June 2007 in science

Events in science and technology

June 27, 2007

• At a news conference in Cairo, Egyptologists claim to have identified the 3,000-year-old mummy of pharaoh/queen Hatshepsut, ancient Egypt's most powerful female ruler. The DNA identification of the queen (whose mummy was originally discovered, but not identified, by Howard Carter in 1903) is being billed as the biggest archaeological find in Egypt since the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Some archaeologists, however, express strong scepticism about the possibility of using DNA technology to identify the queen. (BBC News)

June 22, 2007

• Space Shuttle Atlantis lands safely at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after inclement weather prevents a landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, ending STS-117. (Reuters)

June 15, 2007

• Switzerland opens the world's longest rail tunnel on land, the 34 kilometre Lötschberg tunnel under the Alps. (BBCNews)

June 14, 2007

• Repeated and persistent problems with the navigational computers on the International Space Station makes the schedule for the return date of Space Shuttle Atlantis uncertain. (BBCNews) (Reuters)

June 13, 2007

• A member of a new dinosaur species, called Gigantoraptor erlianensis, is published in Nature, that is described as bird-like in its features. Unexpectedly, the fossil remains point to the animal's size to be larger than 8 m (26 ft). (Reuters)

June 8, 2007

• The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches with a crew of seven on an assembly mission to the International Space Station on mission STS-117. (BBCNews)

June 4, 2007

• The United Nations UNEP publishes a report that warns that up to 40 percent of the world's population, that are depending on meltwater as source for drinking water, may be adversely affected by global warming. (BBCNews)

June 1, 2007

• A new law governing the safety of chemicals in the European Union goes into effect. (BBCNews)

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