livescience--2020-09-13--The new coronavirus can infect brain cells, study finds

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can sometimes hijack brain cells , using the cells ' internal machinery to copy itself , according to a new study .
The research , posted Sept. 8 to the preprint database , has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal , but it provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect brain cells called neurons .
Although the coronavirus has been linked to various forms of brain damage , from to brain diseases known as , all of which can cause confusion , brain fog and delirium , there was little evidence of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` We are actively looking at more patient tissues to be able to find how frequently such infections occur ... and what symptoms correlate with infection of which areas of the brain , '' senior author Akiko Iwasaki , an immunologist at Yale University , told Live Science in an email .
In addition , scientists must still figure out how the virus enters the brain in the first place , and whether it can be kept out of the brain , the authors noted in their report .
Related : 20 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history To see whether SARS-CoV-2 could break into brain cells , the study authors examined autopsied brain tissue from three patients who died of COVID-19 .
They also conducted experiments in mice infected with COVID-19 and in organoids — groups of cells grown in a lab dish to mimic the 3D structure of brain tissue .
`` This study is the first to do an extensive analysis of SARS-CoV-2 [ brain ] infection using three models , '' said Dr. Maria Nagel , a professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not involved in the study .
Previously , there were only `` rare case reports '' of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and viral particles found in post-mortem tissue from patients , Nagel , who specializes in neurovirology , told Live Science in an email .
In the organoids , the team found that the virus could enter neurons through the ACE2 receptor , a protein on the cell surface that the uses to enter the cell and trigger infection .
They then used an electron microscope , which uses beams of charged particles to illuminate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cells .
They could see particles `` budding '' within the cell , demonstrating that the virus had commandeered the neurons ' internal machinery to build new copies of itself .
While setting up shop in infected cells , the virus also caused metabolic changes in nearby neurons , which were not infected .
These nearby cells died off in large numbers , suggesting that the infected cells might steal oxygen from their neighbors in order to keep producing new virus , the authors noted .
`` We do not know if similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' though there is some evidence they might be , Iwasaki noted .
In the autopsied tissue , the team found SARS-CoV-2 had infected some neurons in the wrinkled cerebral cortex .
Near these infected cells , they found evidence of `` small strokes '' having taken place , hinting that the virus might steal oxygen from nearby cells in the brain just as it did in the organoids , Iwasaki said .
Notably , the infected brain tissue was not flooded with immune cells , as might be expected .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a large number of immune cells usually follow , the authors noted .
So it 's possible that when SARS-CoV-2 manages to infiltrate the brain , it may somehow escape the body 's typical defense against such invasions .
It 's not yet known how this unusual immune response might affect the course of the infection , but it may make the virus more difficult to clear from the brain .
And though few immune cells flock to the site of infection , dying neurons nearby can trigger a chain-reaction in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflammation , the authors noted .
Finally , in the mouse experiments , the authors genetically modified one group of mice to express human ACE2 receptors in their brains , while another group of mice only bore the receptor in their lungs .
The first set of mice rapidly began losing weight and died within six days , while the second set did not lose weight and survived .
In addition , in the mice with brain infection , the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain changed dramatically , presumably to redirect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spots '' where the virus had taken over , the authors wrote .
The organoid and mouse studies offer hints at how lethal SARS-CoV-2 can be if it reaches the brain .
But now , scientists must see if the same results carry over to humans .
`` Every experimental system has its limitation , '' Iwasaki noted .
For instance , COVID-19 infection may progress differently in mice than it does in humans , and while organoids somewhat resemble a mini-brain , they do not contain immune cells or blood vessels like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In addition , `` in humans , virus is not directly introduced into the brain '' as it is in mouse experiments , Nagel said .
Scientists will need to examine more autopsied tissue from COVID-19 patients to determine whether the findings of this preliminary work hold up in larger groups of people .
Nonhuman primates infected with SARS-CoV-2 could also serve as research models , since the supply of human brain tissue is limited , Nagel said .
`` Virus may be present in specific brain regions or may have more indirect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
In particular , some patients experience symptoms reminiscent of for months after their initial COVID-19 infection takes hold ; it 's been suggested that the syndrome arises from changes in hormone function regulated by the specific parts of the brain , she noted .
Another key question is whether the `` virus affects the respiratory center in the brainstem — contributing to respiratory failure in critically-ill COVID patients , '' she said .
What 's more , scientists still need to figure out how the virus sneaks into the brain in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that COVID-19 can disrupt people 's ability to smell and taste , some theorized that the virus might infect the brain directly by traveling through nerves in the nose , .
The virus may invade the brain through the nose , Iwasaki agreed , or it might enter through the bloodstream by crossing compromised regions of the blood-brain barrier — a wall of tissue that normally separates brain tissue from circulating blood and allows only certain substances through .
Learning what route the virus takes into the brain will be key to preventing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ noted .

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can sometimes hijack brain cells, using the cells' internal machinery to copy itself, according to a new study.
The research, posted Sept. 8 to the preprint database bioRxiv , has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but it provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect brain cells called neurons. Although the coronavirus has been linked to various forms of brain damage, from deadly inflammation to brain diseases known as encephalopathies , all of which can cause confusion, brain fog and delirium, there was little evidence of the virus itself invading brain tissue until now.
"We are actively looking at more patient tissues to be able to find how frequently such brain infections occur ... and what symptoms correlate with infection of which areas of the brain," senior author Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, told Live Science in an email. In addition, scientists must still figure out how the virus enters the brain in the first place, and whether it can be kept out of the brain, the authors noted in their report.
Related: 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history
Human, mouse and mini-brains
To see whether SARS-CoV-2 could break into brain cells, the study authors examined autopsied brain tissue from three patients who died of COVID-19. They also conducted experiments in mice infected with COVID-19 and in organoids — groups of cells grown in a lab dish to mimic the 3D structure of brain tissue.
"This study is the first to do an extensive analysis of SARS-CoV-2 [brain] infection using three models," said Dr. Maria Nagel, a professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. Previously, there were only "rare case reports" of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and viral particles found in post-mortem tissue from patients, Nagel, who specializes in neurovirology, told Live Science in an email.
In the organoids, the team found that the virus could enter neurons through the ACE2 receptor, a protein on the cell surface that the virus uses to enter the cell and trigger infection. They then used an electron microscope, which uses beams of charged particles to illuminate the tissue, to peer inside infected cells. They could see coronavirus particles "budding" within the cell, demonstrating that the virus had commandeered the neurons' internal machinery to build new copies of itself.
While setting up shop in infected cells, the virus also caused metabolic changes in nearby neurons, which were not infected. These nearby cells died off in large numbers, suggesting that the infected cells might steal oxygen from their neighbors in order to keep producing new virus, the authors noted.
Related: From dino brains to thought control — 10 fascinating brain findings
"We do not know if similar events are taking place in infected people," though there is some evidence they might be, Iwasaki noted. In the autopsied tissue, the team found SARS-CoV-2 had infected some neurons in the wrinkled cerebral cortex. Near these infected cells, they found evidence of "small strokes" having taken place, hinting that the virus might steal oxygen from nearby cells in the brain just as it did in the organoids, Iwasaki said.
Notably, the infected brain tissue was not flooded with immune cells, as might be expected. When the Zika virus or rabies virus invades the brain, a large number of immune cells usually follow, the authors noted. So it's possible that when SARS-CoV-2 manages to infiltrate the brain, it may somehow escape the body's typical defense against such invasions. It's not yet known how this unusual immune response might affect the course of the infection, but it may make the virus more difficult to clear from the brain. And though few immune cells flock to the site of infection, dying neurons nearby can trigger a chain-reaction in the nervous system that still leads to harmful inflammation, the authors noted.
Finally, in the mouse experiments, the authors genetically modified one group of mice to express human ACE2 receptors in their brains, while another group of mice only bore the receptor in their lungs. The first set of mice rapidly began losing weight and died within six days, while the second set did not lose weight and survived. In addition, in the mice with brain infection, the arrangement of blood vessels in the brain changed dramatically, presumably to redirect nutrient-rich blood to "metabolically active hot spots" where the virus had taken over, the authors wrote.
Next steps
The organoid and mouse studies offer hints at how lethal SARS-CoV-2 can be if it reaches the brain. But now, scientists must see if the same results carry over to humans.
"Every experimental system has its limitation," Iwasaki noted. For instance, COVID-19 infection may progress differently in mice than it does in humans, and while organoids somewhat resemble a mini-brain, they do not contain immune cells or blood vessels like the full-size organ, she said.
In addition, "in humans, virus is not directly introduced into the brain" as it is in mouse experiments, Nagel said. Scientists will need to examine more autopsied tissue from COVID-19 patients to determine whether the findings of this preliminary work hold up in larger groups of people.
Nonhuman primates infected with SARS-CoV-2 could also serve as research models, since the supply of human brain tissue is limited, Nagel said.
"Virus may be present in specific brain regions or may have more indirect effects on neurological function," Nagel added. In particular, some patients experience symptoms reminiscent of chronic fatigue syndrome for months after their initial COVID-19 infection takes hold; it's been suggested that the syndrome arises from changes in hormone function regulated by the specific parts of the brain, she noted. Another key question is whether the "virus affects the respiratory center in the brainstem — contributing to respiratory failure in critically-ill COVID patients," she said.
What's more, scientists still need to figure out how the virus sneaks into the brain in the first place.
When scientists learned that COVID-19 can disrupt people's ability to smell and taste, some theorized that the virus might infect the brain directly by traveling through nerves in the nose, Live Science previously reported . The virus may invade the brain through the nose, Iwasaki agreed, or it might enter through the bloodstream by crossing compromised regions of the blood-brain barrier — a wall of tissue that normally separates brain tissue from circulating blood and allows only certain substances through. Learning what route the virus takes into the brain will be key to preventing and treating the infection, the authors noted.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--See Venus swing by the crescent moon Monday morning

In the predawn morning sky on Monday ( Sept. 14 ) , a beautiful celestial sight will likely attract a lot of attention for early risers .
A few hours before sunrise , low above the east-northeast horizon you 'll see a slender sliver of a waning crescent moon .
And located to its left you 'll see a dazzling , silvery-white `` star '' shining with a steady glow .
That will be the planet Venus , shining at an eye-popping magnitude of -4.2 ( thirteen times brighter than Sirius , the brightest star ) from a distance of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) from Earth .
Venus dominates the heavens from the time it comes up over the horizon a little north of due east around 3 a.m. local daylight time ; nearly four hours before the sun and some two hours before the first light of dawn .
Its brightness puts neighboring stars — even its closest rival at that hour , topaz-colored Mars , which will be riding high in the southwest sky — to shame .
Related : The brightest planets in September 's night sky : How to see them ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Monday morning , the moon and Venus , the two brightest objects of the nighttime sky will be separated by about 5 degrees .
Your clenched fist held at arm 's length measures roughly 10 degrees , so on Monday morning , the moon and planet will be about a `` half fist '' apart .
What will make this attractive scene even more attractive will be `` Earthshine , '' where the unilluminated portion of the moon will seem to glow dimly with an eerie blue-gray light .
First described by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leicester , '' circa 1510 , this mysterious glow is caused by sunlight reflected off the oceans and cloud tops of Earth , directed toward the moon .
The moon will be only 12 % illuminated by the sun ; a narrow , yellow-white sliver contrasting with the blue-gray portion of the rest of the lunar disk giving it a striking three-dimensional appearance , especially in binoculars .
And as the morning progresses , the moon and Venus will climb well up into the eastern sky .
In spite of the fact that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ angular separation ) from the Sun on Aug. 12 , this dazzling planet appears even higher in the sky during this month .
In fact , Venus is now at the peak of its highest morning apparition ( for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes ) — about 40 degrees ( `` four fists '' ) high at each September sunrise .
And as a bonus , Venus will also slide 2.25 to 2.5 degrees south of the center of the famous Beehive star cluster ( M44 ) in the constellation of Cancer , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Sept. 12-14 ) , a very pretty sight in binoculars .
Sunrise or late in morning twilight is the best time to study Venus in telescopes .
Telescopically , however , Venus is now just a tiny , featureless and increasingly gibbous disk .
By month 's end Venus will have descended to within 5 degrees of the bright star Regulus , which it will pass very close to on Oct. 3 .
We 'll have more to say about that early next month .
Stay tuned !
Joe Rao serves as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York 's Hayden Planetarium .
He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine , the Farmers ' Almanac and other publications .
Follow us on Twitter @ Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

See the moon, Venus and the Beehive star cluster in the early morning sky on Sept. 14, 2020.
In the predawn morning sky on Monday (Sept. 14), a beautiful celestial sight will likely attract a lot of attention for early risers. A few hours before sunrise, low above the east-northeast horizon you'll see a slender sliver of a waning crescent moon. And located to its left you'll see a dazzling, silvery-white "star" shining with a steady glow.
That will be the planet Venus, shining at an eye-popping magnitude of -4.2 (thirteen times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star) from a distance of 88.8 million miles (142.8 million kilometers) from Earth.
Venus dominates the heavens from the time it comes up over the horizon a little north of due east around 3 a.m. local daylight time; nearly four hours before the sun and some two hours before the first light of dawn. Its brightness puts neighboring stars — even its closest rival at that hour, topaz-colored Mars, which will be riding high in the southwest sky — to shame.
Related: The brightest planets in September's night sky: How to see them (and when)
So it is that on Monday morning, the moon and Venus, the two brightest objects of the nighttime sky will be separated by about 5 degrees. Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees, so on Monday morning, the moon and planet will be about a "half fist" apart.
What will make this attractive scene even more attractive will be "Earthshine," where the unilluminated portion of the moon will seem to glow dimly with an eerie blue-gray light. First described by Leonardo da Vinci in his "Codex Leicester," circa 1510, this mysterious glow is caused by sunlight reflected off the oceans and cloud tops of Earth, directed toward the moon.
The moon will be only 12% illuminated by the sun; a narrow, yellow-white sliver contrasting with the blue-gray portion of the rest of the lunar disk giving it a striking three-dimensional appearance, especially in binoculars.
And as the morning progresses, the moon and Venus will climb well up into the eastern sky.
In spite of the fact that Venus was at greatest elongation (maximum angular separation) from the Sun on Aug. 12, this dazzling planet appears even higher in the sky during this month. In fact, Venus is now at the peak of its highest morning apparition (for skywatchers at mid-northern latitudes) — about 40 degrees ("four fists") high at each September sunrise.
And as a bonus, Venus will also slide 2.25 to 2.5 degrees south of the center of the famous Beehive star cluster (M44) in the constellation of Cancer, the crab, from Saturday through Monday morning (Sept. 12-14), a very pretty sight in binoculars. Sunrise or late in morning twilight is the best time to study Venus in telescopes. Telescopically, however, Venus is now just a tiny, featureless and increasingly gibbous disk.
By month's end Venus will have descended to within 5 degrees of the bright star Regulus, which it will pass very close to on Oct. 3. We'll have more to say about that early next month. Stay tuned!
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers' Almanac and other publications. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.


livescience--2020-09-11--Wreck of WWII warship with Nazi symbol discovered off Norway

The wreck of a German warship torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine in 1940 has been discovered in deep water off the North Sea coast of southern Norway .
Norway 's electric grid operator Statnett located the shipwreck near its underwater power cables on sonar scans of the seafloor in 2017 , .
In August , Statnett sent down an underwater remotely-operated-vehicle , or ROV , to inspect the wreck .
The ROV , which was tethered to the offshore support ship Olympic Taurus , sent back detailed images that suggested the wreck was that of the German cruiser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — The boom in robotics beneath the waves '' When the ROV results showed us a ship that was torpedoed , we realized it was from the war , '' said project engineer Ole Petter Hobberstad .
`` As the cannons became visible on the screen , we understood it was a huge warship . ''
The German cruiser Karlsruhe was launched in 1927 and was equipped with nine 15-centimeter guns .
It was 570 feet ( 174 meters ) long and could reach a top speed of 32 knots ( 37 mph @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the time .
The wreck now lies upright on the seafloor beneath 1,607 feet ( 490 m ) of seawater , about 13 nautical miles ( 24 kilometers ) from the port city of Kristiansand on Norway 's southern coast .
According to the Reuters news agency , Norwegian broadcasters also reported that the underwater images taken by the ROV included a medallion on the warship decorated with a Nazi swastika symbol .
Karlsruhe was a cadet training ship in the 1930 and was part of German patrols off the coast of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1936 .
It was being refitted when World War II broke out in September 1939 , and it did not see action until April 9 , 1940 , when it served as the flagship of an attack group during the German invasion of Norway , with Kristiansand as its main target .
The capabilities of the warship proved significant during the attack , according to archaeologist Frode Kvalø of the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo .
`` The ship was an important actor at a crucial time of Norwegian modern history , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Karlsruhe had suffered hits from Norwegian artillery during the attack , but it 's unclear how badly it was damaged .
It then left Kristiansand later that day , bound for Germany ; along the way , it was hit by torpedoes from the British submarine Truant , which blasted large holes in the hull .
Two hours later , the crew , under orders from the commander , abandoned the ship , which was then deliberately sunk by a German torpedo boat from the flotilla .
The exact location of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 80 years .
Archaeologists at the Norwegian Maritime Museum studied the sonar data and videos made by Statnett to make a positive identification of the shipwreck , Kvalø said .
One of the decisive factors in the identification were the distinctive asymmetrical aft gun turrets of the Karlsruhe , which can be seen on the wreck , he said .
`` Karlsruhe is an impressive sight , '' he said .
`` Most big warships in deep waters have turned [ over ] on the way down to the seabed because of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gone straight down and is resting on its keel . ''
`` Apart from the bow , which blew up when the last German torpedo hit the ammunition storage , the ship is practically intact , '' he said .
Editor 's Note : This article was updated to correct a statement that said Karlsruhe was was equipped with nine 15-inch guns .
The guns were `` 15 centimeters . ''
The headline was changed to avoid the technical term `` battleship , '' which can refer to the very largest warships .

The discoverers say the shipwreck of the Karlsruhe is lying upright on its keel beneath about 490 meters ( 1600 feet) of seawater near Norway's southern coast.
The wreck of a German warship torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine in 1940 has been discovered in deep water off the North Sea coast of southern Norway.
Norway's electric grid operator Statnett located the shipwreck near its underwater power cables on sonar scans of the seafloor in 2017, according to a Statnett statement .
In August, Statnett sent down an underwater remotely-operated-vehicle, or ROV, to inspect the wreck. The ROV, which was tethered to the offshore support ship Olympic Taurus, sent back detailed images that suggested the wreck was that of the German cruiser Karlsruhe.
Related: 24 underwater drones — The boom in robotics beneath the waves
"When the ROV results showed us a ship that was torpedoed, we realized it was from the war," said project engineer Ole Petter Hobberstad. "As the cannons became visible on the screen, we understood it was a huge warship."
The German cruiser Karlsruhe was launched in 1927 and was equipped with nine 15-centimeter guns. It was 570 feet (174 meters) long and could reach a top speed of 32 knots (37 mph or 59 km/h) — quite fast for the time.
The wreck now lies upright on the seafloor beneath 1,607 feet (490 m) of seawater, about 13 nautical miles (24 kilometers) from the port city of Kristiansand on Norway's southern coast.
According to the Reuters news agency, Norwegian broadcasters also reported that the underwater images taken by the ROV included a medallion on the warship decorated with a Nazi swastika symbol.
According to news reports, there was a Nazi swastika symbol on the warship. (Image credit: Statnett)
German warship
Karlsruhe was a cadet training ship in the 1930 and was part of German patrols off the coast of Spain during the Spanish Civil War from 1936.
It was being refitted when World War II broke out in September 1939, and it did not see action until April 9, 1940, when it served as the flagship of an attack group during the German invasion of Norway, with Kristiansand as its main target.
Related: Photos: Explore a WWII shipwreck in virtual reality
The capabilities of the warship proved significant during the attack, according to archaeologist Frode Kvalø of the Norwegian Maritime Museum in Oslo.
"The ship was an important actor at a crucial time of Norwegian modern history," Kvalø told Live Science in an email.
The Karlsruhe had suffered hits from Norwegian artillery during the attack, but it's unclear how badly it was damaged.
It then left Kristiansand later that day, bound for Germany; along the way, it was hit by torpedoes from the British submarine Truant, which blasted large holes in the hull. Two hours later, the crew, under orders from the commander, abandoned the ship, which was then deliberately sunk by a German torpedo boat from the flotilla.
The exact location of the sunken ship was unknown for almost 80 years.
Image 1 of 4 The Karlsruhe was the flagship of an attack group on the port city of Kristiansand during the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940. (Image credit: U.S. Naval Historical Center) The discoverers say the shipwreck of the Karlsruhe is lying upright on its keel beneath about 490 metres ( 1600 feet) of seawater near Norway's southern coast. (Image credit: Statnett/Isurvey ) The naval guns of the German World War II cruiser Karlsruhe surprised its discoverers, who thought they were investigating a much smaller shipwreck. (Image credit: Statnett) The Karlsruhe was severely damaged by torpedoes, but the discoverers report that it is surprisingly well-preserved in the deep water. (Image credit: Statnett)
Historic wreck
Archaeologists at the Norwegian Maritime Museum studied the sonar data and videos made by Statnett to make a positive identification of the shipwreck, Kvalø said.
One of the decisive factors in the identification were the distinctive asymmetrical aft gun turrets of the Karlsruhe, which can be seen on the wreck, he said.
"Karlsruhe is an impressive sight," he said. "Most big warships in deep waters have turned [over] on the way down to the seabed because of their large superstructure, but the Karlsruhe has gone straight down and is resting on its keel."
"Apart from the bow, which blew up when the last German torpedo hit the ammunition storage, the ship is practically intact," he said.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct a statement that said Karlsruhe was was equipped with nine 15-inch guns. The guns were "15 centimeters." The headline was changed to avoid the technical term "battleship," which can refer to the very largest warships.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

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90-year-old woman in the UK receives first dose of Pfizer vaccine, FDA review confirms vaccine is safe and effective A 90-year-old woman (who will turn 91 next week) became the first in the world to be given Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, according to the BBC. Margaret Keenan, who is originally from Northern Ireland, was given the vaccine at the University Hospital in Coventry, England. She received the first of 800,000 doses expected to be administered in the U.K. in the coming weeks, according to the BBC. "I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19," Keenan said, according to the BBC."It's the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the new year after being on my own for most of the year." "My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it. If I can have it at 90, then you can have it too," she added. Up to four million doses of Pfizer's vaccine is expected to be given to people in the U.K. by the end of the month. Meanwhile, a 53-page Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review published Tuesday (Dec. 8) confirmed that Pfizer's vaccine is safe and effective, according to The Washington Post.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine starts to work just 10 days after 1st dose Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine starts to protect people from the novel coronavirus just 10 days after the first dose, according to new documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The documents were released on Tuesday (Dec. 8), two days before a meeting of the FDA's vaccine advisory panel, which will vote on whether to recommend authorization of the vaccine in the U.S, Live Science reported . The FDA analyzed data from Pfizer's phase 3 clinical trial, which included some 44,000 people in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Turkey, about half of whom received the vaccine while the other half received a placebo. Both groups received two shots, 21 days apart. About 10 days after the first dose, there was a noticeable drop-off in new COVID-19 cases in the vaccine group compared with the placebo group, indicating that even one dose provides some protection, the report said. However, scientists don't know how long the protection from a single dose will last, so it will still be important for people to receive two shots, according to The New York Times . Overall, the vaccine was 52% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose, the report said.
People with significant allergies should avoid Pfizer vaccine, UK warns The U.K.'s Regulatory Agency is advising people with a history of "significant" allergic reactions to avoid Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine, after two National Health Service members developed severe allergic reactions to it on Tuesday (Dec. 8), Live Science reported. "As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday," Stephen Powis, the national medical director for England's National Health Service said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9). Both workers have a history of severe allergies and carry adrenaline auto injectors (such as EpiPens) around with them, according to The Guardian. Shortly after receiving the vaccine, both NHS workers developed anaphylaxis-like symptoms, or severe allergic reactions, but have recovered after receiving treatment. The MHRA will investigate further and Pfizer and BioNTech will support their investigation, according to Reuters. "Allergic reaction occurs with quite a number of vaccines, and perhaps even more frequently with drugs. So it is not unexpected," Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in remarks to journalists published by Britain's Science Media Center. “What would be wise, as the MHRA have already advised, would be for anyone who has known severe allergic reaction such that they need to carry an EpiPen, to delay having a vaccination until the reason for the allergic reaction has been clarified," he said. For the general population this does not mean that they would need to be anxious about receiving the vaccination, he added. "One has to remember that even things like marmite [a quintessential British food spread] can cause unexpected severe allergic reactions.”
Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Canada has authorized Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine, with the first doses expected to be administered there as early as next week. Health Canada, the country's health regulatory agency, said in a statement on Wednesday (Dec. 9) that it had determined that the vaccine "meets the Department's stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements for use in Canada," according to CTV News . "We expect vaccines to arrive maybe as early as Monday [Dec. 14]. It takes time to prepare the vaccine," said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the top military general leading the vaccine rollout for the Public Health Agency of Canada, according to CTV News. The first doses could be administered by the middle of next week, he said. Canada is the third country in the world to authorize the Pfizer vaccine, following the United Kingdom and Bahrain. The country should receive up to 249,000 doses of the vaccine by the end of December, and has purchased 20 million doses total, with the option to purchase more, CTV News reported.
Daily COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. reaches record-high, surpassed 9/11 On Wednesday (Dec. 9), the U.S. recorded 3,124 new COVID-19 deaths, the highest daily death toll to date, according to CNN . In comparison, 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. has now recorded 280,488 deaths related to the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project . A forecast from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the total death toll can increase to between 332,000 and 362,000 by January 2, according to CNN. There are currently 106,671 people hospitalized with the virus in the U.S.; 20,903 of them are currently in the ICU and 7,621 are currently on a ventilator, according to the COVID Tracking Project. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet to discuss an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
FDA panel recommends authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine A panel of experts for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the agency authorize Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. On Thursday (Dec. 10), the panel voted 17 to 4 to recommend that the vaccine receive emergency use authorization (EUA) for people ages 16 and older, according to The New York Times . The FDA typically follows the advice of its panels, and so today's vote is an important step towards the vaccine's authorization. It is anticipated that the agency will officially authorize the vaccine on Saturday (Dec. 12), the Times reported. Several countries have already authorized Pfizer's vaccine, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Bahrain.
Vaccine approval could come this weekend, as U.S. continues to record high daily death tolls On Thursday (Dec. 10), the U.S. recorded another 2,902 COVID-19 deaths, a day after the country set a record of 3,253 deaths, according to Reuters . “Probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we’re going to have more deaths per day than we had on 9/11 or we had at Pearl Harbor,” Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The reality is the vaccine approval this week is not going to really impact that, I think, to any degree for the next 60 days." On Thursday, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee discussed, voted and recommended that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should grant an emergency use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved in the U.K. and in Canada, and FDA approval for use in the U.S. could come this weekend.
Australia abandons local COVID-19 vaccine after it caused false-positive HIV tests An Australian COVID-19 vaccine that had shown promising results in early trials is being abandoned after researchers found that the shot caused false-positive results on HIV tests. On Friday (Dec. 11), Australian officials said they had canceled an order for some 51 million doses of the vaccine, which was being developed by The University of Queensland and CSL Ltd., a local biotech company, according to The New York Times . In an early trial with 216 participants, the vaccine appeared to be safe and to produce a robust immune response against COVID-19, according to a statement from CSL . But some volunteers falsely tested positive for HIV, which officials feared would undermine trust in the vaccine, the Times reported. The vaccine contained small fragments of an HIV protein, which helped stabilize the vaccine. Some of the participants developed antibodies against these fragments, and these antibodies triggered false positive results on some HIV tests. It's important to note that there is no way for the vaccine to cause an HIV infection, because it contains harmless fragments of the virus.
ICU nurse in New York becomes first person in the US to receive a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials New York, the worst-hit state at the start of the pandemic, just became the first to administer a coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials, kicking off a long, massive effort to vaccinate the American people, Live Science reported. Around 9 a.m. E.T. on Monday (Dec. 14), the very first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York, according to The New York Times. This comes as the U.S. continues to battle a massive wave of the virus that has more than 109,000 people currently hospitalized, according to The COVID Tracking Project. Since the start of the pandemic, New York has recorded more than 780,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 35,100 deaths, according to The Times. "This vaccine is exciting because I believe this is the weapon that will end the war," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a live broadcast of the first vaccination. "It's the beginning of the last chapter of the book, but now we just have to do it."
FDA analysis confirms Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective, emergency authorization is likely to come Friday A new briefing document from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released on Tuesday (Dec. 15) confirmed that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, according to NPR . Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is 94% effective and has "a favorable safety profile," according to the document. A panel of experts is set to meet on Thursday (Dec. 17) to discuss the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine and vote on whether or not the FDA should grant emergency approval to the vaccine. Last week, the same panel voted that the FDA should grant emergency approval to Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine; the authorization came a day late and the first doses were given on Monday (Dec. 15). The FDA will likely approve Moderna's vaccine for emergency use on Friday (Dec. 18), according to The New York Times .
FDA authorizes first over-the-counter COVID-19 test The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first over-the-counter COVID-19 test, which can be done at home and does not need a prescription. The test, made by the Australia-based company Ellume, provides results in as little as 20 minutes, according to a statement from the FDA . It is a "lateral flow antigen test," meaning it works in a similar way to a home pregnancy test, by running a "liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules," the FDA said. The test works in conjunction with a smartphone app. Users take a nasal swab and place their sample in an analyzer, which communicates to the smartphone app via Bluetooth. The results are delivered through the app, and also reported to public health authorities (based on a user's zip code) through a secure cloud connection, the company said . Ellume is ramping up production of its test, and expects to produce three million tests in January 2021, and 20 million within the first half of 2021.
A wild mink tested positive for the coronavirus, it may be the first wild animal to have a confirmed case A wild mink in Utah may be the first "free-ranging, native wild animal" confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Live Science reported. The mink was found near a mink farm and likely picked up the infection from the farmed mink. There's no evidence that the virus spread to other minks or wild animals; but if the virus does begin circulating in wild animals, it could pick up mutations that COVID-19 vaccines may not protect well against if it spreads back to humans, according to the report. "If it does [establish a reservoir], then we've got a long-term issue here, where this virus has the potential to be with us for millennia," Sarah Olson, associate director of the health program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told Vox. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has screened other animal species for the virus near mink farms in Utah, Michigan and Wisconsin, but all of them have tested negative so far, according to a statement.
An FDA advisory panel will meet today to vote on whether to recommend Moderna's coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval On Thursday (Dec. 17), a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee will meet to determine whether to recommend that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval, according to The New York Times . This panel, composed of independent experts, will vote on whether to recommend the vaccine after hearing from the company, FDA scientists and the public, according to The Times. Last week, the same panel of experts met to discuss Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine and voted to recommend emergency authorization; the authorization came the next day. There have now been more than 16.9 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 307,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard . There are currently 113,090 people hospitalized across the country with more than 21,900 of them in the ICU and 7,778 on a ventilator, according to The COVID Tracking Project .
California becomes new epicenter of COVID-19 in U.S. California, once praised for its early pandemic response, is now the new U.S. hotspot for COVID-19 infections. The state has reported an alarming surge in cases, breaking previous records for daily cases. On Thursday (Dec. 17), the state reported some 50,000 COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, and nearly 100,000 in 48 hours, according to The Washington Post . That's more than the daily cases reported in many countries, including India, Germany and Britain, the Post reported. The state also set a record for daily deaths on Thursday, with 379 fatalities reported, up from the previous high of 293. Capacity in intensive care units has also dropped dramatically, with hospitals in Southern California reporting zero percent capacity on Thursday. "I want to be very clear: Our hospitals are under siege, and our model shows no end in sight," said Christina Ghaly, director of Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services, the Post reported.
FDA expected to authorize Moderna's vaccine on Friday The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Friday (Dec. 18). Once authorized, it will be the second coronavirus vaccine to get the green light from the agency in just a week, with Pfizer's vaccine gaining authorization on Dec. 11. Moderna is expected to begin shipping 5.9 million doses of its vaccine on Sunday (Dec. 20), with the first deliveries arriving Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna's vaccine does not require storage in extremely cold temperatures, and states are hoping to distribute the vaccine to rural hospitals and community health centers, the Times reported.
COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the U.S. There have now been more than 17 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 300,000 deaths, according to The COVID Tracking Project . There are currently 114,237 people hospitalized across the country and 21,900 people in the ICU. California is facing a massive surge in cases; the state reported 41,012 new COVID-19 cases and 300 new deaths on Thursday (Dec. 17), according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard . By comparison, at the start of November, California was reporting a seven-day average of 4,183 cases, compared to an average of 38,774 on Thursday, according to CNN . "We're experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Public Health Director said, according to CNN. Intensive care unit beds are rapidly filling up across the state; there are only 1,234 ICU beds left available in California, according to the dashboard. Current closures across California are impacting around 98% of the state's population, according to CNN.
London and southeast England are under an emergency lockdown Following concerns of a new version of the coronavirus that might be more transmissible, London and most of southeast England are now under an emergency lockdown, according to The New York Times . Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on Saturday (Dec. 19) citing concerns that the mutated virus — which was detected a couple of weeks ago in southeast England — may be as much as 70% more transmissible than previous versions, according to the Times. The new version of the coronavirus is detected in more than 60% of new infections in London and have also been detected in several other countries, according to the Times. But it's not yet clear if this coronavirus version is any more infectious than the last and thorough analyses will need to be conducted before conclusions are made, scientists cautioned. In South Africa, a similar version of the virus has been found in up to 90% of new cases detected since mid-November, according to The Times . It's common for viruses to mutate, and this particular coronavirus has mutated many times since the start of the pandemic. But experts told The Times that it would take years for the virus to mutate enough such that it would make the current vaccines developed to fight COVID-19 ineffective.
Biden gets Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine President-elect Joe Biden received a dose of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine on Monday (Dec. 21), according to The New York Times . He received the shot on camera at the Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. "I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared when it's available to take the vaccine. There's nothing to worry about," Biden said.
Antarctica has its 1st COVID-19 outbreak The first COVID-19 cases have been reported in Antarctica , meaning the disease has now spread to every continent in the world. On Tuesday (Dec. 22), Chilean officials reported an outbreak of 36 COVID-19 cases at the Chilean research base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to the BBC . Of these, 26 cases were military personnel and 10 were maintenance workers, the BBC reported. All of these cases have been evacuated from Antarctica to Punta Arenas, Chile, according to The Guardian . Antarctica had been COVID-19 free up until the current outbreak. The continent has no permanent residents, but about 1,000 people, including scientists and other workers, stayed there this past winter, The Guardian reported.
Live updates will continue in 2021!


livescience--2020-09-14--La Niña may brew a more active hurricane season, worsen drought in the Southwest

A climate pattern known as La Niña is emerging in the equatorial Pacific Ocean , supporting climate scientists ' predictions for an active Atlantic season .
La Niña could also bring warmer , drier conditions to southern states in the U.S. — many of which are already experiencing extreme drought .
La Niña ( `` The Girl '' in Spanish ) and its counterpart ( `` The Boy '' ) are part of a climate pattern known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) , which affects sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean , close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Niña cycle , waters in that ocean region are cooler than average .
El Niño conditions — warmer-than-average waters in the equatorial Pacific — help to suppress hurricane formation in the Atlantic Ocean .
La Niña does the opposite ; under La Niña , cooler Pacific waters weaken wind shear over the tropical Atlantic Basin and the Caribbean Sea , enabling more hurricanes to take shape , scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) released on Sept. 10 .
There is a 75 % chance that La Niña 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 through February 2021 , according to the statement .
La Niña conditions last appeared during the winter months of 2017 through 2018 , with El Niño developing in 2018 through 2019 .
A third part of the ENSO cycle — when ocean waters are neither warmer nor colder than average , sometimes called `` La Nada '' ( `` The Nothing '' in Spanish ) — is neutral , and does not significantly influence global climate patterns , NOAA says .
La Niña 's presence over the winter months will also be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pattern brings cooler , wetter conditions to northern states , while southern states will be warmer and have less precipitation than they normally do , according to NOAA .
In August , NOAA experts predicted that the 2020 hurricane season would be one of the busiest on record .
One of the factors behind that prediction was growing evidence that ocean conditions were trending toward La Niña ; though La Niña does n't actively fuel hurricanes , it does n't suppress their formation like El Niño does , Live Science .
`` Overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with La Niña conditions , '' researchers with the National Weather Service 's Climate Prediction Center said yesterday ( Sept. 10 ) .
NOAA 's August outlook predicted a hurricane season with an 85 % chance of above-normal activity , capable of producing up to 25 named storms — the highest number ever predicted — with winds of at least 39 mph ( 63 km/h ) .
Indeed , hurricane season began early this year , with the first named storm , , forming on May 17 ( the `` official '' start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
Nine named storms emerged by the end of July .
The 12th storm , Hurricane Laura , barreled into coastal Louisiana on Aug. 27 as a Category 4 storm , with winds topping 150 mph ( 240 km/h ) and a storm surge described by the National Hurricane Center as `` unsurvivable , '' .
It was the strongest hurricane to strike the Gulf Coast since 2005 's .
Other factors are also driving this year 's unusually active hurricane season , including an enhanced West African monsoon ; weaker trade @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea and in the tropical Atlantic , NOAA scientists reported in August .
These conditions , which have persisted for decades , are thought to be responsible for more active hurricane seasons overall , dating from 1995 .
What 's more , they show no signs of dissipating , hinting that highly active hurricane seasons will be more frequent in the years to come , NOAA 's lead hurricane season forecaster Gerry Bell said in August .
`` We 're not seeing an end to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We 're 26 years into it , and we do n't know how long it 's going to last . ''

During the early morning hours of August 27, 2020, NOAA's GOES-East saw Hurricane Laura make landfall at Cameron, Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane.
A climate pattern known as La Niña is emerging in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, supporting climate scientists' predictions for an active Atlantic hurricane season. La Niña could also bring warmer, drier conditions to southern states in the U.S. — many of which are already experiencing extreme drought.
La Niña ("The Girl" in Spanish) and its counterpart El Niño ("The Boy") are part of a climate pattern known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, close to the equator. During a La Niña cycle, waters in that ocean region are cooler than average.
El Niño conditions — warmer-than-average waters in the equatorial Pacific — help to suppress hurricane formation in the Atlantic Ocean. La Niña does the opposite; under La Niña, cooler Pacific waters weaken wind shear over the tropical Atlantic Basin and the Caribbean Sea, enabling more hurricanes to take shape, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement released on Sept. 10.
Related: A history of destruction: 8 great hurricanes
There is a 75% chance that La Niña's cooler-than-average sea-surface temperatures will persist from December 2020 through February 2021, according to the statement. La Niña conditions last appeared during the winter months of 2017 through 2018, with El Niño developing in 2018 through 2019.
A third part of the ENSO cycle — when ocean waters are neither warmer nor colder than average, sometimes called "La Nada" ("The Nothing" in Spanish) — is neutral, and does not significantly influence global climate patterns, NOAA says.
La Niña's presence over the winter months will also be felt across the U.S.; the climate pattern brings cooler, wetter conditions to northern states, while southern states will be warmer and have less precipitation than they normally do, according to NOAA.
The climate pattern known as La Niña is likely to persist through February 2021, scientists say. (Image credit: NOAA)
In August, NOAA experts predicted that the 2020 hurricane season would be one of the busiest on record. One of the factors behind that prediction was growing evidence that ocean conditions were trending toward La Niña; though La Niña doesn't actively fuel hurricanes, it doesn't suppress their formation like El Niño does, Live Science previously reported .
"Overall, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system was consistent with La Niña conditions," researchers with the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said yesterday (Sept. 10) in a statement .
NOAA's August outlook predicted a hurricane season with an 85% chance of above-normal activity, capable of producing up to 25 named storms — the highest number ever predicted — with winds of at least 39 mph (63 km/h).
Indeed, hurricane season began early this year, with the first named storm, Arthur , forming on May 17 (the "official" start of Atlantic hurricane season is June 1). Nine named storms emerged by the end of July. The 12th storm, Hurricane Laura, barreled into coastal Louisiana on Aug. 27 as a Category 4 storm, with winds topping 150 mph (240 km/h) and a storm surge described by the National Hurricane Center as "unsurvivable," Live Science reported . It was the strongest hurricane to strike the Gulf Coast since 2005's Hurricane Katrina .
Other factors are also driving this year's unusually active hurricane season, including an enhanced West African monsoon; weaker trade winds in the tropical Atlantic Ocean; and warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean Sea and in the tropical Atlantic, NOAA scientists reported in August.
These conditions, which have persisted for decades, are thought to be responsible for more active hurricane seasons overall, dating from 1995. What's more, they show no signs of dissipating, hinting that highly active hurricane seasons will be more frequent in the years to come, NOAA's lead hurricane season forecaster Gerry Bell said in August.
"We're not seeing an end to this era," Bell said. "We're 26 years into it, and we don't know how long it's going to last."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--Hurricane Sally set to batter a Louisiana still reeling from Hurricane Laura

Sally is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected make landfall somewhere on the central Gulf Coast later today ( Sept. 14 ) .
The slow-moving storm has been drifting northwest off the coast toward Louisiana , and was officially upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane this afternoon .
The said it 's still too soon to tell where exactly its center will move onshore .
It 's packing an `` extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm surge '' that threatens people living on the Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama coastlines , the NHC said .
And with forecasts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Gulf 's warm , storm-feeding water as it moves ashore , the NHC said Sally could remain a dangerous hurricane for a long time after landfall .
Dangerous flash floods are also likely , according to the NHC , as well as major flooding along rivers and in urban areas .
The Gulf Coast has already taken a beating this hurricane season , with the one-two punch of tropical storm Marco and the monster hitting western Louisiana in the same week in August .
According to the , 134,000 people were still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , two weeks after Laura .
Twenty-three thousand are still living in Red Cross housing from that last pair of storms in Louisiana , the Post and Courier reported , though they 've gotten less attention than the more than 100,000 people fleeing massive wildfires on the West Coast .
Scientists believe that both the and hotter and larger wildfires occurring right now are consequences of .
While this storm is the only Atlantic cyclone posing an immediate threat to land , it 's not the only storm in the Atlantic .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ storms right now , including hurricane Paulette , which passed directly over Bermuda today ( several hundred miles east of North Carolina ) .
None besides Sally and Paulette pose immediate threats to land .
Sally , like most hurricanes this year , is also a record setter : Atlantic cyclones are named in alphabetical order as they reach tropical storm strength , and no `` S '' storm has ever come this early before .
Sally was named on Sept. 12 .
That 's 21 days earlier than the previous `` S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With Tropical Storms Teddy and Vicky forming in the Atlantic this morning , 21 and 22 days earlier than record-holders , Azores ( which reached Tropical Storm strength on Oct. 4 , 2005 , but was named out of order ) , and Tammy ( Oct. 5 , 2005 ) .
Teddy is already forecast to become a major hurricane and is expected to move north through the Atlantic without impacting the Carribean or North American mainland .
Related : 10 signs that Earth 's climate is off the rails There 's only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list of Atlantic storm names : Wilfred .
( The list skips the letters Q , X , Y and Z . )
Once the prepared names are exhausted , the NHC will move on to Greek letters for storms .
In 2005 , the previous busiest storm year , six Greek-letter storms formed , culminating in Zeta ( the sixth of 24 possible Greek letters ) on Dec. 30 .
Most tropical storms form during August , September and October .

A map shows the range of possible paths for the center of Hurricane Sally, though the National Hurricane center said it's still uncertain what direction the storm will go.
Hurricane Sally is strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected make landfall somewhere on the central Gulf Coast later today (Sept. 14).
The slow-moving storm has been drifting northwest off the coast toward Louisiana, and was officially upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane this afternoon. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it's still too soon to tell where exactly its center will move onshore. It's packing an "extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm surge" that threatens people living on the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastlines, the NHC said. And with forecasts suggesting that it will remain partly over the Gulf's warm, storm-feeding water as it moves ashore, the NHC said Sally could remain a dangerous hurricane for a long time after landfall.
Dangerous flash floods are also likely, according to the NHC, as well as major flooding along rivers and in urban areas.
Related: A history of destruction: 8 great hurricanes
The Gulf Coast has already taken a beating this hurricane season, with the one-two punch of tropical storm Marco and the monster hurricane Laura hitting western Louisiana in the same week in August. According to the Post and Courier , 134,000 people were still without power in Louisiana this past weekend, two weeks after Laura.
Twenty-three thousand are still living in Red Cross housing from that last pair of storms in Louisiana, the Post and Courier reported, though they've gotten less attention than the more than 100,000 people fleeing massive wildfires on the West Coast. Scientists believe that both the more intense hurricanes and hotter and larger wildfires occurring right now are consequences of climate change .
While this storm is the only Atlantic cyclone posing an immediate threat to land, it's not the only storm in the Atlantic. The NHC is simultaneously tracking four other significant storms right now, including hurricane Paulette, which passed directly over Bermuda today (several hundred miles east of North Carolina). None besides Sally and Paulette pose immediate threats to land.
There are five named tropical storms in the Atlantic right now. (Image credit: National Hurricane Center)
Sally, like most hurricanes this year, is also a record setter: Atlantic cyclones are named in alphabetical order as they reach tropical storm strength, and no "S" storm has ever come this early before. Sally was named on Sept. 12. That's 21 days earlier than the previous "S" record-holder: Stan in 2005.
With Tropical Storms Teddy and Vicky forming in the Atlantic this morning, 21 and 22 days earlier than record-holders, Azores (which reached Tropical Storm strength on Oct. 4, 2005, but was named out of order), and Tammy (Oct. 5, 2005). Teddy is already forecast to become a major hurricane and is expected to move north through the Atlantic without impacting the Carribean or North American mainland.
Related: 10 signs that Earth's climate is off the rails
There's only one slot left on the NHC's list of Atlantic storm names: Wilfred. (The list skips the letters Q, X, Y and Z.)
Once the prepared names are exhausted, the NHC will move on to Greek letters for storms. In 2005, the previous busiest storm year, six Greek-letter storms formed, culminating in Zeta (the sixth of 24 possible Greek letters) on Dec. 30.
Most tropical storms form during August, September and October.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--New 'eternal sleeper' dinosaur species was entombed while still alive

About 125 million years ago , two that had likely dozed off in an underground burrow drew their last breaths before they were buried alive , possibly by a volcanic eruption , a new study finds .
The pristinely preserved remains of these two nearly 4-foot-long ( 1.1 meters ) reptiles looked so serene that researchers named the newly discovered species Changmiania liaoningensis , which means `` eternal sleeper from Liaoning '' in Chinese .
`` It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting , which would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why their remains were n't damaged by the elements or by scavengers , the researchers wrote in the study .
Chinese farmers in Liaoning province in northeastern China discovered the two specimens , which are now housed at the Paleontological Museum of Liaoning .
An international team of paleontologists from China , Argentina and Belgium then set to work studying the `` eternal sleeper 's '' unique anatomy .
Their analysis revealed that C. liaoningensis was an early ornithopod , a type of herbivorous dinosaur that walked on two legs , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dinosaurs .
Judging by its powerful hind legs and long , stiff tail , it 's a good bet that C. liaoningensis was a swift runner , the researchers said .
Moreover , C. liaoningensis was likely an expert burrower , which is uncommon among dinosaurs but .
`` Certain characteristics of the skeleton suggest that Changmiania could dig burrows , much like do today , '' study senior researcher Pascal Godefroit , a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences , .
`` Its neck and forearms are very short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characteristic of burrowing vertebrates and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel . ''
The Lujiatun Beds , where these fossils were found , are well known for extraordinary fossils — specimens thought to have been preserved by an ancient volcanic eruption , like a version of ( the Roman city that was destroyed but eerily preserved by an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 ) .
Other 3D fossils from this site provide evidence that some dinosaurs were , and that mammals the size of opossums once .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ liaoningensis dinosaurs , `` it can be hypothesized that the burrows containing the Changmiania skeletons collapsed during the debris flow episode ; we can alternatively imagine that the Changmiania specimens dug their burrow in unstable reworked volcanic material just after the debris flow , '' the researchers wrote in the study , adding that `` those explanations , of course , remain pure speculations , '' because the fossils were excavated by farmers , not scientists , so certain details about the location were n't studied .
Still , the burrowing dinosaur 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were rapidly entombed while they were still alive , '' although it 's possible the sediment covered them soon after death , the researchers wrote in the study .
The C. liaoningensis fossils reveal other hints about their lives .
For instance , unlike another dinosaur immortalized in the Lujiatun Beds — Mei long , a bird-like troodontid dinosaur that slept with its tail curled under its neck — C. liaoningensis slept with its tail stretched out .
That 's because the `` eternal sleeper '' had a `` rather rigid '' tail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the study .
`` Curling its tail under its neck in a Mei-like style was therefore likely impossible for Changmiania . ''
Another fossilized clue includes a cluster of a dozen small pebbles found near the stomach area of one of the C. liaoningensis individuals .
These pebbles may have been gastroliths , or rocks that some animals swallow on purpose to help grind food during digestion , the researchers said .
The study was published online Sept. 8 in the journal .

This photo of the fossilized skeleton (left) and illustration (right) shows how the "eternal sleeper from Liaoning" looked in its last moments about 125 million years ago.
About 125 million years ago, two dinosaurs that had likely dozed off in an underground burrow drew their last breaths before they were buried alive, possibly by a volcanic eruption, a new study finds.
The pristinely preserved remains of these two nearly 4-foot-long (1.1 meters) reptiles looked so serene that researchers named the newly discovered species Changmiania liaoningensis, which means "eternal sleeper from Liaoning" in Chinese.
"It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting, which would explain their perfect lifelike postures" and why their remains weren't damaged by the elements or by scavengers, the researchers wrote in the study.
Related: Photos: Newfound tyrannosaur had nearly 3-inch-long teeth
Chinese farmers in Liaoning province in northeastern China discovered the two specimens, which are now housed at the Paleontological Museum of Liaoning. An international team of paleontologists from China, Argentina and Belgium then set to work studying the "eternal sleeper's" unique anatomy.
Their analysis revealed that C. liaoningensis was an early ornithopod, a type of herbivorous dinosaur that walked on two legs, such as Iguanodon and the hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs. Judging by its powerful hind legs and long, stiff tail, it's a good bet that C. liaoningensis was a swift runner, the researchers said.
Moreover, C. liaoningensis was likely an expert burrower, which is uncommon among dinosaurs but not without precedent .
"Certain characteristics of the skeleton suggest that Changmiania could dig burrows, much like rabbits do today," study senior researcher Pascal Godefroit, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, said in a statement . "Its neck and forearms are very short but robust, its shoulder blades are characteristic of burrowing vertebrates and the top of its snout is shaped like a shovel."
The shovel-shaped snout of the "eternal sleeper from Liaoning" may have helped it burrow underground. (Image credit: Yang Y. et al. PeerJ (2020); CC BY 4.0
The Lujiatun Beds, where these fossils were found, are well known for extraordinary fossils — specimens thought to have been preserved by an ancient volcanic eruption, like a Cretaceous period version of Pompeii (the Roman city that was destroyed but eerily preserved by an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79). Other 3D fossils from this site provide evidence that some dinosaurs were devoted parents , and that mammals the size of opossums once feasted on tiny dinosaurs .
In the case of the two C. liaoningensis dinosaurs, "it can be hypothesized that the burrows containing the Changmiania skeletons collapsed during the debris flow episode; we can alternatively imagine that the Changmiania specimens dug their burrow in unstable reworked volcanic material just after the debris flow," the researchers wrote in the study, adding that "those explanations, of course, remain pure speculations," because the fossils were excavated by farmers, not scientists, so certain details about the location weren't studied.
Still, the burrowing dinosaur's lifelike posture "implies that the animals were rapidly entombed while they were still alive," although it's possible the sediment covered them soon after death, the researchers wrote in the study.
The C. liaoningensis fossils reveal other hints about their lives. For instance, unlike another dinosaur immortalized in the Lujiatun Beds — Mei long, a bird-like troodontid dinosaur that slept with its tail curled under its neck — C. liaoningensis slept with its tail stretched out. That's because the "eternal sleeper" had a "rather rigid" tail with limited flexibility, the researchers wrote in the study. "Curling its tail under its neck in a Mei-like style was therefore likely impossible for Changmiania."
Another fossilized clue includes a cluster of a dozen small pebbles found near the stomach area of one of the C. liaoningensis individuals. These pebbles may have been gastroliths, or rocks that some animals swallow on purpose to help grind food during digestion, the researchers said.
The study was published online Sept. 8 in the journal PeerJ .
The newly described dinosaur, Changmiania liaoningensis, lived in what is now China during the Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago. The red arrow points to a pile of possible gastroliths — stones that the dinosaur likely swallowed to aid in digestion. (Image credit: Yang Y. et al. PeerJ (2020); CC BY 4.0
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--'Elinor Wonders Why' teaches kids to explore science by asking questions

Young children who are just starting to explore the world around them often have plenty of questions , and a new animated series from PBS Kids not only encourages endless questions , but it also shows youngsters how they can use science to find answers .
In `` , '' an inquisitive bunny named Elinor leads her friends in adventures around Animal Town .
Along the way , they encounter new challenges and discover mysteries of the natural world that they 've never seen before and do n't understand .
But Elinor and her animal companions also find that observation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clues to find solutions and solve problems — just like scientists do .
Related : The best STEM toys of 2020 Both of the `` Elinor Wonders Why '' co-creators — Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson — brought a science background to the series .
Cham , also the creator of the nerdy online comic `` `` ( PHD Comics ) , formerly taught at Caltech and conducted research on neural implants .
Whiteson , a physics professor at the University of California , Irvine , researches exotic particles using the Large Hadron @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Research ( CERN ) in Geneva , Switzerland .
The pair previously co-authored the humorous popular science book `` We Have No Idea : A Guide to the Unknown Universe `` ( Riverhead Books , 2017 ) , about unanswered questions in physics .
For `` Elinor Wonders Why , '' they wanted a show that also confronted unknowns , but at a level suitable for preschool-age kids , Cham told Live Science .
`` Kids have lots of questions about everything , they want to know how everything works , '' Cham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to create something that gives kids confidence about that — and gives them mental tools that they can use in situations when they have questions . ''
The questions posed in each episode by Elinor and her best friends — a bat named Ari and an elephant named Olive — had to be questions that kids would be likely to ask , Whiteson explained .
But the questions also had to be ones that kids could solve for themselves through investigation and .
`` It 's really about empowering the audience 's own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We tended to focus on questions that you could see the kids answering themselves with their own observations .
They could use simple science techniques like taking notes , comparing things and doing experiments , to find answers to their own questions . ''
In one episode , while Elinor and her friends are camping out in her backyard , they learn to silently communicate with each other after watching the flashing signals of glowing fireflies .
Another episode explores the different ways that animals keep themselves clean , after Ari declares that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` We believe nothing is beyond being able to explain it to somebody , '' Cham said .
`` It 's just a matter of finding the right language and how to approach it . ''
The natural world is n't a one-size-fits-all experience .
Some children live near parks or have backyards , while others learn about plants and animals through interactions in their homes .
As Cham and Whiteson imagined Elinor investigating science , they created stories that would be accessible to audiences regardless of their access to nature .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ just about seeing birds out your window , or growing plants on your balcony , '' Whiteson said .
`` The same theme of curiosity and enjoyment and wonder of nature can be applied when all you have is a window . ''
`` Elinor Wonders Why '' is available to stream on the .

Young children who are just starting to explore the world around them often have plenty of questions, and a new animated series from PBS Kids not only encourages endless questions, but it also shows youngsters how they can use science to find answers.
In " Elinor Wonders Why ," an inquisitive bunny named Elinor leads her friends in adventures around Animal Town. Along the way, they encounter new challenges and discover mysteries of the natural world that they've never seen before and don't understand.
But Elinor and her animal companions also find that observation and investigation can help them piece together clues to find solutions and solve problems — just like scientists do.
Related: The best STEM toys of 2020
Both of the "Elinor Wonders Why" co-creators — Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson — brought a science background to the series. Cham, also the creator of the nerdy online comic " Piled Higher and Deeper " (PHD Comics), formerly taught at Caltech and conducted research on neural implants. Whiteson, a physics professor at the University of California, Irvine, researches exotic particles using the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The pair previously co-authored the humorous popular science book " We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe " (Riverhead Books, 2017), about unanswered questions in physics. For "Elinor Wonders Why," they wanted a show that also confronted unknowns, but at a level suitable for preschool-age kids, Cham told Live Science.
"Kids have lots of questions about everything, they want to know how everything works," Cham said. "This was an opportunity to create something that gives kids confidence about that — and gives them mental tools that they can use in situations when they have questions."
Empowering curiosity
The questions posed in each episode by Elinor and her best friends — a bat named Ari and an elephant named Olive — had to be questions that kids would be likely to ask, Whiteson explained. But the questions also had to be ones that kids could solve for themselves through investigation and deduction .
"It's really about empowering the audience's own curiosity," Whiteson said. "We tended to focus on questions that you could see the kids answering themselves with their own observations. They could use simple science techniques like taking notes, comparing things and doing experiments, to find answers to their own questions."
In one episode, while Elinor and her friends are camping out in her backyard, they learn to silently communicate with each other after watching the flashing signals of glowing fireflies. Another episode explores the different ways that animals keep themselves clean, after Ari declares that he has decided to stop taking baths.
"We believe nothing is beyond being able to explain it to somebody," Cham said. "It's just a matter of finding the right language and how to approach it."
The natural world isn't a one-size-fits-all experience. Some children live near parks or have backyards, while others learn about plants and animals through interactions in their homes. As Cham and Whiteson imagined Elinor investigating science, they created stories that would be accessible to audiences regardless of their access to nature.
"We have episodes where it's just about seeing birds out your window, or growing plants on your balcony," Whiteson said. "The same theme of curiosity and enjoyment and wonder of nature can be applied when all you have is a window."
"Elinor Wonders Why" is available to stream on the PBS Kids website .
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-14--Fate of Schrödinger's cat probably isn't in the hands of gravity, experiment finds

For the better part of a century , the world 's greatest minds have struggled with the mathematical certainty that objects can be in multiple positions at the same time before something causes them to snap into place .
A number of physicists have wondered if good old gravity is responsible for forcing the particle equivalent of a roulette ball to settle into its metaphorical pocket .
That 's looking a little less likely in the wake of a new experiment .
Researchers from across Europe recently tested a potential explanation of the apparent collapse of a waveform , determined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but by the geometry of spacetime .
It 's an idea that has its roots in a paper published back in 1966 by the Hungarian physicist Frigyes Karolyhazy , championed decades later by renowned minds like Roger Penrose and Lajos Diósi .
In fact , it was Diósi who teamed up with a handful of scientists to determine if we could blame gravity for one of quantum physics ' most brain-numbing paradoxes .
`` For 30 years , I had been always criticized in my country that I speculated on something which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Science Magazine 's George Musser .
New technology has finally made the untestable a possibility .
But to understand how it works , we need to take a brief dive into quantum insanity .
Back in the early 20th century , theorists modeled particles as if they were waves in order to reconcile what they were learning about atomics and light .
These particles were n't quite like waves rippling across the surface of a pond , though .
Think of the curving line you might draw on a graph to describe your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dice game .
To some physicists , this whole gambling analogy was just a convenient fudge-factor , to be later resolved when we worked out more about the fundamental nature of quantum physics .
Others were adamant quantum physics is as complete as it gets .
Meaning it really is a muddy mess of maybes down in the depths of physics .
Explaining how we get from a rolled dice to a clearly defined number describing things like particle spin , position , or momentum is the part that has had everybody stumped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was firmly on team 'fudge factor ' .
He came up with that outrageous thought experiment involving a hidden cat that was alive and dead at the same time ( until you looked at it ) , just to show just how nuts the whole 'undecided reality ' thing was .
And yet here we are , a century on , and still superposition – the idea of objects like electrons ( or bigger ) occupying multiple states and positions at once until you measure them – is a core feature of modern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're developing a whole branch of technology – quantum computing – around the concept .
To avoid needing to invoke half-baked notions of consciousness or infinite co-existing versions of reality to explain why many possibilities become one when we look at a particle , something less whimsical is needed for quantum probability to collapse into .
For physicists like Penrose and Diósi , gravity might be that very thing .
Einstein 's explanation of this force rests upon a curving fabric of three-dimensional space woven with time 's single dimension .
Frustratingly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues to elude theorists .
Yet this firm discrepancy between the two fields makes for a good backbone to pull waves of possibility into line .
Penrose 's version of this idea rests on the assertion that it takes different amounts of energy for particles to persist in different states .
If we follow Einstein 's old E=mc^2 rule , that energy difference manifests as a difference in mass ; which , in turn , influences the shape of spacetime in what we observe as gravity .
Given enough of a contrast in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shape will ensure there 's a substantial cost to pay , effectively choosing a single low-energy version of a particle 's properties to yank into place .
It 's an alluring idea , and luckily one with a potentially testable component .
For all purposes , that snap should affect a particle 's position .
`` It is as if you gave a kick to a particle , '' Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies physicist Sandro Donadi told Science Magazine .
Kick an electron enough and you 'll force it to cry photons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's left is to create a kind of Schrödinger 's cat experiment by locking the right kind of material inside a lead box , buried far from the confounding effects of radiation , and listen for its cries .
That material , in this case , is germanium .
If Penrose 's sums are right , a crystal of germanium should generate tens of thousands of photon flashes over several months as its superpositioned particles settle into measured states .
But Diósi and his team did n't observe tens of thousands of photons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they conducted the experiment underground five years ago at INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory , they measured barely several hundred – just what you 'd expect from the radiation that managed to leak through .
Penrose is n't too worried .
If gravity were to cause particles to emit radiation on collapse , it might run against the Universe 's tightly controlled laws of thermodynamics , anyway .
Of course , this is n't the end of the story .
In future experiments , gravity might yet be shown to be responsible for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything seems possible .
This research was published in Nature Physics .
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert .
Read the original article here .

For the better part of a century, the world's greatest minds have struggled with the mathematical certainty that objects can be in multiple positions at the same time before something causes them to snap into place.
A number of physicists have wondered if good old gravity is responsible for forcing the particle equivalent of a roulette ball to settle into its metaphorical pocket. That's looking a little less likely in the wake of a new experiment.
Researchers from across Europe recently tested a potential explanation of the apparent collapse of a waveform, determined not by observations or weirdly branching multiverses, but by the geometry of spacetime.
It's an idea that has its roots in a paper published back in 1966 by the Hungarian physicist Frigyes Karolyhazy, championed decades later by renowned minds like Roger Penrose and Lajos Diósi.
In fact, it was Diósi who teamed up with a handful of scientists to determine if we could blame gravity for one of quantum physics' most brain-numbing paradoxes.
"For 30 years, I had been always criticized in my country that I speculated on something which was totally untestable," Diósi told Science Magazine's George Musser.
New technology has finally made the untestable a possibility. But to understand how it works, we need to take a brief dive into quantum insanity.
Back in the early 20th century, theorists modeled particles as if they were waves in order to reconcile what they were learning about atomics and light.
These particles weren't quite like waves rippling across the surface of a pond, though. Think of the curving line you might draw on a graph to describe your chances of winning a bet in a dice game.
To some physicists, this whole gambling analogy was just a convenient fudge-factor, to be later resolved when we worked out more about the fundamental nature of quantum physics.
Others were adamant quantum physics is as complete as it gets. Meaning it really is a muddy mess of maybes down in the depths of physics.
Explaining how we get from a rolled dice to a clearly defined number describing things like particle spin, position, or momentum is the part that has had everybody stumped.
The famous Swiss physicist Erwin Schrödinger was firmly on team 'fudge factor'.
He came up with that outrageous thought experiment involving a hidden cat that was alive and dead at the same time (until you looked at it), just to show just how nuts the whole 'undecided reality' thing was.
And yet here we are, a century on, and still superposition – the idea of objects like electrons (or bigger) occupying multiple states and positions at once until you measure them – is a core feature of modern physics.
So much so, we're developing a whole branch of technology – quantum computing – around the concept.
To avoid needing to invoke half-baked notions of consciousness or infinite co-existing versions of reality to explain why many possibilities become one when we look at a particle, something less whimsical is needed for quantum probability to collapse into.
For physicists like Penrose and Diósi, gravity might be that very thing.
Einstein's explanation of this force rests upon a curving fabric of three-dimensional space woven with time's single dimension. Frustratingly, a quantum description of this 'spacetime' continues to elude theorists.
Yet this firm discrepancy between the two fields makes for a good backbone to pull waves of possibility into line.
Penrose's version of this idea rests on the assertion that it takes different amounts of energy for particles to persist in different states.
If we follow Einstein's old E=mc^2 rule, that energy difference manifests as a difference in mass; which, in turn, influences the shape of spacetime in what we observe as gravity.
Given enough of a contrast in all possible states, spacetime's immutable shape will ensure there's a substantial cost to pay, effectively choosing a single low-energy version of a particle's properties to yank into place.
It's an alluring idea, and luckily one with a potentially testable component. For all purposes, that snap should affect a particle's position.
"It is as if you gave a kick to a particle," Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies physicist Sandro Donadi told Science Magazine.
Kick an electron enough and you'll force it to cry photons of light. Logically, all that's left is to create a kind of Schrödinger's cat experiment by locking the right kind of material inside a lead box, buried far from the confounding effects of radiation, and listen for its cries. That material, in this case, is germanium.
If Penrose's sums are right, a crystal of germanium should generate tens of thousands of photon flashes over several months as its superpositioned particles settle into measured states.
But Diósi and his team didn't observe tens of thousands of photons.
Over a two month period when they conducted the experiment underground five years ago at INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory, they measured barely several hundred – just what you'd expect from the radiation that managed to leak through.
Penrose isn't too worried. If gravity were to cause particles to emit radiation on collapse, it might run against the Universe's tightly controlled laws of thermodynamics, anyway.
Of course, this isn't the end of the story. In future experiments, gravity might yet be shown to be responsible for flattening quantum waves. Right now, anything seems possible.
This research was published in Nature Physics.
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert. Read the original article here.


livescience--2020-09-14--Possible hint of life discovered on Venus

An unexplained chemical has turned up in the upper atmosphere of Venus .
Scientists are tentatively suggesting it could be a sign of life .
The unknown chemical is phosphine gas ( PH3 ) , a substance that on mostly comes from anaerobic ( non- -breathing ) bacteria or `` anthropogenic activity '' — stuff humans are doing .
It exists in the atmospheres of gas giant planets , due to chemical processes that occur deep in their pressurized depths to bind together three and a atom .
But scientists do n't have any explanation for how it could appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would generate phosphine there .
And yet , it seems to be there , and no one knows of anything that could make phosphine on Venus except for living organisms .
This discovery , published today ( Sept. 14 ) in the journal , caught everyone by surprise — including the team that found it .
Related : 6 reasons astrobiologists are holding out hope for life on Mars Back in June of 2017 , that team pointed the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii at Venus and tuned it to look for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a benchmark for future developments , '' they wrote in the journal article .
In other words , they were checking what the phosphine signatures might look like as a baseline , on a planet assumed to have no natural way of producing the substance .
`` But unexpectedly , '' the researchers wrote in the study , `` our initial observations suggested a detectable amount of Venusian PH3 was present . ''
They confirmed what they were seeing using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array in Chile .
Variations in the light @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a substantial amount of phosphine there .
But phosphine on Venus does n't necessarily mean life on Venus , the authors wrote .
They raised the possibility of life because bacteria are the only known way of making phosphine on a planet without a gas giant 's super-high atmospheric pressures .
But it 's just as possible that some previously-unknown chemical process is producing the gas .
`` This could be unknown photochemistry [ chemical reactions that require light ] or geochemistry , or possibly life , '' they wrote .
`` Information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the photochemistry of Venusian cloud droplets is almost completely unknown . ''
That means that no one really knows how the chemicals in Venus ' upper clouds react to sunlight .
Related : The 12 strangest objects in the universe Venus has not previously been considered a likely site for life in this , so scientists had yet to explore such questions with the same level of resources devoted to hunting for signs of life on Mars .
The hot , almost Earth-size planet with its toxic atmospheric within minutes .
How would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past , the authors of the new paper pointed out , some researchers have suggested the possibility of life in the planet 's uppermost cloud layer .
Unlike the surface , which averages 867 degrees Fahrenheit ( 464 degrees Celsius ) , Venus ' higher clouds are relatively cool , reaching 85 F ( 30 C ) in the layer where phosphine was detected , and could more plausibly offer a habitat for some sort of floating life .
Figuring out whether that really is the source of Venusian phosphine , or whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will take more data and better modeling of the planet 's behavior , the researchers wrote .

NASA snapped this image of Venus using its Mariner 10 probe during a flyby in 1974.
An unexplained chemical has turned up in the upper atmosphere of Venus. Scientists are tentatively suggesting it could be a sign of life.
The unknown chemical is phosphine gas (PH3), a substance that on Earth mostly comes from anaerobic (non- oxygen -breathing) bacteria or "anthropogenic activity" — stuff humans are doing. It exists in the atmospheres of gas giant planets, due to chemical processes that occur deep in their pressurized depths to bind together three hydrogen atoms and a phosphorus atom. But scientists don't have any explanation for how it could appear on Venus; no known chemical processes would generate phosphine there. And yet, it seems to be there, and no one knows of anything that could make phosphine on Venus except for living organisms.
This discovery, published today (Sept. 14) in the journal Nature Astronomy , caught everyone by surprise — including the team that found it.
Related: 6 reasons astrobiologists are holding out hope for life on Mars
Back in June of 2017, that team pointed the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii at Venus and tuned it to look for signatures of phosphine. "The aim was a benchmark for future developments," they wrote in the journal article.
In other words, they were checking what the phosphine signatures might look like as a baseline, on a planet assumed to have no natural way of producing the substance.
"But unexpectedly," the researchers wrote in the study, "our initial observations suggested a detectable amount of Venusian PH3 was present."
They confirmed what they were seeing using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array in Chile. Variations in the light coming from Venus' upper atmosphere showed a substantial amount of phosphine there.
But phosphine on Venus doesn't necessarily mean life on Venus, the authors wrote. They raised the possibility of life because bacteria are the only known way of making phosphine on a planet without a gas giant's super-high atmospheric pressures. But it's just as possible that some previously-unknown chemical process is producing the gas.
"This could be unknown photochemistry [chemical reactions that require light] or geochemistry, or possibly life," they wrote. "Information is lacking — as an example, the photochemistry of Venusian cloud droplets is almost completely unknown."
That means that no one really knows how the chemicals in Venus' upper clouds react to sunlight.
Related: The 12 strangest objects in the universe
Venus has not previously been considered a likely site for life in this solar system , so scientists had yet to explore such questions with the same level of resources devoted to hunting for signs of life on Mars. The hot, almost Earth-size planet with its toxic atmospheric chemistry destroys even the hardiest robots within minutes. How would life survive on Venus?
In the past, the authors of the new paper pointed out, some researchers have suggested the possibility of life in the planet's uppermost cloud layer. Unlike the surface, which averages 867 degrees Fahrenheit (464 degrees Celsius), Venus' higher clouds are relatively cool, reaching 85 F (30 C) in the layer where phosphine was detected, and could more plausibly offer a habitat for some sort of floating life.
Figuring out whether that really is the source of Venusian phosphine, or whether it came from some other source, will take more data and better modeling of the planet's behavior, the researchers wrote.
Originally published on Live Science.