page_title: April–June 2020 in science
section_title: April
hierarchical_section_title: April–June 2020 in science / April
caption_attribution_description: English: Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) at Berenty Private Reserve in Madagascar
context_section_description: 1 April
  A scientific review finds that substantial recovery for most components of marine ecosystems within two to three decades can be achieved if climate change is addressed adequately and efficient interventions are deployed at large scale. It documents the recovery of marine populations, habitats and ecosystems following past conservation interventions, identifies nine components integral to conservation and recovery and recommend actions along with opportunities, benefits, possible roadblocks and remedial actions. The researchers caution about a narrow window of opportunity in which decisions can choose between "a legacy of a resilient and vibrant ocean or an irreversibly disrupted ocean". They assess the goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations to be a "doable Grand Challenge for humanity, an ethical obligation and a smart economic objective to achieve a sustainable future".
  Researchers report to have discovered and analysed fossil roots embedded in a mudstone matrix containing diverse pollen and spores which indicate that rainforests existed near the South Pole ca. 90 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. Their findings suggest that the climate was exceptionally warm at the time and that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were substantially higher than expected during the mid-Cretaceous period, 115-80 million years ago.
  Researchers report that stretching cells alone can activate genes without intermediates, enzymes or signaling molecules in the cell being necessary. They applied cyclic forces of frequencies which cells experience due to common activities such as breathing, exercising or vocalizing and found that the induced transcription up-regulation does not follow the weak power law with force frequency. They also describe why some genes can be activated by mechanical force and some cannot.
  Scientists report that for the first time they have retrieved genetic information from the fossils of H. antecessor as old as 772,000–949,000 years and Homo erectus as old as 1.77 million years via dental enamel proteomes . They show that H. antecessor is a closely related sister-lineage to subsequent Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins, including modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans.
  2 April
  Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine report the creation of a promising possible COVID-19 vaccine, named PittCoVacc, against the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease, and are hoping for a fast approval track, lasting less than the usual year of testing, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  Researchers at the University of British Columbia report the discovery of a trial drug that can substantially block early stages of the COVID-19 disease in engineered human tissues.
  Scientists report the discovery of the oldest known fossils, dated to as old as 2.04 million years old, of Homo erectus in the palaeocave Drimolen in South Africa, which may have overlapped, in the same area and time, as other hominins, such as Australopithecus and Paranthropus.
  Scientists report finding large communities of microbes living under the seafloor in solid rocks determined to be up to 104 million years old. According to the study the results may have implications for the possibility of life on Mars and other planetary bodies due to potentially similar conditions and rocks or minerals.
  Astronomers report further evidence of the possible fragmentation of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. A follow-up study, reported on 6 April 2020, observed only a single object, and noted that the fragment component had now disappeared.
  6 April
  Astronomers announce, on "The Astronomer's Telegram", the possible disintegration of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS).
  Scientists report the discovery of metabolic genes in the genomes of 501 widespread Nucleocytoviricota even though viruses don't have metabolism. Some of their findings suggest that these large viruses can reprogram fundamental aspects of their host's carbon metabolism and that they are drivers of evolutionary innovation in metabolic genes
caption: 16 April: Scientists report that during their breeding season male ring-tailed lemurs exude three pheromones during breeding season in a testosterone-dependent manner.[120]
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