We may have a new planetary neighbor orbiting just four light-years away. Astronomers have detected evidence of a third planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, our sun’s nearest stellar neighbor, at 25 trillion miles (40.2 trillion kilometers) away. A light-year, the distance light travels in one year in a vacuum, is equivalent ... Read More »
Even Dying Stars Could Give Birth to New Planets
When young stars coalesce out of a cloud of molecular hydrogen, a disk of leftover material called a protoplanetary disk surrounds them. This disk is where planets form, and astronomers are getting better at peering into those veiled environments and watching embryonic worlds take shape. But young stars aren’t the ... Read More »
Controversial Study In Which Volunteers Infected With Covid Delivers First Results
Research shows that average time from first exposure to viral detection and early symptoms was 42 hours, significantly shorter than existing estimates A controversial study in which participants were willingly infected with Covid has shown that it typically takes two days for symptoms to start developing after exposure to the virus. ... Read More »
‘Deltacron’: New Covid Variant or Laboratory Error?
A scientist who reported the existence of a new Covid-19 variant that combines characteristics of Delta and Omicron has insisted his findings are accurate after experts dismissed them as the result of laboratory samples becoming contaminated. Dr Leonidos Kostrikis, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, told the Cypriot channel Sigma TV that ... Read More »
Adding Peanuts to Young Children’s Diet Can Help Avoid Allergy
A new study found that introducing peanut products to babies and infants, and gradually increasing exposure, led to greater tolerance for the common allergen. The peer-reviewed study, published in The Lancet, involved 146 peanut-allergic children aged between zero and three over two-and-a-half years. Of the group, 96 were given peanut ... Read More »
Nanoplastic Pollution Found At Both of Earth’s Poles For First Time
Nanoplastic pollution has been detected in polar regions for the first time, indicating that the tiny particles are now pervasive around the world. The nanoparticles are smaller and more toxic than microplastics, which have already been found across the globe, but the impact of both on people’s health is unknown. ... Read More »
32 Years After Civil War, Mundane Moments Trigger Awful Memories
Cards. Candles. Sunsets. For this New York Times correspondent and other children of Beirut in the 1980s, traumatic reminders of the war are still there in everyday activities. When you’re a child, how do you get through a war? A lot of Monopoly, Scrabble, card games, candles and windowless bathrooms ... Read More »
What The Collapse Of Antarctica’s ‘Doomsday’ Glacier Could Mean For The World
The massive Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by 65cm if it were to completely collapse. And, worryingly, recent research suggests that its long-term stability is doubtful as the glacier haemorrhages more and more ice. Adding 65cm to global sea levels would have a significant coastline-changing impact. ... Read More »
Scientists Identify Antibodies That Can Neutralise Omicron And Other Variants
Scientists have identified antibodies that can target the unchanged parts of the novel coronavirus as it continues to mutate and evolve, an advance that could lead to new therapeutics to neutralise Omicron and other Covid-19 variants. Identifying such “broadly neutralising” antibodies on the coronavirus spike protein, which the virus uses to enter human cells, can help develop better vaccines and ... Read More »
What Do We Know About The Omicron Covid Variant So Far?
Since the first cases of Omicron were reported in the UK just over a month ago it has spread rapidly across the UK, fuelling a surge of infections. But scientists have also been working at speed. Here is an overview of the expanding scientific knowledge of Omicron. Spread Soon after ... Read More »