The Columbian

Science & Technology

This undated image made available by the National Human Genome Research Institute shows the output from a DNA sequencer. In research published in the journal Science on Thursday, March 31, 2022, scientists announced they have finally assembled the full genetic blueprint for human life, adding the missing pieces to a puzzle nearly completed two decades ago. An international team described the sequencing of a complete human genome, the set of instructions to build a human being.

Scientists finally finish decoding entire human genome

March 31, 2022, 1:55pm Nation & World

Scientists say they have finally assembled the full genetic blueprint for human life, adding the missing pieces to a puzzle nearly completed two decades ago. Read story

This image made available by NASA on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, shows the star Earendel, indicated by arrow, and the Sunrise Arc galaxy, stretching from lower left to upper right, optically bent due to a massive galaxy cluster between it and the Hubble Space Telescope which captured the light. The mass of the galaxy cluster serves as a magnifying glass, allowing Earendel to be seen.

Twinkle, twinkle giant star, astronomers see how far you are

March 30, 2022, 1:48pm Life

Astronomers have discovered the farthest star yet, a super-hot, super-bright giant that formed nearly 13 billion years ago at the dawn of the cosmos. Read story

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei gives the thumbs up outside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after he landed with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in space as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station.

U.S. astronaut ends record-long spaceflight in Russian capsule

March 30, 2022, 8:16am Life

A NASA astronaut caught a Russian ride back to Earth on Wednesday after a U.S. record 355 days at the International Space Station, returning with two cosmonauts to a world torn apart by war. Read story

FILE - Floodwaters surround a bur oak tree southwest of Columbia, Mo., on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. A study published Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in the journal Nature Communications details how warmer temperatures and extra carbon dioxide in the air will make pollen season even more of a bother than it is now.

The Big Sneeze: Climate change to make pollen season nastier

March 29, 2022, 6:02am Life

Climate change has already made allergy season longer and pollen counts higher, but you ain’t sneezed nothing yet. Read story

This satellite image provided by NASA, Aqua MODIS 12 in March 2022 shows the main piece of C-37 close to Bowman Island. Scientists are concerned because an ice shelf the size of New York City collapsed in East Antarctica, an area that had long been thought to be stable. The collapse last week was the first time scientists have ever seen an ice shelf collapse in this cold area of Antarctica.

Ice shelf collapses in previously stable East Antarctica

March 25, 2022, 2:27pm Nation & World

An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday. Read story

Founder and CEO Sean McClain poses next to a mural in a lab at Absci Corp., headquartered in Vancouver.

Vancouver’s Absci touts value of artificial intelligence

March 23, 2022, 6:05pm Business

Vancouver-based Absci presented its newest machine learning models this week, displaying a computer-generated model that can predict — with a high degree of confidence — a drug candidate formula. Read story

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shows a northern long-eared bat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list it as endangered. Officials say its population has fallen sharply because of a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome, which has spread across nearly 80% of the species' range.

Fungus-ravaged bat proposed for endangered species listing

March 22, 2022, 7:57am Life

Federal officials Tuesday proposed designating the Northern long-eared bat, once common but ravaged by a deadly fungus, as an endangered species. Read story

Discovery High robotics team awarded $50,000

March 22, 2022, 6:05am Clark County News

a robotics team comprised of students from the Camas School District, the Washougal School District and the Hockinson School District — has been named a national finalist in Samsung’s 2022 Solve for Tomorrow Challenge. Read story

A grizzly bear mother and her cub walk in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Idaho governor files petition to delist grizzlies from protections

March 22, 2022, 6:03am Life

Idaho Gov. Brad Little last week submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging the agency to remove the state’s grizzly bears from Endangered Species Act protections. Read story