unlike for bacterial bioluminescence genes used earlier, has a high light output that is visible to the naked eye.{{cite news |title=Sustainable light achieved in living plants |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-sustainable.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Scientists use mushroom DNA to produce permanently-glowing plants |url=https://newatlas.com/biology/mushroom-dna-glowing-plants/ |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=28 April 2020}}{{cite news |title=Scientists create glowing plants using mushroom genes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/27/scientists-create-glowing-plants-using-mushroom-genes |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=27 April 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Woodyatt |first1=Amy |title=Scientists create glow-in-the-dark plants |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/world/glowing-plants-intl-scli-scn/index.html |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite journal |last1=Mitiouchkina |first1=Tatiana |last2=Mishin |first2=Alexander S. |last3=Somermeyer |first3=Louisa Gonzalez |last4=Markina |first4=Nadezhda M. |last5=Chepurnyh |first5=Tatiana V. |last6=Guglya |first6=Elena B. |last7=Karataeva |first7=Tatiana A. |last8=Palkina |first8=Kseniia A. |last9=Shakhova |first9=Ekaterina S. |last10=Fakhranurova |first10=Liliia I. |last11=Chekova |first11=Sofia V. |last12=Tsarkova |first12=Aleksandra S. |last13=Golubev |first13=Yaroslav V. |last14=Negrebetsky |first14=Vadim V. |last15=Dolgushin |first15=Sergey A. |last16=Shalaev |first16=Pavel V. |last17=Shlykov |first17=Dmitry |last18=Melnik |first18=Olesya A. |last19=Shipunova |first19=Victoria O. |last20=Deyev |first20=Sergey M. |last21=Bubyrev |first21=Andrey I. |last22=Pushin |first22=Alexander S. |last23=Choob |first23=Vladimir V. |last24=Dolgov |first24=Sergey V. |last25=Kondrashov |first25=Fyodor A. |last26=Yampolsky |first26=Ilia V. |last27=Sarkisyan |first27=Karen S. |title=Plants with genetically encoded autoluminescence |journal=Nature Biotechnology |date=27 April 2020 |volume=38 |issue=8 |pages=944–946 |doi=10.1038/s41587-020-0500-9 |pmid=32341562 |s2cid=216559981 |pmc=7610436 }}
Scientists report that collectives of bacteria have a membrane potential-based form of collective working memory. When they shone light onto a biofilm of bacteria optical imprints lasted for hours after the initial stimulus as the light-exposed cells responded differently to oscillations in membrane potentials due to changes to their potassium channels.{{cite news |title=They remember: Communities of microbes found to have working memory |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-microbes-memory.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Chih-Yu |last2=Bialecka-Fornal |first2=Maja |last3=Weatherwax |first3=Colleen |last4=Larkin |first4=Joseph W. |last5=Prindle |first5=Arthur |last6=Liu |first6=Jintao |last7=Garcia-Ojalvo |first7=Jordi |last8=Süel |first8=Gürol M. |title=Encoding Membrane-Potential-Based Memory within a Microbial Community |journal=Cell Systems |date=27 April 2020 |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=417–423.e3 |doi=10.1016/j.cels.2020.04.002 |pmid=32343961 |pmc=7286314 |url=|language=en |issn=2405-4712}} A form of collective memory in bacteria has reportedly been demonstrated experimentally first in 2016.{{cite news |title=Collective memory discovered in bacteria |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160307153047.htm |access-date=23 May 2020 |work=ScienceDaily |language=en}}

File:Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate Into More Than Two Dozen Pieces (49832598833).png of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) disintegrating into more than 30 fragments, causing it to dim.]]

28 April
Astronomers describe a way of detecting exoplanetary life via oxygen on water worlds.{{cite news |author=Arizona State University |title=Exoplanets: How we'll search for signs of life |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/asu-ehw050420.php |date=4 May 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=5 May 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Glaser, Donald M. |display-authors=et al. |title=Detectability of Life Using Oxygen on Pelagic Planets and Water Worlds |date=28 April 2020 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=893 |number=2 |page=163 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab822d |arxiv=2004.03631 |bibcode=2020ApJ...893..163G |s2cid=215416035 |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers report the observation of a fast radio burst from the magnetar SGR 1935+2154, the first ever detected inside the Milky Way, and the first to be linked to a known source.{{cite news |last=Starr |first=Michelle |title=Exclusive: We Might Have First-Ever Detection of a Fast Radio Burst in Our Own Galaxy |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/a-galactic-magnetar-just-spat-out-something-shockingly-like-a-fast-radio-burst |date=1 May 2020 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=1 May 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Scholz, Paul |display-authors=et al. |title=ATel #13681 - A bright millisecond-timescale radio burst from the direction of the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154 |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13681 |date=28 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=1 May 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Younes, George |display-authors=et al. |title=Burst forest from SGR 1935+2154 as detected with NICER |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13678 |date=28 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=1 May 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Kennea, J.A. |display-authors=et al. |title=SGR 1935+2154: Swift detection of enhanced X-ray emission and dust scattered halo |url=http://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13679 |date=28 April 2020 |work=The Astronomer's Telegram |access-date=1 May 2020 }}
Researchers publish an analysis of the growth of confirmed infected COVID-19 cases in 9 countries which characterizes the spread and identifies effective flatten the curve-strategies.{{cite news |title=Correlations in COVID-19 growth point to universal strategies for slowing spread |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-covid-growth-universal-strategies.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Manchein |first1=Cesar |last2=Brugnago |first2=Eduardo L. |last3=da Silva |first3=Rafael M. |last4=Mendes |first4=Carlos F. O. |last5=Beims |first5=Marcus W. |title=Strong correlations between power-law growth of COVID-19 in four continents and the inefficiency of soft quarantine strategies |journal=Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science |date=1 April 2020 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=041102 |doi=10.1063/5.0009454 |pmid=32357675 |pmc=7192349 |arxiv=2004.00044 |bibcode=2020Chaos..30d1102M |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers publish images by the Hubble Space Telescope of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) disintegrating into more than 30 fragments, causing it to dim. Previously, astronomers believed the comet might become one of the brightest comets near Earth in the last two decades and may become visible to the naked eye.{{cite web |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Hailey Rose |title=Hubble captures breakup of Comet ATLAS |url=https://astronomy.com/news/2020/05/hubble-captures-breakup-of-comet-atlas |website=Astronomy.com |access-date=18 May 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Garner |first1=Rob |title=Hubble Watches Comet ATLAS Disintegrate Into More Than 2 Dozen Pieces |journal=NASA |date=28 April 2020 |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/hubble-watches-comet-atlas-disintegrate-into-more-than-two-dozen-pieces |access-date=18 May 2020}}

File:Spinosaurus aegyptiacus skeletal.jpg claims to have found the first unambiguous evidence for an aquatic propulsive structure in a non-avian dinosaur. The image shows S. aegyptiacus skeletal reconstruction in swimming posture prior to the discovery of the tail fin]]

29 April – A new study of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, published in the journal Nature, claims to have found the first unambiguous evidence for an aquatic propulsive structure in a non-avian dinosaur and that the dinosaur had very tall, slender neural spines on its tail and hence a deep, laterally compressed tail like that of a gigantic newt.{{cite news |title=New fossils rewrite the story of dinosaurs and change the appearance of Spinosaurus |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-fossils-rewrite-story-dinosaurs-spinosaurus.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Ibrahim |first1=Nizar |last2=Maganuco |first2=Simone |last3=Dal Sasso |first3=Cristiano |last4=Fabbri |first4=Matteo |last5=Auditore |first5=Marco |last6=Bindellini |first6=Gabriele |last7=Martill |first7=David M. |last8=Zouhri |first8=Samir |last9=Mattarelli |first9=Diego A. |last10=Unwin |first10=David M. |last11=Wiemann |first11=Jasmina |last12=Bonadonna |first12=Davide |last13=Amane |first13=Ayoub |last14=Jakubczak |first14=Juliana |last15=Joger |first15=Ulrich |last16=Lauder |first16=George V. |last17=Pierce |first17=Stephanie E. |title=Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur |journal=Nature |date=May 2020 |volume=581 |issue=7806 |pages=67–70 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2190-3 |pmid=32376955 |bibcode=2020Natur.581...67I |s2cid=216650535 |doi-access=free }}
30 April
The first results from ice-monitoring satellite ICESat-2 are published, showing that melting in Antarctica and Greenland has contributed 14 mm (0.55 in) of global sea level rise since 2003.{{cite news |title=First results from NASA's ICESat-2 mission map 16 years of melting ice sheets |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uow-frf042420.php |date=30 April 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=1 May 2020 }}
NASA selects three U.S. companies – Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX – to design and develop human landing systems (HLS) for the agency's Artemis program, one of which is planned to deliver the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-names-companies-to-develop-human-landers-for-artemis-moon-missions|title=NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Moon Missions|date=30 April 2020|access-date=1 May 2020|work=NASA}}
Scientists report that one of the climate models – the CMIP6 model CESM2 – is not supported by paleoclimate records. Comparing simulations of this model with geological evidence suggests that its climate sensitivity is too high. This indicates that this model may not perform realistically at high {{CO2}} concentrations, overestimating global warming at high levels of {{CO2}} where its equilibrium climate sensitivity is 5.3 °C and modelled tropical land temperature exceeds 55 °C. They recommend using paleoclimate constraints of past warm and cold climates to benchmark the performance of CMIP6 climate models.{{cite news |title=Some of the latest climate models provide unrealistically high projections of future warming |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-latest-climate-unrealistically-high-future.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Zhu |first1=Jiang |last2=Poulsen |first2=Christopher J. |last3=Otto-Bliesner |first3=Bette L. |author-link3=Bette Otto-Bliesner|title=High climate sensitivity in CMIP6 model not supported by paleoclimate |journal=Nature Climate Change |date=May 2020 |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=378–379 |doi=10.1038/s41558-020-0764-6 |bibcode=2020NatCC..10..378Z |s2cid=217167140 }}
Astronomers publish 15 images of proto-planetary disks believed to undergo planet formation.{{cite news |title=Astronomers capture rare images of planet-forming disks around stars |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-astronomers-capture-rare-images-planet-forming.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kluska |first1=J. |last2=Berger |first2=J.-P. |last3=Malbet |first3=F. |last4=Lazareff |first4=B. |last5=Benisty |first5=M. |last6=Bouquin |first6=J.-B. Le |last7=Absil |first7=O. |last8=Baron |first8=F. |last9=Delboulbé |first9=A. |last10=Duvert |first10=G. |last11=Isella |first11=A. |last12=Jocou |first12=L. |last13=Juhasz |first13=A. |last14=Kraus |first14=S. |last15=Lachaume |first15=R. |last16=Ménard |first16=F. |last17=Millan-Gabet |first17=R. |last18=Monnier |first18=J. D. |last19=Moulin |first19=T. |last20=Perraut |first20=K. |last21=Rochat |first21=S. |last22=Pinte |first22=C. |last23=Soulez |first23=F. |last24=Tallon |first24=M. |last25=Thi |first25=W.-F. |last26=Thiébaut |first26=E. |last27=Traub |first27=W. |last28=Zins |first28=G. |title=A family portrait of disk inner rims around Herbig Ae/Be stars - Hunting for warps, rings, self shadowing, and misalignments in the inner astronomical units |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |date=1 April 2020 |volume=636 |pages=A116 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201833774 |arxiv=2004.01594 |bibcode=2020A&A...636A.116K |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2020/04/aa33774-18/aa33774-18.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |language=en |issn=0004-6361|doi-access=free }}

=May=

1 May – Scientists report that DNA damage and faulty DNA repair jointly cause mutations such as in cancer genomes.{{cite news |title=First systematic report on the tug-of-war between DNA damage and repair |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-systematic-tug-of-war-dna.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=DNA damage and faulty repair jointly cause mutations |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-dna-faulty-jointly-mutations.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Volkova |first1=Nadezda V. |last2=Meier |first2=Bettina |last3=González-Huici |first3=Víctor |last4=Bertolini |first4=Simone |last5=Gonzalez |first5=Santiago |last6=Vöhringer |first6=Harald |last7=Abascal |first7=Federico |last8=Martincorena |first8=Iñigo |last9=Campbell |first9=Peter J. |last10=Gartner |first10=Anton |last11=Gerstung |first11=Moritz |title=Mutational signatures are jointly shaped by DNA damage and repair |journal=Nature Communications |date=1 May 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=2169 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15912-7 |pmid=32358516 |pmc=7195458 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2169V |doi-access=free }}
2 May – A brown bear sighting in Spain's Invernadeiro national park is reported for the first time in 150 years.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/brown-bear-spotted-in-north-west-spain-for-first-time-in-150-years-galicia|title=First brown bear for 150 years seen in national park in northern Spain|date=3 May 2020|access-date=4 May 2020|work=The Guardian}}{{Importance inline|date=July 2020|reason=May not be sufficiently related to science and/or notable enough and/or more appropriate in a separate article}}
4 May – Researchers project that regions inhabited by a third of the human population could become as hot as the hottest parts of the Sahara within 50 years without a change in patterns of population growth and without migration, unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. The projected annual average temperature of above 29 °C for these regions would be outside the "human temperature niche" and the most affected regions have little adaptive capacity as of 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52543589|title=Climate change: More than 3bn could live in extreme heat by 2070|date=5 May 2020|access-date=6 May 2020|work=BBC News}}{{cite news|url=http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/news/articles/near-unlivableheatforone-.html|title='Near-unlivable' heat for one-third of humans within 50 years if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut|date=4 May 2020|access-date=6 May 2020|work=University of Exeter}}{{cite news|url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-billions-unlivable.html|title=Billions projected to suffer nearly unlivable heat in 2070|date=4 May 2020|access-date=6 May 2020|work=Phys.org}}{{cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Chi |last2=Kohler |first2=Timothy A. |last3=Lenton |first3=Timothy M. |last4=Svenning |first4=Jens-Christian |last5=Scheffer |first5=Marten |title=Future of the human climate niche |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=26 May 2020 |volume=117 |issue=21 |pages=11350–11355 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1910114117 |pmid=32366654 |pmc=7260949 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11711350X |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}

File:North Magnetic Poles.svg (pictured) is moving towards Siberia due to flux lobe elongation on Earth's core-mantle boundary.]]

5 May
A maiden flight of China's most powerful rocket to date, the Long March 5B, occurs.{{cite news|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/money/tech-and-science/chinas-space-test-hits-snag-with-capsule-anomaly/ar-BB13IgGb|title=China's space test hits snag with capsule 'anomaly'|date=7 May 2020|access-date=7 May 2020|work=MSN}}
Researchers report that the North Magnetic Pole is moving due to elongation of one of two lobes of negative magnetic flux on Earth's core-mantle boundary alongside magnetic changes and that it will likely move 390–660 km further on its current trajectory, on which it is accelerating, towards Siberia over the next decade.{{cite news |title=A possible explanation for the Earth's North magnetic pole moving toward Russia |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-explanation-earth-north-magnetic-pole.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Amos |first1=Jonathan |title=Scientists explain magnetic pole's wanderings |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52550973 |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=BBC News |date=6 May 2020}}{{cite journal|last1=Livermore|first1=Philip W.|last2=Finlay|first2=Christopher C.|last3=Bayliff|first3=Matthew|s2cid=218513160|title=Recent north magnetic pole acceleration towards Siberia caused by flux lobe elongation|journal=Nature Geoscience|year=2020|volume=13|issue=5|pages=387–391|doi=10.1038/s41561-020-0570-9|bibcode=2020NatGe..13..387L|arxiv=2010.11033}}
6 May
Astronomers report the possible discovery of the nearest black hole to Earth, about 1,000 light years away in the two-star HR 6819 system.{{cite news |last=Grush |first=Loren |title=Astronomers say they've found the closest black hole to Earth - Don't worry, it's actually 1,000 light-years away |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/6/21249111/black-hole-earth-light-years-hr-6819-stars-orbit-close |date=6 May 2020 |work=The Verge |access-date=6 May 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Rivinius, Th. |s2cid=218516688 |display-authors=et al. |title=A naked-eye triple system with a nonaccreting black hole in the inner binary |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2020/05/aa38020-20/aa38020-20.html |date=6 May 2020 |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |volume=67 |pages=L3 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202038020 |arxiv=2005.02541 |bibcode=2020A&A...637L...3R |access-date=6 May 2020 }}
A scientist's proposal for a solar-powered orbital slingshot rendezvous mission to investigate interstellar object 'Oumuamua is reported to have been selected for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program.{{cite news |title=Scientists want to catch alien objects from other solar systems with a huge ring of satellites |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-alien-objects-interstellar-solar-system-oumuamua-a9510621.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=The Independent |date=12 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=To catch an interstellar visitor, use a solar-powered space slingshot |url=https://news.mit.edu/2020/catch-interstellar-visitor-use-solar-powered-space-statite-slingshot-0506/ |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=MIT News}}

File:Plagiomnium affine laminazellen.jpegs. The image shows natural chloroplasts in plant cells.]]

8 May
Researchers show that wet-bulb temperatures (TW) above the upper physiological limit of humans have already occurred in some coastal subtropical locations despite climate models projecting such to occur only by the mid-21st century. These combinations of humidity and heat above a TW of 35 °C are likely to be fatal even to fit and healthy people when exposure is sustained and have more than doubled in frequency since 1979 overall, weather station data shows.{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Andrea |title=Heat and Humidity Are Already Reaching the Limits of Human Tolerance |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heat-and-humidity-are-already-reaching-the-limits-of-human-tolerance/ |access-date=15 June 2020 |work=Scientific American |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Potentially fatal combinations of humidity and heat are emerging across the globe |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-potentially-fatal-combinations-humidity-emerging.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Dangerous humid heat extremes occurring decades before expected - Welcome to NOAA Research |url=https://research.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/451/ArticleID/2621/Dangerous-humid-heat-extremes-occurring-decades-before-expected |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=research.noaa.gov |archive-date=12 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612102623/https://research.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/451/ArticleID/2621/Dangerous-humid-heat-extremes-occurring-decades-before-expected |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last1=Raymond |first1=Colin |last2=Matthews |first2=Tom |last3=Horton |first3=Radley M. |title=The emergence of heat and humidity too severe for human tolerance |journal=Science Advances |date=1 May 2020 |volume=6 |issue=19 |pages=eaaw1838 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aaw1838 |pmid=32494693 |pmc=7209987 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.1838R |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report to have developed artificial chloroplasts – the photosynthetic structures inside plant cells. They combined thylakoids, which are used for photosynthesis, from spinach with a bacterial enzyme and an artificial metabolic module of 16 enzymes, which can convert carbon dioxide more efficiently than plants can alone, into cell-sized droplets. According to the study this demonstrates how natural and synthetic biological modules can be matched for new functional systems.{{cite news |title=New technique makes thousands of semi-synthetic photosynthesis cells |url=https://newatlas.com/science/semi-synthetic-photosynthesis-cells/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=11 May 2020}}{{cite news |title=Researchers develop an artificial chloroplast |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-artificial-chloroplast.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Tarryn E. |last2=Beneyton |first2=Thomas |last3=Schwander |first3=Thomas |last4=Diehl |first4=Christoph |last5=Girault |first5=Mathias |last6=McLean |first6=Richard |last7=Chotel |first7=Tanguy |last8=Claus |first8=Peter |last9=Cortina |first9=Niña Socorro |last10=Baret |first10=Jean-Christophe |last11=Erb |first11=Tobias J. |s2cid=218552008 |title=Light-powered CO{{sub|2}} fixation in a chloroplast mimic with natural and synthetic parts |journal=Science |date=8 May 2020 |volume=368 |issue=6491 |pages=649–654 |doi=10.1126/science.aaz6802 |pmid=32381722 |bibcode=2020Sci...368..649M |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02870971/file/FinalAcceptedFile.pdf |pmc=7610767 }}
Researchers report to have developed a proof-of-concept of a quantum radar using quantum entanglement and microwaves which may potentially be useful for the development of improved radar systems, security scanners and medical imaging systems.{{cite news |title=Scientists demonstrate quantum radar prototype |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-scientists-quantum-radar-prototype.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title="Quantum radar" uses entangled photons to detect objects |url=https://newatlas.com/physics/quantum-radar-entangled-photons/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=12 May 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Barzanjeh |first1=S. |last2=Pirandola |first2=S. |last3=Vitali |first3=D. |last4=Fink |first4=J. M. |title=Microwave quantum illumination using a digital receiver |journal=Science Advances |date=1 May 2020 |volume=6 |issue=19 |pages=eabb0451 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb0451 |pmid=32548249 |pmc=7272231 |arxiv=1908.03058 |bibcode=2020SciA....6..451B |doi-access=free }}

File:Thunderspy-logo.png, a security vulnerability that may impact millions of Apple, Linux, Windows and pre-2019 computers.]]

10 May
Computer scientists disclose the existence of Thunderspy, a security vulnerability based on the Intel Thunderbolt port, that can result in an evil maid attack of an unattended device gaining full access to a computer's information in about five minutes and may affect millions of macOS, Linux and Windows computers including any computer with an enabled Thunderbolt port manufactured before 2019, and some after that.{{cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |title=Thunderbolt Flaws Expose Millions of PCs to Hands-On Hacking - The so-called Thunderspy attack takes less than five minutes to pull off with physical access to a device, and it affects any PC manufactured before 2019. |url=https://www.wired.com/story/thunderspy-thunderbolt-evil-maid-hacking/ |date=10 May 2020 |magazine=Wired |access-date=11 May 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Porter |first=Jon |title=Thunderbolt flaw allows access to a PC's data in minutes - Affects all Thunderbolt-enabled PCs manufactured before 2019, and some after that |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/11/21254290/thunderbolt-security-vulnerability-thunderspy-encryption-access-intel-laptops |date=11 May 2020 |work=The Verge |access-date=11 May 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Ruytenberg |first=Björn |title=Thunderspy: When Lightning Strikes Thrice: Breaking Thunderbolt 3 Security |url=https://thunderspy.io/ |date=2020 |work=Thunderspy.io |access-date=11 May 2020 }}
Scientists report to have discovered the closest relative of SARS-CoV-2 in most of the virus genome reported to date in a bat. RmYN02 has a 93.3% nucleotide identity with SARS-CoV-2 and also contains a four amino-acid insertion at the S1/S2 cleavage site, which adds to the evidence that supports the theory of a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.{{cite news |title=A close relative of SARS-CoV-2 found in bats offers more evidence it evolved naturally |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-relative-sars-cov-evidence-evolved-naturally.html |access-date=11 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Hong |last2=Chen |first2=Xing |last3=Hu |first3=Tao |last4=Li |first4=Juan |last5=Song |first5=Hao |last6=Liu |first6=Yanran |last7=Wang |first7=Peihan |last8=Liu |first8=Di |last9=Yang |first9=Jing |last10=Holmes |first10=Edward C. |last11=Hughes |first11=Alice C. |last12=Bi |first12=Yuhai |last13=Shi |first13=Weifeng |title=A Novel Bat Coronavirus Closely Related to SARS-CoV-2 Contains Natural Insertions at the S1/S2 Cleavage Site of the Spike Protein |journal=Current Biology |date=8 June 2020 |volume=30 |issue=11 |pages=2196–2203.e3 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.023 |pmid=32416074 |pmc=7211627 |language=en |issn=0960-9822|doi-access=free }}
11 May – Researchers report the development of synthetic red blood cells that for the first time have all of the natural cells' known broad natural properties and abilities. Furthermore, methods to load functional cargos such as hemoglobin, drugs, magnetic nanoparticles, and ATP biosensors may enable additional non-native functionalities.{{cite news |title=Synthetic red blood cells mimic natural ones, and have new abilities |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-synthetic-red-blood-cells-mimic.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Jimin |last2=Agola |first2=Jacob Ongudi |last3=Serda |first3=Rita |last4=Franco |first4=Stefan |last5=Lei |first5=Qi |last6=Wang |first6=Lu |last7=Minster |first7=Joshua |last8=Croissant |first8=Jonas G. |last9=Butler |first9=Kimberly S. |last10=Zhu |first10=Wei |last11=Brinker |first11=C. Jeffrey |title=Biomimetic Rebuilding of Multifunctional Red Blood Cells: Modular Design Using Functional Components |journal=ACS Nano |date=11 May 2020 |volume=14 |issue=7 |pages=7847–7859 |doi=10.1021/acsnano.9b08714 |pmid=32391687 |osti=1639054 |s2cid=218584795 }}

File:800 nasa structure renderin2.jpg 3.5 Mya from Sagittarius A* created the large X-ray/gamma-ray Fermi Bubbles (pictured) around the Galactic Center and illuminated the Magellanic Stream.]]

12 May
Researchers report to have developed a method to selectively manipulate a layered manganite's correlated electrons' spin state while leaving its orbital state intact using femtosecond X-ray laser pulses. This may indicate that orbitronics – using variations in the orientations of orbitals – may be used as the basic unit of information in novel IT devices.{{cite news |title=Scientists break the link between a quantum material's spin and orbital states |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-scientists-link-quantum-material-orbital.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Shen |first1=L. |last2=Mack |first2=S. A. |last3=Dakovski |first3=G. |last4=Coslovich |first4=G. |last5=Krupin |first5=O. |last6=Hoffmann |first6=M. |last7=Huang |first7=S.-W. |last8=Chuang |first8=Y-D. |last9=Johnson |first9=J. A. |last10=Lieu |first10=S. |last11=Zohar |first11=S. |last12=Ford |first12=C. |last13=Kozina |first13=M. |last14=Schlotter |first14=W. |last15=Minitti |first15=M. P. |last16=Fujioka |first16=J. |last17=Moore |first17=R. |last18=Lee |first18=W-S. |last19=Hussain |first19=Z. |last20=Tokura |first20=Y. |last21=Littlewood |first21=P. |last22=Turner |first22=J. J. |title=Decoupling spin-orbital correlations in a layered manganite amidst ultrafast hybridized charge-transfer band excitation |journal=Physical Review B |date=12 May 2020 |volume=101 |issue=20 |pages=201103 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.101.201103| arxiv=1912.10234 |bibcode=2020PhRvB.101t1103S |doi-access=free }}
Astronomers report in a preprint that a Seyfert flare 3.5 million years ago with a burst of ionizing radiation from Sagittarius A* created the large X-ray/gamma-ray Fermi Bubbles around the Galactic Center and reached so far into space that it illuminated the Magellanic Stream – a stream of gas extending from two of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies.{{cite news |title=Intense flash from Milky Way's black hole illuminated gas far outside of our galaxy |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-intense-milky-black-hole-illuminated.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Fox |first1=Andrew J. |last2=Frazer |first2=Elaine M. |last3=Bland-Hawthorn |first3=Joss |last4=Wakker |first4=Bart P. |last5=Barger |first5=Kathleen A. |last6=Richter |first6=Philipp |title=Kinematics of the Magellanic Stream and Implications for its Ionization |arxiv=2005.05720 |doi=10.17909/t9-94ka-p284 |date=2020|publisher=STScI/MAST |s2cid=218596266 }}
13 May
Scientists report to have evolved 10 clonal strains of a common coral microalgal endosymbionts at elevated temperatures for 4 years, increasing their thermal tolerance for climate resilience. Three of the strains increased the corals' bleaching tolerance after reintroduction into coral host larvae. Their strains and findings may potentially be relevant for the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and further tests of algal strains in adult colonies across a range of coral species are planned.{{cite news |title=Scientists successfully develop 'heat resistant' coral to fight bleaching |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-scientists-successfully-resistant-coral.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Cornwall |first1=Warren |title=Lab-evolved algae could protect coral reefs |journal=Science |date=13 May 2020 |doi=10.1126/science.abc7842 |s2cid=219408415 }}{{cite journal |last1=Buerger |first1=P. |last2=Alvarez-Roa |first2=C. |last3=Coppin |first3=C. W. |last4=Pearce |first4=S. L. |last5=Chakravarti |first5=L. J. |last6=Oakeshott |first6=J. G. |last7=Edwards |first7=O. R. |last8=Oppen |first8=M. J. H. van |title=Heat-evolved microalgal symbionts increase coral bleaching tolerance |journal=Science Advances |date=1 May 2020 |volume=6 |issue=20 |pages=eaba2498 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba2498 |pmid=32426508 |pmc=7220355 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.2498B |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report to have identified the world's oldest arthropod and oldest land-animal living persistently on land: the Myriapod millipede-ancestor Kampecaris obanensis, dating back 425 million years to the Silurian period. According to the study the 2.5 cm specimen found in Scotland in 1899 adds evidence for a rapid co-evolution of bugs and plants from lake-communities to complex forest ecosystems in just 40 million years.{{cite news |title=World's oldest bug is fossil millipede from Scotland |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-world-oldest-bug-fossil-millipede.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Cassella |first1=Carly |title=This May Have Been Earth's First-Ever Land Animal |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/this-425-million-year-old-fossil-is-the-world-s-oldest-known-bug |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=ScienceAlert |language=en-gb}}{{cite journal |last1=Brookfield |first1=M. E. |last2=Catlos |first2=E. J. |last3=Suarez |first3=S. E. |title=Myriapod divergence times differ between molecular clock and fossil evidence: U/Pb zircon ages of the earliest fossil millipede-bearing sediments and their significance |journal=Historical Biology |date=13 May 2020 |volume=33 |issue=10 |pages=2009–2013 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2020.1761351 |doi-access=free }}
14 May
A study on the human genetic history of East Asians using DNA of 25 individuals from ca. 9,500-4,200 years ago and one individual from ca. 300 years ago indicates a southern China origin of proto-Austronesians, and that migration and gene flow played an important role in the prehistory of coastal Asia during the Neolithic Revolution, the transition from hunter-gathering to agricultural economies, with a spread of northern East Asian ancestry across southern East Asia. Contemporary mainland East Asians from both the north and south share a closer genetic relationship to found northern Neolithic East Asians.{{cite news |title=Ancient DNA unveils important missing piece of human history |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-ancient-dna-unveils-important-piece.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Melinda A. |last2=Fan |first2=Xuechun |last3=Sun |first3=Bo |last4=Chen |first4=Chungyu |last5=Lang |first5=Jianfeng |last6=Ko |first6=Ying-Chin |last7=Tsang |first7=Cheng-hwa |last8=Chiu |first8=Hunglin |last9=Wang |first9=Tianyi |last10=Bao |first10=Qingchuan |last11=Wu |first11=Xiaohong |last12=Hajdinjak |first12=Mateja |last13=Ko |first13=Albert Min-Shan |last14=Ding |first14=Manyu |last15=Cao |first15=Peng |last16=Yang |first16=Ruowei |last17=Liu |first17=Feng |last18=Nickel |first18=Birgit |last19=Dai |first19=Qingyan |last20=Feng |first20=Xiaotian |last21=Zhang |first21=Lizhao |last22=Sun |first22=Chengkai |last23=Ning |first23=Chao |last24=Zeng |first24=Wen |last25=Zhao |first25=Yongsheng |last26=Zhang |first26=Ming |last27=Gao |first27=Xing |last28=Cui |first28=Yinqiu |last29=Reich |first29=David |last30=Stoneking |first30=Mark |last31=Fu |first31=Qiaomei |s2cid=218649510 |title=Ancient DNA indicates human population shifts and admixture in northern and southern China |journal=Science |date=14 May 2020 |volume=369 |issue=6501 |pages=282–288 |doi=10.1126/science.aba0909 |pmid=32409524 |bibcode=2020Sci...369..282Y }}
In a published unedited manuscript researchers show which host cell pathways are modulated by a SARS-CoV-2 infection by creating a cellular infection profile by analysing the translatome and proteome at different times after infection. They also show that inhibition of these pathways with identified drugs prevented viral replication in human cells which may aid the development of COVID-19 therapies.{{cite news |title=Researchers discover potential targets for COVID-19 therapy |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-potential-covid-therapy.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Bojkova |first1=Denisa |last2=Klann |first2=Kevin |last3=Koch |first3=Benjamin |last4=Widera |first4=Marek |last5=Krause |first5=David |last6=Ciesek |first6=Sandra |last7=Cinatl |first7=Jindrich |last8=Münch |first8=Christian |title=Proteomics of SARS-CoV-2-infected host cells reveals therapy targets |journal=Nature |date=14 May 2020 |volume=583 |issue=7816 |pages=469–472 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2332-7 |pmid=32408336 |bibcode=2020Natur.583..469B |doi-access=free |pmc=7616921 }}
An interdisciplinary team of virologists, microbiologists and computational scientists confirmed the predicted subgenomic RNAs of SARS-CoV-2 along with new RNA and dozens of unknown subgenomic RNAs.{{cite web |url= https://www.ibs.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000738/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=18344 |title= New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Mapped Out: A high resolution gene map reveals many viral RNAs with unknown functions and modifications |author= |website= Institute for Basic Science |access-date= 10 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1= Kim |first1= Dongwan |last2= Lee |first2= Joo-Yeon |last3= Yang |first3= Jeong-Sun |last4= Kim |first4= Jun Won |last5= Kim |first5=V. Narry |author-link5= V. Narry Kim |last6= Chang |first6= Hyeshik |date= 14 May 2020 |title= The Architecture of SARS-CoV-2 Transcriptome |journal= Cell |volume= 181 |issue= 4 |pages= 914–921.e10 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.011|pmid= 32330414 |pmc= 7179501 |doi-access= free }}{{cite journal |last1=Zastrow |first1=Mark |title=South Korea's Institute for Basic Science faces review |journal=Nature |date=27 May 2020 |volume=581 |issue=7809 |pages=S53 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01465-8 |pmid=32461663 |bibcode=2020Natur.581S..53Z |doi-access=free }}
15 May
Geologists report that the earliest known mass extinction, the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), 445 million years ago, may have been the result of global warming, related to volcanism and anoxia, and not the result, as considered earlier, of cooling and glaciation.{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Shannon |title=Familiar Culprit May Have Caused Mysterious Mass Extinction - A planet heated by giant volcanic eruptions drove the earliest known wipeout of life on Earth. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/science/global-warming-ordovician-extinction.html |date=10 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=15 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Bond |first1=David P.G. |last2=Grasby |first2=Stephen E. |title=Late Ordovician mass extinction caused by volcanism, warming, and anoxia, not cooling and glaciation |journal=Geology |date=18 May 2020 |volume=48 |issue=8 |pages=777–781 |doi=10.1130/G47377.1 |bibcode=2020Geo....48..777B |doi-access=free }}
A researcher reports that in a supercomputer model simulation a realistic extinction of the Neanderthal population can only be simulated when Homo sapiens is considerably more effective in exploiting scarce glacial food resources as compared to Neanderthals, with interbreeding and abrupt climate change only being minor contributors to their extinction.{{cite news |title=Supercomputer model simulations reveal cause of Neanderthal extinction |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-supercomputer-simulations-reveal-neanderthal-extinction.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Timmermann |first1=Axel |title=Quantifying the potential causes of Neanderthal extinction: Abrupt climate change versus competition and interbreeding |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=15 June 2020 |volume=238 |pages=106331 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106331 |bibcode=2020QSRv..23806331T |language=en |issn=0277-3791|doi-access=free }}
18 May – A researcher publishes an objective Bayesian analysis which estimates that the emergence of life is likely a rapid process and not a slow and rare scenario and that the emergence of intelligence is slightly more likely to be rare.{{cite news |title=New study estimates the odds of life and intelligence emerging beyond our planet |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-odds-life-intelligence-emerging-planet.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kipping |first1=David |title=An objective Bayesian analysis of life's early start and our late arrival |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=2 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=22 |pages=11995–12003 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1921655117 |pmid=32424083 |pmc=7275750 |arxiv=2005.09008 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11711995K |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}

File:AugeBad2.jpg blood hemoglobin levels.]]

19 May
Researchers report to have developed the first integrated silicon on-chip low-noise single-photon source compatible with large-scale quantum photonics.{{cite news |title=Photon discovery is a major step toward large-scale quantum technologies |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-photon-discovery-major-large-scale-quantum.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Physicists develop integrated photon source for macro quantum-photonics |url=https://optics.org/news/11/5/44 |website=optics.org |access-date=14 June 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Paesani |first1=S. |last2=Borghi |first2=M. |last3=Signorini |first3=S. |last4=Maïnos |first4=A. |last5=Pavesi |first5=L. |last6=Laing |first6=A. |title=Near-ideal spontaneous photon sources in silicon quantum photonics |journal=Nature Communications |date=19 May 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=2505 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16187-8 |pmid=32427911 |pmc=7237445 |arxiv=2005.09579 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2505P |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report a temporary 17% drop in daily List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions by early April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels during the COVID-19 forced confinements. At the peak of the interventions, where 89% of global emissions were in areas under some confinement, emissions in individual countries decreased by –26% on average. Estimations on the impact on 2020 annual emissions are between -2% and -13%. The largest reductions were due to reductions of surface transport.{{cite news |title=Carbon emissions fall 17% worldwide under coronavirus lockdowns, study finds |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/carbon-emissions-fall-coronavirus-lockdowns-worldwide/ |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=www.cbsnews.com}}{{cite news |title=COVID-19 crisis causes 17% drop in global carbon emissions: study |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-covid-crisis-global-carbon-emissions.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Le Quéré |first1=Corinne |last2=Jackson |first2=Robert B. |last3=Jones |first3=Matthew W. |last4=Smith |first4=Adam J. P. |last5=Abernethy |first5=Sam |last6=Andrew |first6=Robbie M. |last7=De-Gol |first7=Anthony J. |last8=Willis |first8=David R. |last9=Shan |first9=Yuli |last10=Canadell |first10=Josep G. |last11=Friedlingstein |first11=Pierre |last12=Creutzig |first12=Felix |last13=Peters |first13=Glen P. |title=Temporary reduction in daily global CO 2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement |journal=Nature Climate Change |date=19 May 2020 |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=647–653 |doi=10.1038/s41558-020-0797-x |bibcode=2020NatCC..10..647L |doi-access=free |hdl=10871/122774 |hdl-access=free }} Despite this on May 4 UN Climate Change reports that the CO{{sub|2}} concentration in the atmosphere reached an all-time daily high of the ca. 60-year record on May 3.{{cite news |last1=Calma |first1=Justine |title=Even with people staying in, carbon dioxide is breaking records |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/7/21251188/carbon-dioxide-breaking-records-climate-change-coronavirus |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=The Verge |date=7 May 2020 |language=en}}
Astronomers from Jodrell Bank Observatory report that the fast radio burst FRB 121102 exhibits the same radio burst behavior ("radio bursts observed in a window lasting approximately 90 days followed by a silent period of 67 days") every 157 days, suggesting that the bursts may be associated with "the orbital motion of a massive star, a neutron star or a black hole".{{cite news |author=University of Manchester |title=Jodrell Bank leads international effort which reveals 157 day cycle in unusual cosmic radio bursts |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uom-jbl060520.php |date=7 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=7 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Rajwade |first1=K. M. |last2=Mickaliger |first2=M. B. |last3=Stappers |first3=B. W. |last4=Morello |first4=V. |last5=Agarwal |first5=D. |last6=Bassa |first6=C. G. |last7=Breton |first7=R. P. |last8=Caleb |first8=M. |last9=Karastergiou |first9=A. |last10=Keane |first10=E. F. |last11=Lorimer |first11=D. R. |title=Possible periodic activity in the repeating FRB 121102 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=11 July 2020 |volume=495 |issue=4 |pages=3551–3558 |doi=10.1093/mnras/staa1237 |arxiv=2003.03596 |bibcode=2020MNRAS.495.3551R |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/495/4/3551/5840547 |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en |issn=0035-8711|doi-access=free }}
20 May
Researchers report estimations of green snow algae community biomass and distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula and project a net increase in their extent and biomass and coastal Antarctica turning more green due to climate change.{{cite news |last1=Watts |first1=Jonathan |title=Climate change is turning parts of Antarctica green, say scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/climate-change-turning-parts-antarctica-green-say-scientists-algae |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=20 May 2020}}{{cite news |title=Climate change will turn coastal Antarctica green, say scientists |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-climate-coastal-antarctica-green-scientists.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=Andrew |last2=Krolikowski |first2=Monika |last3=Fretwell |first3=Peter |last4=Convey |first4=Peter |last5=Peck |first5=Lloyd S. |last6=Mendelova |first6=Monika |last7=Smith |first7=Alison G. |last8=Davey |first8=Matthew P. |title=Remote sensing reveals Antarctic green snow algae as important terrestrial carbon sink |journal=Nature Communications |date=20 May 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=2527 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16018-w |pmid=32433543 |pmc=7239900 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2527G |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report that genome-wide data of 19 Siberians of the Upper Paleolithic to Bronze Age of up to ca. 14,000 years ago show the most deeply divergent connection between Upper Paleolithic Siberians and the indigenous peoples of the Americas and that long-range human mobility across Eurasia during the Early Bronze Age as well as prolonged local admixture that lead to an ancestry that gave rise to all non-Arctic Native Americans.{{cite news |title=Oldest connection with Native Americans identified near Lake Baikal in Siberia |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-oldest-native-americans-lake-baikal.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Scientists discover oldest link between Native Americans, ancient Siberians |url=https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/05/20/Scientists-discover-oldest-link-between-Native-Americans-ancient-Siberians/4331589986739/ |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=UPI |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=He |last2=Spyrou |first2=Maria A. |last3=Karapetian |first3=Marina |last4=Shnaider |first4=Svetlana |last5=Radzevičiūtė |first5=Rita |last6=Nägele |first6=Kathrin |last7=Neumann |first7=Gunnar U. |last8=Penske |first8=Sandra |last9=Zech |first9=Jana |last10=Lucas |first10=Mary |last11=LeRoux |first11=Petrus |last12=Roberts |first12=Patrick |last13=Pavlenok |first13=Galina |last14=Buzhilova |first14=Alexandra |last15=Posth |first15=Cosimo |last16=Jeong |first16=Choongwon |last17=Krause |first17=Johannes |s2cid=218710761 |title=Paleolithic to Bronze Age Siberians Reveal Connections with First Americans and across Eurasia |journal=Cell |date=11 June 2020 |volume=181 |issue=6 |pages=1232–1245.e20 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.037 |pmid=32437661 |url=https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30502-X.pdf |access-date=13 June 2020 |language=en |issn=0092-8674|doi-access=free }}
ESA reports that its Swarm satellite constellation is being used to better understand the mysterious South Atlantic Anomaly whereby the magnetic field has lost around 9% of its strength on a global average over the last 200 years in large area. They are investigating the processes in Earth's core driving these changes, which have caused technical disturbances in satellites and may be relevant to a potential geomagnetic reversal, and found that the anomaly could split up into two separate low points.{{cite news |last1=Pappas |first1=Stephanie |title='Vigorous' magnetic field oddity spotted over South Atlantic |url=https://www.livescience.com/weakening-magnetic-field-satellites.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=livescience.com |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Earth's magnetic field is mysteriously weakening, causing chaos for satellites |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/earth-magnetic-field-satellites-space-a9528571.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=The Independent |date=22 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Swarm probes weakening of Earth's magnetic field |url=https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Swarm/Swarm_probes_weakening_of_Earth_s_magnetic_field |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=www.esa.int |language=en}}
Astronomers report to have discovered a large rotating disk galaxy, dating back to when the universe was only 1.5 billion years old – the Wolfe Disk. Previously it was believed that such galaxies could not grow as big and well-ordered so early, which indicates there possibly being a need to revise theories of galaxy formation and evolution.{{cite news |last1=Overbye |first1=Dennis |title=The Galaxy That Grew Up Too Fast |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/science/galaxy-early-universe-astronomy.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=20 May 2020}}{{cite news |title=ALMA discovers massive rotating disk in early universe |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-alma-massive-rotating-disk-early.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Strickland |first1=Ashley |title=Astronomers find the Wolfe Disk, an unlikely galaxy, in the distant universe |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/23/world/distant-galaxy-wolfe-disk-scn-trnd/index.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=CNN}}{{cite journal |last1=Neeleman |first1=Marcel |last2=Prochaska |first2=J. Xavier |last3=Kanekar |first3=Nissim |last4=Rafelski |first4=Marc |s2cid=218718343 |title=A cold, massive, rotating disk galaxy 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang |journal=Nature |date=May 2020 |volume=581 |issue=7808 |pages=269–272 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2276-y |pmid=32433621 |arxiv=2005.09661 |bibcode=2020Natur.581..269N }}

File:Comet Parts.svg reaches its nearest point to Earth. A few days later the Solar Orbiter flies through its ion gas tail and its dust tail. The image shows a comet's tails.]]

21 May
Researchers report a one-minute novel coronavirus test with 90% accuracy, based on the "change in the resonance in the THz spectral range" shown by the coronavirus through THz spectroscopy".{{cite news |last=Ho |first=David |title=Israel's Ben-Gurion University develops one-minute coronavirus test |url=https://www.bioworld.com/articles/435285-israels-ben-gurion-university-develops-one-minute-coronavirus-test |date=21 May 2020 |work=BioWorld.com |access-date=7 June 2020 }}
Researchers report to have developed a way to use smartphone images of a person's inner eyelids to assess blood hemoglobin levels with high precision. Usually these proteins in red blood cells are measured by the use of an hemoglobinometer or with a standard blood test for detecting anemia or other health issues. They are working on a mobile app.{{cite news |title=New mobile health tool measures hemoglobin without drawing blood |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-mobile-health-tool-hemoglobin-blood.html |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=App snaps a pic of the eyelid to spot anemia |url=https://www.futurity.org/anemia-diagnosis-eyelids-app-hemoglobin-2372502/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=Futurity |date=21 May 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Sang Mok |last2=Visbal-Onufrak |first2=Michelle A. |last3=Haque |first3=Md Munirul |last4=Were |first4=Martin C. |last7=Naanyu |first7=Violet |last8=Hasan |first8=Md Kamrul |last9=Kim |first9=Young L. |title=mHealth spectroscopy of blood hemoglobin with spectral super-resolution |journal=Optica |date=20 June 2020 |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=563–573 |doi=10.1364/OPTICA.390409 |pmid=33365364 |bibcode=2020Optic...7..563P |url=https://www.osapublishing.org/optica/abstract.cfm?uri=optica-7-6-563 |access-date=12 June 2020 |language=EN |issn=2334-2536|pmc=7755164 }}
Researchers report the development of a naked-eye colorimetric assay COVID-19 test based on nanoparticles for diagnosis without advanced laboratory techniques within 10 minutes from isolated RNA samples.{{cite news |title=Researchers develop experimental rapid COVID-19 test using nanoparticle technique |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-experimental-rapid-covid-nanoparticle-technique.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Moitra |first1=Parikshit |last2=Alafeef |first2=Maha |last3=Dighe |first3=Ketan |last4=Frieman |first4=Matthew B. |last5=Pan |first5=Dipanjan |title=Selective Naked-Eye Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Mediated by N Gene Targeted Antisense Oligonucleotide Capped Plasmonic Nanoparticles |journal=ACS Nano |date=21 May 2020 |volume=14 |issue=6 |pages=7617–7627 |doi=10.1021/acsnano.0c03822 |pmid=32437124 |pmc=7263075 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report that two Neanderthal haplotypes carrying the progesterone receptor gene entered the modern human population and that carriers of them in a cohort of ca. 450,000 present-day Britons – a third of its women – have more siblings, fewer miscarriages, and less bleeding during early pregnancy which, according to the study, suggests that these progesterone receptor alleles promote fertility. The study shows that genetic variants which were introduced into modern humans by mixing with Neanderthals can have effects in people living today.{{cite news |title=Neanderthal gene in women boosts infertility |url=https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200531/Neanderthal-gene-in-women-boosts-infertility.aspx |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=News-Medical.net |date=31 May 2020 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Women with Neandertal gene give birth to more children |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-women-neandertal-gene-birth-children.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Zeberg |first1=Hugo |last2=Kelso |first2=Janet |last3=Pääbo |first3=Svante |title=The Neandertal Progesterone Receptor |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |year=2020 |volume=37 |issue=9 |pages=2655–2660 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msaa119 |pmid=32437543 |pmc=7475037 |doi-access=free }}

File:Oumuamua orbit at perihelion.png's (pictured) observed properties could be explained if it was an "iceberg" of molecular hydrogen ice.]]

22 May
Australian computer scientists report achieving, thus far, the highest internet speed in the world from a single optical chip source over standard optical fiber, amounting to 44.2 Terabits per sec, or "downloading 1000 high definition movies in a split second".{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Australian researchers record world's fastest internet speed from a single optical chip |url=https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/australian-researchers-record-worlds-fastest-internet-speed-from-a-single-optical-chip |date=22 May 2020 |work=Monash University |access-date=24 May 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Monash University |title=Australian researchers record world's fastest internet speed from a single optical chip |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/mu-arr_1052020.php |date=22 May 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=28 May 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Corcoran |first1=Bill |last2=Tan |first2=Mengxi |last3=Xu |first3=Xingyuan |last4=Boes |first4=Andreas |last5=Wu |first5=Jiayang |last6=Nguyen |first6=Thach G. |last7=Chu |first7=Sai T. |last8=Little |first8=Brent E. |last9=Morandotti |first9=Roberto |last10=Mitchell |first10=Arnan |last11=Moss |first11=David J. |title=Ultra-dense optical data transmission over standard fibre with a single chip source |journal=Nature Communications |date=22 May 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=2568 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16265-x|arxiv=2003.11893 |pmid=32444605 |pmc=7244755 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2568C |doi-access=free }}
Scientists publish evidence for the early differentiation of the cline of Italian variation dating back to the Late Glacial and for Neolithic and distinct Bronze Age migrations having further differentiated their gene pools. Ancestors of present-day Italians are believed to have experienced an extraordinary history of migrations and gene flow as main factors underlying their genetic diversity which is one of the highest across Europe.{{cite news |title=Earliest evidence of Italians' extraordinary genetic diversity dates back to 19,000 years ago |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-earliest-evidence-italians-extraordinary-genetic.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Italy's genetic diversity goes back at least 19,000 years, study says |url=https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/05/22/Italys-genetic-diversity-goes-back-at-least-19000-years-study-says/6881590178311/ |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=UPI |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Sazzini |first1=Marco |last2=Abondio |first2=Paolo |last3=Sarno |first3=Stefania |last4=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first4=Guido Alberto |last5=Ragno |first5=Matteo |last6=Giuliani |first6=Cristina |last7=De Fanti |first7=Sara |last8=Ojeda-Granados |first8=Claudia |last9=Boattini |first9=Alessio |last10=Marquis |first10=Julien |last11=Valsesia |first11=Armand |last12=Carayol |first12=Jerome |last13=Raymond |first13=Frederic |last14=Pirazzini |first14=Chiara |last15=Marasco |first15=Elena |last16=Ferrarini |first16=Alberto |last17=Xumerle |first17=Luciano |last18=Collino |first18=Sebastiano |last19=Mari |first19=Daniela |last20=Arosio |first20=Beatrice |last21=Monti |first21=Daniela |last22=Passarino |first22=Giuseppe |last23=D'Aquila |first23=Patrizia |last24=Pettener |first24=Davide |last25=Luiselli |first25=Donata |last26=Castellani |first26=Gastone |last27=Delledonne |first27=Massimo |last28=Descombes |first28=Patrick |last29=Franceschi |first29=Claudio |last30=Garagnani |first30=Paolo |title=Genomic history of the Italian population recapitulates key evolutionary dynamics of both Continental and Southern Europeans |journal=BMC Biology |date=22 May 2020 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=51 |doi=10.1186/s12915-020-00778-4 |pmid=32438927 |pmc=7243322 |doi-access=free }}
23 May – Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) reaches its nearest point to Earth.{{cite news |title=Comet ATLAS may put on quite a show |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-03-comet-atlas.html |access-date=5 April 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en-us}}{{cite news |title=Hubble captures breakup of comet ATLAS |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-04-hubble-captures-breakup-comet-atlas.html |access-date=18 May 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}} It reaches its perihelion (closest to the Sun) on May 31. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft flies through comet ATLAS' ion tail between May 31 and June 1 as well as its dust tail in the solar wind on June 6.{{cite news |title=ESA'S Solar Orbiter set for unexpected rendezvous with Comet ATLAS |url=https://newatlas.com/space/solar-orbiter-rendezvous-comet-atlas/ |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=29 May 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Hatfield |first1=Miles |title=STEREO Watches Comet ATLAS as Solar Orbiter Crosses Its Tail |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2020/stereo-watches-comet-atlas-as-solar-orbiter-crosses-its-tail |website=NASA |access-date=14 June 2020 |date=4 June 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Geraint H. |last2=Afghan |first2=Qasim |last3=Price |first3=Oliver |s2cid=218570917 |title=Prospects for the In Situ detection of Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS by Solar Orbiter |journal=Research Notes of the AAS |date=5 May 2020 |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=62 |doi=10.3847/2515-5172/ab8fa6 |arxiv=2005.03806 |bibcode=2020RNAAS...4...62J |doi-access=free }}
25 May
Researchers report the creation of a sensor only 11 atoms in size, able to capture magnetic waves.{{cite news|url=https://www.tudelft.nl/en/2020/tnw/researchers-build-sensor-consisting-of-only-11-atoms/|title=Researchers build sensor consisting of only 11 atoms|date=25 May 2020|access-date=27 May 2020|work=Delft University of Technology}}{{cite journal |last1=Elbertse |first1=R. J. G. |last2=Coffey |first2=D. |last3=Gobeil |first3=J. |last4=Otte |first4=A. F. |title=Remote detection and recording of atomic-scale spin dynamics |journal=Communications Physics |date=25 May 2020 |volume=3 |issue=1 |page=94 |doi=10.1038/s42005-020-0361-z |bibcode=2020CmPhy...3...94E |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report in a preprint that they are confirming the existence of an Earth-sized planet around Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun, whose discovery was announced in August 2016. ESPRESSO data confirms the presence of Proxima b and shows that it has a minimum mass of ca. 1.17 Earth masses and is located in the habitable zone of its star.{{cite news |title=ESPRESSO confirms the presence of an Earth-sized planet around the nearest star (Update) |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-espresso-presence-earth-nearest-star.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Mascareño |first1=A. Suárez |display-authors=etal |title=Revisiting Proxima with ESPRESSO |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |arxiv=2005.12114v1 |date=25 May 2020|volume=639 |pages=A77 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202037745 |bibcode=2020A&A...639A..77S |s2cid=218869742 }}
26 May
Astronomers report the detection of several very powerful explosions, newly classified as Fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), similar in ways to the much less energetic FBOT SN 2018cow observed in 2018.{{cite news |author=Staff |title=The 'Cow' Mystery Strikes Back: Two More Rare, Explosive Events Captured |url=http://www.keckobservatory.org/fbot |date=26 May 2020 |work=Keck Observatory |access-date=26 May 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Amanda |title=Astrophysicists capture new class of transient objects |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-astrophysicists-capture-class-transient.html |date=26 May 2020 |work=Phys.org |access-date=26 May 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Northwestern University |title=Astrophysicists capture new class of transient objects - 'A new beast is out there,' researcher says of object found in tiny galaxy |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-05/nu-acn052620.php |date=26 May 2020 |work=Northwestern University |access-date=26 May 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Coppejans |first1=D. L. |display-authors=etal |s2cid=214623364 |title=A Mildly Relativistic Outflow from the Energetic, Fast-rising Blue Optical Transient CSS161010 in a Dwarf Galaxy |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=26 May 2020 |volume=895 |issue=1 |pages=L23 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab8cc7 |arxiv=2003.10503 |bibcode=2020ApJ...895L..23C |url=https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/21065064/Coppejans_2020_ApJL_895_L23.pdf |doi-access=free }}
Simulations by Imperial College London reveal that the Chicxulub impactor produced a "worst case" scenario in terms of lethality for the dinosaurs, arriving from the north-east at a 60° angle, which maximised the amount of gases and debris thrown up into Earth's atmosphere.{{cite news|url=http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/197694/dinosaur-dooming-asteroid-struck-earth-deadliest-possible/|title=Dinosaur-dooming asteroid struck Earth at 'deadliest possible' angle|date=26 May 2020|access-date=27 May 2020|work=Imperial College London}}{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1=G. S. |last2=Patel |first2=N. |last3=Davison |first3=T. M. |last4=Rae |first4=A. S. P. |last5=Morgan |first5=J. V. |author5-link= Joanna Morgan |last6=Gulick |first6=S. P. S. |title=A steeply-inclined trajectory for the Chicxulub impact |journal=Nature Communications |date=26 May 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=1480 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15269-x |pmid=32457325 |pmc=7251121 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1480C |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report in a preprint paper, published in a journal in June, that all of ʻOumuamua's observed properties can be explained if it contained a significant fraction of molecular hydrogen ice. They suggest it had formed in an interstellar cloud where stars are born and "sat" relatively motionless with its ice getting worn away as it approached the Sun, explaining its shape.{{cite news |last1=Overbye |first1=Dennis |title=Oumuamua: Neither Comet nor Asteroid, but a Cosmic Iceberg |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/science/oumuamua-astronomy-comets.html |access-date=15 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=15 June 2020}}{{cite news |last1=O'Callaghan |first1=Jonathan |title=A Hydrogen Iceberg from a Failed Star Might Have Passed through Our Solar System |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hydrogen-iceberg-from-a-failed-star-might-have-passed-through-our-solar-system/ |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=Scientific American |language=en}}{{cite news |title='Oumuamua was an iceberg of molecular hydrogen, scientists claim |url=https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/06/09/Oumuamua-was-an-iceberg-of-molecular-hydrogen-scientists-claim/2181591707091/ |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=UPI |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Seligman |first1=Darryl |last2=Laughlin |first2=Gregory |s2cid=218900854 |title=Evidence that 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua) was Composed of Molecular Hydrogen Ice |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=9 June 2020 |volume=896 |issue=1 |pages=L8 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab963f |arxiv=2005.12932 |bibcode=2020ApJ...896L...8S |doi-access=free }}
Researchers suggest that a solution to what they consider to be the core of the space debris problem may be an international agreement to charge operators "orbital-use fees" for every satellite put into orbit and that this could more than quadruple the long-run value of the satellite industry by 2040.{{cite news |title=Solving the space junk problem |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-space-junk-problem.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Rao |first1=Akhil |last2=Burgess |first2=Matthew G. |last3=Kaffine |first3=Daniel |s2cid=218911386 |title=Orbital-use fees could more than quadruple the value of the space industry |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=9 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=23 |pages=12756–12762 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1921260117 |pmid=32457138 |pmc=7293599 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11712756R |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}
27 May
Astronomers report that classical novae explosions are the galactic producers of the element lithium.{{cite news |author=Arizona State University |title=Class of stellar explosions found to be galactic producers of lithium |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/asu-cos060120.php |date=1 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=2 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |author1-link=Sumner Starrfield |last1=Starrfield |first1=Sumner |last2=Bose |first2=Maitrayee |last3=Iliadis |first3=Christian |last4=Hix |first4=W. Raphael |last5=Woodward |first5=Charles E. |last6=Wagner |first6=R. Mark |s2cid=203610207 |title=Carbon–Oxygen Classical Novae Are Galactic 7Li Producers as well as Potential Supernova Ia Progenitors |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=27 May 2020 |volume=895 |issue=1 |pages=70 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab8d23 |arxiv=1910.00575 |bibcode=2020ApJ...895...70S |doi-access=free }}
A study shows that social networks can function poorly as pathways for inconvenient truths, that the interplay between communication and action during disasters may depend on the structure of social networks, that communication networks suppress necessary "evacuations" in test-scenarios because of false reassurances when compared to groups of isolated individuals and that larger networks with a smaller proportion of informed subjects can suffer more damage due to human-caused misinformation.{{cite news |title=Evidence of large groups responding more slowly to crises due to false information |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-evidence-large-groups-slowly-crises.html |access-date=13 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Shirado |first1=Hirokazu |last2=Crawford |first2=Forrest W. |last3=Christakis |first3=Nicholas A. |title=Collective communication and behaviour in response to uncertain 'Danger' in network experiments |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |date=27 May 2020 |volume=476 |issue=2237 |pages=20190685 |doi=10.1098/rspa.2019.0685 |pmid=32518501 |pmc=7277132 |bibcode=2020RSPSA.47690685S |doi-access=free }} 50px Fragments of the text were copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
29 May – Scientists publish a study which illustrates major regional variations in the shares of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer to Neolithic farmer genomic ancestry, highlighting the complexity of the biological interactions during the Neolithic expansion in Europe.{{cite news |title=Heightened interaction between neolithic migrants and hunter-gatherers in Western Europe |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-05-heightened-interaction-neolithic-migrants-hunter-gatherers.html |access-date=14 June 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Rivollat |first1=Maïté |last2=Jeong |first2=Choongwon |last3=Schiffels |first3=Stephan |last4=Küçükkalıpçı |first4=İşil |last5=Pemonge |first5=Marie-Hélène |last6=Rohrlach |first6=Adam Benjamin |last7=Alt |first7=Kurt W. |last8=Binder |first8=Didier |last9=Friederich |first9=Susanne |last10=Ghesquière |first10=Emmanuel |last11=Gronenborn |first11=Detlef |last12=Laporte |first12=Luc |last13=Lefranc |first13=Philippe |last14=Meller |first14=Harald |last15=Réveillas |first15=Hélène |last16=Rosenstock |first16=Eva |last17=Rottier |first17=Stéphane |last18=Scarre |first18=Chris |last19=Soler |first19=Ludovic |last20=Wahl |first20=Joachim |last21=Krause |first21=Johannes |last22=Deguilloux |first22=Marie-France |last23=Haak |first23=Wolfgang |title=Ancient genome-wide DNA from France highlights the complexity of interactions between Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers |journal=Science Advances |date=1 May 2020 |volume=6 |issue=22 |pages=eaaz5344 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aaz5344 |pmid=32523989 |pmc=7259947 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.5344R |doi-access=free }}
30 May – SpaceX successfully launches two NASA astronauts into orbit on a Crew Dragon spacecraft from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first crewed spacecraft to take off from U.S. soil since 2011.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=SpaceX Lifts NASA Astronauts to Orbit, Launching New Era of Spaceflight - The trip to the space station was the first from American soil since 2011 when the space shuttles were retired. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/science/spacex-nasa-astronauts.html |date=30 May 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=31 May 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |title=SpaceX Falcon 9 launches two NASA astronauts into the space CNN news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/30/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-astronauts-scn/index.html |date=30 May 2020 |work=CNN News |access-date=31 May 2020 }}

=June=

File:Yellowstone_Caldera.svg track, which occurred around 8.72 Ma.]]

{{annotated image/Extinction|image-width=200|width=200|float=right|caption=1 June: Researchers publish a study using data on vertebrates on the brink to extinction, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction is likely accelerating.}}

1 June
Astronomers report narrowing down the source of fast radio bursts (FRBs), which may now plausibly include "compact-object mergers and magnetars arising from normal core collapse supernovae".{{cite news |last=Starr |first=Michelle |title=Astronomers Just Narrowed Down The Source of Those Powerful Radio Signals From Space |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/we-re-starting-to-figure-out-where-fast-radio-bursts-come-from |date=1 June 2020 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=2 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Bhandari |first1=Shivani |last2=Sadler |first2=Elaine M. |last3=Prochaska |first3=J. Xavier |last4=Simha |first4=Sunil |last5=Ryder |first5=Stuart D. |last6=Marnoch |first6=Lachlan |last7=Bannister |first7=Keith W. |last8=Macquart |first8=Jean-Pierre |last9=Flynn |first9=Chris |last10=Shannon |first10=Ryan M. |last11=Tejos |first11=Nicolas |last12=Corro-Guerra |first12=Felipe |last13=Day |first13=Cherie K. |last14=Deller |first14=Adam T. |last15=Ekers |first15=Ron |last16=Lopez |first16=Sebastian |last17=Mahony |first17=Elizabeth K. |last18=Nuñez |first18=Consuelo |last19=Phillips |first19=Chris |title=The Host Galaxies and Progenitors of Fast Radio Bursts Localized with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=1 June 2020 |volume=895 |issue=2 |pages=L37 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab672e |arxiv=2005.13160 |bibcode=2020ApJ...895L..37B |s2cid=218900539 |doi-access=free }}
The existence of quark cores in neutron stars is confirmed by Finnish researchers.{{cite news|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uoh-frh060120.php|title=Finnish researchers have discovered a new type of matter inside neutron stars |date=1 June 2020|access-date=3 June 2020|work=EurekAlert!}}{{cite news |title=Researchers discover a new type of matter inside neutron stars |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-neutron-stars.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Annala |first1=Eemeli |last2=Gorda |first2=Tyler |last3=Kurkela |first3=Aleksi |last4=Nättilä |first4=Joonas |last5=Vuorinen |first5=Aleksi |title=Evidence for quark-matter cores in massive neutron stars |journal=Nature Physics |date=1 June 2020 |volume=16 |issue=9 |pages=907–910 |doi=10.1038/s41567-020-0914-9 |arxiv=1903.09121 |bibcode=2020NatPh..16..907A |doi-access=free }}
Geologists report two newly identified supervolcano eruptions associated with the Yellowstone hotspot track, including the region's largest and most cataclysmic event – the Grey's Landing super-eruption – which had a volume of ≥2800 km³ and occurred around 8.72 Ma. According to the study the Yellowstone hotspot may be waning, with another eruption of this scale not likely up to around 900,000 AD.{{cite news|url=https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/News/pr/2020/20-18.aspx|title=Discovery of Ancient Super-Eruptions Indicates the Yellowstone Hotspot May Be Waning |date=3 June 2020|access-date=17 June 2020|work=The Geological Society of America}}{{cite news |title=Discovery of ancient super-eruptions indicates the Yellowstone hotspot may be waning |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-discovery-ancient-super-eruptions-yellowstone-hotspot.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Knott |first1=Thomas R. |last2=Branney |first2=Michael J. |last3=Reichow |first3=Marc K. |last4=Finn |first4=David R. |last5=Tapster |first5=Simon |last6=Coe |first6=Robert S. |title=Discovery of two new super-eruptions from the Yellowstone hotspot track (USA): Is the Yellowstone hotspot waning? |journal=Geology |year=2020 |volume=48 |issue=9 |pages=934–938 |doi=10.1130/G47384.1 |bibcode=2020Geo....48..934K |doi-access=free }}
Researchers studying corvids report that extended parenting and extended childhood is crucial for the evolution of cognition and is having profound consequences for learning and intelligence. These may create longer developmental periods in which life-history is combined with social and ecological conditions such as via continuous exposure to role models that are relatively tolerant of the children as well as continuous opportunities for learning. Earlier research on primates showed that across species relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills and that adaptations that compensate developmental and energetic costs of large brains are critical for their evolution.{{cite news |title=Long childhoods and extended parenting help young crows grow smarter |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-childhoods-parenting-young-crows-smarter.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Heidt |first1=Amanda |title=Like humans, these big-brained birds may owe their smarts to long childhoods |journal=Science |date=8 June 2020 |doi=10.1126/science.abd2209 |s2cid=225766325 }}{{cite journal |last1=Uomini |first1=Natalie |last2=Fairlie |first2=Joanna |last3=Gray |first3=Russell D. |last4=Griesser |first4=Michael |title=Extended parenting and the evolution of cognition |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=20 July 2020 |volume=375 |issue=1803 |pages=20190495 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2019.0495 |pmid=32475334 |pmc=7293161 |doi-access=free }}
Findings of studying the spin direction of more than 200,000 spiral galaxies presented at the 236th American Astronomical Society meeting may suggest that the universe could have a defined structure and that the early universe could have been spinning. According to the researcher spiral galaxies in different regions of spacetime have been found to relate through their spin-directions and even though the asymmetry of spin-directions is just over 2%, the probability to have such asymmetry by chance is less than 1 to 4 billion.{{cite news |title=Study finds that patterns formed by spiral galaxies show that the universe may have a defined structure |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-patterns-spiral-galaxies-universe.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Crane |first1=Leah |title=The entire universe may once have been spinning all over the place |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244998-the-entire-universe-may-once-have-been-spinning-all-over-the-place/ |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite web |title=K-State study reveals asymmetry in spin directions of galaxies, suggests early universe could have been spinning {{!}} Kansas State University {{!}} News and Communications Services |url=https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/2020-06/study-suggests-universe-has-defined-structure.html |website=www.k-state.edu |access-date=2 July 2020}}{{additional citation needed|date=July 2020|reason=Study missing}}
Researchers publish a study using data on vertebrates on the brink to extinction and on vertebrates that recently became extinct, in which they conclude that a human-caused potential sixth mass extinction, which was claimed to be emerging by researchers of the study in 2015, is likely accelerating and suggest a number of reasons for that including extinctions causing further extinctions. They reemphasize "extreme urgency of taking much-expanded worldwide actions".{{cite news |last1=Nuwer |first1=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Nuwer |title=Mass Extinctions Are Accelerating, Scientists Report |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/science/mass-extinctions-are-accelerating-scientists-report.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=1 June 2020}}{{cite news |title=Study finds sixth mass extinction accelerating at unprecedented rate |url=https://newatlas.com/environment/study-sixth-mass-extinction-event-accelerating/ |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=2 June 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Ceballos |first1=Gerardo |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Raven |first3=Peter H. |title=Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=16 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13596–13602 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922686117 |pmid=32482862 |pmc=7306750 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11713596C |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}
2 June – A study investigating the emergence of life on Earth and possibly other locations demonstrates a continuous chemical reaction network of simple organic and inorganic feedstocks that, in water and under high-energy radiation, generates compounds proposed to be precursors for early RNA, modelling how they may emerge spontaneously from a simple reagents mixture under conditions of early Earth through natural geochemistry.{{cite news |title=Study reveals continuous pathway to building blocks of life |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-reveals-pathway-blocks-life.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=New research shows how complex chemistry may be relevant to origins of life on Earth |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/tiot-nrs060220.php |access-date=13 July 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yi |first1=Ruiqin |last2=Tran |first2=Quoc Phuong |last3=Ali |first3=Sarfaraz |last4=Yoda |first4=Isao |last5=Adam |first5=Zachary R. |last6=Cleaves |first6=H. James |last7=Fahrenbach |first7=Albert C. |title=A continuous reaction network that produces RNA precursors |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=16 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13267–13274 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922139117 |pmid=32487725 |pmc=7306801 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11713267Y |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}

File:A fox in Barnsbury.jpges in London are mirroring patterns of domestication similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment.]]

3 June
The discovery of the oldest and largest structure in the Maya region, a 3,000-year-old pyramid-topped platform Aguada Fénix, with LiDAR technology is reported. According to the researchers the discovery suggests the importance of communal work, as with early ceremonial complexes, in the initial development of Maya civilization.{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/massive-ancient-maya-ceremonial-complex-discovered-hiding-plain-sight/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604041938/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/massive%2Dancient%2Dmaya%2Dceremonial%2Dcomplex%2Ddiscovered%2Dhiding%2Dplain%2Dsight/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 June 2020|title=Massive 3,000-year-old ceremonial complex discovered in 'plain sight' |date=3 June 2020|access-date=5 June 2020|work=National Geographic}}{{cite journal |last1=Inomata |first1=Takeshi |last2=Triadan |first2=Daniela |last3=Vázquez López |first3=Verónica A. |last4=Fernandez-Diaz |first4=Juan Carlos |last5=Omori |first5=Takayuki |last6=Méndez Bauer |first6=María Belén |last7=García Hernández |first7=Melina |last8=Beach |first8=Timothy |last9=Cagnato |first9=Clarissa |last10=Aoyama |first10=Kazuo |last11=Nasu |first11=Hiroo |title=Monumental architecture at Aguada Fénix and the rise of Maya civilization |journal=Nature |date=June 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7813 |pages=530–533 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2343-4 |pmid=32494009 |bibcode=2020Natur.582..530I |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report that mitochondrial genetic divergence could be used to predict the reproductive compatibility of mammalian hybrid offspring and that ancient anatomically modern humans (AMH), Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically closer than polar bears and brown bears (1.6% divergence for Neanderthals and AMH and 2.4% for the bears) and, like the bears, were able to easily produce healthy hybrids.{{cite news |title=Humans and Neanderthals: Less different than polar and brown bears |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-humans-neanderthals-polar-brown.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Richard |last2=Ryan |first2=Hannah |last3=Davis |first3=Brian W. |last4=King |first4=Charlotte |last5=Frantz |first5=Laurent |last6=Irving-Pease |first6=Evan |last7=Barnett |first7=Ross |last8=Linderholm |first8=Anna |last9=Loog |first9=Liisa |last10=Haile |first10=James |last11=Lebrasseur |first11=Ophélie |last12=White |first12=Mark |last13=Kitchener |first13=Andrew C. |last14=Murphy |first14=William J. |last15=Larson |first15=Greger |title=A mitochondrial genetic divergence proxy predicts the reproductive compatibility of mammalian hybrids |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=10 June 2020 |volume=287 |issue=1928 |pages=20200690 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.0690 |pmid=32486979 |pmc=7341909 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers show that urban red foxes from London and surrounding boroughs are divergent in skull traits, similar to domesticated dogs, as they adapt to their city environment with patterns of skull divergence between urban and rural habitats matching the description of morphological changes that can occur during domestication.{{cite news |title=City foxes are becoming more similar to domesticated dogs as they adapt to their environment |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-city-foxes-similar-domesticated-dogs.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Parsons |first1=K. J. |last2=Rigg |first2=Anders |last3=Conith |first3=A. J. |last4=Kitchener |first4=A. C. |last5=Harris |first5=S. |last6=Zhu |first6=Haoyu |title=Skull morphology diverges between urban and rural populations of red foxes mirroring patterns of domestication and macroevolution |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=10 June 2020 |volume=287 |issue=1928 |pages=20200763 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.0763 |pmid=32486981 |pmc=7341913 |doi-access=free }} 50px Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
Scientists report that a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found evidence that the drug hydroxychloroquine, controversially promoted by President of the United States Donald Trump as a potential treatment in mid-March,{{cite news|last1=Nisen|first1=Max | name-list-style = vanc |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/trump-is-overhyping-unproven-coronavirus-drugs/2020/03/19/ed1ff4e2-6a1a-11ea-b199-3a9799c54512_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325014213/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/trump-is-overhyping-unproven-coronavirus-drugs/2020/03/19/ed1ff4e2-6a1a-11ea-b199-3a9799c54512_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2020|title=Trump Is Overhyping Unproven Coronavirus Drugs|date=19 March 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=24 March 2020|agency=Bloomberg}}{{cite web|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-6/|work=whitehouse.gov|title=Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing|via=National Archives|access-date=24 March 2020}}{{cite news |title=Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismissing safety concerns |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-he-is-taking-hydroxychloroquine-to-protect-against-coronavirus-dismissing-safety-concerns/2020/05/18/7b8c928a-9946-11ea-ac72-3841fcc9b35f_story.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}} does not effectively protect people from COVID-19 administered within 4 days after exposure.{{cite news |title=Hydroxychloroquine no better than placebo, Covid-19 study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/hydroxychloroquine-no-better-than-placebo-study-finds |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=3 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Boulware |first1=David R. |last2=Pullen |first2=Matthew F. |last3=Bangdiwala |first3=Ananta S. |last4=Pastick |first4=Katelyn A. |last5=Lofgren |first5=Sarah M. |last6=Okafor |first6=Elizabeth C. |last7=Skipper |first7=Caleb P. |last8=Nascene |first8=Alanna A. |last9=Nicol |first9=Melanie R. |last10=Abassi |first10=Mahsa |last11=Engen |first11=Nicole W. |last12=Cheng |first12=Matthew P. |last13=LaBar |first13=Derek |last14=Lother |first14=Sylvain A. |last15=MacKenzie |first15=Lauren J. |last16=Drobot |first16=Glen |last17=Marten |first17=Nicole |last18=Zarychanski |first18=Ryan |last19=Kelly |first19=Lauren E. |last20=Schwartz |first20=Ilan S. |last21=McDonald |first21=Emily G. |last22=Rajasingham |first22=Radha |last23=Lee |first23=Todd C. |last24=Hullsiek |first24=Kathy H. |title=A Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19 |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=3 June 2020 |volume=383 |issue=6 |pages=517–525 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa2016638 |pmid=32492293 |pmc=7289276 |doi-access=free }} Other researchers are continuing to explore whether hydroxychloroquine might prevent infections as pre-exposure prophylaxis.{{cite news |title=Hydroxychloroquine coronavirus trial to restart |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53233070 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=BBC News |date=30 June 2020}}
4 June
Astronomers report that Kepler-160, a Sun-like star already known to host two planets, likely has a rocky third planet with orbit and light levels very similar to Earth.{{cite news|url=https://www.engadget.com/earth-like-planet-found-orbiting-sun-like-star-125529058.html|title=Scientists find a likely Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star |date=7 June 2020|access-date=7 June 2020|work=engadget}}{{cite journal |last1=Heller |first1=René |last2=Hippke |first2=Michael |last3=Freudenthal |first3=Jantje |last4=Rodenbeck |first4=Kai |last5=Batalha |first5=Natalie M. |last6=Bryson |first6=Steve |title=Transit least-squares survey - III. A 1.9 R⊕ transit candidate in the habitable zone of Kepler-160 and a nontransiting planet characterized by transit-timing variations |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |date=1 June 2020 |volume=638 |pages=A10 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201936929 |arxiv=2006.02123 |bibcode=2020A&A...638A..10H |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2020/06/aa36929-19/aa36929-19.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en |issn=0004-6361|doi-access=free }}
Astronomers report that results from research of Hubble Space Telescope data and other supporting data, to be published in an upcoming paper, show that galaxies must have formed much earlier than previously thought – earlier than can be probed with the Hubble Space Telescope.{{cite news |title=Hubble makes surprising find in the early universe |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-hubble-early-universe.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Wehner |first1=Mike |title=Hubble peers back in time and makes an astonishing discovery |url=https://bgr.com/2020/06/04/hubble-universe-early-stars-study/ |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=BGR |date=5 June 2020 |language=en}}{{additional citation needed|date=July 2020|reason=Study missing}}
Scientists report that fruit fly mothers ensure their offspring's success through transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, suggesting that in humans the epigenetic modification H4K16ac might also be inherited as a "blueprint", encoding, to date unknown, information for successful embryonic development.{{cite news |title=Mothers ensure their offspring's success through epigenetics |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-mothers-offspring-success-epigenetics.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Samata |first1=Maria |last2=Alexiadis |first2=Anastasios |last3=Richard |first3=Gautier |last4=Georgiev |first4=Plamen |last5=Nuebler |first5=Johannes |last6=Kulkarni |first6=Tanvi |last7=Renschler |first7=Gina |last8=Basilicata |first8=M. Felicia |last9=Zenk |first9=Fides Lea |last10=Shvedunova |first10=Maria |last11=Semplicio |first11=Giuseppe |last12=Mirny |first12=Leonid |last13=Iovino |first13=Nicola |last14=Akhtar |first14=Asifa |title=Intergenerationally Maintained Histone H4 Lysine 16 Acetylation Is Instructive for Future Gene Activation |journal=Cell |date=4 June 2020 |volume=182 |issue=1 |pages=127–144.e23 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2020.05.026 |pmid=32502394 |hdl=21.11116/0000-0006-85DF-9 |language=en |issn=0092-8674|doi-access=free }}
Scientists report bacterial mass lysis for colony-defense occurs when the bacteria will die anyway from toxin exposure from competing bacteria, explaining the evolutionary origin of this behaviour.{{cite news |title=Bacteria perform mass suicide to defend their colony |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-bacteria-mass-suicide-defend-colony.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Granato |first1=Elisa T. |author-link=Elisa Granato |last2=Foster |first2=Kevin R. |date=4 June 2020 |title=The Evolution of Mass Cell Suicide in Bacterial Warfare |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=30 |issue=14 |pages=2836–2843.e3 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.007 |issn=0960-9822 |pmc=7372221 |pmid=32502408 |doi-access=free}}
5 June – Two separate research teams publish two preprints on 5 June and 10 June according to which Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is a second protein that SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells by binding to it with its spike protein next to the protein ACE2.{{cite news |last1=Sample |first1=Ian |title=Coronavirus: the week explained - 12 June |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/12/coronavirus-the-week-explained-12-june |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=12 June 2020}}{{cite journal |title=Coronavirus research updates: University infections could soar even if students were tested weekly |journal=Nature |date=9 July 2020 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-00502-w |pmid=32221507 |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |title=Virus has multiple pathways into cells, Moderna vaccine clears safety hurdle in mouse study |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-science-graphic-idUSKBN23J2YH |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=Reuters |date=12 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite bioRxiv |last1=Cantuti-Castelvetri |first1=Ludovico |display-authors=etal |title=Neuropilin-1 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and provides a possible pathway into the central nervous system |date=10 June 2020 |biorxiv=10.1101/2020.06.07.137802}}{{cite bioRxiv |last1=Daly |first1=James L. |last2=Simonetti |first2=Boris |last3=Antón-Plágaro |first3=Carlos |last4=Williamson |first4=Maia Kavanagh |last5=Shoemark |first5=Deborah K. |last6=Simón-Gracia |first6=Lorena |last7=Klein |first7=Katja |last8=Bauer |first8=Michael |last9=Hollandi |first9=Reka |last10=Greber |first10=Urs F. |last11=Horvath |first11=Peter |last12=Sessions |first12=Richard B. |last13=Helenius |first13=Ari |last14=Hiscox |first14=Julian A. |last15=Teesalu |first15=Tambet |last16=Matthews |first16=David A. |last17=Davidson |first17=Andrew D. |last18=Cullen |first18=Peter J. |last19=Yamauchi |first19=Yohei |title=Neuropilin-1 is a host factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection |date=5 June 2020 |biorxiv=10.1101/2020.06.05.134114}}
7 June – News reports that NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space in 1984, and now 68 years old, is the first woman to reach the deepest part of the ocean, nearly seven miles below the surface.{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Heather |title=First American Woman to Walk in Space Reaches Deepest Spot in the Ocean - The astronaut Kathy Sullivan, 68, is now also the first woman to reach the Challenger Deep, about seven miles below the ocean's surface. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/science/challenger-deep-kathy-sullivan-astronaut.html |date=8 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=9 June 2020 }}
8 June
Computer experts warn Windows 10 users to update their computers with the latest security patches from Microsoft in order to avoid being infected with the wormlike SMBGhost security vulnerability, for which a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit had been released on 2 June, which, in unpatched computers, may have serious consequences.{{cite news |last=Seals |first=Tara |title=SMBGhost RCE Exploit Threatens Corporate Networks |url=https://threatpost.com/smbghost-rce-exploit-corporate-networks/156391/ |date=8 June 2020 |work=ThreatPost.com |access-date=10 June 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=David |title=Update Windows 10 Now to Block 'SMBGhost' |url=https://lifehacker.com/update-windows-10-now-to-block-smbghost-1843968661 |date=10 June 2020 |work=LifeHacker.com |access-date=10 June 2020 }}{{cite web |title=chompie1337/SMBGhost_RCE_PoC |website=GitHub |url=https://github.com/chompie1337/SMBGhost_RCE_PoC |access-date=2 July 2020 |date=2 July 2020}}
Researchers report results consistent with the hypothesis that pesticides contribute to monarch butterfly declines in the western United States.{{cite news |title=Milkweed, only food source for monarch caterpillars, ubiquitously contaminated |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-milkweed-food-source-monarch-caterpillars.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Halsch |first1=Christopher A. |last2=Code |first2=Aimee |last3=Hoyle |first3=Sarah M. |last4=Fordyce |first4=James A. |last5=Baert |first5=Nicolas |last6=Forister |first6=Matthew L. |title=Pesticide Contamination of Milkweeds Across the Agricultural, Urban, and Open Spaces of Low-Elevation Northern California |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |date=2020 |volume=8 |doi=10.3389/fevo.2020.00162 |doi-access=free }} 50px Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
9 June – Scientists confirm that the airborne radioactivity increase in Europe in autumn 2017 had a civilian background – Russian water-water energetic reactor (VVER) fuel at the end of its lifetime – and not a military one that is related to the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons.{{cite news |title=Radioactive cloud over Europe had civilian background |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-radioactive-cloud-europe-civilian-background.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Hopp |first1=Timo |last2=Zok |first2=Dorian |last3=Kleine |first3=Thorsten |last4=Steinhauser |first4=Georg |title=Non-natural ruthenium isotope ratios of the undeclared 2017 atmospheric release consistent with civilian nuclear activities |journal=Nature Communications |date=9 June 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=2744 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16316-3 |pmid=32518383 |pmc=7283356 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.2744H |doi-access=free }}

File:Gray3.png's consistent and differential attraction of sperm from specific males constitutes a distinct post-mating choice.]]

10 June
Scientists report evidence that females' follicular fluid's consistent and differential attraction of sperm, an ability of human egg cells first reported in 1991, from specific males constitutes a post-mating choice and report that this mechanism did not reinforce pre-mating human mate choice decisions.{{cite news |last1=Liverpool |first1=Layal |title=Human eggs release chemicals that attract some sperm more than others |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2245679-human-eggs-release-chemicals-that-attract-some-sperm-more-than-others/ |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite journal |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=John L. |last2=Willis |first2=Charlotte |last3=Devigili |first3=Alessandro |last4=Young |first4=Amy |last5=Carroll |first5=Michael |last6=Hunter |first6=Helen R. |last7=Brison |first7=Daniel R. |title=Chemical signals from eggs facilitate cryptic female choice in humans |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |date=10 June 2020 |volume=287 |issue=1928 |pages=20200805 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.0805 |pmid=32517615 |pmc=7341926 |doi-access=free }} 50px Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
Researchers report that the most successful – in terms of "likelihood of prizewinning, National Academy of Science (NAS) induction, or superstardom" – protégés studied under mentors who published research for which they were conferred a prize after the protégés' mentorship. Studying original topics rather than these mentors' research-topics was also positively associated with success.{{cite news |title=Sharing of tacit knowledge is most important aspect of mentorship, study finds |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-tacit-knowledge-important-aspect-mentorship.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Ma |first1=Yifang |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Satyam |last3=Uzzi |first3=Brian |title=Mentorship and protégé success in STEM fields |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=23 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=25 |pages=14077–14083 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1915516117 |pmid=32522881 |pmc=7322065 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11714077M |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}

File:Pia22562-16.jpgs (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory (pictured) aboard the ISS under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics.]]

11 June
Two teams of neuroscientists report the identification of populations of neurons in mice that control their hibernation-like behaviors, torpor – a fasting-induced state with a substantially decreased metabolic rate and body temperature. They also show that stimulation of specific populations of neurons can induce the key features of torpor even in mice that are not calorically restricted as well as in rats, which do not naturally go into a state of torpor.{{cite news |title=Neurons that control hibernation-like behavior are discovered |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/neurons-that-control-hibernation-like-behavior-are-discovered/ |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=Harvard Gazette |date=11 June 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Irving |first1=Michael |title=Scientists induce "suspended animation" state in mice and rats |url=https://newatlas.com/medical/suspended-animation-torpor-induced-hibernation/ |access-date=7 July 2020 |work=New Atlas}}{{cite journal |last1=Hrvatin |first1=Sinisa |last2=Sun |first2=Senmiao |last3=Wilcox |first3=Oren F. |last4=Yao |first4=Hanqi |last5=Lavin-Peter |first5=Aurora J. |last6=Cicconet |first6=Marcelo |last7=Assad |first7=Elena G. |last8=Palmer |first8=Michaela E. |last9=Aronson |first9=Sage |last10=Banks |first10=Alexander S. |last11=Griffith |first11=Eric C. |last12=Greenberg |first12=Michael E. |title=Neurons that regulate mouse torpor |journal=Nature |date=July 2020 |volume=583 |issue=7814 |pages=115–121 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2387-5 |pmid=32528180 |pmc=7449701 |bibcode=2020Natur.583..115H }}{{cite journal |last1=Takahashi |first1=Tohru M. |last2=Sunagawa |first2=Genshiro A. |last3=Soya |first3=Shingo |last4=Abe |first4=Manabu |last5=Sakurai |first5=Katsuyasu |last6=Ishikawa |first6=Kiyomi |last7=Yanagisawa |first7=Masashi |last8=Hama |first8=Hiroshi |last9=Hasegawa |first9=Emi |last10=Miyawaki |first10=Atsushi |last11=Sakimura |first11=Kenji |last12=Takahashi |first12=Masayo |last13=Sakurai |first13=Takeshi |title=A discrete neuronal circuit induces a hibernation-like state in rodents |journal=Nature |date=July 2020 |volume=583 |issue=7814 |pages=109–114 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2163-6 |pmid=32528181 |bibcode=2020Natur.583..109T |s2cid=219568114 }}
Scientists report the generation of rubidium Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) in the Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station under microgravity which could enable improved research of BECs and quantum mechanics, whose physics are scaled to macroscopic scales in BECs, support long-term investigations of few-body physics, support the development of techniques for atom-wave interferometry and atom lasers and has verified the successful operation of the laboratory.{{cite journal |last1=Lachmann |first1=Maike D. |last2=Rasel |first2=Ernst M. |title=Quantum matter orbits Earth |journal=Nature |date=11 June 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7811 |pages=186–187 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01653-6 |pmid=32528088 |bibcode=2020Natur.582..186L |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |title=Quantum 'fifth state of matter' observed in space for first time |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-quantum-state-space.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Aveline |first1=David C. |last2=Williams |first2=Jason R. |last3=Elliott |first3=Ethan R. |last4=Dutenhoffer |first4=Chelsea |last5=Kellogg |first5=James R. |last6=Kohel |first6=James M. |last7=Lay |first7=Norman E. |last8=Oudrhiri |first8=Kamal |last9=Shotwell |first9=Robert F. |last10=Yu |first10=Nan |last11=Thompson |first11=Robert J. |title=Observation of Bose–Einstein condensates in an Earth-orbiting research lab |journal=Nature |date=June 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7811 |pages=193–197 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2346-1 |pmid=32528092 |bibcode=2020Natur.582..193A |s2cid=219568565 }}
Scientists report findings that suggest that some species of crocodile-ancestors – here the Crocodylomorph Batrachopus grandis ichnosp. nov. – walked on their two hind legs and had a length of over three meters during the Lower Cretaceous.{{cite news |title=Ancient crocodiles walked on two legs like dinosaurs |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-ancient-crocodiles-legs-dinosaurs.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Palaeontology: Ancient footprints may belong to two-legged crocodile, not giant pterosaur {{!}} Scientific Reports {{!}} Nature Research |url=https://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/13352 |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=www.natureasia.com |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Kyung Soo |last2=Lockley |first2=Martin G. |last3=Lim |first3=Jong Deock |last4=Bae |first4=Seul Mi |last5=Romilio |first5=Anthony |title=Trackway evidence for large bipedal crocodylomorphs from the Cretaceous of Korea |journal=Scientific Reports |date=11 June 2020 |volume=10 |issue=1 |page=8680 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-66008-7 |pmid=32528068 |pmc=7289791 |bibcode=2020NatSR..10.8680K |doi-access=free }} 50px Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
12 June
Scientists announce preliminary results that demonstrate successful treatment during a small trial of the first to use of CRISPR gene editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to treat inherited genetic disorders – beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease.{{cite news |last1=Page |first1=Michael Le |title=Three people with inherited diseases successfully treated with CRISPR |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246020-three-people-with-inherited-diseases-successfully-treated-with-crispr/ |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite news |title=More early data revealed from landmark CRISPR gene editing human trial |url=https://newatlas.com/medical/early-data-ctx001-crispr-gene-editing-human-trial/ |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=17 June 2020}}{{cite news |title=A Year In, 1st Patient To Get Gene Editing For Sickle Cell Disease Is Thriving |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/23/877543610/a-year-in-1st-patient-to-get-gene-editing-for-sickle-cell-disease-is-thriving |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=NPR.org |language=en}}{{cite web |title=CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Announce New Clinical Data for Investigational Gene-Editing Therapy CTX001™ in Severe Hemoglobinopathies at the 25th Annual European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress {{!}} CRISPR Therapeutics |url=https://crisprtx.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/crispr-therapeutics-and-vertex-announce-new-clinical-data |website=crisprtx.gcs-web.com |access-date=1 July 2020 |language=en}}
Archaeologists report the earliest evidence for bow and arrow use and possibly the manufacturing of clothes or nets outside of Africa, in the tropics of Sri Lanka ~48 kya.{{cite news |title=Discovery of oldest bow and arrow technology in Eurasia |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-discovery-oldest-arrow-technology-eurasia.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Langley |first1=Michelle C. |last2=Amano |first2=Noel |last3=Wedage |first3=Oshan |last4=Deraniyagala |first4=Siran |last5=Pathmalal |first5=M. M. |last6=Perera |first6=Nimal |last7=Boivin |first7=Nicole |last8=Petraglia |first8=Michael D. |last9=Roberts |first9=Patrick |title=Bows and arrows and complex symbolic displays 48,000 years ago in the South Asian tropics |journal=Science Advances |date=1 June 2020 |volume=6 |issue=24 |pages=eaba3831 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba3831 |pmid=32582854 |pmc=7292635 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.3831L |doi-access=free }}
Scientists report that extensive coal burning and combustion of other organic matter in Siberia likely was a cause of Earth's most severe extinction event, the Permian-Triassic extinction event ~252 Mya.{{cite news |title=Coal-burning in Siberia led to climate change 250 million years ago |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-coal-burning-siberia-climate-million-years.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Elkins-Tanton |first1=L. T. |last2=Grasby |first2=S. E. |last3=Black |first3=B. A. |last4=Veselovskiy |first4=R. V. |last5=Ardakani |first5=O. H. |last6=Goodarzi |first6=F. |title=Field evidence for coal combustion links the 252 Ma Siberian Traps with global carbon disruption |journal=Geology |year=2020 |volume=48 |issue=10 |pages=986–991 |doi=10.1130/G47365.1 |bibcode=2020Geo....48..986E |doi-access=free }}
Geophysicists provide the first comprehensive, wide-area, high-resolution view of the Earth's core-mantle boundary and show that heterogenous, unusually dense structures at the boundary are more widespread than previously known.{{cite news |title=Scientists detect unexpected widespread structures near Earth's core |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-scientists-unexpected-widespread-earth-core.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=D. |last2=Lekić |first2=V. |last3=Ménard |first3=B. |last4=Baron |first4=D. |last5=Taghizadeh-Popp |first5=M. |title=Sequencing seismograms: A panoptic view of scattering in the core-mantle boundary region |journal=Science |date=12 June 2020 |volume=368 |issue=6496 |pages=1223–1228 |doi=10.1126/science.aba8972 |pmid=32527827 |arxiv=2007.09485 |bibcode=2020Sci...368.1223K |s2cid=219585009 }}
13 June – Scientists report that early supercomputer climate modelling results that are being compiled for the sixth assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by more than 20 institutions due to be released in 2021 suggest a higher climate sensitivity than previously believed with 25% of the models showing a sharp upward shift from 3 °C to 5 °C in climate sensitivity supporting or revising worst-case projections of over 5 °C of global warming. The projections of more future warming may be due to a role of clouds. According to a study published on 24 June cloud feedbacks and cloud-aerosol interactions are the most likely contributors to the high values and increased range of equilibrium climate sensitivity in the CMIP6 model.{{cite news |title=Clouds May Be the Key to a Climate Modeling Mystery |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/clouds-may-be-the-key-to-a-climate-modeling-mystery/ |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=Scientific American |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Climate worst-case scenarios may not go far enough, cloud data shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/13/climate-worst-case-scenarios-clouds-scientists-global-heating |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=13 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Meehl |first1=Gerald A. |last2=Senior |first2=Catherine A. |last3=Eyring |first3=Veronika |last4=Flato |first4=Gregory |last5=Lamarque |first5=Jean-Francois |last6=Stouffer |first6=Ronald J. |last7=Taylor |first7=Karl E. |last8=Schlund |first8=Manuel |title=Context for interpreting equilibrium climate sensitivity and transient climate response from the CMIP6 Earth system models |journal=Science Advances |date=1 June 2020 |volume=6 |issue=26 |pages=eaba1981 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba1981 |pmid=32637602 |pmc=7314520 |bibcode=2020SciA....6.1981M |doi-access=free }}

File:Severity-of-coronavirus-cases-in-China-1.png that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19. The image shows the severity of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in China.{{cite journal |last1=Roser |first1=Max |author1-link=Max Roser |last2=Ritchie |first2=Hannah |author2-link=Hannah Ritchie |last3=Ortiz-Ospina |first3=Esteban |name-list-style=vanc |title=Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) |url=https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus |journal=Our World in Data |access-date=12 March 2020 |date=4 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319171947/https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus |archive-date=19 March 2020 |url-status=live }}]]

15 June
Astronomers report the possible existence of over 30 "active communicating intelligent civilizations", or Communicating Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent (CETI) civilizations (none within our current ability to detect due to various reasons including distance or size) in our own Milky Way galaxy, based on the latest astrophysical information – including a longevity of the only known technological civilization that is emitting signals to space of about 100 years to date.{{cite news |author=University of Nottingham |title=Research sheds new light on intelligent life existing across the galaxy |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uon-rsn061220.php |date=15 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=15 June 2020 }}{{cite news |author=University of Nottingham |title=Research sheds new light on intelligent life existing across the galaxy |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-intelligent-life-galaxy.html |date=15 June 2020 |work=Phys.org |access-date=15 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Westby |first1=Tom |last2=Conselice |first2=Christopher J. |title=The Astrobiological Copernican Weak and Strong Limits for Intelligent Life |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=15 June 2020 |volume=896 |issue=1 |pages=58 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/ab8225 |arxiv=2004.03968 |bibcode=2020ApJ...896...58W |s2cid=215415788 |doi-access=free }}
A study of broad-tailed hummingbirds shows that hummingbirds can discriminate non-spectral colors due to birds' fourth color-sensitive visual cone (humans have three) and demonstrate a system for investigating animal color vision.{{cite news |last1=Greenwood |first1=Veronique |title=Hummingbirds Navigate an Ultraviolet World We Never See |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/19/science/hummingbirds-color-vision.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=19 June 2020}}{{cite news |title=Hummingbirds see colors we can't even imagine |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/hummingbirds-see-colors-outside-rainbow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617074136/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/hummingbirds-see-colors-outside-rainbow/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 June 2020 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=NationalGeographic |date=15 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Stoddard |first1=Mary Caswell |last2=Eyster |first2=Harold N. |last3=Hogan |first3=Benedict G. |last4=Morris |first4=Dylan H. |last5=Soucy |first5=Edward R. |last6=Inouye |first6=David W. |title=Wild hummingbirds discriminate nonspectral colors |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=30 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=26 |pages=15112–15122 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1919377117 |pmid=32541035 |pmc=7334476 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11715112S |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}
A scientific analysis estimates that as of 2020 about 1.7 bn people (UI 1·0–2·4) people, or 22% (UI 15–28%) of the world population, belong to a vulnerable group which has at least one underlying condition that raises the risk of severe disease when contracting COVID-19 and that about 4% [3–9] of the global population would require hospital admission if infected. They are describing their results as uncertain and state that the risk varies considerably by age and that they did not consider some risk factors such as obesity.{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Chloe |title=One in five people worldwide is at risk of developing 'severe' cases of Covid-19, scientists claim |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/one-in-five-people-worldwide-at-risk-of-severe-covid-19-study-says.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=CNBC |date=16 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Andrew |last2=Jit |display-authors=etal |title=Global, regional, and national estimates of the population at increased risk of severe COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions in 2020: a modelling study |journal=The Lancet Global Health |date=15 June 2020 |volume=8 |issue=8 |pages=e1003–e1017 |doi=10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30264-3 |pmid=32553130 |pmc=7295519 |language=en |issn=2214-109X|doi-access=free }} 50px Text is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
Scientists report the development of the smallest synthetic molecular motor, consisting of 12 atoms and a rotor of 4 atoms, shown to be capable of being powered by an electric current using an electron scanning microscope and moving even with very low amounts of energy due to quantum tunneling.{{cite news |title=The smallest motor in the world |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-smallest-motor-world.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Nano-motor of just 16 atoms runs at the boundary of quantum physics |url=https://newatlas.com/physics/nano-motor-quantum-physics/ |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=17 June 2020}}{{Cite journal|last1=Stolz|first1=Samuel|last2=Gröning|first2=Oliver|last3=Prinz|first3=Jan|last4=Brune|first4=Harald|last5=Widmer|first5=Roland|date=2020-06-15|title=Molecular motor crossing the frontier of classical to quantum tunneling motion|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=117|issue=26|pages=14838–14842|language=en|doi=10.1073/pnas.1918654117|issn=0027-8424|pmid=32541061|pmc=7334648|bibcode=2020PNAS..11714838S |doi-access=free}}

File:Electron_shell_054_Xenon.svg by particle physicists (image of a xenon atom, used in the experiments).]]

16 June
The University of Oxford reports that a major trial of dexamethasone – a cheap, widely available corticosteroid medication – shows it can significantly reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/16/steroid-found-to-help-prevent-deaths-of-sickest-coronavirus-patients|title=Steroid found to help prevent deaths of sickest coronavirus patients |date=16 June 2020|access-date=16 June 2020|work=The Guardian}}{{cite news|url=http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-06-16-dexamethasone-reduces-death-hospitalised-patients-severe-respiratory-complications|title=Dexamethasone reduces death in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19 |date=16 June 2020|access-date=16 June 2020|work=The University of Oxford}}
Astronomers map the atmosphere of the red supergiant star Antares in unprecedented detail, using both the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). The map is the most detailed yet obtained of any star, other than the Sun.{{cite news|url=https://www.space.com/supergiant-star-antares-map-atmosphere.html|title=New map reveals just how enormous the supergiant star Antares really is |date=17 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|work=Space.com}}{{cite news|url=https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-releases/supergiant-atmosphere-of-antares-revealed-by-radio-telescopes/|title=Supergiant Atmosphere of Antares Revealed by Radio Telescopes |date=16 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|work=ALMA Observatory}}{{cite journal |last1=O'Gorman |first1=E. |last2=Harper |first2=G. M. |last3=Ohnaka |first3=K. |last4=Feeney-Johansson |first4=A. |last5=Wilkeneit-Braun |first5=K. |last6=Brown |first6=A. |last7=Guinan |first7=E. F. |last8=Lim |first8=J. |last9=Richards |first9=A. M. S. |last10=Ryde |first10=N. |last11=Vlemmings |first11=W. H. T. |title=ALMA and VLA reveal the lukewarm chromospheres of the nearby red supergiants Antares and Betelgeuse |journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics |date=1 June 2020 |volume=638 |pages=A65 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202037756 |arxiv=2006.08023 |bibcode=2020A&A...638A..65O |url=https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2020/06/aa37756-20/aa37756-20.html |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en |issn=0004-6361|doi-access=free }}
Scientists report simulation results that indicate that flushing a toilet can create a large, widespread cloud of aerosol droplets containing viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that lasts long enough for the droplets to be breathed in by others and offer suggestions concerning safer toilet use and recommendations for a better toilet design.{{cite news |title=Flushing toilets create clouds of virus-containing particles |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-flushing-toilets-clouds-virus-containing-particles.html |access-date=4 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Yun-yun (李云云) |last2=Wang |first2=Ji-Xiang (王霁翔) |last3=Chen |first3=Xi (陈希) |title=Can a toilet promote virus transmission? From a fluid dynamics perspective |journal=Physics of Fluids |date=1 June 2020 |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=065107 |doi=10.1063/5.0013318 |pmid=32574232 |pmc=7301880 |bibcode=2020PhFl...32f5107L |doi-access=free }}
17 June
Physicists at the XENON dark matter research facility report an excess of 53 events, which may hint at the existence of hypothetical Solar axions. Other possibilities for the anomalous detection include a surprisingly large magnetic moment for neutrinos, and tritium contamination in the detector.{{cite news|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-announce-potential-dark-matter-breakthrough/|title=Physicists Announce Potential Dark Matter Breakthrough |date=17 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|work=Scientific American}}{{cite news|url=https://science.purdue.edu/xenon1t/?p=1474|title=Observation of Excess Events in the XENON1T Dark Matter Experiment |date=17 June 2020|access-date=19 June 2020|work=The XENON Experiment}}{{cite journal |last1=Aprile |first1=E. |display-authors=etal. |title=Observation of Excess Electronic Recoil Events in XENON1T |journal=Phys. Rev. D |date=30 June 2020 |volume=102 |page=072004 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevD.102.072004 |arxiv=2006.09721 |s2cid=222338600 }}
Scientists report in a preprint that genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens in monkey cells have identified genes that might help SARS-CoV-2 infect its hosts.{{cite news |title=First genome-wide CRISPR screen reveals genes that control SARS-CoV-2 infection |url=https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200618/First-genome-wide-CRISPR-screen-reveals-genes-that-control-SARS-CoV-2-infection.aspx |access-date=2 July 2020 |work=News-Medical.net |date=18 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite bioRxiv |last1=Wei |first1=Jin |last2=Alfajaro |first2=Mia Madel |last3=Hanna |first3=Ruth E. |last4=DeWeirdt |first4=Peter C. |last5=Strine |first5=Madison S. |last6=Lu-Culligan |first6=William J. |last7=Zhang |first7=Shang-Min |last8=Graziano |first8=Vincent R. |last9=Schmitz |first9=Cameron O. |last10=Chen |first10=Jennifer S. |last11=Mankowski |first11=Madeleine C. |last12=Filler |first12=Renata B. |last13=Gasque |first13=Victor |last14=Miguel |first14=Fernando de |last15=Chen |first15=Huacui |last16=Oguntuyo |first16=Kasopefoluwa |last17=Abriola |first17=Laura |last18=Surovtseva |first18=Yulia V. |last19=Orchard |first19=Robert C. |last20=Lee |first20=Benhur |last21=Lindenbach |first21=Brett |last22=Politi |first22=Katerina |last23=Dijk |first23=David van |last24=Simon |first24=Matthew D. |last25=Yan |first25=Qin |last26=Doench |first26=John G. |last27=Wilen |first27=Craig B. |title=Genome-wide CRISPR screen reveals host genes that regulate SARS-CoV-2 infection |date=17 June 2020 |biorxiv=10.1101/2020.06.16.155101}}
Results of a study indicate greater regional anthropogenic carbon storage in and ocean acidification of the Arctic Ocean than previously projected.{{cite news |title=Arctic Ocean acidification worse than expected |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-arctic-ocean-acidification-worse.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Terhaar |first1=Jens |last2=Kwiatkowski |first2=Lester |last3=Bopp |first3=Laurent |title=Emergent constraint on Arctic Ocean acidification in the twenty-first century |journal=Nature |date=June 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7812 |pages=379–383 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2360-3 |pmid=32555488 |bibcode=2020Natur.582..379T |s2cid=219729997 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02884111/file/Terhaar_Nature_2020_preprint.pdf }}
Quantum scientists report the development of a system that entangles two photon quantum communication nodes through a microwave cable that can send information in between without the photons ever being sent through, or occupying, the cable. On 12 June it was reported that they also, for the first time, entangled two phonons as well as erase information from their measurement after the measurement has been completed using delayed-choice quantum erasure.{{cite news |title=New techniques improve quantum communication, entangle phonons |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-techniques-quantum-entangle-phonons.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Schirber |first1=Michael |title=Quantum Erasing with Phonons |url=https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/95 |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=Physics |date=12 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Chang |first1=H.-S. |last2=Zhong |first2=Y. P. |last3=Bienfait |first3=A. |last4=Chou |first4=M.-H. |last5=Conner |first5=C. R. |last6=Dumur |first6=É. |last7=Grebel |first7=J. |last8=Peairs |first8=G. A. |last9=Povey |first9=R. G. |last10=Satzinger |first10=K. J. |last11=Cleland |first11=A. N. |title=Remote Entanglement via Adiabatic Passage Using a Tunably Dissipative Quantum Communication System |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=17 June 2020 |volume=124 |issue=24 |pages=240502 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.240502 |pmid=32639797 |arxiv=2005.12334 |bibcode=2020PhRvL.124x0502C |s2cid=218889298 }}{{cite journal |last1=Bienfait |first1=A. |last2=Zhong |first2=Y. P. |last3=Chang |first3=H.-S. |last4=Chou |first4=M.-H. |last5=Conner |first5=C. R. |last6=Dumur |first6=É. |last7=Grebel |first7=J. |last8=Peairs |first8=G. A. |last9=Povey |first9=R. G. |last10=Satzinger |first10=K. J. |last11=Cleland |first11=A. N. |title=Quantum Erasure Using Entangled Surface Acoustic Phonons |journal=Physical Review X |date=12 June 2020 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=021055 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevX.10.021055 |arxiv=2005.09311 |bibcode=2020PhRvX..10b1055B |doi-access=free }}
18 June – NASA scientists report that exoplanets with oceans may be common in the Milky Way galaxy, based on mathematical modeling studies.{{cite news |author=NASA |title=Are planets with oceans common in the galaxy? It's likely, NASA scientists find |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/nsfc-apw061820.php |date=18 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=20 June 2020 }}{{cite news |author=Shekhtman, Lonnie |display-authors=et al. |title=Are Planets with Oceans Common in the Galaxy? It's Likely, NASA Scientists Find |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/are-planets-with-oceans-common-in-the-galaxy-it-s-likely-nasa-scientists-find |date=18 June 2020 |work=NASA |access-date=20 June 2020 }}{{cite journal|last1=Quick|first1=Lynnae C.|author-link=Lynnae Quick|last2=Roberge|first2=Aki|last3=Mlinar|first3=Amy Barr|last4=Hedman|first4=Matthew M.|date=18 June 2020|title=Forecasting Rates of Volcanic Activity on Terrestrial Exoplanets and Implications for Cryovolcanic Activity on Extrasolar Ocean Worlds|journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific|volume=132|issue=1014|pages=084402|bibcode=2020PASP..132h4402Q|doi=10.1088/1538-3873/ab9504|s2cid=219964895|doi-access=free}}

File:Countries by GDP (Nominal) in 2014.svg, measured by GDP (pictured), is associated with the problematically high increase of resource use and pollutant emissions.]]

File:NASA_solar_power_satellite_concept_1976.jpgs from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves only.]]

19 June
Scientists produce the first open-source all-atom model and simulation of a full-length spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 which the virus uses to enter cells. This may be useful for modeling and simulation research for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.{{cite news |title=Scientists produce first open source all-atom models of COVID-19 'spike' protein |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-scientists-source-all-atom-covid-spike.html |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Woo |first1=Hyeonuk |last2=Park |first2=Sang-Jun |last3=Choi |first3=Yeol Kyo |last4=Park |first4=Taeyong |last5=Tanveer |first5=Maham |last6=Cao |first6=Yiwei |last7=Kern |first7=Nathan R. |last8=Lee |first8=Jumin |last9=Yeom |first9=Min Sun |last10=Croll |first10=Tristan Ian |last11=Seok |first11=Chaok |last12=Im |first12=Wonpil |title=Developing a Fully-glycosylated Full-length SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Model in a Viral Membrane |journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry B |date=19 June 2020 |volume=124 |issue=33 |pages=7128–7137 |doi=10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c04553 |pmid=32559081 |pmc=7341691 |doi-access=free }}
Researchers report to have calculated an upper limit for a fundamental period of a possibly quantized time – as can be found in theories of quantum gravity and quantum cosmology – that is about 10 orders of magnitude above the Planck time – 10⁻³³ seconds – and propose a theoretical apparatus and experiment that, if ever realized, could be capable of being influenced by effects on relevant timescales and possibly confirm their theory that is based on a physical model of time as an oscillating variable.{{cite news

| url = https://phys.org/news/2020-06-theorists-upper-limit-quantization.html

| title = Theorists calculate upper limit for possible quantization of time

| last = Yirka

| first = Bob

| date = 26 June 2020

| website = Phys.org

| access-date = 27 June 2020

}}{{cite news |last1=Wright |first1=Katherine |title=The Period of the Universe's Clock |url=https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/99 |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=Physics |date=19 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Wendel |first1=Garrett |last2=Martínez |first2=Luis |last3=Bojowald |first3=Martin |title=Physical Implications of a Fundamental Period of Time |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=19 June 2020 |volume=124 |issue=24 |pages=241301 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.241301 |pmid=32639827 |arxiv=2005.11572 |bibcode=2020PhRvL.124x1301W |s2cid=218870394 }}

Scientists, as part of a World Scientists' Warning to Humanity-associated series, warn that worldwide growth in affluence has increased resource use and pollutant emissions with affluent citizens of the world – in terms of e.g. resource-intensive consumption – being responsible for most negative environmental impacts and central to a transition to safer, sustainable conditions. They summarise evidence, present solution approaches and state that far-reaching lifestyle changes need to complement technological advancements and that existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and that the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits societal change.{{cite news |title=Affluence is killing the planet, warn scientists |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-affluence-planet-scientists.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Overconsumption and growth economy key drivers of environmental crises |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-overconsumption-growth-economy-key-drivers.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Wiedmann |first1=Thomas |last2=Lenzen |first2=Manfred |last3=Keyßer |first3=Lorenz T. |last4=Steinberger |first4=Julia K. |title=Scientists' warning on affluence |journal=Nature Communications |date=19 June 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=3107 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-16941-y |pmid=32561753 |pmc=7305220 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.3107W |doi-access=free }} 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
News reports the first SETI-specific grant that NASA has awarded in three decades. The grant funds the first NASA-funded search for technosignatures from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations other than radio waves, including the creation and population of an online technosignature library.{{cite news |title=NASA funds SETI study to scan exoplanets for alien "technosignatures" |url=https://newatlas.com/space/nasa-exoplanet-seti-alien-technosignatures/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=New Atlas |date=23 June 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Rice |first1=Doyle |title=Scientists are searching the universe for signs of alien civilizations: 'Now we know where to look' |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/20/nasa-funds-research-alien-technological-civilizations/3224063001/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=USA TODAY}}{{cite news |title=Does intelligent life exist on other planets? Technosignatures may hold new clues |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-intelligent-life-planets-technosignatures-clues.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}
Scientists report that a novel cancer immunotherapy that included a personalized vaccine was shown to be successful in dogs. The vaccine was made from each dog's bone cancer cells.{{cite news |title=Canine bone cancer successfully treated with vaccine made from dog's own tumor |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-canine-bone-cancer-successfully-vaccine.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}} On 3 July it was reported that the results have helped obtain FDA approval for testing the method with human brain cancer patients.{{cite news |last1=Gorelova |first1=Anastasia |title=MU to test dog bone cancer therapy on human brain cancer |url=https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/mu-to-test-dog-bone-cancer-therapy-on-human-brain-cancer/article_7c06a263-048e-51cb-b5e1-86f92ab4c224.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=Columbia Missourian |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Mizzou to Test Dog Bone Cancer Therapy on Human Brain Cancer |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/missouri/articles/2020-07-03/mizzou-to-test-dog-bone-cancer-therapy-on-human-brain-cancer |access-date=5 July 2020}}

File:%D0%98%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0.jpg via ingestion of fish eggs (pictured) by birds.]]

22 June
Astronomers report evidence that the dwarf planet Pluto may have had a subsurface ocean, and consequently may have been habitable, when it was first formed.{{cite news |last=Rabie |first=Passant |title=New Evidence Suggests Something Strange and Surprising about Pluto - The findings will make scientists rethink the habitability of Kuiper Belt objects. |url=https://www.inverse.com/science/pluto-hot-star |date=22 June 2020 |work=Inverse |access-date=23 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |last1=Bierson |first1=Carver J. |last2=Nimmo |first2=Francis |last3=Stern |first3=S. Alan |title=Evidence for a hot start and early ocean formation on Pluto |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=22 June 2020 |volume=13 |issue=7 |pages=468–472 |doi=10.1038/s41561-020-0595-0 |bibcode=2020NatGe..13..468B |s2cid=219976751 }}
Scientists demonstrate that it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion of fish eggs by birds.{{cite news |title=Experiment shows it is possible for fish to migrate via ingestion by birds |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-fish-migrate-ingestion-birds.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Wilke |first1=Carolyn |title=Fish eggs can hatch even after being eaten and excreted by ducks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/fish-eggs-can-hatch-even-after-being-eaten-and-pooped-out-by-ducks/2020/07/02/700761e4-baf0-11ea-bdaf-a129f921026f_story.html |access-date=13 July 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Lovas-Kiss |first1=Ádám |last2=Vincze |first2=Orsolya |last3=Löki |first3=Viktor |last4=Pallér-Kapusi |first4=Felícia |last5=Halasi-Kovács |first5=Béla |last6=Kovács |first6=Gyula |last7=Green |first7=Andy J. |last8=Lukács |first8=Balázs András |title=Experimental evidence of dispersal of invasive cyprinid eggs inside migratory waterfowl |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=18 June 2020 |volume=117 |issue=27 |pages=15397–15399 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2004805117 |pmid=32571940 |pmc=7355035 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11715397L |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}
Scientists demonstrate that it may be possible – for advanced extraterrestrial civilizations – to harvest rotational energy from black holes 51 years after it has been proposed to be possible and 49 years after an experiment to test the theory has been proposed.{{cite news |title=Experiment confirms 50-year-old theory describing how an alien civilization could exploit a black hole |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-year-old-theory-alien-civilization-exploit.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Glasgow scientists prove theory proposing how aliens could use black holes for energy |url=https://news.sky.com/story/glasgow-scientists-prove-theory-proposing-how-aliens-could-use-black-holes-for-energy-12013750 |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=Sky News |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Cromb |first1=Marion |last2=Gibson |first2=Graham M. |last3=Toninelli |first3=Ermes |last4=Padgett |first4=Miles J. |last5=Wright |first5=Ewan M. |last6=Faccio |first6=Daniele |title=Amplification of waves from a rotating body |journal=Nature Physics |date=22 June 2020 |volume=16 |issue=10 |pages=1069–1073 |doi=10.1038/s41567-020-0944-3 |arxiv=2005.03760 |bibcode=2020NatPh..16.1069C |s2cid=218571203 }}
Scientists report that the ancient fish species Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri, which they assess to be highly similar to sturgeons in its features, evolved its sturgeon-like characteristics in a nearly simultaneous distinct evolutionary path from sturgeons.{{cite news |title=300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-million-year-old-fish-resembles-sturgeon-evolutionary.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Stack |first1=Jack |last2=Hodnett |first2=John-Paul |last3=Lucas |first3=Spencer G. |last4=Sallan |first4=Lauren |title=Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri, a long-rostrumed Pennsylvanian ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and the simultaneous appearance of novel ecomorphologies in Late Palaeozoic fishes |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |year=2020 |volume=191 |issue=2 |pages=347–374 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa044 |doi-access=free }}{{Importance inline|date=July 2020}}
23 June
Astronomers report details of the merging, in the "mass gap" of cosmic collisions, of a first-ever "mystery object": either a possibly too-heavy neutron star or a too-light black hole, with a black hole, that was detected as a gravitational wave, GW190814. According to one of the researchers, "We don't know if this object is the heaviest known neutron star or the lightest known black hole, but either way it breaks a record."{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=A Black Hole's Lunch Provides a Treat for Astronomers - Scientists have discovered the heaviest known neutron star, or maybe the lightest known black hole: "Either way it breaks a record." |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/science/black-hole-ligo-gravitational.html |date=24 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=24 June 2020 }}{{cite news |author=University of Birmingham |title=Gravitational wave scientists grapple with the cosmic mystery of GW190814 |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-06/uob-gws062320.php |date=23 June 2020 |work=EurekAlert! |access-date=24 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Abbott, R. |display-authors=et al. |title=GW190814: Gravitational Waves from the Coalescence of a 23 Solar Mass Black Hole with a 2.6 Solar Mass Compact Object |date=23 June 2020 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=896 |number=2 |pages=L44 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab960f |arxiv=2006.12611 |bibcode=2020ApJ...896L..44A |doi-access=free }}
The World Meteorological Organization announces a possible new temperature-record of 38 °C north of the Arctic Circle, which it seeks to verify and assess. It was reported on 20 June in Verkhoyansk, Russia amid a prolonged Siberian heatwave and an increase in wildfire activity.{{cite news |title=The Arctic is on fire: Siberian heat wave alarms scientists |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-arctic-siberian-alarms-scientists.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Temperature hits 100 F degrees in Arctic Russian town |url=https://apnews.com/45ffaf65b4f0301a41c4db02fa0ad2c7 |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=AP NEWS |date=21 June 2020}}{{cite web |title=Reported new record temperature of 38°C north of Arctic Circle |url=https://public-old.wmo.int/en/media/news/reported-new-record-temperature-of-38%C2%B0c-north-of-arctic-circle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218174526/https://public-old.wmo.int/en/media/news/reported-new-record-temperature-of-38%C2%B0c-north-of-arctic-circle |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 December 2023 |publisher=WMO |access-date=5 July 2020}}
24 June
The largest ever tanzanite gemstones are discovered, weighing 9.27 kg and 5.103 kg, respectively.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/25/small-scale-miner-finds-biggest-tanzanite-gems-in-history-worth-33m|title=Small-scale miner finds biggest tanzanite gems in history, worth $3.3m |date=25 June 2020|access-date=25 June 2020|work=The Guardian}}
In a preprint astronomers report the discovery of the second oldest quasar, Pōniuāʻena (J1007+2115) that is twice as massive as the oldest one, ULAS J1342+0928, and existed 700 million years after the Big Bang, challenging models of the earliest supermassive black hole growth.{{cite news |title=Astronomers discover 'monster' quasar from early universe |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-astronomers-monster-quasar-early-universe.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Jinyi |last2=Wang |first2=Feige |last3=Fan |first3=Xiaohui |last4=Hennawi |first4=Joseph F. |last5=Davies |first5=Frederick B. |last6=Yue |first6=Minghao |last7=Banados |first7=Eduardo |last8=Wu |first8=Xue-Bing |last9=Venemans |first9=Bram |last10=Barth |first10=Aaron J. |last11=Bian |first11=Fuyan |last12=Boutsia |first12=Konstantina |last13=Decarli |first13=Roberto |last14=Farina |first14=Emanuele Paolo |last15=Green |first15=Richard |last16=Jiang |first16=Linhua |last17=Li |first17=Jiang-Tao |last18=Mazzucchelli |first18=Chiara |last19=Walter |first19=Fabian |title=P\={o}niu\={a}'ena: A Luminous $z=7.5$ Quasar Hosting a 1.5 Billion Solar Mass Black Hole |arxiv=2006.13452 |date=23 June 2020|doi=10.3847/2041-8213/ab9c26 |s2cid=220042206 |doi-access=free }}
The World Meteorological Organization announces new records for the longest lightning bolt (700 km) and the "megaflash" with the longest duration (16.73 s).{{cite web |title=WMO certifies Megaflash lightning extremes |url=https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-certifies-megaflash-lightning-extremes |website=World Meteorological Organization |access-date=5 July 2020 |language=en |date=24 June 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Cappucci |first1=Matthew |title=World record lightning 'megaflash' in South America — 440 miles long — confirmed by scientists |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/25/lightning-megaflash-world-record/ |access-date=5 July 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=25 June 2020}}{{cite news |title=700-km Brazil 'megaflash' sets lightning record: UN |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-km-brazil-megaflash-lightning.html |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}
25 June
Astronomers report detecting a gravitational wave, named GW190521g, that is associated with, for the first time ever, a flash of light from the merger, within the vicinity of a third very large black hole, of two smaller black holes. No light is typically emitted from the merger of black holes.{{cite news |last=Cofield |first=Calla |title=Black Hole Collision May Have Exploded With Light |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7688 |date=25 June 2020 |work=NASA |access-date=25 June 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Two Black Holes Colliding Not Enough? Make It Three – Astronomers claim to have seen a flash from the merger of two black holes within the maelstrom of a third, far bigger one. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/science/black-hole-collision-ligo.html |date=25 June 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=25 June 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Graham, M.J. |display-authors=et al. |title=Candidate Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Binary Black Hole Merger Gravitational-Wave Event S190521g |date=25 June 2020 |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=124 |issue=25 |page=251102 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.251102 |pmid=32639755 |arxiv=2006.14122 |bibcode=2020PhRvL.124y1102G |s2cid=220055995 |url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/104019/1/PhysRevLett.124.251102.pdf }}
Scientists report, with a genetic study, the identification of the origin of domesticated chicken, including insights into their evolutionary history, suggesting that they initially derived from Gallus gallus spadiceus.{{cite news |title=Origin of domesticated chicken identified |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-06-domesticated-chicken.html |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ming-Shan |display-authors=etal |title=863 genomes reveal the origin and domestication of chicken |journal=Cell Research |date=25 June 2020 |volume=30 |issue=8 |pages=693–701 |doi=10.1038/s41422-020-0349-y |pmid=32581344 |pmc=7395088 |doi-access=free }}
26 June – Astronomers report the detection of four odd radio circles (ORCs). unexplained astronomical objects that, at radio wavelengths, are highly circular and brighter along their edges. The observed ORCs are bright at radio wavelengths, but are not visible at visible, infrared or X-ray wavelengths. Two of the ORCs contain galaxies, observable at visible wavelengths, in their centers, suggesting that the galaxies might have formed these objects.{{cite news |last=Johnson-Groh |first=Mara |title=4 mysterious objects spotted in deep space are unlike anything ever seen |url=https://www.livescience.com/circular-radio-objects-space.html |date=8 July 2020 |work=Live Science |access-date=9 July 2020 }}{{cite news |last=Murugesu |first=Jason Arunn |title=Circles in space made of radio waves are like nothing we've ever seen |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2247978-circles-in-space-made-of-radio-waves-are-like-nothing-weve-ever-seen/ |date=3 July 2020 |work=New Scientist |access-date=9 July 2020 }}{{cite journal |author=Norris, Ray P. |display-authors=et al. |title=Unexpected Circular Radio Objects at High Galactic Latitude |journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia |year=2021 |volume=38 |pages=e003 |doi=10.1017/pasa.2020.52 |arxiv=2006.14805 |bibcode=2021PASA...38....3N |s2cid=220128279 }}
28 June – In two papers, the first of which published in February, scientists report the development of the possibly most lightweight biopolymer aerogel that is flexible and durable and has a relatively high electromagnetic shielding-performance.{{cite news |title=The lightest electromagnetic shielding material in the world |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-07-lightest-electromagnetic-shielding-material-world.html |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |title=Aerogel fashioned into world's lightest electromagnetic shielding |journal=New Atlas |date=3 July 2020 |url=https://newatlas.com/materials/aerogel-lightest-electromagnetic-shield-world/ |access-date=6 July 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=Zhihui |last2=Wu |first2=Tingting |last3=Han |first3=Daxin |last4=Ren |first4=Qun |last5=Siqueira |first5=Gilberto |last6=Nyström |first6=Gustav |title=Ultralight, Flexible, and Biomimetic Nanocellulose/Silver Nanowire Aerogels for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding |journal=ACS Nano |date=24 March 2020 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=2927–2938 |doi=10.1021/acsnano.9b07452 |pmid=32109050 |s2cid=211564921 }}{{cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=Zhihui |last2=Wang |first2=Changxian |last3=Siqueira |first3=Gilberto |last4=Han |first4=Daxin |last5=Huch |first5=Anja |last6=Abdolhosseinzadeh |first6=Sina |last7=Heier |first7=Jakob |last8=Nüesch |first8=Frank |last9=Zhang |first9=Chuanfang (John) |last10=Nyström |first10=Gustav |title=Nanocellulose-MXene Biomimetic Aerogels with Orientation-Tunable Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Performance |journal=Advanced Science |year=2020 |volume=7 |issue=15 |pages=2000979 |doi=10.1002/advs.202000979 |pmid=32775169 |pmc=7404164 |doi-access=free }} 50px Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].

File:Artist's_rendering_ULAS_J1120%2B0641.jpg is identified as the fastest-growing black hole in the Universe.]]

30 June
Two surveys of 85.9% and 71.5% of the population of the small town of Vo', the location the first coronavirus death in Italy, find that according to the surveys 42.5% (95% CI 31.5-54.6%) of the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections of the surveys were asymptomatic. The published unedited manuscript also shows that individuals older than 50 showed a higher infection prevalence, that the average time to viral clearance was 9.3 days (8–13 days) and that viral load tended to peak around the day of symptom onset.{{cite news |last1=Timmer |first1=John |title=Tracking COVID-19's spread through an Italian town |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/07/tracking-covid-19s-spread-through-an-italian-town/ |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=Ars Technica |date=1 July 2020 |language=en-us}}{{cite news |title=Italian whole-town study finds 40% of coronavirus cases had no symptoms |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-vo-idUSKBN241228 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=Reuters |date=30 June 2020 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Lavezzo |first1=Enrico |display-authors=etal |title=Suppression of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the Italian municipality of Vo' |journal=Nature |date=30 June 2020 |volume=584 |issue=7821 |pages=425–429 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2488-1 |pmid=32604404 |bibcode=2020Natur.584..425L |doi-access=free |hdl=10044/1/80363 |hdl-access=free }} In mid-March the scientists of the study, whose survey began on 6 March, reported that the research led to the discovery of the decisive role in the spread of the novel coronavirus by asymptomatic people.{{cite news |last1=Tondo |first1=Lorenzo |title=Scientists say mass tests in Italian town have halted Covid-19 there |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/scientists-say-mass-tests-in-italian-town-have-halted-covid-19 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=18 March 2020}}
Scientists report, after they publicized the first version of a preprint in April 2019, a possible explanation for the origin of high-energy cosmic neutrinos observed{{which|date=July 2020|reason=In the paper it also says 'a large diffuse flux in the 10–100 TeV range' but this is not mentioned in the linked article section}} by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, suggesting that emissions of coronae of supermassive black holes, such as possibly the active galactic nucleus of Messier 77, may be their source.{{cite news |title=Coronae of supermassive black holes may be the hidden sources of mysterious cosmic neutrinos seen on Earth |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-07-coronae-supermassive-black-holes-hidden.html |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=phys.org |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Murase |first1=Kohta |last2=Kimura |first2=Shigeo S. |last3=Mészáros |first3=Peter |title=Hidden Cores of Active Galactic Nuclei as the Origin of Medium-Energy Neutrinos: Critical Tests with the MeV Gamma-Ray Connection |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=30 June 2020 |volume=125 |issue=1 |pages=011101 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.011101 |pmid=32678637 |arxiv=1904.04226 |bibcode=2020PhRvL.125a1101M |s2cid=102351325 }}
Astronomers report that J2157, discovered in 2018, is now known to have 34 billion solar masses and is consuming the equivalent of nearly 1 solar mass every day, making it the fastest-growing black hole known in the Universe.{{cite news|url=https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/hungry-black-hole-among-the-most-massive-in-the-universe|title=Hungry black hole among the most massive in the Universe |date=1 July 2020|access-date=2 July 2020|work=Australian National University}}{{cite journal |last1=Onken |first1=Christopher A. |last2=Bian |first2=Fuyan |last3=Fan |first3=Xiaohui |last4=Wang |first4=Feige |last5=Wolf |first5=Christian |last6=Yang |first6=Jinyi |title=A thirty-four billion solar mass black hole in SMSS J2157–3602, the most luminous known quasar |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1 August 2020 |volume=496 |issue=2 |pages=2309–2314 |doi=10.1093/mnras/staa1635 |doi-access=free |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/496/2/2309/5863959 |access-date=31 December 2020 |language=en |issn=0035-8711|arxiv=2005.06868 |bibcode=2020MNRAS.496.2309O |s2cid=218630072 }}
Scientist at CERN report that the LHCb experiment has observed a four-charm quark particle never seen before, which is likely to be the first of a previously undiscovered class of particles.{{cite news|url=https://home.cern/news/news/physics/lhcb-discovers-new-type-tetraquark-cern|title=LHCb discovers a new type of tetraquark at CERN |date=1 July 2020|access-date=5 July 2020|work=CERN}}{{cite news|url=https://interestingengineering.com/first-of-its-kind-four-quark-particle-discovered-at-cern|title=First-of-Its-Kind Four Quark Particle Discovered at CERN |date=2 July 2020|access-date=5 July 2020|work=Interesting Engineering}}{{cite journal |last1=Onken |first1=Christopher A. |last2=Bian |first2=Fuyan |last3=Fan |first3=Xiaohui |last4=Wang |first4=Feige |last5=Wolf |first5=Christian |last6=Yang |first6=Jinyi |title=A thirty-four billion solar mass black hole in SMSS J2157–3602, the most luminous known quasar |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |date=1 August 2020 |volume=496 |issue=2 |pages=2309–2314 |doi=10.1093/mnras/staa1635 |arxiv=2005.06868 |bibcode=2020MNRAS.496.2309O |url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/496/2/2309/5863959 |access-date=17 August 2020 |language=en |issn=0035-8711|doi-access=free }}

Deaths

April 1
James Learmonth Gowans, British immunologist (b. 1924){{Cite news|date=2020-04-10|title=Sir James Gowans, brilliant immunologist who revealed the crucial role of lymphocytes|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/04/10/sir-james-gowans-brilliant-immunologist-revealed-crucial-role/|access-date=2022-02-10|issn=0307-1235}}
Richard Passman, American aerospace scientist and engineer (b. 1925){{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-04-16|title=Richard Passman, Space-Age Engineer Who Kept His Secrets, Dies at 94|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/obituaries/richard-passman-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=2022-02-10|issn=0362-4331}}
April 2
William Frankland, British allergist and immunologist (b. 1912){{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Craig S.|date=2020-04-03|title=William Frankland, Pioneering Allergist, Dies at 108|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/science/william-frankland-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=2022-02-10|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title='Grandfather' of Clinical Allergy, Dr William Frankland, Dies at 108|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928098|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Medscape|language=en}}
Feriha Öz, Turkish pathalogist (b. 1933){{Cite web|title=Kovid-19'dan hayatını kaybeden Prof. Dr. Feriha Öz'ün kızı, ölümünün birinci yılında annesini anlattı|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/yasam/kovid-19dan-hayatini-kaybeden-prof-dr-feriha-ozun-kizi-olumunun-birinci-yilinda-annesini-anlatti/2196134|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.aa.com.tr}}
Arthur Whistler, American ethnobotanist (b. 1944){{Cite web|last=Kawano|first=Lynn|title=Friends, family mourn well-known Hawaii scientist who died after contracting COVID-19|url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/04/04/uh-scholar-author-known-around-world-dies-covid-/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=www.hawaiinewsnow.com|date=4 April 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=In memoriam: Ethnobotanist and conservationist Art Whistler {{!}} University of Hawaiʻi System News|date=6 April 2020 |url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/04/06/in-memoriam-art-whistler/|access-date=2022-02-10|language=en-US}}
April 3
Arnold Demain, American microbiologist (b. 1927){{Cite web|title=Drew University|url=https://drew.edu/stories/2020/04/06/drew-university-rise-fellow-arny-demain-passes-away/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Drew University|language=en}}
Alexander A. Gurshtein, Russian astronomer (b. 1937)
April 4
James Gooch, American psychiatrist (b. 1934){{Cite web|title=James Allan Gooch M.D. Obituary (2020) Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/james-gooch-obituary?id=8168833|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Legacy.com}}
Xavier Dor, French embroyologist (b. 1929){{Cite web|date=2020-04-04|title=Xavier Dor décédé: Sos Tout-Petits orphelin|url=https://www.parisvox.info/2020/04/04/xavier-dor-decede-sos-tout-petits-orphelin/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=ParisVox|language=fr-FR}}
Volodymyr Korolyuk, Ukrainian mathematician (b. 1925){{Cite web|title=З глибоким сумом сповіщаємо, що 4 квітня 2020 року на 94 році життя помер видатний український математик, фахівець в галузі теорії ймовірностей та її різноманітних застосувань академік НАН України Володимир Семенович Королюк|url=http://www.nas.gov.ua:80/UA/Messages/Pages/View.aspx?MessageID=6296|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.nas.gov.ua|language=uk-UA}}
Ivan Vakarchuk, Ukrainian physicist (b. 1947){{Cite web|title="Был верен науке до последнего вздоха": Святослав Вакарчук — о смерти отца|url=https://nv.ua/ukraine/politics/umer-ivan-vakarchuk-kommentariy-svyatoslava-vakarchuka-novosti-ukrainy-50080090.html|access-date=2022-02-10|website=nv.ua|language=ru}}
April 5{{Snd}} Margaret Burbidge, British and American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1919){{Cite news|last=Fox|first=Margalit|date=2020-04-06|title=E. Margaret Burbidge, Astronomer Who Blazed Trails on Earth, Dies at 100|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/science/space/e-margaret-burbidge-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-10|issn=0362-4331}}
April 6
Trevor Platt, British and Canadian biological oceanographer (b. 1942){{Cite web|title=Marine scientist Trevor Platt passes away|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2020/apr/07/marine-scientist-trevor-platt-passes-away-2126706.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=The New Indian Express|date=7 April 2020 }}
James F. Scott, American physicist (b. 1942){{Cite web|date=2020-04-08|title=James (Jim) Scott 1942 - 2020|url=https://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/news/james-jim-scott-1942-2020|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.phy.cam.ac.uk|language=en}}
Naek L. Tobing, Indonesian sexologist (b. 1940){{Cite web|date=2020-04-06|title=Naek L Tobing Meninggal Dunia, Total 19 Dokter IDI Wafat Akibat Corona|url=https://www.kompas.com/sains/read/2020/04/06/201545423/naek-l-tobing-meninggal-dunia-total-19-dokter-idi-wafat-akibat-corona|access-date=2022-02-11|website=KOMPAS.com|language=id}}
Gerhard Giebisch, American physiologist (b. 1927){{Cite web|title=Gerhard Giebisch Obituary (1927 - 2020) New Haven Register|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nhregister/name/gerhard-giebisch-obituary?id=8724393|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Legacy.com}}
Fred Singer, Austrian and American physicist (b. 1924){{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-04-11|title=S. Fred Singer, a Leading Climate Change Contrarian, Dies at 95|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/climate/s-fred-singer-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=Fred Singer, RIP|url=https://cei.org/blog/fred-singer-rip/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Competitive Enterprise Institute|date=28 April 2020 |language=en-us}}
April 7
Mishik Kazaryan, Russian physicist (b. 1948){{Cite news|title=Профессор-физик Мишик Казарян умер в Москве от осложнений COVID-19|url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/30537605.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Радио Свобода|date=7 April 2020 |language=ru}}
Adrian V. Stokes, British computer scientist (b. 1945){{Cite web|date=21 April 2020|title=Disabled Motoring UK president Dr Adrian V Stokes passes awa|url=https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/local-transport-today/news/65195/disabled-motoring-uk-president-dr-adrian-v-stokes-passes-away/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.transportxtra.com|language=en-GB}}
April 8
Aubrey Burl, British archaeologist (b. 1926){{Cite web|date=2020-07-09|title=Release the Hounds, U.K. Edition: Aubrey Burl passes, damage to ancient oaks, and Cerne Abbas Giant findings - News, Paganism, U.K., Witchcraft|url=https://wildhunt.org/2020/07/release-the-hounds-u-k-edition-aubrey-burl-passes-damage-to-ancient-oaks-and-cerne-abbas-giant-findings.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=The Wild Hunt|language=en-US}}
Robert L. Carroll, American and Canadian paleontologist (b. 1938){{Cite news|date=2020-04-27|title=COVID-19 has taken our parents, our grandparents, our friends. Here are a few, to help remember the many|language=en|work=National Post|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/covid-19-has-taken-our-parents-our-grandparents-our-friends-here-are-a-few-to-help-remember-the-many|access-date=2022-02-11}}
Norman I. Platnick, American arachnologist (b. 1951){{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-04-17|title=Norman Platnick, the 'Real Spider-Man,' Is Dead at 68|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/science/earth/norman-platnick-the-real-spider-man-is-dead-at-68.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}
April 9{{Snd}} Won Pyong-oh, South Korean zoologist (b. 1929){{Cite web|date=2020-07-15|title='한국 새의 아버지' 조류학자 원병오 교수 별세|url=https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/04/10/2020041000016.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=조선일보|language=ko}}
April 11{{Snd}} John Horton Conway, British mathematician (b. 1937){{Cite web|first=Anna|last=Sturla|title=John H. Conway, a renowned mathematician who created one of the first computer games, dies of coronavirus complications|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/us/john-conway-death-obit-trnd/index.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=CNN|date=14 April 2020 }}{{Cite web|title=Mathematician John Horton Conway, a 'magical genius' known for inventing the 'Game of Life,' dies at age 82|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/04/14/mathematician-john-horton-conway-magical-genius-known-inventing-game-life-dies-age|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Princeton University|language=en}}
April 12{{Snd}} Mikko Kaasalainen, Finnish mathematician (b. 1965){{Cite web|last1=Raumonen|first1=Pasi|last2=Åkerblom|first2=Markku|last3=Pursiainen|first3=Sampsa|last4=Paunonen|first4=Lassi|date=2020-04-21|title=Tampereen yliopiston matematiikan professori Mikko Kaasalainen on kuollut|url=https://www.aamulehti.fi/uutiset/art-2000007420483.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Aamulehti|language=fi}}
April 13
Jacques Blamont, French astrophysicist (b. 1926){{Cite web|date=2020-04-15|title=Jacques Blamont, passionné d'espace, inquiet du futur|url=https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/espace/jacques-blamont-passionne-d-espace-inquiet-du-futur-de-l-humanite_143509|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Sciences et Avenir|language=fr}}
Thomas Kunz, American biologist (b. 1938){{Cite web|first1=Kathleen|last1=McKenna|last2=April 26, 2020|title=BU's renowned bat researcher Thomas Kunz dies at 81 of COVID-19|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/26/metro/bus-renowned-bat-researcher-thomas-kunz-dies-81-covid-19/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Farewell to BU's Bat Man|url=https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/farewell-to-bus-bat-man/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Boston University|date=21 April 2020 |language=en}}
Dennis G. Peters, American chemist (b. 1937){{Cite web|title=COVID-19 claims the life of beloved chemistry professor|url=https://cen.acs.org/people/obituaries/Covid-19-claims-life-beloved/98/web/2020/04|access-date=2022-02-11|website=cen.acs.org}}
April 14{{Snd}} Maria de Sousa, Portuguese immunologist (b. 1939){{Cite news|last=Minder|first=Raphael|date=2020-07-02|title=Maria de Sousa, Leading Portuguese Scientist, Dies at 80|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/obituaries/maria-de-sousa-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Donn|first=Natasha|date=2020-04-14|title=Immunologist Maria de Sousa - one of Portugal's "most important scientists" - dies of Covid-19|url=https://www.portugalresident.com/immunologist-maria-de-sousa-one-of-portugals-most-important-scientists-dies-of-covid-19/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Portugal Resident|language=en-GB}}
April 15
Jens Erik Fenstad, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1935){{Cite web|title=A sad message – Computability|date=14 April 2020 |url=https://www.computability.org/a-sad-message/|access-date=2022-02-11|language=en-US}}
John Houghton, British physicist (b. 1931){{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-04-23|title=John Houghton, Who Sounded Alarm on Climate Change, Dies at 88|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/climate/John-Houghton-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|title=John Houghton, renowned climate scientist who led IPCC reports, dies of coronavirus at 88|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/john-houghton-renowned-climate-scientist-who-led-ipcc-reports-dies-of-coronavirus-at-88/2020/04/20/c6b6819c-81ab-11ea-a3ee-13e1ae0a3571_story.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0190-8286}}
April 17
Patricia Kailis, Australian geneticist (b. 1933){{Cite web|title=KAILIS Patricia {{!}} Obituaries {{!}} The West Announcements|url=https://www.westannouncements.com.au/browse/obituaries/view/kailis-patricia?set=obituaries-last7|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.westannouncements.com.au|language=en}}
Iris Love, American archeologist (b. 1933){{Cite news|last=Green|first=Penelope|date=2020-04-23|title=Iris Love, Stylish Archaeologist and Dog Breeder, Dies at 86|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/nyregion/iris-love-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}
April 18
Virender Lal Chopra, Indian geneticist (b. 1936){{Cite web|title=Former ICAR Director Virender Lal Chopra Passes Away at the Age of 83|url=http://krishijagran.com/news/former-icar-director-virender-lal-chopra-passes-away-at-the-age-of-83/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=krishijagran.com|language=en}}
Lucien Szpiro, French mathematician (b. 1941){{Cite web|title=Mathematician Lucien Szpiro passed away at the age of 78 - IHES|url=https://www.ihes.fr/en/mathematician-lucien-szpiro-died-aged-78/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=www.ihes.fr}}{{Cite web|title=Lucien Szpiro 1941-2020 {{!}} Not Even Wrong|url=https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=11717|access-date=2022-02-11|language=en-US}}
April 21
Ernest Courant, American physicist (b. 1920){{Cite web|title=Ernest Courant Obituary - Ann Arbor, MI|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/ann-arbor-mi/ernest-courant-9144724|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Dignity Memorial|language=en}}
Sharadchandra Shankar Shrikhande, Indian mathematician (b. 1917){{Cite web|date=2020-05-08|title=Indian Maths Genius Who Debunked Euler's Theory, Made it to NYT Front Page Dies at 103|url=https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/indian-maths-genius-who-debunked-eulers-theory-made-it-to-nyc-front-page-dies-at-103-2611193.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=News18|language=en}}
April 25{{Snd}} Thomas Huang, American computer scientist (b. 1936){{Cite web|title=Thomas Huang, pioneer in image compression, has died|url=https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/808293|access-date=2022-02-11|website=news.illinois.edu|language=en-US}}
April 26{{Snd}} John Ernest Randall, American ichthyologist (b. 1924)
April 27
Sarah Milledge Nelson, American archaeologist (b. 1931){{Cite web|last=McConaty|first=Horan &|title=Sarah Milledge Nelson|url=https://www.horancares.com/obits|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Horan & McConaty |location=Denver, Colorado|language=en}}
Sylvie Vincent, Canadian anthropologist and ethnologist (b. 1941){{Cite web|last=Montpetit|first=Caroline|title=Décès de l'anthropologue Sylvie Vincent|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/578177/deces-de-l-anthropologue-sylvie-vincent|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Le Devoir|date=2 May 2020|language=fr}}
April 28
Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian zoologist and ecologist (b. 1936){{Cite web|date=2020-04-30|title=Robert May, former UK chief scientist and chaos theory pioneer, dies aged 84|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/29/robert-may-former-uk-chief-scientist-led-chaos-theory-lord-dies-aged-84|access-date=2022-02-11|website=The Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-05-11|title=Robert May, an Uncontainable 'Big Picture' Scientist, Dies at 84|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/science/robert-may-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}
Paul Marks, American geneticist and oncologist (b. 1926){{Cite news|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=2020-05-05|title=Paul Marks, Who Pushed Sloan Kettering to Greatness, Dies at 93|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/science/paul-marks-dead.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0362-4331}}
May 1{{Snd}} Judith Esser-Mittag, German gynecologist (b. 1921)
May 2
Daniel S. Kemp, American organic chemist (b. 1936){{Cite web|title=COVID-19 claims the life of Daniel S. Kemp|url=https://cen.acs.org/people/obituaries/COVID-19-claims-life-Daniel-S-Kemp/98/web/2020/05|access-date=2022-02-11|website=cen.acs.org}}
George Kauffman, American chemist (b. 1930){{Cite web|title=George Kauffman, Obituary - Fresno, CA|url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/fresno-ca/george-kauffman-9168328|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Dignity Memorial|language=en}}
Bing Liu, Chinese medical researcher (b. 1982){{Cite news|date=2020-05-07|title=Bing Liu: Chinese-born professor dies in US murder-suicide|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52568716|access-date=2022-02-11}}
Maurice Dayan, French psychoanalyst (b. 1935)
Meyer Rubin, American geologist (b. 1924){{Cite news|title=Geochemist Meyer Rubin, who predicted the Mount St. Helens eruption, dies of covid-19 at 96|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/geochemist-meyer-rubin-who-predicted-the-mount-st-helens-eruption-dies-of-covid-19-at-96/2020/05/28/109268d4-a057-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html|access-date=2022-02-11|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web|last= |date=2020-08-18|title=Jewish lives lost to the coronavirus|url=https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/jewish-lives-lost-to-the-coronavirus/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Washington Jewish Week|language=en-US}}
May 3
John Hugh Seiradakis, Greek astronomer (b. 1948)
Zhang Qian'er, Chinese chemist (b. 1928){{Cite web|title=著名化学家张乾二院士逝世享年93岁_新闻频道_中华网|url=https://news.china.com/socialgd/10000169/20200504/38174362.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=news.china.com}}
May 5
Sergei Adian, Russian mathematician (b. 1931)
Brian Axsmith, American paleobotanist and paleoecologist (b. 1963){{Cite web|title=University of South Alabama professor dies from COVID-19|url=https://www.fox10tv.com/news/coronavirus/university-of-south-alabama-professor-dies-from-covid-19/article_956b3318-8f0b-11ea-b45e-afcf5d488286.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=FOX10 News|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Thornton|first=Toi|title='It's different when it hits your household,' widow of South Alabama professor who died of COVID-19 speaks out|url=https://www.fox10tv.com/news/coronavirus/its-different-when-it-hits-your-household-widow-of-south-alabama-professor-who-died-of/article_60ea63b4-90ca-11ea-b2e2-affe63fbf157.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=FOX10 News|language=en}}
May 7{{Snd}} Margaret Loutit, New Zealander microbiologist (b. 1929){{Cite web|title=Margaret Wyn LOUTIT Obituary (2020) The New Zealand Herald|url=https://notices.nzherald.co.nz/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/margaret-loutit-obituary?pid=196159306|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Legacy.com}}
May 9{{Snd}} Timo Honkela, Finnish computer scientist (b. 1962){{Cite web|date=2020-06-13|title=Muistokirjoitus {{!}} Timo Honkela 1962–2020|url=https://www.hs.fi/muistot/art-2000006537850.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Helsingin Sanomat|language=fi}}
May 11
Terry Erwin, American entomologist (b. 1940)
Ann Katharine Mitchell, British cryptanalyst and psychologist (b. 1922)
Ietje Paalman-de Miranda, Dutch mathematician (b. 1936)
Miloslav Stingl, Czech ethnologist (b. 1930)
May 12
Thomas M. Liggett, American mathematician (b. 1944)
Ernest Vinberg, Russian mathematician (b. 1937)
May 14
Bertram S. Brown, American psychiatrist (b. 1931)
Hans Cohen, Dutch microbiologist (b. 1923)
May 17{{Snd}} Aleksandra Kornhauser Frazer, Slovenian chemist (b. 1926)
May 20{{Snd}} Wan Weixing, Chinese space physicist (b. 1958)
May 21
Arnulf Kolstad, Norwegen social psychologist (b. 1942)
Douglas Tyndall Wright, Canadian civil engineer (b. 1927)
May 22{{Snd}} Peter Harold Cole, Australian electrical engineer (b. 1936)
May 23{{Snd}} Jitendra Nath Pande, Indian pulmonologist (b. 1941)
May 26{{Snd}} Oleh Hornykiewicz, Austrian biochemist (b. 1926)
May 30{{Snd}} John Cole, British geographer (b. 1928)
June 1{{Snd}} Roberto Peccei, Italian physicist (b. 1942)
June 2
Geoffrey Burnstock, Australian neuroscientist (b. 1929)
Tarq Hoekstra, Dutch archeologist (b. 1939)
June 5
A. Dale Kaiser, American biochemist (b. 1927)
Tomisaku Kawasaki, Japanese pediatrician (b. 1925)
Friedrich Stelzner, German surgeon (b. 1921)
June 7
Marina Blagojević, Serbian sociologist (b. 1958)
James D. Meindl, American electrical engineer (b. 1933)
Lynika Strozier, American researcher (b. 1984)
June 8{{Snd}} Nicholas Cummings, American psychologist (b. 1924)
June 10
Duilio Arigoni, Swiss chemist (b. 1928)
Murray Hill, New Zealander seed scientist (b. 1939)
Hans Mezger, German automotive engineer (b. 1929)
William Tietz, American veterinarian (b. 1927)
June 11
Marjorie G. Horning, American biochemist and pharmacologist (b. 1917)
Bernard J. Matkowsky, American applied mathematician (b. 1939)
June 13{{Snd}} Pepe el Ferreiro, Spanish archeologist (b. 1942)
June 15
Beth Levine, American medical researcher (b. 1960)
Kirk R. Smith, American climatologist (b. 1947)
June 16{{Snd}} John J. Mooney, American chemical engineer (b. 1930)
June 17
William C. Dement, American psychiatrist (b. 1928)
K. Anders Ericsson, Swedish psychologist (b. 1947)
Michael E. Soulé, American conservation biologist (b. 1936)
June 18{{Snd}} Sergei Khrushchev, Russian and American engineer (b. 1935)
June 19{{Snd}} Ralph Haas, Canadian engineer (b. 1933)
June 21{{Snd}} Anthony J. Naldrett, Canadian geologist (b. 1933)
June 22{{Snd}} Karlman Wasserman, American physiologist (b. 1927)
June 24
Robert L. Carneiro, American anthropologist (b. 1927)
Nigel Weiss, South African astronomer and mathematician (b. 1936)
June 25
Lester Grinspoon, American psychiatrist (b. 1928)
Olivier Le Fèvre, French astrophysicist (b. 1960)
June 27{{Snd}} David Stronach, British archeologist (b. 1931)
June 30{{Snd}} Xiao Bilian, Chinese endocrinologist (b. 1923)

References

External links

[https://imgur.com/a/ArwoJAK Science Summary 2020], monthly images for entries of this list

Category:2020-related lists

Category:Science timelines by year