Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, completed its third rocket-powered flight into space on Saturday after taking off from New Mexico, the company announced.
Why it matters: The flight is a step toward the company being able to offer commercial trips to suborbital space.
The revival of the "lab leak" theory of COVID-19 — that it started with a virus that originated in a laboratory — is drawing new attention to the dangers of scientific experiments that enhance pathogens to study them.
Why it matters: So-called "gain-of-function" research can be invaluable in predicting future pandemic threats, but it can also generate risks by introducing new, potentially more dangerous viruses.
Drought is tightening its grip on the West, and that could spell fresh trouble for the region’s power grids.
Driving the news: Data released Thursday shows “exceptional drought,” the worst category, now extends across Napa, Sonoma and parts of the East Bay region. All of California is in at least "moderate" drought after an unusually dry winter, despite having entered the wet season without severe short-term drought outside of the northern reaches of the state.
