livescience--2020-08-28--Black hole 'hair' could be detected using ripples in space-time

The information locked inside black holes could be detected by feeling their 'hair , ' new research suggests .
are celestial objects with such massive gravity that not even light can escape their clutches once it crosses the event horizon , or point-of-no-return .
The event horizons of black holes lock secrets deep within them — secrets that could completely revolutionize our understanding of physics .
Unfortunately , for decades many scientists thought whatever information falls into a black hole might be lost forever .
But new research suggests that ripples in space-time , or may carry a faint whisper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presence of wispy `` hairs '' on a black hole 's surface .
As far as we understand them ( which , admittedly , is not very much ) , black holes are suspiciously simple objects .
Regardless of what falls in , whether stars , clouds of gas and dust , or your worst enemies , black holes can be described by three and only three simple numbers : charge , mass and spin .
That means that if you had two black holes of the exact same size , exact same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same rate , you would n't be able to tell them apart .
The reason this is suspicious is that something had to happen to all that juicy information that fell into those two black holes .
Did it get destroyed ?
Lost below the event horizon ?
Stuck in some inaccessible portion of the universe ?
The simplest solution is the theorem , first coined by the American physicist John Wheeler , that `` black holes have no hair '' — they have no extra information encoded in them or on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spin .
Everything else is simply destroyed ( somehow ) beyond the event horizon , locked away from the universe forever and ever .
But in 1974 , Stephen Hawking proposed a revolutionary idea : black holes are n't inescapable cosmic vacuum cleaners ; rather , subatomic particles might flee black holes through an exotic quantum process , which would result in the release of radiation from their surfaces .
Over time , this Hawking radiation , as it is called , would cause black holes to slowly lose energy ( and therefore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of gradually losing energy , the black holes would evaporate entirely .
This is all fine and dandy , except for the pesky no-hair idea .
If black holes can evaporate , what happens to all the information that fell into them ?
As far as we know , Hawking radiation does n't carry any information away with it .
And we really , really do n't think that information can be created or destroyed in this universe ( it 's certainly possible , but would make a bunch of known physics pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experiments ) .
And hence , the black hole information paradox .
Information goes into a black hole , the black hole disappears , and we do n't know what happens to the information .
To fix this paradox , either we need to fix what we know about black holes or fix what we know about Hawking radiation .
Or both .
Maybe the information gets locked deep inside the black hole , near the singularity , and evaporation stops just before that point , leaving behind a tiny little ball chock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holes are n't entirely hairless .
Maybe , just maybe , they maintain the information of anything that 's fallen into them on their surfaces , contained in something called the `` stretched horizon '' , a surface just above the event horizon containing quantum mechanical information .
As black holes dissolve , the Hawking radiation carries away the information contained in the stretched horizon , solving the paradox and preserving our reality as we know it .
Great idea , but how do we test it ?
A new study , published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not yet peer reviewed ) , suggests one way to find these silky strands : a gravitational wave detection .
When black holes merge , they release a fury of gravitational waves that ripple throughout the cosmos .
Despite the incredible energies of these collisions , the gravitational waves from these cosmic smashups are exceptionally weak .
By the time these waves wash over Earth , they 're barely capable of nudging individual atoms .
But we have LIGO — the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory , a globe-spanning observatory — which can detect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in how long it takes light to travel from far-flung detectors .
LIGO has observed the aftermath of dozens of potential black hole collisions throughout the universe , which even in 2017 .
So far , those observations are consistent with the `` no-hair theorem , '' suggesting there is no extra information encoded on the surfaces of black holes .
But there 's still a chance .
There could be `` soft hair '' on the black holes — just a little bit of information , structured in a way that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to test this idea , because if we could demonstrate that black holes have hair , we would not only solve a major riddle in modern physics , but likely pave the way toward a better understanding of quantum gravity , or the theory that would reconcile general relativity , which governs the universe on a large scale , with quantum mechanics , which describes reality on the tiniest scales.Now comes the real hard work of science : connecting neat ideas to actual observation .
The new arXiv paper suggests a way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new study authors , Lawrence Crowell of the Alpha Institute for Advanced Studies in Budapest , Hungary and Christian Corda , a physicist at Istanbul University in Turkey , discovered that during the merging process , normally-quiet hairs can get excited , so to speak .
In this energized state , , these hairs would intertwine with the outgoing gravitational radiation , altering those waves in subtle ways .
Those changes to the gravitational waves ca n't be detected yet , but future versions of LIGO might have the sensitivity to do it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to finally tell whether black holes are hairy or not .
Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute , host of Ask a Spaceman and Space Radio , and author of Your Place in the Universe .


livescience--2020-08-27--Hand sanitizers sold in beer cans and children's food pouches? Don't buy them, FDA says.

Some products are being packaged in containers typically used for food and drinks , leading to concerns that people may accidentally ingest the products , according to health officials .
On Thursday ( Aug. 27 ) , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) warned consumers about these hand sanitizer products , which have been packaged in a variety of potentially misleading containers , including beer cans , water bottles , juice bottles , vodka bottles and children 's food pouches , the agency .
In addition , officials have found hand sanitizers with food flavors , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ typically contain 60 % to 70 % alcohol , so can be toxic when ingested , particularly for young children who may develop alcohol poisoning .
Related : Dozens of hand sanitizers contain a toxic ingredient .
How do you know yours is safe ?
`` I am increasingly concerned about hand sanitizer being packaged to appear to be consumable products , '' FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in the statement .
`` These products could confuse consumers into accidentally ingesting a potentially deadly product . ''
For example , the FDA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who purchased what they thought was a bottle of water , but was actually hand sanitizer .
The agency also learned about a hand sanitizer product sporting cartoons for children and packaged in a container that resembled a snack pouch , the statement said .
The FDA has identified safety issues with numerous hand sanitizer products , which have flooded the market amid the COVID-19 .
Since June , the agency has found dozens of hand sanitizer products that contain methanol , a toxic substance that can cause nausea , vomiting , permanent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ingested , .
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that at least four people in the U.S. have died after drinking methanol-tainted hand sanitizer , and about a dozen more have experienced serious health effects such as vision loss and seizures , .
The FDA said it will continue to work with manufacturers to recall potentially dangerous hand sanitizer products and remove them from the market .
The agency also keeps a running list of risky hand sanitizer products that people should not use .
In early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to include a warning about hand sanitizer products packaged as food or drinks .
But Thursday 's warning highlights this issue and provides more detailed information .

Some hand sanitizer products are being packaged in containers typically used for food and drinks, leading to concerns that people may accidentally ingest the products, according to health officials.
On Thursday (Aug. 27), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers about these hand sanitizer products, which have been packaged in a variety of potentially misleading containers, including beer cans, water bottles, juice bottles, vodka bottles and children's food pouches, the agency said in a statement . In addition, officials have found hand sanitizers with food flavors, such as chocolate and raspberry.
Hand sanitizers typically contain 60% to 70% alcohol, so can be toxic when ingested, particularly for young children who may develop alcohol poisoning.
Related: Dozens of hand sanitizers contain a toxic ingredient. How do you know yours is safe?
"I am increasingly concerned about hand sanitizer being packaged to appear to be consumable products," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in the statement. "These products could confuse consumers into accidentally ingesting a potentially deadly product."
For example, the FDA recently received a report about a person who purchased what they thought was a bottle of water, but was actually hand sanitizer. The agency also learned about a hand sanitizer product sporting cartoons for children and packaged in a container that resembled a snack pouch, the statement said.
The FDA has identified safety issues with numerous hand sanitizer products, which have flooded the market amid the COVID-19 pandemic . Since June, the agency has found dozens of hand sanitizer products that contain methanol, a toxic substance that can cause nausea, vomiting, permanent blindness, seizures and even death if ingested, Live Science previously reported .
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that at least four people in the U.S. have died after drinking methanol-tainted hand sanitizer, and about a dozen more have experienced serious health effects such as vision loss and seizures, Live Science previously reported .
The FDA said it will continue to work with manufacturers to recall potentially dangerous hand sanitizer products and remove them from the market. The agency also keeps a running list of risky hand sanitizer products that people should not use . In early July, the FDA updated this list to include a warning about hand sanitizer products packaged as food or drinks. But Thursday's warning highlights this issue and provides more detailed information.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-30--How long is a galactic year?

How long is a galactic year?

Humans are used to keeping time by measuring Earth 's movement relative to the sun .
But while Earth 's trips around its star are noteworthy to life on our pale blue dot , that journey is pretty insignificant when compared with the epic voyage that carries the sun — and our entire — around the center of the Milky Way .
Orbiting the Milky Way galaxy just once takes the sun approximately 220 million to 230 million years , according to Keith Hawkins , an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin .
In other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time by this galactic `` clock , '' Earth would be about ( in galactic , or cosmic years ) , the sun would have formed about , and the universe would be just years old .
The solar system 's journey around the galaxy resembles Earth 's orbit around the sun .
But rather than orbiting a star , the sun circles the supermassive that lies at the center of the Milky Way and exerts a tremendous amount of gravity on everything in the galaxy , Hawkins said .
`` The sun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 230 kilometers a second , about the equivalent of 500,000 miles per hour — that it continues to revolve around the center of the galaxy in sort of a circle '' instead of getting pulled toward the black hole , he said .
Our place in the galaxy Compared with an Earth year , a galactic year represents time on a grand scale — but it 's not a consistent measurement across the galaxy .
What we Earthlings call a galactic year is specific to Earth 's place in the Milky Way 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a galactic year is 220 , 230 million years .
Other stars in the galaxy , their galactic year is different , '' Hawkins said .
The galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across , and the Earth is about 28,000 light-years from its center .
`` If you imagine the galaxy as a city , the Earth is somewhere near the suburbs , '' Hawkins explained .
For stars that orbit close to the black hole — the center of the `` city '' — a galactic year is relatively short .
Out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our solar system lies , `` the galactic years are a little longer , '' he said .
Similar rules control variability in the length of a year between planets .
For instance , Mercury , the innermost planet in our solar system , makes a complete orbit around the sun in about 88 Earth days .
Uranus , the seventh planet from the sun , orbits the sun every 84 years , by Earth standards .
And the distant dwarf planet Pluto takes 248 Earth years to finish one orbital cycle .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ similar to the mechanisms that shape the orbit of our solar system around the Milky Way , it 's worth asking how astronomers have figured out the span of a galactic year .
Hawkins says that it 's actually pretty basic science that became clear in the early days of modern astronomy .
`` It 's mostly about watching stars move around the galaxy , '' he said .
`` You can watch stars move around the galaxy and deduce from the speed and direction of other stars . ''

In one galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, the sun orbits the Milky Way.
Humans are used to keeping time by measuring Earth's movement relative to the sun. But while Earth's trips around its star are noteworthy to life on our pale blue dot, that journey is pretty insignificant when compared with the epic voyage that carries the sun — and our entire solar system — around the center of the Milky Way.
Orbiting the Milky Way galaxy just once takes the sun approximately 220 million to 230 million Earth years, according to Keith Hawkins, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin.
In other words, if we were to measure time by this galactic "clock," Earth would be about 16 years old (in galactic, or cosmic years), the sun would have formed about 20 years ago , and the universe would be just about 60 years old.
Related: Does the sun rotate?
The solar system's journey around the galaxy resembles Earth's orbit around the sun. But rather than orbiting a star, the sun circles the supermassive black hole that lies at the center of the Milky Way, Hawkins said. It exerts a tremendous amount of gravity on objects near the center of the galaxy, but it's the gravity exerted collectively by the material in the Milky Way itself that keeps the sun in its orbit.
"The sun is moving with enough speed — about 230 kilometers a second, about the equivalent of 500,000 miles per hour — that it continues to revolve around the center of the galaxy in sort of a circle" instead of getting pulled toward the black hole, he said.
Our place in the galaxy
Compared with an Earth year, a galactic year represents time on a grand scale — but it's not a consistent measurement across the galaxy. What we Earthlings call a galactic year is specific to Earth's place in the Milky Way's spiral.
"We would say that a galactic year is 220, 230 million years. Other stars in the galaxy, their galactic year is different," Hawkins said.
The galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across, and the Earth is about 28,000 light-years from its center. "If you imagine the galaxy as a city, the Earth is somewhere near the suburbs," Hawkins explained. For stars that orbit close to the black hole — the center of the "city" — a galactic year is relatively short. Out in the "suburbs," where our solar system lies, "the galactic years are a little longer," he said.
Similar rules control variability in the length of a year between planets. For instance, Mercury, the innermost planet in our solar system, makes a complete orbit around the sun in about 88 Earth days. Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, orbits the sun every 84 years, by Earth standards. And the distant dwarf planet Pluto takes 248 Earth years to finish one orbital cycle.
While the physics of planetary orbits are similar to the mechanisms that shape the orbit of our solar system around the Milky Way, it's worth asking how astronomers have figured out the span of a galactic year. Hawkins says that it's actually pretty basic science that became clear in the early days of modern astronomy.
"It's mostly about watching stars move around the galaxy," he said. "You can watch stars move around the galaxy and deduce from the speed and direction of other stars."
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Aug. 31 to note that the sun stays in its orbit around the Milky Way not just because of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way but also due to the gravity exerted collectively by the material in the Milky Way.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--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--2020-08-31--Russia declassifies footage of 'Tsar Bomba' — the most powerful nuclear bomb in history

In October 1961 , the Soviet Union dropped the most powerful nuclear bomb in history over a remote island north of the .
Though the bomb detonated nearly 2.5 miles ( 4 kilometers ) above ground , the resulting shockwave stripped the island as bare and flat as a skating rink .
Onlookers saw the flash more than 600 miles ( 965 km ) away , and felt its incredible heat within 160 miles ( 250 km ) of Ground Zero .
The bomb 's gargantuan mushroom cloud climbed to just below the .
This was RDS-220 — also known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years after the bomb 's record-shattering detonation , no single explosive device has come close to matching its destructive power .
Last week , Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation ( Russia 's state atomic agency ) released 40 minutes of previously classified footage , showing the bomb 's journey from manufactor to mushroom cloud .
Now , you can watch it all on YouTube .
( The countdown to detonation ) .
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev personally commissioned the construction of the Tsar Bomba in July 1961 , .
While Krushchev wanted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him with a 50-megaton version — equivalent to 50 million tons ( 45 million metric tons ) of TNT detonated at once .
Even with half of the premier 's requested payload , the bomb was unfathomably powerful .
The bomb was thousands of times stronger than the nukes detonated by the United States over during World War II , and dwarfed the detonation of — the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested by the United States — which yielded just 15 megatons ( 13 million metric tons ) .
As the new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enormous , weighing 27 tons ( 24 metric tons ) and measuring about as long as a double-decker bus .
An aerial bomber carried the massive weapon high over the Novaya Zemlya islands in the Russian Arctic , then dropped it via parachute before clearing the area .
The explosion was so powerful that it actually knocked the aircraft out of the sky , causing the plane to plummet 3,000 feet ( 900 m ) before the pilot could right it , according to Popular Mechanics .
Thankfully , no human casualties have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and no bomb matching its power was ever tested again .
In 1963 , the United States , the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ) and the United Kingdom signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty , which prohibited airborne nuclear weapons tests .
Since then , atomic tests have carried on underground as nations continue to stockpile nuclear weapons , occasionally changing the geography of the around them .
One 2018 nuclear test conducted in North Korea caused over the test facility — a reminder , perhaps , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in order to wreak devastating nuclear damage .

In October 1961, the Soviet Union dropped the most powerful nuclear bomb in history over a remote island north of the Arctic Circle .
Though the bomb detonated nearly 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) above ground, the resulting shockwave stripped the island as bare and flat as a skating rink. Onlookers saw the flash more than 600 miles (965 km) away, and felt its incredible heat within 160 miles (250 km) of Ground Zero. The bomb's gargantuan mushroom cloud climbed to just below the edge of space .
This was RDS-220 — also known as the Tsar Bomba. Nearly 60 years after the bomb's record-shattering detonation, no single explosive device has come close to matching its destructive power. Last week, Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (Russia's state atomic agency) released 40 minutes of previously classified footage, showing the bomb's journey from manufactor to mushroom cloud. Now, you can watch it all on YouTube . (The countdown to detonation begins at 22:20 ).
Related: Doomsdays: Top 9 real ways the world could end
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev personally commissioned the construction of the Tsar Bomba in July 1961, Popular Mechanics reported . While Krushchev wanted a 100-megaton nuclear weapon, engineers ultimately presented him with a 50-megaton version — equivalent to 50 million tons (45 million metric tons) of TNT detonated at once. Even with half of the premier's requested payload, the bomb was unfathomably powerful. The bomb was thousands of times stronger than the nukes detonated by the United States over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, and dwarfed the detonation of Castle Bravo — the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested by the United States — which yielded just 15 megatons (13 million metric tons).
As the new footage shows, the Tsar Bomba was enormous, weighing 27 tons (24 metric tons) and measuring about as long as a double-decker bus. An aerial bomber carried the massive weapon high over the Novaya Zemlya islands in the Russian Arctic, then dropped it via parachute before clearing the area. The explosion was so powerful that it actually knocked the aircraft out of the sky, causing the plane to plummet 3,000 feet (900 m) before the pilot could right it, according to Popular Mechanics.
Thankfully, no human casualties have been attributed to the Tsar Bomba detonation, and no bomb matching its power was ever tested again. In 1963, the United States, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United Kingdom signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited airborne nuclear weapons tests.
Since then, atomic tests have carried on underground as nations continue to stockpile nuclear weapons, occasionally changing the geography of the Earth around them. One 2018 nuclear test conducted in North Korea caused an entire mountain to collapse over the test facility — a reminder, perhaps, that the world hardly needs another Tsar Bomba in order to wreak devastating nuclear damage.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--This week's full moon happens only once every 3 years

This week , for the first time in three years , the September full moon is in a unique situation : it 's happening so early in the month — a timing that gives it an entirely different name , the corn moon , instead of the harvest moon — that it sets the stage for October to have two full moons , meaning a rare blue moon will shine this , on Oct. 31 .
This full moon , named for the East Coast corn harvest , will reach peak fullness at 1:22 a.m. EDT ( 5:22 UTC ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Usually , September 's full moon is known as the , as it 's typically the full moon closest to the first day of fall , known as the .
But this year , the autumnal equinox falls on Sept. 22 , making the Oct. 1 full moon the harvest moon , , a news outlet in Easton , Pennsylvania .
As with every full moon , September 's moon will appear full for three consecutive days , starting tonight ( Aug. 31 ) through Thursday morning ( Sept. 3 ) .
Full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and moon form a line , allowing the side of the moon facing Earth to be fully illuminated by the sun , , a Live Science sister site .
On the evening before the true full moon , you can catch September 's full moon rising at 8:12 p.m. EDT this Tuesday ( Sept.1 ) .
The celestial show is easily seen with the naked eye ( preferably away from glowing artificial lights ) , but can help you gaze upon the moon 's terrain so that `` smooth-looking patterns of gray and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ridges , '' .
Meanwhile , a telescope can help you spot the moon 's mountains , valleys and `` the cracks in the moon 's surface called rilles , [ which ] formed when the lava that once filled a basin cooled and contracted , '' according to NASA .
Skywatchers can also catch bright views of and .
Jupiter was at its closest and brightest for 2020 on July 14 , while Saturn was at its closest and brightest on July 20 , according to NASA .
This is known as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were positioned on the opposite side of Earth than the sun was shining on .
Even though these planets are past their closest-and-brightest approaches to Earth , they 're still brighter than usual .
Look for them in the western sky .
If you have a telescope , try to find Jupiter 's four bright moons : Ganymede , Callisto , Europa and Io , NASA recommended .
A telescope can also help you spot Saturn 's illuminated rings and some of Saturn 's moons , including its largest moon , .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the hunter full moon will light up the night sky for socially-distanced trick-or-treaters this Halloween .
Other names for September 's corn moon ( which was bequeathed by the now defunct Maine Farmer 's Almanac in the 1930s ) include the fruit , barley and hungry ghost moon , which references the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival that happens on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar , according to NASA .
On this day , and spirits , including those of ancestors , are believed to visit @ @ @

This week, for the first time in three years, the September full moon is in a unique situation: it's happening so early in the month — a timing that gives it an entirely different name, the corn moon, instead of the harvest moon — that it sets the stage for October to have two full moons, meaning a rare blue moon will shine this Halloween , on Oct. 31.
This full moon, named for the East Coast corn harvest, will reach peak fullness at 1:22 a.m. EDT (5:22 UTC) on Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to NASA .
Usually, September's full moon is known as the harvest moon , as it's typically the full moon closest to the first day of fall, known as the fall equinox . But this year, the autumnal equinox falls on Sept. 22, making the Oct. 1 full moon the harvest moon, according to Lehigh Valley Live , a news outlet in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Related: In photos: Glitzy images of a supermoon
As with every full moon, September's moon will appear full for three consecutive days, starting tonight (Aug. 31) through Thursday morning (Sept. 3).
Full moons happen when the sun, Earth and moon form a line, allowing the side of the moon facing Earth to be fully illuminated by the sun, according to Space.com , a Live Science sister site.
On the evening before the true full moon, you can catch September's full moon rising at 8:12 p.m. EDT this Tuesday (Sept.1). The celestial show is easily seen with the naked eye (preferably away from glowing artificial lights), but binoculars can help you gaze upon the moon's terrain so that "smooth-looking patterns of gray and white resolve into craters and large mountain ridges," according to NASA . Meanwhile, a telescope can help you spot the moon's mountains, valleys and "the cracks in the moon's surface called rilles, [which] formed when the lava that once filled a basin cooled and contracted," according to NASA.
Skywatchers can also catch bright views of Jupiter and Saturn . Jupiter was at its closest and brightest for 2020 on July 14, while Saturn was at its closest and brightest on July 20, according to NASA. This is known as "opposition," as these planets were positioned on the opposite side of Earth than the sun was shining on. Even though these planets are past their closest-and-brightest approaches to Earth, they're still brighter than usual. Look for them in the western sky. If you have a telescope, try to find Jupiter's four bright moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io, NASA recommended. A telescope can also help you spot Saturn's illuminated rings and some of Saturn's moons, including its largest moon, Titan .
(Image credit: Bill Dunford/NASA)
After the next full moon on Oct. 1, the hunter full moon will light up the night sky for socially-distanced trick-or-treaters this Halloween.
Other names for September's corn moon (which was bequeathed by the now defunct Maine Farmer's Almanac in the 1930s) include the fruit, barley and hungry ghost moon, which references the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival that happens on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, according to NASA. On this day, ghosts and spirits, including those of ancestors, are believed to visit the living.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--Coronavirus vaccine could get emergency approval before critical testing is complete, FDA says

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that may be given emergency approval before rigorous clinical trials are complete , according to recent news reports .
Only a couple of coronavirus vaccine candidates in the U.S. have advanced to phase 3 clinical trials , which are the most critical tests needed to prove , in tens of thousands of people , that a vaccine is both safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 .
Typically , a vaccine must pass these advanced trials before given approval — but the has pushed vaccine development to unprecedented timescales .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine developer ] to apply for authorization or approval , and we make an adjudication of their application , '' Dr. Stephen Hahn , the FDA Commissioner .
`` If they do that before the end of phase three , we may find that appropriate .
We may find that inappropriate , we will make a determination . ''
Hahn said a safe way to roll out the vaccine prior to results from phase 3 trials , is to issue an emergency use authorization for only a select group of people , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency use authorization is not the same as a full approval , '' he told the Times .
Emergency use authorization is permission granted to unapproved products to be used in an emergency to diagnose , treat or prevent serious or life-threatening conditions , `` when there are no adequate , approved and available alternatives , '' according to the FDA .
China and Russia have both given emergency approvals to coronavirus vaccines for a limited group of people prior to phase 3 results , according to the Times .
But approving vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health officials have warned .
Dr. Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , that a vaccine should not receive an emergency use authorization before it 's shown to be effective .
`` One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult , if not impossible , for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial , '' he said .
`` To me , it 's absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Fauci told Reuters .
`` We would hope that nothing interferes with the full demonstration that a vaccine is safe and effective . ''
Last week , the FDA gave an emergency use authorization to plasma therapy , or antibody-rich plasma taken from recovered patients , to treat COVID-19 , quickly reversing its announcement that the FDA would n't issue an EUA until there was more data that the therapy works , .
The authorization followed on the tail of President Donald Trump 's remarks that the FDA 's decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EUA to plasma therapy could be political , according to the report .
Hahn told the Times that the decision to give an EUA on vaccines would n't be politically driven .
`` We have a convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the political season , and we 're just going to have to get through that and stick to our core principles , '' he told the Financial Times .
`` This is going to be a science , medicine , data decision .
This is not going to be a political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just two candidate vaccines are in phase 3 trials : one made by Moderna and the other by Pfizer and BioNTech , according to a of coronavirus vaccine candidates in clinical trials .
But there are several others that are expected to start phase 3 trials in the coming weeks .

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that coronavirus vaccines may be given emergency approval before rigorous clinical trials are complete, according to recent news reports.
Only a couple of coronavirus vaccine candidates in the U.S. have advanced to phase 3 clinical trials, which are the most critical tests needed to prove, in tens of thousands of people, that a vaccine is both safe and effective at preventing COVID-19. Typically, a vaccine must pass these advanced trials before given approval — but the pandemic has pushed vaccine development to unprecedented timescales.
"It is up to the sponsor [vaccine developer] to apply for authorization or approval, and we make an adjudication of their application," Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA Commissioner told The Financial Times . "If they do that before the end of phase three, we may find that appropriate. We may find that inappropriate, we will make a determination."
Related: Coronavirus live updates
Hahn said a safe way to roll out the vaccine prior to results from phase 3 trials, is to issue an emergency use authorization for only a select group of people, according to the Financial Times. "Our emergency use authorization is not the same as a full approval," he told the Times.
Emergency use authorization is permission granted to unapproved products to be used in an emergency to diagnose, treat or prevent serious or life-threatening conditions, "when there are no adequate, approved and available alternatives," according to the FDA . China and Russia have both given emergency approvals to coronavirus vaccines for a limited group of people prior to phase 3 results, according to the Times.
But approving vaccines too soon can be risky, public health officials have warned.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, previously told Reuters that a vaccine should not receive an emergency use authorization before it's shown to be effective. "One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial," he said.
"To me, it's absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective, both," Fauci told Reuters. "We would hope that nothing interferes with the full demonstration that a vaccine is safe and effective."
Last week, the FDA gave an emergency use authorization to plasma therapy, or antibody-rich plasma taken from recovered patients, to treat COVID-19, quickly reversing its announcement that the FDA wouldn't issue an EUA until there was more data that the therapy works, Live Science previously reported . The authorization followed on the tail of President Donald Trump's remarks that the FDA's decision to wait for more data before giving an EUA to plasma therapy could be political, according to the report.
Hahn told the Times that the decision to give an EUA on vaccines wouldn't be politically driven.
"We have a convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the political season, and we're just going to have to get through that and stick to our core principles," he told the Financial Times. "This is going to be a science, medicine, data decision. This is not going to be a political decision."
In the U.S., just two candidate vaccines are in phase 3 trials: one made by Moderna and the other by Pfizer and BioNTech, according to a Live Science roundup of coronavirus vaccine candidates in clinical trials. But there are several others that are expected to start phase 3 trials in the coming weeks.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--The sun may have a long-lost twin

The sun may have a long-lost twin

The most distant region of our , a sphere of dark , icy debris out beyond Neptune , is too crowded .
All that stuff out there , beyond the reach of the ancient disk of gas and dust that formed the planets , doesn ’ t match with scientific models of how the solar system formed .
Now , a pair of researchers has offered a new take on this far-out mystery : Our sun has a long-lost twin .
And the two stars spent their childhoods collecting the passing debris from interstellar space , crowding the outer reaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't see this twin .
Wherever it is — if it ever existed — it broke away from its orbit with our sun eons ago .
The two stars would have circled the Milky Way well over a dozen times since then , and may have ended up in totally different regions of space .
But a record of that lost twin 's influence on our solar system may remain in our Oort cloud — a mysterious neighborhood of comets and space rocks at the outer bounds of our sun 's influence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Unlike the planets and asteroids of the inner solar system , which lie on a single flat disk around the sun , it forms a hollow sphere of debris encircling the solar system in every direction .
Compared to the inner planets , these distant drifters experience very little of the sun 's , and could easily be nudged out of their orbits and into interstellar space .
The most distant objects in that sphere are barely linked to our sun at all , drifting along 100,000 times farther away from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ halfway to the nearest star , Alpha Centauri , '' said study co-author Avi Loeb , a Harvard astrophysicist .
`` If Alpha Centauri also has an Oort cloud , if all the stars have Oort clouds , then they 're all touching each other like billiard balls and space is filled with them . ''
Our Oort cloud is less crowded with large objects than is the inner solar system .
Fly through it in a spaceship and you 're unlikely to encounter anything at all .
But it still hosts far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Probably about 100 billion individual objects , mostly chunks of rock and ice , reside in the cloud .
We ca n't see them directly , but there 's plenty of evidence for them : the comets that plunge into the inner solar system from the Oort cloud at regular intervals .
There 's some evidence for even bigger things in the Oort cloud .
For a few years now , scientists looking at the known objects beyond Neptune cluster have suggested that there may be an unknown planet out there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 would be up to 10 times heavier than Earth , though it has yet to be seen .
All that mass far beyond Neptune causes problems for astronomers , Loeb said .
So does the fact that the Oort cloud forms a sphere , when all the planets and asteroids in the inner solar system seem to have formed from one flat disk of dust and gas .
`` The question is : How did it come to exist ? ''
Loeb told Live Science .
`` The popular view is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that made the planets . ''
There are some objects in the cloud that clearly came from the inner solar system , Loeb said .
But the large objects in this thick `` scattered disk '' only make up a fraction — about 1/50th — of the total count of large objects orbiting beyond Neptune .
And simulations of Oort cloud formation that have all the objects coming from the inner solar system suggest it should have somewhere between one-third and one-tenth the number of large objects it seems to hold .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number of Oort cloud objects this way , '' Loeb said .
And if you assume there 's a big planet orbiting out there , the crowded Oort cloud gets even more difficult to explain .
In this case , together with his frequent collaborator , Harvard undergraduate Amir Siraj , Loeb suggested that the sun may have worked together with a lost twin to capture passing objects from deep space .
The theory goes like this : Astronomers already agree that the sun , like most stars , likely formed in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a galactic pocket of dust and gas .
That stellar nursery was probably full of rogue objects — interstellar comets and maybe heavier things like planets .
But on its own , the sun 's gravity probably was n't strong enough to pull so many of those objects into Oort orbits .
But what if the sun and another star orbited around each other ?
Throw this binary companion into the mix , and the calculation changes .
Assuming the two stars were about the same size , and orbited each other at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sun ( about 1.5 % of a light-year ) , their collective gravity could have snagged bits of rock and ice from the interstellar medium .
By the time the sun and its twin drifted apart — their orbits likely broken by a close encounter with a third star — each would have been shrouded in an Oort cloud far thicker than what the sun and its twin would have captured on its own .
There are a few nice things about this theory , Loeb said .
It neatly explains not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oort cloud but its shape .
Objects snagged at random from deep space would have formed a sphere around the sun like we see , not a disk .
`` The beautiful thing is we can test it , '' he said .
If Loeb and Siraj are correct , then astronomers have likely underestimated the number of truly huge objects in the Oort cloud .
With a binary companion , the sun should have captured not just the still-hypothetical Planet 9 from its birth cluster , but plenty of dwarf planets — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solar system — that would still orbit in that far-distant part of space .
Right now , there 's no evidence for those dwarf planets .
But the dim and distant Oort cloud is still so poorly understood that their absence in the data is n't surprising , Loeb said .
And the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope ( LSST ) , due for completion in Chile in 2021 , will scan the sky in unprecedented detail for just these sort of dim , far-away objects , Loeb said .
If the LSST 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 9 and a large population of additional dwarf planets in the Oort cloud that will strongly suggest our solar system once had a twin , he said .
Wherever that stellar twin ended up , if it existed , we 'll never find it again , Loeb said .
Everything in the Milky Way has been stirred around too many times since the dissolution of our sun 's original birth cluster , 4.5 billion years ago .
But we can imagine what it would have looked like : not a second sun , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were still distant from one another .
Instead it might have seemed like a too-bright planet , moving very slowly across the sky .

The most distant region of our solar system , a sphere of dark, icy debris out beyond Neptune, is too crowded. All that stuff out there, beyond the reach of the ancient disk of gas and dust that formed the planets, doesn’t match with scientific models of how the solar system formed. Now, a pair of researchers has offered a new take on this far-out mystery: Our sun has a long-lost twin. And the two stars spent their childhoods collecting the passing debris from interstellar space, crowding the outer reaches of the solar system.
We can't see this twin. Wherever it is — if it ever existed — it broke away from its orbit with our sun eons ago. The two stars would have circled the Milky Way well over a dozen times since then, and may have ended up in totally different regions of space. But a record of that lost twin's influence on our solar system may remain in our Oort cloud — a mysterious neighborhood of comets and space rocks at the outer bounds of our sun's influence.
The Oort cloud is a strange place. Unlike the planets and asteroids of the inner solar system, which lie on a single flat disk around the sun, it forms a hollow sphere of debris encircling the solar system in every direction. Compared to the inner planets, these distant drifters experience very little of the sun's gravity , and could easily be nudged out of their orbits and into interstellar space. The most distant objects in that sphere are barely linked to our sun at all, drifting along 100,000 times farther away from the sun than Earth .
Related: The 11 most beautiful mathematical equations
"That's actually halfway to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri," said study co-author Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist. "If Alpha Centauri also has an Oort cloud, if all the stars have Oort clouds, then they're all touching each other like billiard balls and space is filled with them."
Our Oort cloud is less crowded with large objects than is the inner solar system. Fly through it in a spaceship and you're unlikely to encounter anything at all. But it still hosts far more stuff than it should, Loeb said. Probably about 100 billion individual objects, mostly chunks of rock and ice, reside in the cloud. We can't see them directly, but there's plenty of evidence for them: the comets that plunge into the inner solar system from the Oort cloud at regular intervals.
There's some evidence for even bigger things in the Oort cloud. For a few years now, scientists looking at the known objects beyond Neptune cluster have suggested that there may be an unknown planet out there tugging them into formation. This Planet 9 would be up to 10 times heavier than Earth, though it has yet to be seen. All that mass far beyond Neptune causes problems for astronomers, Loeb said. So does the fact that the Oort cloud forms a sphere, when all the planets and asteroids in the inner solar system seem to have formed from one flat disk of dust and gas.
"The question is: How did it come to exist?" Loeb told Live Science. "The popular view is that maybe they were scattered from the disk that made the planets."
An illustration shows that the Oort cloud is by far the most vast part of our solar system, extending far beyond the ring of inner planets and asteroids. (Image credit: NASA/JPL)
There are some objects in the cloud that clearly came from the inner solar system, Loeb said. But the large objects in this thick "scattered disk" only make up a fraction — about 1/50th — of the total count of large objects orbiting beyond Neptune. And simulations of Oort cloud formation that have all the objects coming from the inner solar system suggest it should have somewhere between one-third and one-tenth the number of large objects it seems to hold.
"You cannot easily explain the large number of Oort cloud objects this way," Loeb said.
And if you assume there's a big planet orbiting out there, the crowded Oort cloud gets even more difficult to explain.
In this case, together with his frequent collaborator, Harvard undergraduate Amir Siraj, Loeb suggested that the sun may have worked together with a lost twin to capture passing objects from deep space.
The theory goes like this: Astronomers already agree that the sun, like most stars, likely formed in a tight cluster with many other stars in a galactic pocket of dust and gas. That stellar nursery was probably full of rogue objects — interstellar comets and maybe heavier things like planets. But on its own, the sun's gravity probably wasn't strong enough to pull so many of those objects into Oort orbits.
But what if the sun and another star orbited around each other? Throw this binary companion into the mix, and the calculation changes. Assuming the two stars were about the same size, and orbited each other at 1,000 times the distance between Earth and the sun (about 1.5% of a light-year), their collective gravity could have snagged bits of rock and ice from the interstellar medium. By the time the sun and its twin drifted apart — their orbits likely broken by a close encounter with a third star — each would have been shrouded in an Oort cloud far thicker than what the sun and its twin would have captured on its own.
There are a few nice things about this theory, Loeb said. It neatly explains not only the number of objects in the Oort cloud but its shape. Objects snagged at random from deep space would have formed a sphere around the sun like we see, not a disk.
Related: 5 reasons to care about asteroids
"The beautiful thing is we can test it," he said.
If Loeb and Siraj are correct, then astronomers have likely underestimated the number of truly huge objects in the Oort cloud. With a binary companion, the sun should have captured not just the still-hypothetical Planet 9 from its birth cluster, but plenty of dwarf planets — objects like Ceres and Pluto from the inner solar system — that would still orbit in that far-distant part of space.
Right now, there's no evidence for those dwarf planets. But the dim and distant Oort cloud is still so poorly understood that their absence in the data isn't surprising, Loeb said.
And the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), due for completion in Chile in 2021, will scan the sky in unprecedented detail for just these sort of dim, far-away objects, Loeb said. If the LSST's first long scan of space reveals Planet 9 and a large population of additional dwarf planets in the Oort cloud that will strongly suggest our solar system once had a twin, he said.
Wherever that stellar twin ended up, if it existed, we'll never find it again, Loeb said. Everything in the Milky Way has been stirred around too many times since the dissolution of our sun's original birth cluster, 4.5 billion years ago. But we can imagine what it would have looked like: not a second sun, because even when the stars were twinned they were still distant from one another. Instead it might have seemed like a too-bright planet, moving very slowly across the sky.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--US faces monkey shortage for COVID-19 research

COVID-19 vaccines and treatments typically get tested in monkeys before being given to humans , but now , those primates are in short supply , .
Prior to the pandemic , the U.S. was already approaching a potential shortage , according to a from the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) .
The authors of the report proposed establishing a `` strategic monkey reserve '' in order to meet future demand , and to provide a buffer in case of `` unpredictable disease outbreaks , '' according to The Atlantic .
No reserve was ever established , and when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for monkeys skyrocketed worldwide .
Compounding the problem , the U.S. received about 3 out of 5 research monkeys from China last year , and now , that critical supply chain has been severed , The Atlantic reported .
In January and February , China placed strict bans on the transport and sale of wildlife and required that domestic researchers complete a government approval process for access to monkeys , according to .
There is no equivalent approval process for foreign researchers , such as those based in the U.S. , so China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been frozen .
Related : 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history The NIH funds seven primate centers nationwide , and the agency now dictates who can access its monkeys through an initiative called ( ACTIV ) .
When scientists ask to test COVID-19 treatments on monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center , which is funded by the NIH , `` I have to tell them , ' I ’ m sorry , we are not allowed to start your research , ' '' Van Rompay told The Atlantic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ research , affecting all those who want to test treatments on monkeys but do n't study the .
Primate studies are important because researchers can test a treatment or 's safety and effectiveness without posing any risk to humans .
For instance , because monkeys and humans have similar , an effective coronavirus vaccine should theoretically trigger comparable effects in both , The Atlantic reported .
Related : Here are the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates out there With monkeys , researchers can also study age groups , such as infants , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine trials , Sallie Permar , a vaccine scientist at Duke University , told The Atlantic .
To conserve the nation 's supply of monkeys , labs are sharing primates across multiple studies , Jeffrey Roberts , the associate director of primate services at the California National Primate Research Center , told The Atlantic .
They use the shared monkeys as a control group — a comparison group that does not receive the experimental treatment or vaccine being tested .
Related : Treatments for COVID-19 : Drugs being tested against the coronavirus However @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supply only so far .
`` There needs to be a real national investment to build the infrastructure , not only for this pandemic , but also for the future with the next pandemic , '' Jay Rappaport , the director of the Tulane National Primate Center , told The Atlantic .
But breeding a robust supply of monkeys in the U.S. could take years and meanwhile , the current pandemic rages on .
To learn more about the monkey shortage , read the entire The Atlantic piece .

COVID-19 vaccines and treatments typically get tested in monkeys before being given to humans, but now, those primates are in short supply, The Atlantic reported .
Prior to the pandemic, the U.S. was already approaching a potential monkey shortage, according to a 2018 report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The authors of the report proposed establishing a "strategic monkey reserve" in order to meet future demand, and to provide a buffer in case of "unpredictable disease outbreaks," according to The Atlantic. No reserve was ever established, and when COVID-19 emerged in late 2019, the demand for monkeys skyrocketed worldwide.
Compounding the problem, the U.S. received about 3 out of 5 research monkeys from China last year, and now, that critical supply chain has been severed, The Atlantic reported. In January and February, China placed strict bans on the transport and sale of wildlife and required that domestic researchers complete a government approval process for access to monkeys, according to The Globe and Mail . There is no equivalent approval process for foreign researchers, such as those based in the U.S., so China's export of research monkeys has effectively been frozen.
Related: 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history
The NIH funds seven primate centers nationwide, and the agency now dictates who can access its monkeys through an initiative called Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV).
When scientists ask to test COVID-19 treatments on monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center, which is funded by the NIH, "I have to tell them, 'I’m sorry, we are not allowed to start your research,'" Van Rompay told The Atlantic. The problem extends far beyond COVID-19 research, affecting all those who want to test treatments on monkeys but don't study the coronavirus .
Primate studies are important because researchers can test a treatment or vaccine 's safety and effectiveness without posing any risk to humans. For instance, because monkeys and humans have similar immune systems , an effective coronavirus vaccine should theoretically trigger comparable effects in both, The Atlantic reported.
Related: Here are the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates out there
With monkeys, researchers can also study age groups, such as infants, that may not initially be included in human vaccine trials, Sallie Permar, a vaccine scientist at Duke University, told The Atlantic.
To conserve the nation's supply of monkeys, labs are sharing primates across multiple studies, Jeffrey Roberts, the associate director of primate services at the California National Primate Research Center, told The Atlantic. They use the shared monkeys as a control group — a comparison group that does not receive the experimental treatment or vaccine being tested.
Related: Treatments for COVID-19: Drugs being tested against the coronavirus
However, these measures can stretch the monkey supply only so far. "There needs to be a real national investment to build the infrastructure, not only for this pandemic, but also for the future with the next pandemic," Jay Rappaport, the director of the Tulane National Primate Center, told The Atlantic. But breeding a robust supply of monkeys in the U.S. could take years and meanwhile, the current pandemic rages on.
To learn more about the monkey shortage, read the entire The Atlantic piece here .
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-08-31--US spy satellite launch delayed a week after abort in final seconds

The launch of a new U.S. spy satellite on a massive Delta IV Heavy rocket was delayed at least a week after a last-minute abort prevented an attempted liftoff early Saturday ( Aug. 29 ) .
The abort occurred just three seconds before the planned launch of the clandestine NROL-44 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 3:28 a.m. EDT ( 0728 GMT ) , according to the United Launch Alliance , which built the heavy-lift Delta IV Heavy .
The rocket 's triple-core first stage briefly fired up its three main engines , engulfing the booster 's base @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abort .
`` 3 , 2 , 1 and liftoff ! ''
ULA commentator Dillon Rice said as the engines fired .
A few seconds later , it was clear something went wrong as the Delta IV Heavy remained on the pad of its Space Launch Complex 37B .
`` And standby , we 've obviously had a hotfire abort , '' Dillon said .
Related : Meet the Delta rocket family of the United Launch Alliance Video from the launch pad showed exhaust billowing up the 235-foot-tall ( 72 meters ) rocket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy carrying the NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office was scrubbed today due to an unexpected condition during terminal count at approximately three seconds before liftoff , '' representatives with ULA , which is a collaboration of Boeing and Lockheed Martin , said in a statement .
`` The team is currently reviewing all data and will determine the path forward .
The required recycle time prior to the next launch attempt is seven days minimum . ''
ULA president and CEO Tory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IV Heavy and its payload are in good shape .
`` The bird is in good health , '' Bruno wrote .
`` This was an automatic abort during the ignition sequence .
Cause appears to have been in the ground system .
System functioned as intended to protect the vehicle and payload . ''
The NROL-44 satellite on the Delta IV Heavy is a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office , which oversees U.S. spy satellite operations .
Its exact purpose and design are unknown .
The Delta IV Heavy rocket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can launch payloads of up to 62,540 lbs .
( 28,370 kilograms ) to low Earth orbit and satellites up to 30,440 lbs .
( 13,810 kg ) to geostationary orbit .
Saturday 's launch abort is the second launch delay for the NROL-44 mission .
A planned launch early Thursday ( Aug. 27 ) was postponed due to an issue with ground equipment on the launch pad .
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik @ space.com or follow him @ tariqjmalik .
Follow us @ Spacedotcom , Facebook and Instagram .

A Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the classified NROL-44 U.S. spy satellite is seen in a United Launch Alliance video during a launch abort at Space Launch Complex 37B of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 29, 2020.
The launch of a new U.S. spy satellite on a massive Delta IV Heavy rocket was delayed at least a week after a last-minute abort prevented an attempted liftoff early Saturday (Aug. 29).
The abort occurred just three seconds before the planned launch of the clandestine NROL-44 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 3:28 a.m. EDT (0728 GMT), according to the United Launch Alliance, which built the heavy-lift Delta IV Heavy. The rocket's triple-core first stage briefly fired up its three main engines, engulfing the booster's base in flames before flickering out in the abort.
"3, 2, 1 and liftoff!" ULA commentator Dillon Rice said as the engines fired. A few seconds later, it was clear something went wrong as the Delta IV Heavy remained on the pad of its Space Launch Complex 37B.
"And standby, we've obviously had a hotfire abort," Dillon said.
Related: Meet the Delta rocket family of the United Launch Alliance
Video from the launch pad showed exhaust billowing up the 235-foot-tall (72 meters) rocket after its engines shut down.
"The launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy carrying the NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office was scrubbed today due to an unexpected condition during terminal count at approximately three seconds before liftoff," representatives with ULA, which is a collaboration of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. "The team is currently reviewing all data and will determine the path forward. The required recycle time prior to the next launch attempt is seven days minimum."
ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said on Twitter that the Delta IV Heavy and its payload are in good shape.
"The bird is in good health," Bruno wrote. "This was an automatic abort during the ignition sequence. Cause appears to have been in the ground system. System functioned as intended to protect the vehicle and payload."
The NROL-44 satellite on the Delta IV Heavy is a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees U.S. spy satellite operations. Its exact purpose and design are unknown.
The Delta IV Heavy rocket is ULA's most powerful booster and can launch payloads of up to 62,540 lbs. (28,370 kilograms) to low Earth orbit and satellites up to 30,440 lbs. (13,810 kg) to geostationary orbit.
Saturday's launch abort is the second launch delay for the NROL-44 mission. A planned launch early Thursday (Aug. 27) was postponed due to an issue with ground equipment on the launch pad.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.