livescience--2020-11-13--Thanksgiving with family and friends is a bad idea, health experts warn

Amid a massive surge of cases and hospitalizations across the U.S. , gathering for Thanksgiving is not safe this year , public health experts say .
But if you must gather , there are ways to reduce the risk somewhat .
On Thursday ( Nov. 13 ) , the U.S. surpassed 150,000 new daily cases , a little over a week after the country first logged 6 digits in a single day , according to The COVID Tracking Project .
More than 67,000 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 , the highest number of hospitalizations since the start of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rising rapidly and exponentially , shattering records set in the spring .
`` Most experts would agree that we 're expecting to see a spike after Thanksgiving and that 's a spike on top of already very discouraging and very scary numbers , '' said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser , chief quality and patient safety officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center .
`` By far the safest choice that anybody can make this Thanksgiving holiday and likely stretching into the other winter holidays that are coming up is to host your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , celebrate in-person only with people in your own household and invite everyone else virtually , he said .
This is in line with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
`` If people are going to choose to still get together in person , there are some things you can do to lower your risk but nothing you can do to remove your risk completely , '' Gonsenhauser told Live Science .
If you decide to get together in person , `` the best choice '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' is to drive up to people 's houses and spend a bit of time in the driveway or front yard , while maintaining social distancing , keeping masks on and avoiding hugs and kisses , he said .
Any other option puts you in `` much higher risk propositions , '' Gonsenhauser said .
The least of the higher-risk choices is if you can get together for Thanksgiving in an outside open-air environment and seat different households at different tables that are separated by 6 feet ( 1.8 meters ) and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plates of food , he added .
Research has shown that the virus spreads easily indoors and in crowded gatherings .
`` The caution there is that as we 're getting together to share this celebration and we 're eating and drinking and having a good time , it 's fairly carefree and people tend to let their guard down and that 's when we start to see social distancing and other precautions break down , '' he said .
`` The minute those break down , we 're again back at much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outdoor environment is not possible , and you are set on gathering , then select a larger indoor space that can again accommodate multiple tables for different households , and try to put in place some adequate ventilation , such as open windows or have a box fan to blow exterior air into the room and another fan to move air out of the room ( but not toward any guests ) , he said .
Experts have also suggested using HEPA air purifiers in indoor settings , .
Additionally , public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before gathering for Thanksgiving to significantly reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 at the dinner table , .
Testing for COVID-19 may not be enough .
Tests often `` create a false sense of security , '' which will lead to a more casual approach to precautions , Gonsenhauser said .
Testing does n't remove your risk of spreading the virus because it 's possible you were exposed to the virus and could have been tested too soon for it to show up , or you could have been exposed after taking the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more , `` you have to really try and understand what somebody means when they say that they 're being really safe , '' Gonsenhauser said .
`` Most people are saying that right now , and it means different things to different people . ''
The CDC recommends having conversations with guests beforehand to set safety expectations .
The CDC also recommends limiting the number of people attending , though they do n't specify numbers ; , for example , requires that no more than three households should get together in general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whenever possible , staying at least 6 feet from people who are not part of your household , washing your hands frequently , avoiding having guests near where the food is being prepared and asking people to bring their own food , drinks , plates , cups and utensils .
`` Celebrating holidays alone or with your immediate household members can sound rather dreary , '' Dr. Francis Collins , the director of the National Institutes of Health .
`` But , if you look at it another way , the pandemic does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ season to remember in new and different ways . ''
Collins also recommended a virtual Thanksgiving and other ideas such as sending gifts to people , making videos to send around and taking a post-turkey dinner virtual group walk .
`` Based on the current trajectory '' and the spike that occurred in Canada after their Thanksgiving in early October , `` we have every reason to believe that as we approach the December holidays , the situation is going to be even worse , '' Gonsenhauser said .
Our `` best chance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be `` extremely strict with Thanksgiving . ''

Amid a massive surge of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the U.S., gathering for Thanksgiving is not safe this year, public health experts say.
But if you must gather, there are ways to reduce the risk somewhat.
On Thursday (Nov. 13), the U.S. surpassed 150,000 new daily cases, a little over a week after the country first logged 6 digits in a single day, according to The COVID Tracking Project . More than 67,000 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest number of hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic. Both cases and hospitalizations are rising rapidly and exponentially, shattering records set in the spring.
"Most experts would agree that we're expecting to see a spike after Thanksgiving and that's a spike on top of already very discouraging and very scary numbers," said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. "By far the safest choice that anybody can make this Thanksgiving holiday and likely stretching into the other winter holidays that are coming up is to host your celebration virtually."
In other words, celebrate in-person only with people in your own household and invite everyone else virtually, he said. This is in line with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .
Related Content: Coronavirus live updates
"If people are going to choose to still get together in person, there are some things you can do to lower your risk but nothing you can do to remove your risk completely," Gonsenhauser told Live Science. If you decide to get together in person, "the best choice" that's "still pretty low risk" is to drive up to people's houses and spend a bit of time in the driveway or front yard, while maintaining social distancing, keeping masks on and avoiding hugs and kisses, he said.
Any other option puts you in "much higher risk propositions," Gonsenhauser said. The least of the higher-risk choices is if you can get together for Thanksgiving in an outside open-air environment and seat different households at different tables that are separated by 6 feet (1.8 meters) and that are not sharing food, utensils or plates of food, he added. Research has shown that the virus spreads easily indoors and in crowded gatherings.
"The caution there is that as we're getting together to share this celebration and we're eating and drinking and having a good time, it's fairly carefree and people tend to let their guard down and that's when we start to see social distancing and other precautions break down," he said. "The minute those break down, we're again back at much higher risk situations."
If an outdoor environment is not possible, and you are set on gathering, then select a larger indoor space that can again accommodate multiple tables for different households, and try to put in place some adequate ventilation, such as open windows or have a box fan to blow exterior air into the room and another fan to move air out of the room (but not toward any guests), he said. Experts have also suggested using HEPA air purifiers in indoor settings, according to NPR .
Additionally, public health experts advise people to quarantine for 14 days before gathering for Thanksgiving to significantly reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 at the dinner table, according to CNN . Testing for COVID-19 may not be enough. Tests often "create a false sense of security," which will lead to a more casual approach to precautions, Gonsenhauser said. Testing doesn't remove your risk of spreading the virus because it's possible you were exposed to the virus and could have been tested too soon for it to show up, or you could have been exposed after taking the test, he said.
What's more, "you have to really try and understand what somebody means when they say that they're being really safe," Gonsenhauser said. "Most people are saying that right now, and it means different things to different people." The CDC recommends having conversations with guests beforehand to set safety expectations.
The CDC also recommends limiting the number of people attending, though they don't specify numbers; The California Department of Health , for example, requires that no more than three households should get together in general. The CDC also recommends wearing masks whenever possible, staying at least 6 feet from people who are not part of your household, washing your hands frequently, avoiding having guests near where the food is being prepared and asking people to bring their own food, drinks, plates, cups and utensils.
"Celebrating holidays alone or with your immediate household members can sound rather dreary," Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health wrote in a blog post . "But, if you look at it another way, the pandemic does offer opportunities to make this holiday a season to remember in new and different ways."
Collins also recommended a virtual Thanksgiving and other ideas such as sending gifts to people, making videos to send around and taking a post-turkey dinner virtual group walk.
"Based on the current trajectory" and the spike that occurred in Canada after their Thanksgiving in early October, "we have every reason to believe that as we approach the December holidays, the situation is going to be even worse," Gonsenhauser said. Our "best chance" of having December holidays is to be "extremely strict with Thanksgiving."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-14--Why is November the 11th, not 9th month?

November , the eleventh month of the year , actually takes its name from the Latin word for the number nine , and it is n't unique in this regard .
September , October and December are named after the Roman numbers seven , eight and 10 respectively .
July and August used to be named Quintilis and Sextilis , meaning fifth and sixth month , before they were renamed after Julius Caesar and his heir , Augustus .
So why are these names all off kilter by two months ?
There are two theories .
The first would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 10 months in the Roman calendar .
At some point , when they supposedly changed it to 12 , the Romans added January and February at the front of the year , which pushed the other 10 months and their names off course .
The second would have you believe that there were always 12 months , but New Year 's Day used to be March 1 and the last month of the year was February .
But over many decades and centuries , through a series of bureaucratic and political changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in the calendar until it landed on Jan. 1 .
Amelia Carolina Sparavigna is a physicist at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy and has conducted archaeo-astronomical studies to chart the precise lunar phases of ancient Rome 's calendars .
She is firmly in the 10-month camp .
Interestingly , under this theory , the 10 months were n't longer — the Romans simply did n't bother to mark or measure the days in what we call now January and February because little to no agriculture happened in those months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primarily for farmers .
`` After a gap in the winter , the year started from Marius , '' she told Live Science .
But the Romans were a notoriously organized bunch , so why would they introduce two new months and then simply ignore the fact that many of their other named months no longer made sense ?
Well , the answer could be that naming conventions were a bit of a political quagmire back then — lots of people in power were jostling to rename months to aggrandize their origins .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have September changed to `` Germanicus '' in honor of his father , Sparavigna said .
Emperor Domitian also had a go and tried to turn October into Domitanus .
But none of this went down terribly well with the Roman public , who as it turned out , were fairly conservative and did n't take well to change for change 's sake .
`` These changes of names apparently lasted for a very short time , '' Sparavigna said .
This aversion to change makes sense — after all , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way we measure things ; the metric system is far from universal — and could partly explain why the authorities did n't alter the naming system when they introduced January and February .
Not everyone buys that narrative , though .
`` Personally , I think it 's strange to come up with a calendar in the first place that just leaves out two months and has a gap that no one has bothered to name , '' said Peter Heslin , a professor in the department of classics and ancient history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The 10-month theory was actually first put about by late-Roman thinkers , who were contemplating their own nonsensical ordering of the months .
`` Some modern scholars agree and say that 's what must have happened because the Romans said so .
But others are more skeptical because it all sounds a bit bizarre , '' Heslin said .
Instead , Heslin says there were probably always 12 months in the Roman calendar .
New Year 's Day used to be widely celebrated in March , but other bureaucratic institutions of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the start of the year .
Even today , many countries , such as the United States , have a different tax year to the common calendar .
`` The Roman consuls began their year in office on Jan. 1 , for example , so while March may have been considered the beginning by the general public , the political year started in January , and so it was a bit messy until they cleared it up , '' he said .
`` All of this is speculation , but I think there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the March New Year was pushed back . ''
By Heslin 's reckoning , because the change happened so gradually , no one really took too much notice at the time .
Many centuries later , the Roman intellectuals then tried to rationalize why the names of the months did n't make sense .
Their answer , he says , was to erroneously conclude that there must have been 10 months at some point .

November, the eleventh month of the year, actually takes its name from the Latin word for the number nine, and it isn't unique in this regard. September, October and December are named after the Roman numbers seven, eight and 10 respectively. July and August used to be named Quintilis and Sextilis, meaning fifth and sixth month, before they were renamed after Julius Caesar and his heir, Augustus. So why are these names all off kilter by two months?
There are two theories. The first would have you believe that there used to be just 10 months in the Roman calendar. At some point, when they supposedly changed it to 12, the Romans added January and February at the front of the year, which pushed the other 10 months and their names off course. The second would have you believe that there were always 12 months, but New Year's Day used to be March 1 and the last month of the year was February. But over many decades and centuries, through a series of bureaucratic and political changes, the New Year holiday simply drifted back in the calendar until it landed on Jan. 1.
Amelia Carolina Sparavigna is a physicist at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy and has conducted archaeo-astronomical studies to chart the precise lunar phases of ancient Rome's calendars. Interestingly, under the 10-month theory, the months weren't longer, she said. The Romans simply didn't bother to mark or measure the days in what we call now January and February because little to no agriculture happened in those months, and calendars at that time were developed primarily for farmers. "After a gap in the winter, the year started from Martius," she told Live Science.
Related: Why did Rome fall?
But the Romans were a notoriously organized bunch, so why would they introduce two new months and then simply ignore the fact that many of their other named months no longer made sense? Well, the answer could be that naming conventions were a bit of a political quagmire back then — lots of people in power were jostling to rename months to aggrandize their origins. Emperor Caligula, for example, tried to have September changed to "Germanicus" in honor of his father, Sparavigna said. Emperor Domitian also had a go and tried to turn October into Domitianus.
But none of this went down terribly well with the Roman public, who as it turned out, were fairly conservative and didn't take well to change for change's sake. "These changes of names apparently lasted for a very short time," Sparavigna said. This aversion to change makes sense — after all, many of us today still resist changes to the way we measure things; the metric system is far from universal — and could partly explain why the authorities didn't alter the naming system when they introduced January and February.
Not everyone buys that narrative, though.
"Personally, I think it's strange to come up with a calendar in the first place that just leaves out two months and has a gap that no one has bothered to name," said Peter Heslin, a professor in the department of classics and ancient history at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The 10-month theory was actually first put about by late-Roman thinkers, who were contemplating their own nonsensical ordering of the months. "Some modern scholars agree and say that's what must have happened because the Romans said so. But others are more skeptical because it all sounds a bit bizarre," Heslin said.
Instead, Heslin says there were probably always 12 months in the Roman calendar. New Year's Day used to be widely celebrated in March, but other bureaucratic institutions of the Roman Empire would operate with January as the start of the year. Even today, many countries, such as the United States, have a different tax year to the common calendar. "In 153 B.C.E. [Before the Common Era], it was decided that the Roman consuls would begin their year in office on Jan. 1, for example, so while March may have been considered the beginning by the general public, the political year started in January, and so it was a bit messy until they cleared it up," he said. "All of this is speculation, but I think there was a series of slow incremental changes where the March New Year was pushed back."
By Heslin's reckoning, because the change happened so gradually, no one really took too much notice at the time. Many centuries later, the Roman intellectuals then tried to rationalize why the names of the months didn't make sense. Their answer, he says, was to erroneously conclude that there must have been 10 months at some point.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Nov. 16 to clarify that Roman consuls started the year on Jan. 1 starting in 153 B.C. , and to state that Amelia Carolina Sparavigna is not in the 10-month camp.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-14--Amazing images: The best science photos of the week

Each week at Live Science we find the most interesting and informative articles we can .
Along the way , we uncover some amazing and cool images .
Here you 'll discover the most incredible photos we found this week , and the remarkable stories behind them .
Entomologists in Washington state may have destroyed a `` murder hornet '' nest in the nick of time , preventing as many as 200 new queens from establishing new nests .
The nest , the first ever discovered in the United States , was destroyed on Oct. 24 .
State Department of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nest and found only worker hornets .
Five days later , though , after they 'd removed the nest from its tree and cracked it open , they found 76 live queens and 108 more still developing in their tiny cell capsules .
`` It 's possible that some [ queens ] had emerged before we did the vacuum extraction and eradication on the 24th , but it 's not entirely likely , it looks like we got there in time , '' state managing entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger during a virtual press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'murder hornet ' queens found inside first US nest of this invasive insect ] Four orange laser beams blaze through the Milky Way while an angry purple nebula transfixes us with its death-stare , is not doomed ; in fact , it 's an Earthly telescope that 's launching the lasers in this epic image from the European Southern Observatory ( ESO ) .
Dubbed , this shot looks like a cosmic battle to the death , but it actually captures a clever astronomical trick that scientists use to peer across time and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here is the Carina Nebula , sometimes called the nebula in honor of its most famous star system .
Eta Carinae — actually a pair of two giant stars — has been steadily exploding in a spectacular eruption of gas and dust for nearly 200 years .
Though the system is located about 7,500 from Earth , this ever-brightening explosion has rendered it one of the most luminous star systems in the Milky Way .
According to the ESO , scientists fire these lasers from one of the Very Large Telescope 's component @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particles in the atmosphere cause the beams to glow orange . )
Astronomers then focus on these artificial stars to measure how much the beams are being blurred by Earth 's atmosphere .
[ Read more : Earth is fighting a laser duel with the exploding Carina Nebula ] The sword and the mushroom A man searching for mushrooms in a forest in the Czech Republic found much more than he was looking for when he uncovered an ancient sword and bronze axe , both thought to date from around 3,300 years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in spring on a forested hillside near his home in the eastern Jesenicko region soon after it had rained , according to .
`` I saw a piece of metal sticking out of some stones , '' Novák told RPI .
`` I kicked it and found that it was a blade , part of a sword .
I then dug some more to find a bronze axe . ''
The ancient sword is especially striking in appearance : Its pommel and hilt are intricately decorated with engraved circles and rows of crescent-shaped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broken near the hilt it is otherwise complete .
Two neutron stars slammed together far away from .
The energy of their collision lit up their corner of the sky with a brief flash of , followed by a softer , longer-lasting glow across the spectrum .
Peering into that fading light , researchers spotted an unusual signal — the first-ever recorded signature , they believe , of a newborn cosmic behemoth , a magnetar .
A magnetar is a neutron star with an unusually strong magnetic field .
Astronomers have spotted magnetars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 've never before seen one being born .
This time , researchers suspected they ’ d spotted a newborn magnetar because of an unusual pattern of flashing light .
First , there was a short , ultrabright burst of gamma radiation ( GRB ) .
Then there was a longer-lasting , glowing `` kilonova , '' a telltale sign of neutron stars colliding .
And that glow was much brighter than usual , suggesting a phenomenon astronomers had never seen before .
[ Read more : Birth of magnetar seen for the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carving of mysterious horned figures has been discovered in the Golan Heights .
And it may have been built by the kingdom of Geshur , an ally of the Israeli King David .
It sits on a small hill overlooking a river crossing .
Israeli archaeologists discovered the structure while surveying the area where a new neighborhood is being built in the settlement of Hispin .
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority ( IAA ) , the fort likely dates back to the 11th or 10th century B.C .
But the most exciting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stone carved with two stick-like human figures with outstretched arms .
The figures each sport two horns and seem to be standing next to an unknown object .
This carving is reminiscent of another found at another ancient site called et-Tell on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee .
In 2019 , archaeologists discovered a single figure similar to the Hispin carving near the city gate at et-Tell .
That stone was similar in age to the Hispin find , and it may represent a Mesopotamian moon god , earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might represent bull horns , or they could be a depiction of the crescent moon on its side .
[ Read more : Horned figures from cult of a Mesopotamian moon god discovered in biblical-era fort ] It looks like an alien — head dwarfed by enormous flapping fins , body blobbing through dark water , thin blue tentacles streaming behind it in a tangle of neon spaghetti .
But despite its otherworldly appearance , the elusive known simply as the Bigfin squid ( Magnapinnidae ) may be more common in 's deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 113 years since its discovery , the Bigfin squid has been spotted in the wild only 12 times around the world .
Now , a study published Wednesday ( Nov. 11 ) in the journal , adds five new sightings to the tally , all of them captured thousands of feet below the surface of the Great Australian Bight in South Australia .
Not only do the sightings mark the first time that Bigfin squid have been seen in Australian waters , but it 's also the first time that five of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in one place .
The resulting footage — captured by underwater cameras trailing behind a large research vessel — provides an unprecedented look at the bizarre cephalopod 's anatomy and behavior , lead study author Deborah Osterhage told Live Science .
[ Read more : Rare squid with 'elbow ' tentacles baffles scientists in spooky new footage ] Is it ... a statue that 's melted in the heat ?
Forky from `` Toy Story 4 ? ''
A clay figure crafted by a preschooler ?
President Donald Trump ?
In yet another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a smiling woman next to a flock of livestock has turned into a slightly confused-looking lump with large holes for eyes , a button nose and a grimacing mouth .
The once-elegant statue , first unveiled in 1923 , is sculpted on the front of a bank in the northern city of Palencia , according to The Art Newspaper .
Now , people have likened the restored statue to a `` potato '' and President Donald Trump , according to The Art Newspaper .
“ It looks like the head of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an artist who first pointed out the botched restoration , said in a Facebook post .
`` I 'm sure whoever did it got paid for it , '' Capel said .
`` But the bigger crime was committed by the person who commissioned it and then tried to carry on as though nothing was wrong . ''
A snake eel fighting for its life pulled an `` alien '' move by bursting out of the stomach of a heron that had just swallowed it whole , according to photos snapped by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ photos show the snake eel , its head dangling in midair , as the heron — looking surprisingly unbothered — flies onward .
The unusual event attracted a lot of attention among the local predators , said Sam Davis , an engineer from Maryland who took the photos on the Delaware shore .
Several juvenile and a were following the heron , possibly hoping to scavenge a meal in case the heron or the snake eel did n't make it , he said .
[ Read more : Alien-like photo shows snake eel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ midair ] We 're likely just days away from the first fully-crewed launch .
Elon Musk 's company has launched two people into space to date : NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken , who rode to the International Space Station May 30 aboard a Crew Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket .
That test flight , termed DEMO-2 , marked the first-ever commercial crewed launch , and the first launch from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 .
But it was a test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , lasting just 64 days with most of that time in zero- spent on the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
On Nov. 14 , if all goes according to plan , four astronauts will take a Crew Dragon to the ISS and remain on the space station for six months .
It will mark the beginning of the era of practical commercial spaceflight .
The mission , termed CREW-1 , will deliver four of the seven members of Expedition 64 to the ISS : NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins , Victor Glover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi .
Expedition 64 is the term for this 64th group of people to inhabit and work on the ISS long term .
The famed in Puerto Rico has suffered another major blow in a difficult year that has seen two snapped cables damage the fragile dish .
The facility 's heart is a massive , delicate radio telescope built into the island 's geology and surrounded by jungle .
Arecibo Observatory has operated for more than five decades , including perhaps most famously broadcasting in 1974 the so-called Arecibo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about our technical skills .
But lately , the observatory has been battered : First it suffered `` `` damage during 2017 's massive Hurricane Maria ; this year already it endured a batch of and then lost one of its , which snapped and damaged the dish in August .
Now , another cable has snapped just three months later .
`` This is certainly not what we wanted to see , but the important thing is that no one got hurt , '' Francisco Cordova , the director of the observatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida , which manages the facility .
[ Read more : 'Alien-hunting ' Arecibo Observatory suffers more damage as second cable fails ] • Earth from Above : 101 Stunning Images from Orbit • From Big Bang to Present : Snapshots of Our Universe Through Time

Each week at Live Science we find the most interesting and informative articles we can. Along the way, we uncover some amazing and cool images. Here you'll discover the most incredible photos we found this week, and the remarkable stories behind them.
Gargantuan "growlers"
(Image credit: RAF)
In July 2017, a gargantuan iceberg spanning five times the area of New York's five boroughs snapped off the coast of Antarctica and began to drift northward.
Though its edges have crumbled considerably since then, the iceberg — named A-68a — is still the largest on Earth , and it's currently barreling toward an island wildlife refuge in the South Atlantic Ocean. New aerial footage taken by the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF) reveals just what that island might be up against.
For starters, the RAF footage really drives home how massive this ice giant is. (As of early April, A-68a measured about 2,000 square miles, or 5,100 square kilometers, in area, Live Science previously reported ). The berg's steep walls tower 100 feet (30 meters) above the sea, according to RAF News , and are gouged with tunnels, fissures and caves. Huge chunks of ice, or "growlers," are rapidly cracking off on all sides, leaving behind a trail of debris that could impede boat traffic in the future.
[Read more: World's largest iceberg still barreling toward penguin habitat, new footage confirms ]
Clear head, nine arms, can't lose
(Image credit: Kyodo News via Getty Images)
A nine-armed octopus caught off Japan's coast nearly ended up being dinner, until the family preparing it noticed its extra limb and sent it to a museum instead, according to news sources. While unusual, this extra appendage — which wasn't fully formed, but a small offshoot on a regular arm — isn't unheard of in octopuses, said Michael Vecchione, an invertebrate zoologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., who was not involved with this octopus's discovery.
Octopuses are capable of regenerating their arms, but "sometimes regeneration doesn't work quite right," Vecchione told Live Science. "If an arm gets damaged, it might regenerate wrong; it could wind up with extra tissue growing out, and that extra tissue could turn into an arm."
The nine-armed oddity was caught in a trap with three other octopuses on Nov. 13 in Shizugawa Bay, in the northeastern town of Minamisanriku, Japan, according to The Mainichi , a Japanese newspaper.
[Read more: Rare 9-armed octopus found off Japan coast ]
The sound of a supernova
(Image credit: NASA)
In space, nobody can hear you scream — or explode, or collapse, or slowly collide with a neighboring galaxy. But now, thanks to a new " data sonification " program at NASA, you can at least get a sense of what some of the most extreme phenomena in the universe might sound like when converted to sound played by Earthly instruments.
To hear what that sounds like, we turn to NASA's Chandra X-ray center — which has been imaging distant galaxies with its Chandra X-ray observatory for 20 years now. In their new initiative, Chandra researchers have taken three iconic images from their archives and translated different frequencies of light into different pitches of sound.
The first video shows the crab nebula (a supernova remnant powered by a windy neutron star , shown above). In NASA's data sonification of the nebula, X-ray light (blue and white) is represented by brass instruments; optical light (purple) is played by string instruments; and infrared light (pink) is represented by woodwinds. The sounds converge near the center of the nebula, where a rapidly swirling pulsar is blasting gas and radiation in all directions. Listen to this cosmic symphony (and two others) at the link below.
[Read more: This is what a supernova sounds like, according to NASA ]
Pterosaur's missing cousin
(Image credit: Rodolfo Nogueira)
Nearly nothing is known about the family tree of pterosaurs — iconic reptiles that flew alongside the dinosaurs . These now-extinct beasts appear in the fossil record with already developed wings and senses adapted for flying, with researchers having nary a clue about their immediate evolutionary history.
But now, the pterosaur's family tree has a new branch; an enigmatic group of small reptiles, known as lagerpetids, might be the closest-known pterosaur relatives on record, the researchers of a new study say.
Unlike pterosaurs, however, lagerpetids did not fly. "Now, we have an idea of what a flightless pterosaur relative would look like," study co-researcher Sterling Nesbitt, an associate professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech, told Live Science.
[Read more: Missing link in pterosaur origins discovered ]
The changing face of ice
(Image credit: NOAA/Photo courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, GFOE, The Hidden Ocean 2016: Chukchi Borderlands)
From vanishing sea ice to blistering air temperatures to zombie fires , climate change is reshaping the Arctic. And that transformation may be permanent, researchers said on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The Arctic has warmed and melted at an alarmingly accelerating pace over the last 15 years, and the impacts are accumulating so rapidly that "there's no reason to think that in 30 years anything will be as it is today," Rick Thoman, an Alaska climate specialist with the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), said at the conference, held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Tuesday.
This year's news was not good: June snow cover across the Eurasian Arctic was at its lowest in 54 years; coastal permafrost erosion is increasing; and glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland continued a trend "of significant ice loss," according to the report.
[Read more: Dramatic transformation of the Arctic landscape may be permanent ]
Starship down
(Image credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX's Starship spaceflight system just took a big step on its path to Mars. The latest Starship prototype, a shiny silver vehicle known as SN8, launched on an epic high-altitude test flight on Dec. 9, taking off at 5:45 p.m. EST from SpaceX's facility near the South Texas village of Boca Chica.
The goal was to soar about 7.8 miles (12.5 kilometers) into the sky, perform some complex aerial maneuvers — including a "belly flop" like the one the final Starship will perform when coming back to Earth on operational flights — and then land safely near the launch stand. The 165-foot-tall (50 meters) SN8 appeared to notch all of these big milestones, except for the final one: The vehicle hit its landing mark but came in too fast, exploding in a dramatic fireball 6 minutes and 42 seconds after liftoff.
SN8's rapid unplanned disassembly did nothing to dampen the spirits of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who was thrilled by the results of today's flight.
[Read more: SpaceX's Starship SN8 prototype soars on epic test launch, with explosive landing ]
Amazonian universe
Billions of lasers shot from a helicopter flying over the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest have detected a vast network of long-abandoned circular and rectangular-shaped villages dating from 1300 to 1700, a new study finds.
The round villages all had remarkably similar layouts, with elongated mounds circling a central plaza, like marks on a clock. "These latter elongated mounds, when seen from above, look like the rays of the sun, which gives them the common name of 'Sóis,'" the Portuguese word for "suns," the researchers wrote in the study.
The discovery is part of a new archaeological focus on the pre-Columbian Amazon. Within the past 20 years, researchers have learned that the rainforest's southern rim was home to a great diversity of soil-sculpting cultures that engineered the landscape before the Europeans arrived. Within the past decade, scientists have uncovered the remnants of so-called "mound villages," which are shaped as circles or rectangles, and connected by road networks.
[Read more: Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos ]
The sky is falling
(Image credit: ESA)
Have you ever seen 40,000 shooting stars blaze across the sky at the same time?
If you'd like to, the European Space Agency (ESA) is offering you two options: Either stare at the night sky for about half a million years as our solar system drifts steadily through the Milky Way (some patience required) — or, watch a new 60-second time-lapse simulation of the same thing, courtesy of the ESA's Gaia space observatory.
In the new simulation, 40,000 stars — all located within 325 light-years of Earth's sun — whiz through space, leaving long trails of light behind them. Each point of light represents one real object in the Milky Way, and each shining trail shows that object's projected movement through the galaxy over the next 400,000 years. Brighter, faster streaks are located closer to our solar system, while dimmer, slower ones live much farther away.
[Read more: Epic time-lapse shows what the Milky Way will look like 400,000 years from now ]
Gold in the garden
(Image credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum)
A family in England was weeding their garden when they unearthed a valuable treasure — a buried hoard of gold coins dating back to the 1400s, depicting English monarchs from Edward IV to Henry VIII.
The hoard — a stash of 63 gold coins and one silver coin — contains money minted over a period of nearly 100 years, from the late 15th to the 16th centuries. Four of the coins feature Henry VIII and, curiously, one of the initials of three of his wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.
Upon finding the cache, the family, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, a county in southeastern England, notified the British Museum, which runs the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). This program partners with local people who find historical artifacts in the United Kingdom, so the findings can be documented and studied, the British Museum said in a statement Thursday (Dec. 10).
[Read more: Gold coin stash from time of Henry VIII found in English garden ]
Enigma of the deep
(Image credit: Florian Huber/WWF)
Divers trying to remove old fishing nets from the Baltic sea have accidentally stumbled on a Nazi code-making machine. The Enigma machine, as it's called, looks a bit like a typewriter. In fact, the diver who found the device on the ocean floor initially thought that's what the artifact was, according to AFP . But the diving team, on assignment for the conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), quickly realized that they had something much stranger.
During World War II, Enigma machines were used to encode German military messages, in hopes of preventing Allied powers from learning about troop movements and other plans. The devices consisted of a keyboard and a series of rotors that did the encoding. The rotors substituted different letters for the ones typed in; different Enigma machines used between three and eight rotors, which moved independently after each keystroke so that the same initial letter typed into the machine would appear as multiple different letters in the final code.
The Enigma machine found by the WWF diving crew was at the bottom of the Bay of Gelting in northeast Germany. It had three rotors, making it the type used on warships, not U-boats. That suggests that the machine may have been tossed overboard in the final days of World War II, in an attempt to keep the technology out of enemy hands, historian Jann Witt of the German Naval Association told the DPA news agency.
[Read more: Nazi 'Enigma' machine found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea ]
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-14--Mars: Mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?

This article was originally published at The Conversation .
The publication contributed the article to Space.com 's Expert Voices : Op-Ed & Insights .
Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface , we learned a couple of weeks ago .
Now a new paper , published in Nature Astronomy , reveals that the best place for life on Mars might be more than a kilometre below its surface , where an entire network of subglacial lakes has been discovered .
Mars was not always so cold and dry as it is now .
There are abundant signs that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distant past , but today you ’ d struggle to find even any crevices that you could call moist .
There is nevertheless plenty of water on Mars today , but it ’ s virtually all frozen , so not much use for life .
Even in places where the noon-time temperature creeps above freezing , surface signs of liquid water are frustratingly rare .
This is because the atmospheric pressure on Mars is too slight to confine water in its liquid state , so ice usually turns directly into vapour when heated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the most favourable place for liquid water on Mars is beneath its vast south polar ice cap .
On Earth , such lakes began to be discovered in Antarctica in the 1970s , where nearly 400 are now known .
Most of these have been found by “ radio echo sounding ” ( essentially radar ) , in which equipment on a survey aircraft emits radio pulses .
Part of the signal reflects back from the ice surface , but some is reflected from further below – especially strongly where there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water .
Antarctica ’ s largest subglacial lake is Lake Vostok – which is 240km long , 50km wide and hundreds of metres deep – located 4km below the surface .
Indications of similar lakes below the southern polar ice cap of Mars were first suggested by radar reflections 1.5km below the ice surface in a region named Ultimi Scopuli .
These were detected between May 2012 and December 2015 by MARSIS ( Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding ) , an instrument carried by the European Space Agency ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ planet since 2003 .
The new study of MARSIS data using signal processing techniques that take account of both the intensity and the sharpness ( “ acuity ” ) of the reflections has demonstrated that the previously detected region does indeed mark the top of a liquid body .
This is the Ultimi Scopuli subglacial lake , and there seem also to be smaller patches of liquid nearby in the 250km by 300km area covered by the survey .
The authors suggest that the liquid bodies consist of hypersaline solutions , in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water .
They point out that salts of calcium , magnesium , sodium and potassium are known to be ubiquitous in the martian soil , and that dissolved salts could help to explain how subglacial lakes on Mars can remain liquid despite the low temperature at the base of the ice cap .
The weight of the overlying ice would supply the pressure necessary to keep the water in liquid state rather than turning to vapour .
Lake Vostok is touted as a possible habitat for life that has been isolated from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years , and as an analogue for proposed environments habitable by microbes ( and possibly more complex organisms ) in the internal oceans of icy moons such as Jupiter ’ s Europa and Saturn ’ s Enceladus .
Although hypersaline water would give microbes a place to live below Mars ’ south polar cap , without an energy ( food ) source of some kind they could not survive .
Chemical reactions between water and rock might release some energy but probably not enough ; it would help if there was an occasional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spring , feeding into lake .
Read more : What on Earth could live in a salt water lake on Mars ?
An expert explains We lack evidence of this on Mars , unlike on Europa and Enceladus .
Although the new findings make Mars even more interesting than before , they haven ’ t advanced its ranking in the list of solar system bodies most likely to host life .
That said , the salty water could act as a preservation chamber – helping us find alien organisms that are now extinct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of the solar system .
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license .
Read the original article .
Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates — and become part of the discussion — on Facebook and Twitter .
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher .

There seems to be a network of underground bodies of liquid water at Mars’ south pole.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, reveals that the best place for life on Mars might be more than a kilometre below its surface, where an entire network of subglacial lakes has been discovered.
Mars was not always so cold and dry as it is now. There are abundant signs that water flowed across its surface in the distant past, but today you’d struggle to find even any crevices that you could call moist.
There is nevertheless plenty of water on Mars today, but it’s virtually all frozen, so not much use for life. Even in places where the noon-time temperature creeps above freezing, surface signs of liquid water are frustratingly rare. This is because the atmospheric pressure on Mars is too slight to confine water in its liquid state, so ice usually turns directly into vapour when heated.
Lakes beneath ice
It is beginning to look as if the most favourable place for liquid water on Mars is beneath its vast south polar ice cap. On Earth, such lakes began to be discovered in Antarctica in the 1970s, where nearly 400 are now known. Most of these have been found by “radio echo sounding” (essentially radar), in which equipment on a survey aircraft emits radio pulses.
Part of the signal reflects back from the ice surface, but some is reflected from further below – especially strongly where there is a boundary between ice and underlying liquid water. Antarctica’s largest subglacial lake is Lake Vostok – which is 240km long, 50km wide and hundreds of metres deep – located 4km below the surface.
Radar satellite image revealing Lake Vostok below the Antarctic ice. The area shown is about 300km across. (Image credit: NASA)
Indications of similar lakes below the southern polar ice cap of Mars were first suggested by radar reflections 1.5km below the ice surface in a region named Ultimi Scopuli. These were detected between May 2012 and December 2015 by MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding), an instrument carried by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express that has been orbiting the planet since 2003.
A 4km wide area in Ultimi Scopuli: strange ice texture gives no clue as to presence of liquid water 1.5km below. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
The new study of MARSIS data using signal processing techniques that take account of both the intensity and the sharpness (“acuity”) of the reflections has demonstrated that the previously detected region does indeed mark the top of a liquid body. This is the Ultimi Scopuli subglacial lake, and there seem also to be smaller patches of liquid nearby in the 250km by 300km area covered by the survey. The authors suggest that the liquid bodies consist of hypersaline solutions, in which high concentrations of salts are dissolved in water.
They point out that salts of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium are known to be ubiquitous in the martian soil, and that dissolved salts could help to explain how subglacial lakes on Mars can remain liquid despite the low temperature at the base of the ice cap. The weight of the overlying ice would supply the pressure necessary to keep the water in liquid state rather than turning to vapour.
Life in subglacial lakes?
Lake Vostok is touted as a possible habitat for life that has been isolated from the Earth’s surface for millions of years, and as an analogue for proposed environments habitable by microbes (and possibly more complex organisms) in the internal oceans of icy moons such as Jupiter’s Europa and Saturn’s Enceladus.
Mars’s south polar ice cap as seen by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on April 17, 2000. (Image credit: NASA)
Although hypersaline water would give microbes a place to live below Mars’ south polar cap, without an energy (food) source of some kind they could not survive. Chemical reactions between water and rock might release some energy but probably not enough; it would help if there was an occasional volcanic eruption, or at least hot spring, feeding into lake.
Read more: What on Earth could live in a salt water lake on Mars? An expert explains
We lack evidence of this on Mars, unlike on Europa and Enceladus. Although the new findings make Mars even more interesting than before, they haven’t advanced its ranking in the list of solar system bodies most likely to host life.
That said, the salty water could act as a preservation chamber – helping us find alien organisms that are now extinct but once came to Mars from other parts of the solar system.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates — and become part of the discussion — on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.


livescience--2020-11-14--Why is November the 11th month, not the 9th month?

November , the eleventh month of the year , actually takes its name from the Latin word for the number nine , and it is n't unique in this regard .
September , October and December are named after the Roman numbers seven , eight and 10 respectively .
July and August used to be named Quintilis and Sextilis , meaning fifth and sixth month , before they were renamed after Julius Caesar and his heir , Augustus .
So why are these names all off kilter by two months ?
There are two theories .
The first would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just 10 months in the Roman calendar .
At some point , when they supposedly changed it to 12 , the Romans added January and February at the front of the year , which pushed the other 10 months and their names off course .
The second would have you believe that there were always 12 months , but New Year 's Day used to be March 1 and the last month of the year was February .
But over many decades and centuries , through a series of bureaucratic and political changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in the calendar until it landed on Jan. 1 .
Amelia Carolina Sparavigna is a physicist at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy and has conducted archaeo-astronomical studies to chart the precise lunar phases of ancient Rome 's calendars .
She is firmly in the 10-month camp .
Interestingly , under this theory , the 10 months were n't longer — the Romans simply did n't bother to mark or measure the days in what we call now January and February because little to no agriculture happened in those months , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primarily for farmers .
`` After a gap in the winter , the year started from Martius , '' she told Live Science .
But the Romans were a notoriously organized bunch , so why would they introduce two new months and then simply ignore the fact that many of their other named months no longer made sense ?
Well , the answer could be that naming conventions were a bit of a political quagmire back then — lots of people in power were jostling to rename months to aggrandize their origins .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have September changed to `` Germanicus '' in honor of his father , Sparavigna said .
Emperor Domitian also had a go and tried to turn October into Domitianus .
But none of this went down terribly well with the Roman public , who as it turned out , were fairly conservative and did n't take well to change for change 's sake .
`` These changes of names apparently lasted for a very short time , '' Sparavigna said .
This aversion to change makes sense — after all , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the way we measure things ; the metric system is far from universal — and could partly explain why the authorities did n't alter the naming system when they introduced January and February .
Not everyone buys that narrative , though .
`` Personally , I think it 's strange to come up with a calendar in the first place that just leaves out two months and has a gap that no one has bothered to name , '' said Peter Heslin , a professor in the department of classics and ancient history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The 10-month theory was actually first put about by late-Roman thinkers , who were contemplating their own nonsensical ordering of the months .
`` Some modern scholars agree and say that 's what must have happened because the Romans said so .
But others are more skeptical because it all sounds a bit bizarre , '' Heslin said .
Instead , Heslin says there were probably always 12 months in the Roman calendar .
New Year 's Day used to be widely celebrated in March , but other bureaucratic institutions of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the start of the year .
Even today , many countries , such as the United States , have a different tax year to the common calendar .
`` The Roman consuls began their year in office on Jan. 1 , for example , so while March may have been considered the beginning by the general public , the political year started in January , and so it was a bit messy until they cleared it up , '' he said .
`` All of this is speculation , but I think there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the March New Year was pushed back . ''
By Heslin 's reckoning , because the change happened so gradually , no one really took too much notice at the time .
Many centuries later , the Roman intellectuals then tried to rationalize why the names of the months did n't make sense .
Their answer , he says , was to erroneously conclude that there must have been 10 months at some point .


livescience--2020-11-15--What did trilobites go extinct?

What did trilobites go extinct?

Trilobites are weird creatures — they look like giant swimming potato bugs wearing helmets , and lived on Earth for a whopping 270 million years .
These armored invertebrates , whose species once numbered in the thousands , thrived in the oceans as they scavenged and dug for food , and even managed to survive two mass extinctions .
But about 252 million years ago , trilobites disappeared from the fossil record .
What finally wiped out this class of resilient bottom dwellers ?
The trilobite 's disappearance coincided with the end-Permian extinction ( also known as the Permian-Triassic extinction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ devastating mass extinction event .
Volcanic eruptions in Siberia spewed enormous amounts of lava for around 2 million years , according to Melanie Hopkins , an associate curator of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City .
These fiery eruptions sent trillions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere , triggering , which in turn made it very difficult for marine animals to survive , according to a 2010 paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Up to 95 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , also known as the Great Dying , including the trilobites .
Related : How long do most species last before going extinct ?
The trilobites , however , had already started a downward spiral toward extinction by that point .
`` By the time you get to this mass extinction , there are n't that many trilobites around , '' Hopkins told Live Science .
That 's because environmental and evolutionary changes had whittled away at this class of creatures .
Hopkins studies the changes in trilobite body shape and size over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their survival .
When trilobites first emerged at the beginning of the ( 541 million to 485 million years ago ) , they were extremely diverse , potentially because there were n't that many competitors , Hopkins said .
Trilobite adaptations during the early Cambrian were mainly related to growth and development , such as variations in how many segments or limbs they had .
But during the Ordovician Period , starting around 485 million years ago , competition and predation came more into play than it had before .
At this time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adaptation is clearly related to ecology , '' Hopkins said .
Some trilobites developed different eye positioning , harder exoskeletons or the ability to roll into a ball .
These adaptations , paleontologists suspect , made trilobites more successful on the increasingly competitive ocean floor .
And in the long run , these pressures could have constrained the trilobites ' recovery from the coming mass extinctions .
Then came the world 's first mass extinction : the Ordovician-Silurian extinction around 444 million years ago , caused by a global cooling and a decrease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department of Earth Science at the University of Southern California .
The number of trilobites species , once in the thousands , dropped into the hundreds , according to the .
Although food webs and ecosystems remained intact , the trilobites `` never quite diversify or reach the numbers they achieved previously , '' Hopkins said .
Escalating competition in their ocean habitats may be what kept them from a full rebound .
The second mass extinction , the Late Devonian , hit the trilobites starting around 375 million years ago .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cause less specific than the one before and after it .
It 's harder to study because it happened over a long interval , Hopkins said , but it likely led to a slowing of evolution and diversification .
Though the direct cause is less clear , the effect of the second extinction on the trilobites was profound .
Entire orders — in biology animals are categorized into orders , families , groups and , finally , species — went extinct .
After the second extinction , there was only one family remaining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` That 's all that was left , '' Hopkins said .
It 's unclear what made Proetidae so resilient .
They were relatively simple creatures compared with some of the more that have existed .
By the third extinction , the end-Permian , the competition , predators and environmental changes had flipped the odds against the ancient Proetida .
They could n't withstand the events set in motion by the volcanic eruptions .
The specifics of what made the trilobites so resilient and so vulnerable is still very much under study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why they went extinct , Hopkins said , `` is to figure out why they never diversified again to the same extent .
But that question remains unanswered . ''

Trilobites are weird creatures — they look like giant swimming potato bugs wearing helmets, and lived on Earth for a whopping 270 million years. These armored invertebrates, whose species once numbered in the thousands, thrived in the oceans as they scavenged and dug for food, and even managed to survive two mass extinctions.
But about 252 million years ago, trilobites disappeared from the fossil record. What finally wiped out this class of resilient bottom dwellers?
The trilobite's disappearance coincided with the end-Permian extinction (also known as the Permian-Triassic extinction), the third and the most devastating mass extinction event. Volcanic eruptions in Siberia spewed enormous amounts of lava for around 2 million years, according to Melanie Hopkins, an associate curator of paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. These fiery eruptions sent trillions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, triggering ocean acidification , which in turn made it very difficult for marine animals to survive, according to a 2010 paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Up to 95% of marine species succumbed to the end-Permian extinction, also known as the Great Dying, including the trilobites.
Related: How long do most species last before going extinct?
The trilobites, however, had already started a downward spiral toward extinction by that point. "By the time you get to this mass extinction, there aren't that many trilobites around," Hopkins told Live Science. That's because environmental and evolutionary changes had whittled away at this class of creatures.
Hopkins studies the changes in trilobite body shape and size over time, and how these factors affected their survival. When trilobites first emerged at the beginning of the Cambrian period (541 million to 485 million years ago), they were extremely diverse, potentially because there weren't that many competitors, Hopkins said. Trilobite adaptations during the early Cambrian were mainly related to growth and development, such as variations in how many segments or limbs they had.
But during the Ordovician Period, starting around 485 million years ago, competition and predation came more into play than it had before. At this time "a lot of [trilobite] adaptation is clearly related to ecology," Hopkins said. Some trilobites developed different eye positioning, harder exoskeletons or the ability to roll into a ball. These adaptations, paleontologists suspect, made trilobites more successful on the increasingly competitive ocean floor. And in the long run, these pressures could have constrained the trilobites' recovery from the coming mass extinctions.
Then came the world's first mass extinction: the Ordovician-Silurian extinction around 444 million years ago, caused by a global cooling and a decrease in sea levels, according to the Department of Earth Science at the University of Southern California. The number of trilobites species, once in the thousands, dropped into the hundreds, according to the American Museum of Natural History . Although food webs and ecosystems remained intact, the trilobites "never quite diversify or reach the numbers they achieved previously," Hopkins said. Escalating competition in their ocean habitats may be what kept them from a full rebound.
The second mass extinction, the Late Devonian, hit the trilobites starting around 375 million years ago. The Late Devonian extinction was slower and the cause less specific than the one before and after it. It's harder to study because it happened over a long interval, Hopkins said, but it likely led to a slowing of evolution and diversification. Though the direct cause is less clear, the effect of the second extinction on the trilobites was profound. Entire orders — in biology animals are categorized into orders, families, groups and, finally, species — went extinct. After the second extinction, there was only one family remaining in the class Trilobita: the Proetidae.
"That's all that was left," Hopkins said.
It's unclear what made Proetidae so resilient. They were relatively simple creatures compared with some of the more massive and monstrous trilobites that have existed. By the third extinction, the end-Permian, the competition, predators and environmental changes had flipped the odds against the ancient Proetida. They couldn't withstand the global warming events set in motion by the volcanic eruptions.
The specifics of what made the trilobites so resilient and so vulnerable is still very much under study. One way to learn more about why they went extinct, Hopkins said, "is to figure out why they never diversified again to the same extent. But that question remains unanswered."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-16--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--2020-11-16--Huge eruption of Italian volcano sends ash hundreds of feet into the air

An explosion on the slopes of Stromboli sent an avalanche of pyroclastic flow rushing down the side of the Italian volcano on Monday ( Nov. 16 ) .
The stronger-than-usual explosion was captured on cameras operated by the Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia ( INGV ) .
Imagery shared by shows the eruption in real-time ; video captured by infrared cameras that shows the ultra-hot initial eruption and the slightly cooler cloud of ash and gases careening downslope .
This avalanche of hot ash and gases is known as pyroclastic flow .
Stromboli is a volcanic island 3 miles ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feet ( 926 meters ) tall .
It 's regularly active , belching little bombs of lava and ash from its summit craters on nearly an hourly basis .
Monday 's eruption , which occurred at 10:17 a.m. local time , , was larger than the volcano 's usual fare .
It sent a cloud of ash towering several hundred feet into the air .
A light rain of ash and pumice then fell on the surrounding area , according to Volcano Discovery .
The pyroclastic flow sped down a slope of broken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sciara del Fuoco .
Though a few hundred residents call Stromboli home , the eruption did not affect any homes or buildings .
This is the second above-average explosion on Stromboli in the past two weeks .
On the evening of Nov. 10 , captured another large eruption at the volcano .
It 's not clear whether these explosions indicate a long-term trend toward more activity at the volcano .
According to the , Stromboli 's northernmost vent area and its south-central vent area were also active as of late October , throwing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feet ( 250 m ) in the air multiple times an hour over the course of a week .
According to , the volcano rarely causes loss of life .
Its most dramatic eruption in recent history occurred in 1930 , when pyroclastic flows and scalding seawater killed four people .
The most recent death on the volcano was in 2019 , when a 35-year-old hiker from Sicily was .

An explosion on the slopes of Stromboli sent an avalanche of pyroclastic flow rushing down the side of the Italian volcano on Monday (Nov. 16).
The stronger-than-usual explosion was captured on cameras operated by the Istituto Nazionale Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). Imagery shared by Il Mondo dei Terremoti on Twitter shows the eruption in real-time; video captured by infrared cameras that shows the ultra-hot initial eruption and the slightly cooler cloud of ash and gases careening downslope. This avalanche of hot ash and gases is known as pyroclastic flow.
Una nuova #esplosione maggiore è avvenuta allo #Stromboli alle ore 10:17 di questa mattina.L'esplosione ha generato un piccolo flusso piroclastico che si è gettato lungo la Sciara del Fuoco ed è finito in mare.C'è stata inoltre della ricaduta di cenere in molte zone dell'isola pic.twitter.com/Le2rGZ948kNovember 16, 2020 See more
Stromboli is a volcanic island 3 miles (2 kilometers) in diameter and 3,038 feet (926 meters) tall. It's regularly active, belching little bombs of lava and ash from its summit craters on nearly an hourly basis. Monday's eruption, which occurred at 10:17 a.m. local time, according to Volcano Discovery , was larger than the volcano's usual fare. It sent a cloud of ash towering several hundred feet into the air. A light rain of ash and pumice then fell on the surrounding area, according to Volcano Discovery. The pyroclastic flow sped down a slope of broken rock, or talus scree, called Sciara del Fuoco. Though a few hundred residents call Stromboli home, the eruption did not affect any homes or buildings.
This is the second above-average explosion on Stromboli in the past two weeks. On the evening of Nov. 10, INGV's cameras captured another large eruption at the volcano.
It's not clear whether these explosions indicate a long-term trend toward more activity at the volcano. According to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Project , Stromboli's northernmost vent area and its south-central vent area were also active as of late October, throwing fine air and rock up to 820 feet (250 m) in the air multiple times an hour over the course of a week.
According to Oregon State University , the volcano rarely causes loss of life. Its most dramatic eruption in recent history occurred in 1930, when pyroclastic flows and scalding seawater killed four people. The most recent death on the volcano was in 2019, when a 35-year-old hiker from Sicily was struck by erupting rock and killed .
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-16--Olympic officials 'very confident' that next year's games in Tokyo will have spectators

Officials with the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) are `` very confident '' that next year 's summer games can take place with spectators in the stadiums , according to news reports .
On Monday ( Nov. 16 ) , IOC President Thomas Bach cited the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine as well as improvements in rapid testing as reasons for the committee 's confidence , reported .
Japan was scheduled to host the Olympic Games in the summer of 2020 , but the coronavirus pandemic forced officials to postpone the competition until next year .
The games are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July 23 , 2021 .
`` In order to protect the Japanese people and out of respect for the Japanese people , the IOC will undertake great effort so that as many as possible — Olympic participants and visitors — will arrive here vaccinated , if by then a vaccine is available , '' Bach said .
`` This makes us all very confident that we can have spectators in the Olympics stadium next year and that spectators will enjoy a safe environment . ''
Officials stressed that they would not mandate a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instead work to `` convince '' as many as possible to get the vaccine , the Post reported .
Recent athletic competitions in Japan have also made officials hopeful that next year 's games can be held safely .
This month , the country held a gymnastics competition with athletes from Japan , China , Russia and the United States , which were observed by about 2,000 fans in-person , the Post reported .
Athletes quarantined for two weeks before traveling and underwent daily ; and fans had their temperatures checked and their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the AP reported .
In addition , all the spectators wore masks and seats were spread out .
No COVID-19 cases were detected .
Japan has also held baseball games in nearly full stadiums , with fans required to wear masks and prohibited from cheering .
Exactly how many spectators will be allowed to attend the 2021 games is unclear , but Bach said he believed a `` reasonable number '' could attend .
`` What we are saying is we are living in a dark tunnel , and the Olympic Games then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August , they can be the light at the end of this tunnel , '' he said , the Post reported

Officials with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are "very confident" that next year's summer games can take place with spectators in the stadiums, according to news reports.
On Monday (Nov. 16), IOC President Thomas Bach cited the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine as well as improvements in rapid testing as reasons for the committee's confidence, The Washington Post reported.
Japan was scheduled to host the Olympic Games in the summer of 2020 , but the coronavirus pandemic forced officials to postpone the competition until next year. The games are now set to start in Tokyo on July 23, 2021.
"In order to protect the Japanese people and out of respect for the Japanese people, the IOC will undertake great effort so that as many as possible — Olympic participants and visitors — will arrive here vaccinated, if by then a vaccine is available," Bach said.
"This makes us all very confident that we can have spectators in the Olympics stadium next year and that spectators will enjoy a safe environment."
Officials stressed that they would not mandate a COVID-19 vaccine for athletes or spectators, but would instead work to "convince" as many as possible to get the vaccine, the Post reported.
Recent athletic competitions in Japan have also made officials hopeful that next year's games can be held safely. This month, the country held a gymnastics competition with athletes from Japan, China, Russia and the United States, which were observed by about 2,000 fans in-person, the Post reported. Athletes quarantined for two weeks before traveling and underwent daily COVID-19 testing ; and fans had their temperatures checked and their hands sanitized before entering the stadium, the AP reported. In addition, all the spectators wore masks and seats were spread out. No COVID-19 cases were detected. Japan has also held baseball games in nearly full stadiums, with fans required to wear masks and prohibited from cheering.
Exactly how many spectators will be allowed to attend the 2021 games is unclear, but Bach said he believed a "reasonable number" could attend.
"What we are saying is we are living in a dark tunnel, and the Olympic Games then next July and the Paralympic Games next August, they can be the light at the end of this tunnel," he said, the Post reported
Originally published on Live Science.