News in Brief (2023-06-21)

FE Team | Published: June 20, 2023 21:40:37

Lab-grown human embryo models spark calls for regulation
PARIS, June 20: Scientists have used stem cells to create structures that resemble human embryos in the lab, in a first that has prompted calls for stricter regulation in the rapidly advancing field. Several different labs around the world have released pre-print studies in the past seven days describing their research, which experts said should be treated with caution as the research has not yet been peer-reviewed. The labs used different techniques to encourage human embryonic stem cells, which can become any type of cell, to self-assemble into a structure that resembles an embryo-without needing sperm, an egg or fertilisation. —AFP
China launches space satellite
TAIYUAN, June 20: China on Tuesday launched a Long March-6 carrier rocket to place a new experiment satellite in space. The rocket carrying the Shiyan-25 experiment satellite lifted off at 11:18 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi. The satellite successfully entered the preset orbit. This satellite will mainly be used to carry out new Earth-observation technology experiments. This was the 477th flight mission of the Long March rocket series. —Xinhua
Six dead in Ecuador gang shooting
GUAYAQUIL, June 20: Six people were killed and eight wounded Monday in an apparent gang shootout in Guayaquil, a port city in Ecuador terrorized by a wave of violence blamed on a spiraling drug war, authorities said. Police Colonel Marcelo Castillo told AFP that six people had died in Guayaquil's second mass shooting this month, which appeared to have been a settling of scores between rival gangs. The prosecutor's office later said eight others had been wounded and taken to local hospitals, while no one had so far been arrested. Such attacks have become ever-more frequent in Ecuador, especially in Guayaquil, as rival gangs ramp up the fight for drug markets and prisons. —AFP