Summary
In science news around the world, scientists disagree about what to name the coronavirus paralyzing China and rattling the rest of the world. NASA announces four finalists for the next in its Discovery line of low-cost planetary science missions; two would chart a return to Venus and others would visit geologically active moons of the outer planets. The International Astronomical Union raises new concerns about plans for thousands of communications satellites in low-Earth orbit that create bright streaks in telescopes’ fields of view. Facebook provides a trove of anonymized data on how its users shared information—and misinformation—on recent political events around the world; concerns over privacy had delayed its release for nearly 2 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announces it has restored to its website reports of inspections of animal research laboratories and other animal-holding facilities governed by the Animal Welfare Act; the agency had removed many in 2017 over what it termed privacy concerns.
