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This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. Image credit: NIAID.

Could COVID-19 Pandemic Be Controlled Using Existing Vaccines Like MMR or BCG?

Apr 23, 2020 by The Conversation

The race is on to develop a vaccine that can protect us from the COVID-19 pandemic. An impressive 115 vaccine candidates are currently being investigated,...

The Unified Geologic Map of the Moon. Image credit: U.S. Geological Survey / Lunar and Planetary Institute / South Dakota School of Mines and Technology / NASA / JAXA.

Researchers Create Comprehensive Geologic Map of Moon

Apr 23, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology has released...

A composite image of Venus as seen by JAXA’s Akatsuki spacecraft. Image credit: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science / Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

MESSENGER Finds Chemically Distinct Regions in Atmosphere of Venus

Apr 22, 2020 by News Staff

A new analysis of archival data from NASA’s Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft reveals a sudden rise...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Study Reveals New Clues about Biology of COVID-19

Apr 22, 2020 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Cell pinpoints the likely cell types SARS-CoV-2, a new coronavirus behind the COVID-19 disease, infects; it also shows...

Fomalhaut b Doesn’t Exist, Astronomers Say

Apr 21, 2020 by News Staff

The directly-imaged massive exoplanet Fomalhaut b is actually a dispersing cloud of dust, produced by a catastrophic collision between two large planetesimals...

This rendering depicts the secretion of cytokines, the tiny pink bits, from a cell. Image credit: Scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Antibody-Like Proteins May Halt COVID-19 Cytokine Storm

Apr 21, 2020 by News Staff

Cytokines are signaling proteins that stimulate inflammation and other immune responses. ‘Cytokine storm,’ or cytokine release syndrome, plays a critical...

Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov on December 9, 2019. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / K. Meech, University of Hawaii / D. Jewitt, University of California, Los Angeles.

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Has Unusual Chemical Composition

Apr 21, 2020 by News Staff

Comets spend most of their lives at large distances from any star, during which time their interior compositions remain relatively unaltered. Cometary...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Genetic Variability in Immune System May Affect Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2

Apr 20, 2020 by News Staff

Genetic variability in the human immune system may affect susceptibility to and severity of infection by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus which causes the...

Star Hurtling around Milky Way’s Central Black Hole Validates Einstein’s General Relativity

Apr 17, 2020 by News Staff

At the center of the Milky Way lurks Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole that is four million times the mass of the Sun. Located 26,000 light-years...

Neutrophils forming NETs in cell culture. Note the expelled DNA strings (arrows). Scanning electron microscopy of neutrophils 3 h after plating and coculturing with 4T1 breast cancer cells. Scale bar - 25 µm. Image credit: Barnes et al, doi: 10.1084/jem.20200652.

Study Links Neutrophil Infiltration in Lungs to COVID-19 Symptoms

Apr 17, 2020 by News Staff

A little known yet powerful function of overactive white blood cells known as neutrophils — the ability to form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)...

Red Dwarf Kepler-1649 Has Earth-Sized Exoplanet in Habitable Zone

Apr 16, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope have discovered an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a low-mass star called Kepler-1649. An...

Astronomers Spot Most Powerful Supernova Explosion

Apr 15, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has detected the brightest and most energetic known supernova: SN 2016aps. An artist’s illustration of a supernova....

TESS Discovers Unusual Ancient System with Two Hot Gas Giants

Apr 14, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have discovered a planetary system of two giant planets — a Neptune-sized...

A cord fragment from the site of Abri du Maras, France. Image credit: C2RMF.

Neanderthals Were Capable of Making Cords

Apr 10, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists working at the Neanderthal site of Abri du Maras in France have discovered a 46,000-year-old cord fragment — the oldest known direct...

An artist’s conception of 2MASS J10475385+2124234 illustrates magnetic field and atmosphere’s top, which were observed at different wavelengths to determine wind speeds. Image credit: Bill Saxton, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Powerful Winds Blow in Atmosphere of Nearby Brown Dwarf

Apr 10, 2020 by News Staff

Brown dwarfs are cool, dim objects that have a size between that of a gas giant, such as Jupiter or Saturn, and that of a Sun-like star. Sometimes called...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Universe is Anisotropic on Large Scales, New Study Suggests

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

Space-based X-ray observations of hundreds of galaxy clusters suggest that the Universe may be different depending on which way astronomers look. The study...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a VERO E6 cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (orange), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Experimental Drug Has Broad Spectrum Antiviral Activity against Multiple Coronaviruses

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

An orally bioavailable prodrug called EIDD-2801 (β-D-N4-hydroxycytidine-5’-isopropyl ester) has broad spectrum antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2,...

A forest island in the Llanos de Moxos region of Bolivia. Image credit: José Capriles, Penn State.

Earliest Inhabitants of Amazon Created Thousands of Artificial Forest Islands

Apr 8, 2020 by News Staff

A University of Bern-led study shows that, starting at around 10,850 years ago, inhabitants of the Llanos de Moxos region in northern Bolivia began to...

This artist’s impression illustrates how high-speed jets from supermassive black holes would look. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Calçada, ESO.

Astronomers Observe Relativistic Jet from Two Merging Spiral Galaxies

Apr 8, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the 8.2-m Subaru Telescope report the first unambiguous detection of a relativistic jet — a beam of charged particles that travels...