livescience--2020-12-10--NASA's spacecraft spots China's Chang'e 5 lander on the moon

NASA 's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of China 's Chang ' e 5 lander on the moon just hours after its historic landing .
The Chang ' e 5 lander set down on the lunar surface last Tuesday , Dec. 1 .
Thanks to China 's prompt release of the stunning Chang ' e 5 landing video , the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera ( LROC ) team were able to locate the roughly 4-ton spacecraft in Oceanus Procellarum , the `` Ocean of Storms , '' and prepare for when LRO would pass overhead the next day .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 lander in the center of three craters .
Automated systems had helped the spacecraft avoid these hazards to land safely .
Related : China on the moon !
A history of Chinese lunar missions in pictures The relatively flat area near the Chang ' e 5 lander was created by basaltic lavas .
While over a billion years old , this unit of basalt is thought to be much younger than the Apollo landing areas , which are aged at over 3 billion years .
Samples are therefore of great interest to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this region was volcanically active much more recently than most other places on the moon .
The image was taken before the Chang ' e 5 ascent vehicle blasted off from the surface with the collected samples .
The ascent vehicle has since performed a spectacular rendezvous and docking with the Chang ' e 5 orbiter and handed over the samples .
Chang ' e 5 will begin its journey to Earth later this week .
The Chang ' e 5 sample return mission is expected to last just 23 days , ending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dec. 17 .
LRO meanwhile has been mapping the moon in high definition for more than 11 years while also hunting for signs of water .
Follow us on Twitter @ Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of China's Chang'e 5 lander on the moon just hours after its historic landing.
The Chang'e 5 lander set down on the lunar surface last Tuesday, Dec. 1. Thanks to China's prompt release of the stunning Chang'e 5 landing video, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team were able to locate the roughly 4-ton spacecraft in Oceanus Procellarum, the "Ocean of Storms," and prepare for when LRO would pass overhead the next day.
The image shows the Chang'e 5 lander in the center of three craters. Automated systems had helped the spacecraft avoid these hazards to land safely.
Related: China on the moon! A history of Chinese lunar missions in pictures
The relatively flat area near the Chang'e 5 lander was created by basaltic lavas. While over a billion years old, this unit of basalt is thought to be much younger than the Apollo landing areas, which are aged at over 3 billion years. Samples are therefore of great interest to scientists, who want to know why this region was volcanically active much more recently than most other places on the moon.
The image was taken before the Chang'e 5 ascent vehicle blasted off from the surface with the collected samples. The ascent vehicle has since performed a spectacular rendezvous and docking with the Chang'e 5 orbiter and handed over the samples. Chang'e 5 will begin its journey to Earth later this week.
A wider view of the Chang'e 5 landing area taken by LRO. (Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)
The Chang'e 5 sample return mission is expected to last just 23 days, ending with a landing in Inner Mongolia around Dec. 17.
LRO meanwhile has been mapping the moon in high definition for more than 11 years while also hunting for signs of water.
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.


livescience--2020-12-10--Fragments of energy may be the fundamental building blocks of the universe

Matter is what makes up the universe , but what makes up matter ?
This question has long been tricky for those who think about it – especially for the physicists .
Reflecting recent trends in physics , my colleague Jeffrey Eischen and I have described an updated way to think about matter .
We propose that matter is not made of particles or waves , as was long thought , but – more fundamentally – that matter is made of fragments of energy .
From five to one The ancient Greeks conceived of five building blocks of matter – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ water , air , fire and aether .
Aether was the matter that filled the heavens and explained the rotation of the stars , as observed from the Earth vantage point .
These were the first most basic elements from which one could build up a world .
Their conceptions of the physical elements did not change dramatically for nearly 2,000 years .
Then , about 300 years ago , Sir Isaac Newton introduced the idea that all matter exists at points called particles .
One hundred fifty years after that , James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the underlying and often invisible form of magnetism , electricity and light .
The particle served as the building block for mechanics and the wave for electromagnetism – and the public settled on the particle and the wave as the two building blocks of matter .
Together , the particles and waves became the building blocks of all kinds of matter .
This was a vast improvement over the ancient Greeks ’ five elements , but was still flawed .
In a famous series of experiments , known as the double-slit experiments , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at other times acts like a wave .
And while the theories and math of waves and particles allow scientists to make incredibly accurate predictions about the universe , the rules break down at the largest and tiniest scales .
Einstein proposed a remedy in his theory of general relativity .
Using the mathematical tools available to him at the time , Einstein was able to better explain certain physical phenomena and also resolve a longstanding paradox relating to inertia and gravity .
But instead of improving on particles or waves , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of space and time .
Using newer mathematical tools , my colleague and I have demonstrated a new theory that may accurately describe the universe .
Instead of basing the theory on the warping of space and time , we considered that there could be a building block that is more fundamental than the particle and the wave .
Scientists understand that particles and waves are existential opposites : A particle is a source of matter that exists at a single point , and waves exist everywhere except at the points that create @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it made logical sense for there to be an underlying connection between them .
Our theory begins with a new fundamental idea – that energy always “ flows ” through regions of space and time .
Think of energy as made up of lines that fill up a region of space and time , flowing into and out of that region , never beginning , never ending and never crossing one another .
Working from the idea of a universe of flowing energy lines , we looked for a single building block for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find and define such a thing , we hoped we could use it to accurately make predictions about the universe at the largest and tiniest scales .
There were many building blocks to choose from mathematically , but we sought one that had the features of both the particle and wave – concentrated like the particle but also spread out over space and time like the wave .
The answer was a building block that looks like a concentration of energy – kind of like a star – having energy that is highest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farther away from the center .
Much to our surprise , we discovered that there were only a limited number of ways to describe a concentration of energy that flows .
Of those , we found just one that works in accordance with our mathematical definition of flow .
We named it a fragment of energy .
For the math and physics aficionados , it is defined as A = -⍺/r where ⍺ is intensity and r is the distance function .
Using the fragment of energy as a building block of matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solve physics problems .
The final step was to test it out .
More than 100 ago , Einstein had turned to two legendary problems in physics to validate general relativity : the ever-so-slight yearly shift – or precession – in Mercury ’ s orbit , and the tiny bending of light as it passes the Sun .
These problems were at the two extremes of the size spectrum .
Neither wave nor particle theories of matter could solve them , but general relativity did .
The theory of general relativity warped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cause the trajectory of Mercury to shift and light to bend in precisely the amounts seen in astronomical observations .
If our new theory was to have a chance at replacing the particle and the wave with the presumably more fundamental fragment , we would have to be able to solve these problems with our theory , too .
[ Deep knowledge , daily .
Sign up for The Conversation ’ s newsletter . ]
For the precession-of-Mercury problem , we modeled the Sun as an enormous stationary fragment of energy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow-moving fragment of energy .
For the bending-of-light problem , the Sun was modeled the same way , but the photon was modeled as a minuscule fragment of energy moving at the speed of light .
In both problems , we calculated the trajectories of the moving fragments and got the same answers as those predicted by the theory of general relativity .
We were stunned .
Our initial work demonstrated how a new building block is capable of accurately modeling bodies from the enormous to the minuscule .
Where particles and waves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building block held strong .
The fragment could be a single potentially universal building block from which to model reality mathematically – and update the way people think about the building blocks of the universe .
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 @ @

Matter is what makes up the universe, but what makes up matter? This question has long been tricky for those who think about it – especially for the physicists. Reflecting recent trends in physics, my colleague Jeffrey Eischen and I have described an updated way to think about matter. We propose that matter is not made of particles or waves, as was long thought, but – more fundamentally – that matter is made of fragments of energy.
From five to one
The ancient Greeks conceived of five building blocks of matter – from bottom to top: earth, water, air, fire and aether. Aether was the matter that filled the heavens and explained the rotation of the stars, as observed from the Earth vantage point. These were the first most basic elements from which one could build up a world. Their conceptions of the physical elements did not change dramatically for nearly 2,000 years.
Then, about 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton introduced the idea that all matter exists at points called particles. One hundred fifty years after that, James Clerk Maxwell introduced the electromagnetic wave – the underlying and often invisible form of magnetism, electricity and light. The particle served as the building block for mechanics and the wave for electromagnetism – and the public settled on the particle and the wave as the two building blocks of matter. Together, the particles and waves became the building blocks of all kinds of matter.
This was a vast improvement over the ancient Greeks’ five elements, but was still flawed. In a famous series of experiments, known as the double-slit experiments, light sometimes acts like a particle and at other times acts like a wave. And while the theories and math of waves and particles allow scientists to make incredibly accurate predictions about the universe, the rules break down at the largest and tiniest scales.
Einstein proposed a remedy in his theory of general relativity. Using the mathematical tools available to him at the time, Einstein was able to better explain certain physical phenomena and also resolve a longstanding paradox relating to inertia and gravity. But instead of improving on particles or waves, he eliminated them as he proposed the warping of space and time.
Using newer mathematical tools, my colleague and I have demonstrated a new theory that may accurately describe the universe. Instead of basing the theory on the warping of space and time, we considered that there could be a building block that is more fundamental than the particle and the wave. Scientists understand that particles and waves are existential opposites: A particle is a source of matter that exists at a single point, and waves exist everywhere except at the points that create them. My colleague and I thought it made logical sense for there to be an underlying connection between them.
Flow and fragments of energy
Our theory begins with a new fundamental idea – that energy always “flows” through regions of space and time.
Think of energy as made up of lines that fill up a region of space and time, flowing into and out of that region, never beginning, never ending and never crossing one another.
Working from the idea of a universe of flowing energy lines, we looked for a single building block for the flowing energy. If we could find and define such a thing, we hoped we could use it to accurately make predictions about the universe at the largest and tiniest scales.
There were many building blocks to choose from mathematically, but we sought one that had the features of both the particle and wave – concentrated like the particle but also spread out over space and time like the wave. The answer was a building block that looks like a concentration of energy – kind of like a star – having energy that is highest at the center and that gets smaller farther away from the center.
Much to our surprise, we discovered that there were only a limited number of ways to describe a concentration of energy that flows. Of those, we found just one that works in accordance with our mathematical definition of flow. We named it a fragment of energy. For the math and physics aficionados, it is defined as A = -⍺/r where ⍺ is intensity and r is the distance function.
Using the fragment of energy as a building block of matter, we then constructed the math necessary to solve physics problems. The final step was to test it out.
Back to Einstein, adding universality
More than 100 ago, Einstein had turned to two legendary problems in physics to validate general relativity: the ever-so-slight yearly shift – or precession – in Mercury’s orbit, and the tiny bending of light as it passes the Sun.
These problems were at the two extremes of the size spectrum. Neither wave nor particle theories of matter could solve them, but general relativity did. The theory of general relativity warped space and time in such way as to cause the trajectory of Mercury to shift and light to bend in precisely the amounts seen in astronomical observations.
If our new theory was to have a chance at replacing the particle and the wave with the presumably more fundamental fragment, we would have to be able to solve these problems with our theory, too.
[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]
For the precession-of-Mercury problem, we modeled the Sun as an enormous stationary fragment of energy and Mercury as a smaller but still enormous slow-moving fragment of energy. For the bending-of-light problem, the Sun was modeled the same way, but the photon was modeled as a minuscule fragment of energy moving at the speed of light. In both problems, we calculated the trajectories of the moving fragments and got the same answers as those predicted by the theory of general relativity. We were stunned.
Our initial work demonstrated how a new building block is capable of accurately modeling bodies from the enormous to the minuscule. Where particles and waves break down, the fragment of energy building block held strong. The fragment could be a single potentially universal building block from which to model reality mathematically – and update the way people think about the building blocks of the universe.
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--2020-12-10--This is what a supernova sounds like, according to 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 `` `` 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 center — which has been imaging distant galaxies with its Chandra X-ray observatory for 20 years now .
( Apparently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not enough for them . )
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 .
Take the following video of the ( a supernova remnant powered by a windy ) .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increases from the bottom of the image to the top , so many tones are audible at the same time .
The sounds converge near the center of the nebula , where a rapidly swirling pulsar is blasting gas and radiation in all directions .
Listen below : The agency posted two more videos .
One shows the Bullet Cluster — two clusters of galaxies slowly colliding with one another , about 3.7 billion light-years from Earth .
This collision provided the first direct evidence of the existence of , which is causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the image to appear larger and closer through a process called , according to NASA .
Those blue , dark-matter-y regions are represented with the lowest sound frequencies in the video below , with X-ray light represented with the highest frequencies .
The final video shows a supernova explosion called Supernova 1987A , named for the year its light first reached Earth from the Large Magellanic Cloud ( a satellite galaxy about 168,000 light-years away ) .
Unlike the other two videos , which pan over the image from left to right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatment .
As a crosshair swoops around the edge of the nova 's gassy halo , the image gradually transforms to show the explosion 's evolution between 1999 and 2013 .
The brighter the halo becomes , the higher and louder the pitches sound .
The ring of gas reaches peak brightness as the supernova shock-wave ripples through it , according to NASA , resulting in the loudest , highest pitches at the video 's end .
So , now you can tell your friends what a supernova , a neutron star and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like … in one sense , anyway .

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. (Apparently, just seeing the wonders of the cosmos was not enough for them.) 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.
Take the following video of the crab nebula (a supernova remnant powered by a windy neutron star ). 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 pitch of each instrument family increases from the bottom of the image to the top, so many tones are audible at the same time. The sounds converge near the center of the nebula, where a rapidly swirling pulsar is blasting gas and radiation in all directions. Listen below:
Related: 12 trippy objects hidden in the Zodiac
The agency posted two more videos in a statement . One shows the Bullet Cluster — two clusters of galaxies slowly colliding with one another, about 3.7 billion light-years from Earth. This collision provided the first direct evidence of the existence of dark matter , which is causing distant galaxies in the two blue regions of the image to appear larger and closer through a process called gravitational lensing , according to NASA. Those blue, dark-matter-y regions are represented with the lowest sound frequencies in the video below, with X-ray light represented with the highest frequencies.
The final video shows a supernova explosion called Supernova 1987A, named for the year its light first reached Earth from the Large Magellanic Cloud (a satellite galaxy about 168,000 light-years away). Unlike the other two videos, which pan over the image from left to right, this supernova gets a special time-lapse treatment. As a crosshair swoops around the edge of the nova's gassy halo, the image gradually transforms to show the explosion's evolution between 1999 and 2013. The brighter the halo becomes, the higher and louder the pitches sound. The ring of gas reaches peak brightness as the supernova shock-wave ripples through it, according to NASA, resulting in the loudest, highest pitches at the video's end.
So, now you can tell your friends what a supernova, a neutron star and a great heap of dark matter sound like … in one sense, anyway.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-12-10--Coronavirus outbreak: Live Updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live Updates

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 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Times reported .
Several countries have already authorized Pfizer 's vaccine , including Canada , the United Kingdom and Bahrain .
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 , .
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 from the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .
Canada has authorized Pfizer 's new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .
`` 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 .
The U.K. 's Regulatory Agency is advising people with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vaccination , he added .
`` One has to remember that even things like marmite [ a quintessential British food spread ] can cause unexpected severe allergic reactions.
” 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 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) .
The documents were released on Tuesday ( Dec. 8 ) , two days before a meeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which will vote on whether to recommend authorization of the vaccine in the U.S , .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that even one dose provides some protection , the report said .
However , scientists do n'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 .
Overall , the vaccine was 52 % effective after the first dose and 95 % effective after the second dose , the report said .
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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) review published Tuesday ( Dec. 8 ) confirmed that Pfizer 's vaccine is safe and effective , according to The Washington Post .

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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--2020-12-10--How to watch the northern lights across far northern US tonight

A small northern slice of the United States could get a rare glimpse of the northern lights on Thursday ( Dec. 10 ) night .
A geomagnetic storm may cause the lights , or aurora borealis , to dip more southward than usual , according to .
Earlier this week , there was hope that the northern lights might dip well into the United States , with aurora visible as far south as New England and Chicago , but now it appears that the best views will be within Canada and perhaps around the U.S-Canada border .
The aurora borealis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hemisphere , the aurora australis ) are caused by the solar wind , a stream of charged particles that emanates from the sun and interacts with E .These charged particles excite and molecules in the atmosphere .
As the molecules return to their regular state , they emit particles of light called photons .
These photons create the ghostly , dancing colors that make up the aurora .
Typically , the lights appear only near the poles .
But when the geomagnetic disturbance to the atmosphere is particularly strong , they can appear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) maintains a 30- to 90-minute forecast of the aurora , providing the most up-to-date predictions of who might be able to view the phenomenon .
Modeling had suggested a possible view of the aurora across North America on Wednesday ( Dec. 9 ) , but solar wind quickly trailed off , leading to limited views , according to .
The sun did release a burst of energy , called a coronal mass ejection , but the zipped by Earth instead of hitting the atmosphere directly .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Solar storms do n't only cause the northern lights .
They can also interfere with satellite communications .
The sun 's activity fluctuates in predictable 11-year cycles ; solar cycle 25 began in January 2020 , .
It 's expected to be a relatively quiet 11 years , with a peak of sunspot activity expected in summer 2025 .

A small northern slice of the United States could get a rare glimpse of the northern lights on Thursday (Dec. 10) night.
A geomagnetic storm may cause the lights, or aurora borealis, to dip more southward than usual, according to Space Weather Watch . Earlier this week, there was hope that the northern lights might dip well into the United States, with aurora visible as far south as New England and Chicago, but now it appears that the best views will be within Canada and perhaps around the U.S-Canada border.
The aurora borealis (and their cousins in the Southern Hemisphere, the aurora australis) are caused by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that emanates from the sun and interacts with E arth's upper atmosphere .These charged particles excite oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere. As the molecules return to their regular state, they emit particles of light called photons. These photons create the ghostly, dancing colors that make up the aurora.
Related: Aurora photos: Northern lights dazzle in night-sky images
Typically, the lights appear only near the poles. But when the geomagnetic disturbance to the atmosphere is particularly strong, they can appear at lower latitudes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a 30- to 90-minute forecast of the aurora , providing the most up-to-date predictions of who might be able to view the phenomenon.
Modeling had suggested a possible view of the aurora across North America on Wednesday (Dec. 9), but solar wind quickly trailed off, leading to limited views, according to Space Weather Watch . The sun did release a burst of energy, called a coronal mass ejection, but the bulk of the particles released zipped by Earth instead of hitting the atmosphere directly. This led to a downgrading of the forecast.
Solar storms don't only cause the northern lights. They can also interfere with satellite communications. The sun's activity fluctuates in predictable 11-year cycles; solar cycle 25 began in January 2020, Live Science previously reported . It's expected to be a relatively quiet 11 years, with a peak of sunspot activity expected in summer 2025.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-12-10--People sometimes prefer burning hot pain to thinking too hard

When faced with a challenging mental task , some people would rather endure literal pain than use their brain power .
According to a new study , published Nov. 17 in the journal , the prospect of performing a difficult mental task can be just as off-putting as the threat of a painful experience , like having a scalding hot object held on your skin .
In the study , participants could either subject themselves to this uncomfortable , thermal pain or they could complete a task — the choice was up to them .
`` So your first thought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choose pain ? ''
said study lead author Todd Vogel , a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal , Canada .
`` These cognitive activities … they suck .
They 're not fun .
But they 're harmless , '' in that they do n't cause bodily harm or discomfort , Vogel said .
You might assume that people would always choose the harmless option over the harmful one , but you 'd be wrong .
In fact , only one out of 39 participants in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every time , rather than occasionally take the pain .
For all the others , pain was the more appealing option at least some of the time .
`` I think that was most surprising , that this seemed to be consistent across people , '' Vogel told Live Science .
The idea that people will avoid exerting mental effort , given the option , is not new ; it 's at least been discussed since the days of William James , an influential 19th century psychologist , said Amitai Shenhav , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Linguistic and Psychological Sciences at Brown University , who was not involved in the study .
Intuitively , we know that mental effort can be exhausting — we agonize over writing that 20-page essay for class or dread doing our taxes .
But just how far will people go to avoid a draining mental task ?
That 's a harder question to answer , Shenhav said .
In past experiments , scientists tested whether people preferred performing simple tasks over difficult ones , or they offered people rewards for completing tough tasks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be , he said .
The new study gets at the problem more directly by introducing a new element : physical pain .
`` We think that doing cognitive tasks … is aversive , and that 's what this experiment addressed by comparing it to something we know is aversive , '' Shenhav said .
`` I think the methods are just elegant . ''
For their experiment , the authors first tested their participants ' individual pain thresholds using a device called a `` thermosensory stimulator , '' which heats up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so as not to injure the .
Participants rated how much pain they experienced at different temperatures , from zero to 100 , with zero being `` no pain '' and 100 being `` very intense pain . ''
These ratings would become important later on .
The participants then performed a tricky memory task called the N-back .
During the task , participants see a series of items pop up on a screen ; in this case , different letters .
As each letter appears , they are asked to confirm whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ earlier in the sequence ; for example , in a `` two-back , '' the participants recall which letter appeared two places previous .
The farther back they 're asked to remember , the more challenging the task becomes .
The new study included five levels of the N-back , with four-back being the most difficult and zero-back being the least .
( In the zero-back , participants do n't have to remember anything , but simply confirm whether the letter on screen is an `` X '' or not . )
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , rated from ten to 80 out of 100 .
These N-back and pain levels were mixed and matched throughout the study , giving participants the choice to choose one or the other each round .
`` If you have the option between the highest pain option and the lowest effort option , we expected people to choose the effort , '' Vogel noted .
`` And we also expected the opposite to probably be true , '' when low-pain was paired with high-effort , he said .
But between those two extremes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were more evenly matched , what would happen then ?
The authors found that , across all the trials , people on average chose the pain option 28 % of the time ; this overall average does n't take the different levels of pain and effort into account .
Notably , when you specifically look at cases where the most intense pain option was paired with the four-back , people also opted for the pain about 28 % of the time , on average .
At intermediate levels of effort and pain , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became roughly equivalent .
`` At some point , in terms of how you value them , they are the same , '' Vogel said .
`` There 's a point where … if you have to choose between the two , it would be like flipping a coin . ''
That suggests that , at some level , pain and mental effort share similar repulsive qualities .
That said , `` there 's something special about pain , '' Vogel said .
When their participants picked their poison each round , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their decision .
When they chose to tackle another round of the N-back rather than accept searing pain , the participants were relatively quick to decide , as if there was motivation to escape .
But when they chose pain over the task , there was a consistent hint of hesitation — perhaps a deep-seated impulse to avoid the sensation .
So our avoidance of pain may be more fundamental than our distaste for mental effort , Vogel said .
`` You move your hand away from a hot stove , and you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' he said , but our avoidance of mental tasks likely stems from a more active decision-making process .
Of course , there are occasions where people seek out cognitive effort , rather than avoid it , such as when they work through a sudoku puzzle or pick up a book on a challenging subject .
In the new study , participants who reported finding mental tasks `` intrinsically rewarding '' were slightly more likely to select the N-back over pain , compared with those who find mental tasks less rewarding .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ participants sometimes took the heat .
Shenhav said that these patterns likely hold up with a variety of mental tasks , not just memory challenges like the N-back .
However , there is still a question about what makes brain draining tasks so aversive in the first place .
`` In addition to doing this hard work [ during a task ] , you 're experiencing the expectation that you might make a mistake , '' Shenhav said .
When we avoid mental effort , there 's a question as to how much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the thought of effort itself , and how much stems from the anxiety of getting something wrong , he said .
To begin to address this question in future experiments , people could be surveyed about their feelings toward the task , their perceived likelihood of making mistakes and how they feel about making mistakes — for instance , whether they worry or feel anxious , he suggested .
Future studies could also pit cognitive effort against other unpleasant sensations , such as electric shocks , the stench of rotten eggs or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study , published in 2014 in the journal , some people decided they would rather undergo mild electric shocks than sit in a room alone with their thoughts .
It would be interesting to see what people might do if presented with the option to do a task , experience pain or just sit there , Shenhav said .
Vogel said , in the future , he 'd also be interested in comparing whether these experimental results would differ between healthy people and those in clinical populations , including those with chronic pain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

When faced with a challenging mental task, some people would rather endure literal pain than use their brain power.
According to a new study, published Nov. 17 in the journal eLife , the prospect of performing a difficult mental task can be just as off-putting as the threat of a painful experience, like having a scalding hot object held on your skin. In the study, participants could either subject themselves to this uncomfortable, thermal pain or they could complete a memory task — the choice was up to them.
"So your first thought would be, why would you ever choose pain?" said study lead author Todd Vogel, a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "These cognitive activities … they suck. They're not fun. But they're harmless," in that they don't cause bodily harm or discomfort, Vogel said. You might assume that people would always choose the harmless option over the harmful one, but you'd be wrong.
Related: 5 surprising facts about pain
In fact, only one out of 39 participants in the study opted to perform the memory task every time, rather than occasionally take the pain. For all the others, pain was the more appealing option at least some of the time.
"I think that was most surprising, that this seemed to be consistent across people," Vogel told Live Science.
The idea that people will avoid exerting mental effort, given the option, is not new; it's at least been discussed since the days of William James, an influential 19th century psychologist, said Amitai Shenhav, an assistant professor in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences at Brown University, who was not involved in the study. Intuitively, we know that mental effort can be exhausting — we agonize over writing that 20-page essay for class or dread doing our taxes.
But just how far will people go to avoid a draining mental task? That's a harder question to answer, Shenhav said. In past experiments, scientists tested whether people preferred performing simple tasks over difficult ones, or they offered people rewards for completing tough tasks, to see how steep their price would be, he said. The new study gets at the problem more directly by introducing a new element: physical pain.
"We think that doing cognitive tasks … is aversive, and that's what this experiment addressed by comparing it to something we know is aversive," Shenhav said. "I think the methods are just elegant."
For their experiment, the authors first tested their participants' individual pain thresholds using a device called a "thermosensory stimulator," which heats up to a set temperature and cools quickly, so as not to injure the skin . Participants rated how much pain they experienced at different temperatures, from zero to 100, with zero being "no pain" and 100 being "very intense pain." These ratings would become important later on.
The participants then performed a tricky memory task called the N-back. During the task, participants see a series of items pop up on a screen; in this case, different letters. As each letter appears, they are asked to confirm whether the on-screen letter matches one that appeared earlier in the sequence; for example, in a "two-back," the participants recall which letter appeared two places previous. The farther back they're asked to remember, the more challenging the task becomes.
The new study included five levels of the N-back, with four-back being the most difficult and zero-back being the least. (In the zero-back, participants don't have to remember anything, but simply confirm whether the letter on screen is an "X" or not.) The experiment also included five levels of pain, rated from ten to 80 out of 100. These N-back and pain levels were mixed and matched throughout the study, giving participants the choice to choose one or the other each round.
"If you have the option between the highest pain option and the lowest effort option, we expected people to choose the effort," Vogel noted. "And we also expected the opposite to probably be true," when low-pain was paired with high-effort, he said. But between those two extremes, where the pain and effort levels were more evenly matched, what would happen then?
Related: From dino brains to thought control — 10 fascinating brain findings
The authors found that, across all the trials, people on average chose the pain option 28% of the time; this overall average doesn't take the different levels of pain and effort into account. Notably, when you specifically look at cases where the most intense pain option was paired with the four-back, people also opted for the pain about 28% of the time, on average. At intermediate levels of effort and pain, there was a point where the two became roughly equivalent.
"At some point, in terms of how you value them, they are the same," Vogel said. "There's a point where … if you have to choose between the two, it would be like flipping a coin." That suggests that, at some level, pain and mental effort share similar repulsive qualities.
That said, "there's something special about pain," Vogel said. When their participants picked their poison each round, the study authors timed how quickly they made their decision. When they chose to tackle another round of the N-back rather than accept searing pain, the participants were relatively quick to decide, as if there was motivation to escape. But when they chose pain over the task, there was a consistent hint of hesitation — perhaps a deep-seated impulse to avoid the sensation.
So our avoidance of pain may be more fundamental than our distaste for mental effort, Vogel said. "You move your hand away from a hot stove, and you don't have to think about it," he said, but our avoidance of mental tasks likely stems from a more active decision-making process.
Of course, there are occasions where people seek out cognitive effort, rather than avoid it, such as when they work through a sudoku puzzle or pick up a book on a challenging subject. In the new study, participants who reported finding mental tasks "intrinsically rewarding" were slightly more likely to select the N-back over pain, compared with those who find mental tasks less rewarding. But as effort increased, even these participants sometimes took the heat.
Shenhav said that these patterns likely hold up with a variety of mental tasks, not just memory challenges like the N-back. However, there is still a question about what makes brain draining tasks so aversive in the first place.
"In addition to doing this hard work [during a task], you're experiencing the expectation that you might make a mistake," Shenhav said. When we avoid mental effort, there's a question as to how much of that aversion can be chalked up to the thought of effort itself, and how much stems from the anxiety of getting something wrong, he said. To begin to address this question in future experiments, people could be surveyed about their feelings toward the task, their perceived likelihood of making mistakes and how they feel about making mistakes — for instance, whether they worry or feel anxious, he suggested.
Future studies could also pit cognitive effort against other unpleasant sensations, such as electric shocks, the stench of rotten eggs or even social discomfort. In one shocking study, published in 2014 in the journal Science , some people decided they would rather undergo mild electric shocks than sit in a room alone with their thoughts. It would be interesting to see what people might do if presented with the option to do a task, experience pain or just sit there, Shenhav said.
Vogel said, in the future, he'd also be interested in comparing whether these experimental results would differ between healthy people and those in clinical populations, including those with chronic pain or mood disorders, such as depression.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-12-10--Gold coin stash from time of Henry VIII found in English garden

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 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 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 Thursday ( Dec. 10 ) .
The coins were likely buried in about 1540 , while King Henry VIII was still alive , but it 's unknown whether this burial spot was like a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coins , or whether the hoard was buried all at once , according to the British Museum .
Whoever saved the coins , however , was a person of means : The collection was worth about £24 at the time , the equivalent of $ 18,600 ( £14,000 ) today , Barrie Cook , a curator of medieval and early modern coins at the British Museum , .
That 's much more than the average annual wage during Tudor times .
In all likelihood , a wealthy merchant or clergy member buried the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expert from the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford , told The Guardian .
`` You have this period in the late 1530s and 1540s where you have the Dissolution of the Monasteries , and we do know that some churches did try to hide their wealth , hoping they would be able to keep it in the long-term , '' he said .
The newfound coins are `` an important hoard , '' Naylor added .
`` You do n't get these big gold hoards very often from this period .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's a mystery why the initials of Henry 's wives were present .
In 1526 , Henry and Thomas Wolsey , an English archbishop , statesman and cardinal of the Catholic Church , redid the monetary system , changing coins ' weights and beginning new denominations , such as the five-shilling gold coin , The Guardian reported .
`` Not only does he change denominations , he has this very strange decision of putting his wife 's initial on the coin , '' Cook said .
Such a move had no precedent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marriages ( six in all ) , the initials changed frequently .
But after his third marriage to Jane Seymour , the mother of Edward VI who died shortly after childbirth , Henry discontinued the practice , meaning that his following wives ( Anne of Cleves , Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr ) did not see their initials on English money .
The hoard is just one of over 47,000 artifacts documented by PAS in 2020 .
Another newfound , notable hoard includes the 50 South African Krugerrand minted during apartheid in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ buried in a garden , was unearthed in the town of Milton Keynes , about 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) northwest of London .
Each of the 50 coins weighs 1 oz ( 28 grams ) and is made of solid gold , the museum reported .
`` How they ended up in Milton Keynes and why they were buried are , for the moment , a mystery , '' museum officials wrote in the statement .
An official in Milton Keynes is trying to find the coins ' original owner or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fitting that depicts the Greek Titan god Oceanus framed by seaweed fronds and hovering above dolphins and snakes , dating to A.D. 43-200 , that was found in Hampshire , England .
• A lead-alloy medieval seal matrix depicting David , Bishop of St Andrews , who lived during the 13th century , which may have been a modern forgery .
• A medieval mount featuring the white boar of Richard III ( ruled 1483-85 ) that was found in Devon , England .
The mount , made of copper-alloy , gold , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a low-slung belt over armor .
To browse through other findings in PAS , visit the database .

A newfound stash of 63 gold and one silver coin dates from the time of Edward IV to Henry VIII.
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).
Related: In photos: Treasure ship holding gold and emeralds discovered
The coins were likely buried in about 1540, while King Henry VIII was still alive, but it's unknown whether this burial spot was like a piggy bank, where someone regularly deposited coins, or whether the hoard was buried all at once, according to the British Museum. Whoever saved the coins, however, was a person of means: The collection was worth about £24 at the time, the equivalent of $18,600 (£14,000) today, Barrie Cook, a curator of medieval and early modern coins at the British Museum, told The Guardian . That's much more than the average annual wage during Tudor times.
In all likelihood, a wealthy merchant or clergy member buried the hoard, John Naylor, a coin expert from the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford, told The Guardian. "You have this period in the late 1530s and 1540s where you have the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and we do know that some churches did try to hide their wealth, hoping they would be able to keep it in the long-term," he said.
The newfound coins are "an important hoard," Naylor added. "You don't get these big gold hoards very often from this period."
A family in England found this stash of gold coins while weeding in their garden. (Image credit: © The Trustees of the British Museum)
As for the coins themselves, it's a mystery why the initials of Henry's wives were present. In 1526, Henry and Thomas Wolsey, an English archbishop, statesman and cardinal of the Catholic Church, redid the monetary system, changing coins' weights and beginning new denominations, such as the five-shilling gold coin, The Guardian reported.
"Not only does he change denominations, he has this very strange decision of putting his wife's initial on the coin," Cook said. Such a move had no precedent. And given Henry VIII's many marriages (six in all), the initials changed frequently. But after his third marriage to Jane Seymour, the mother of Edward VI who died shortly after childbirth, Henry discontinued the practice, meaning that his following wives (Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr) did not see their initials on English money.
Related: Photos: Mosaic glass dishes and bronze jugs from Roman England
Image 1 of 2 The South African Krugerrand gold coins, dating to the 1970s, were found in the UK town of Milton Keynes. (Image credit: © Courtesy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme) Each of the South African Krugerrand coins is made from solid gold. (Image credit: © Courtesy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme)
The hoard is just one of over 47,000 artifacts documented by PAS in 2020. Another newfound, notable hoard includes the 50 South African Krugerrand minted during apartheid in the 1970s. This stash, also found buried in a garden, was unearthed in the town of Milton Keynes, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of London. Each of the 50 coins weighs 1 oz (28 grams) and is made of solid gold, the museum reported.
"How they ended up in Milton Keynes and why they were buried are, for the moment, a mystery," museum officials wrote in the statement. An official in Milton Keynes is trying to find the coins' original owner or heirs.
Other notable finds documented by PAS include:
A copper-alloy Roman furniture fitting that depicts the Greek Titan god Oceanus framed by seaweed fronds and hovering above dolphins and snakes, dating to A.D. 43-200, that was found in Hampshire, England.
A lead-alloy medieval seal matrix depicting David, Bishop of St Andrews, who lived during the 13th century, which may have been a modern forgery.
A medieval mount featuring the white boar of Richard III (ruled 1483-85) that was found in Devon, England. The mount, made of copper-alloy, gold, silver and enamel, was probably worn on a low-slung belt over armor.
Image 1 of 3 The Roman furniture fixture, featuring the Greek god Oceanus. (Image credit: © Courtesy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme) The seal matrix of David, Bishop of St Andrews. It may be a forgery. (Image credit: © Courtesy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme) The medieval belt mount, featuring the white boar of Richard III. (Image credit: © Courtesy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme)
To browse through other findings in PAS, visit the database.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-12-10--Human-made stuff now outweighs every living thing on Earth

All of the Amazon 's splendid greenery .
Every fish in the Pacific .
Every microbe underfoot .
Every elephant on the plains , every flower , fungus , and fruit-fly in the fields , no longer outweighs the sheer amount of stuff humans have made .
Estimates on the total mass of human-made material suggest 2020 is the year we overtake the combined dry weight of every living thing on Earth .
Go back to a time before humans first took to ploughing fields and tending livestock , and you 'd find our planet was coated in a biosphere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Thanks in no small part to our habit of farming , mining , and building highways where forests once grew , this figure has now halved .
According to a small team of environmental researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel , the mass of items constructed by humans – everything from skyscrapers to buttons – has grown so much , this year could be the point when biomass and mass production match up .
The exact timing of this landmark event depends on how we define the exact point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crude oil changes from natural resource to manufactured item .
But given we 're currently rearranging roughly 30 gigatonnes of nature into anything from IKEA bookcases to luxury apartments each year ( a rate that 's been doubling every 20 years since the early 1900s ) , such fuzziness will be arbitrary soon enough .
The researchers draw our attention to this depressing moment in history as a symbol of our growing dominance over the planet .
`` Beyond biomass , as the global effect of humanity accelerates , it is becoming ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the material flows of our socioeconomic system , also known as the socio-economic metabolism , '' the researchers write in their report .
Concern over society 's metaphorical expanding waistline is n't new .
Researchers have been crunching the numbers on humanity 's gluttony for energy and raw materials for years .
When it comes to calculating the mass of resources being gobbled up by our industrial complexes , past studies have generally focussed their estimates on primary productivity .
This is n't really all that surprising .
From mowing down forests for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fish stocks , we 're increasingly aware that our hunger for T-bone steaks and convenient tins of tuna in spring water comes at a great ecological cost .
While it 's important to keep the greener parts of our environment in mind , this study shows why our insatiable hunger for sand , concrete , and asphalt should n't be ignored , given the contribution infrastructure makes to our overall consumption .
`` The anthropogenic mass , whose accumulation is documented in this study , does not arise out of the biomass stock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher stock of mostly rocks and minerals , '' the team notes .
The numbers can be hard to visualize .
If the total mass of all humans exceeds 300 million tonnes , we could say there 's another 3.8 tonnes of cookware , jumbo jets , microwaves and backyard swimming pools on Earth each year for every single one of us .
Yet not all of us have an equal share in the benefits of this growth , nor do we all have the same influence over it .
Given our obsession @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our increasing rate of consumption , slowing it down will require rethinking the very foundations of how we function as a global society .
The prognosis of a future that 's more concrete than forest is far from novel .
But with 2020 serving as a symbolic crossroads into a new epoch of human consumption , there 's no better time to act .
This research was published in Nature .
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert .
Read the original article here .

All of the Amazon's splendid greenery. Every fish in the Pacific. Every microbe underfoot. Every elephant on the plains, every flower, fungus, and fruit-fly in the fields, no longer outweighs the sheer amount of stuff humans have made.
Estimates on the total mass of human-made material suggest 2020 is the year we overtake the combined dry weight of every living thing on Earth.
Go back to a time before humans first took to ploughing fields and tending livestock, and you'd find our planet was coated in a biosphere that weighed around 2 x 10^12 tonnes.
Thanks in no small part to our habit of farming, mining, and building highways where forests once grew, this figure has now halved.
According to a small team of environmental researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the mass of items constructed by humans – everything from skyscrapers to buttons – has grown so much, this year could be the point when biomass and mass production match up.
The exact timing of this landmark event depends on how we define the exact point a chunk of rock or drop of crude oil changes from natural resource to manufactured item.
But given we're currently rearranging roughly 30 gigatonnes of nature into anything from IKEA bookcases to luxury apartments each year (a rate that's been doubling every 20 years since the early 1900s), such fuzziness will be arbitrary soon enough.
The researchers draw our attention to this depressing moment in history as a symbol of our growing dominance over the planet.
"Beyond biomass, as the global effect of humanity accelerates, it is becoming ever more imperative to quantitatively assess and monitor the material flows of our socioeconomic system, also known as the socio-economic metabolism," the researchers write in their report.
Concern over society's metaphorical expanding waistline isn't new. Researchers have been crunching the numbers on humanity's gluttony for energy and raw materials for years.
When it comes to calculating the mass of resources being gobbled up by our industrial complexes, past studies have generally focussed their estimates on primary productivity.
This isn't really all that surprising. From mowing down forests for agriculture to plundering the oceans for their fish stocks, we're increasingly aware that our hunger for T-bone steaks and convenient tins of tuna in spring water comes at a great ecological cost.
While it's important to keep the greener parts of our environment in mind, this study shows why our insatiable hunger for sand, concrete, and asphalt shouldn't be ignored, given the contribution infrastructure makes to our overall consumption.
"The anthropogenic mass, whose accumulation is documented in this study, does not arise out of the biomass stock but from the transformation of the orders-of-magnitude higher stock of mostly rocks and minerals," the team notes.
The numbers can be hard to visualize. If the total mass of all humans exceeds 300 million tonnes, we could say there's another 3.8 tonnes of cookware, jumbo jets, microwaves and backyard swimming pools on Earth each year for every single one of us.
Yet not all of us have an equal share in the benefits of this growth, nor do we all have the same influence over it.
Given our obsession with economic growth plays a major factor in our increasing rate of consumption, slowing it down will require rethinking the very foundations of how we function as a global society.
The prognosis of a future that's more concrete than forest is far from novel. But with 2020 serving as a symbolic crossroads into a new epoch of human consumption, there's no better time to act.
This research was published in Nature.
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert. Read the original article here.


livescience--2020-12-10--Your skin should be toxic to ticks. Here's why it's not.

A toxin from an ancient bacteria helps ticks survive and transmit Lyme disease to the humans they feed on , a new study finds .
Eons of competition between bacteria have led many to develop antibacterial substances to survive ; and through a process known as `` horizontal gene transfer , '' some of these genes that carry instructions for creating these antibacterial substances hopped across species from bacteria to other types of organisms .
About 40 million years ago , the deer tick ( Ixodes scapularis ) acquired just such a potent antibacterial enzyme from an ancient bacteria , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For the new study , some of the same researchers sought to understand how this toxin — after years of evolving inside the tick — affects the critters .
Related : 5 things to know about the new tick species in the US To do this , the researchers tested the toxin known as a domesticated amidase effector or Dae2 against different types of bacteria in the lab .
They found that Dae2 efficiently killed mammalian skin microbes such as Staphylococci , but did not kill Borrelia burgdorferi , the bacteria that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lyme disease when transmitted to humans .
Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can cause fever , headache , fatigue and a bulls-eye-like skin rash , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
They also found that the toxin is secreted into the tick 's digestive system while the parasite is feeding , and from there passes from saliva to the site of the tick bite .
When they blocked Dae2 in deer ticks and exposed them to bacteria that 's found on human skin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a statement .
In other words , this toxin allows ticks to safely feed on human and mammalian blood .
This protection allows the ticks to spend a long time feeding , enough for the Lyme bacteria to move from the ticks to humans .
`` What 's stable and harmonious for the ticks is bad for us , and what 's stable and harmonious with our skin is bad for ticks , '' senior author Seemay Chou , a professor of biochemistry at University of California San Francisco , told Live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that researchers have identified a specific bacterial species that can harm ticks , Chou said .
There 's been increasing interest in trying to control vector-borne diseases — like malaria , which is carried by mosquitoes — by killing the vector rather than just the pathogen that causes the disease , she said .
Such approaches are already being used to curb mosquito populations around the world .
It could be `` really interesting '' to see if the same approach would work for tick-borne diseases , for instance , by engineering bacteria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harmful to humans , Chou said .
Chou and her team hope to zoom in on what 's happening on the skin at the actual site of a tick bite .
`` We think that there could be a dual role of these antimicrobials , '' Chou said .
They could be both `` regulating what 's happening in the tick but also regulating what 's happening in the host . ''
The findings were published Thursday ( Dec. 10 ) in the journal .

A toxin from an ancient bacteria helps ticks survive and transmit Lyme disease to the humans they feed on, a new study finds.
Eons of competition between bacteria have led many to develop antibacterial substances to survive; and through a process known as "horizontal gene transfer," some of these genes that carry instructions for creating these antibacterial substances hopped across species from bacteria to other types of organisms.
About 40 million years ago, the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) acquired just such a potent antibacterial enzyme from an ancient bacteria, researchers reported in the journal Nature in 2015. For the new study, some of the same researchers sought to understand how this toxin — after years of evolving inside the tick — affects the critters.
Related: 5 things to know about the new tick species in the US
To do this, the researchers tested the toxin known as a domesticated amidase effector or Dae2 against different types of bacteria in the lab. They found that Dae2 efficiently killed mammalian skin microbes such as Staphylococci, but did not kill Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that lives in some ticks and can cause Lyme disease when transmitted to humans. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can cause fever, headache, fatigue and a bulls-eye-like skin rash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) .
While the tick feeds, the toxin Dae2 protects it from bacteria like Staphylococci found on the human skin. This also allows time for the Borrelia bacteria, that causes Lyme disease, to transmit to humans. (Image credit: Hayes et al./Cell)
They also found that the toxin is secreted into the tick's digestive system while the parasite is feeding, and from there passes from saliva to the site of the tick bite. When they blocked Dae2 in deer ticks and exposed them to bacteria that's found on human skin, the ticks started dying, Chou said in a statement.
In other words, this toxin allows ticks to safely feed on human and mammalian blood. This protection allows the ticks to spend a long time feeding, enough for the Lyme bacteria to move from the ticks to humans.
"What's stable and harmonious for the ticks is bad for us, and what's stable and harmonious with our skin is bad for ticks," senior author Seemay Chou, a professor of biochemistry at University of California San Francisco, told Live Science.
It's the first time that researchers have identified a specific bacterial species that can harm ticks, Chou said. There's been increasing interest in trying to control vector-borne diseases — like malaria, which is carried by mosquitoes — by killing the vector rather than just the pathogen that causes the disease, she said. Such approaches are already being used to curb mosquito populations around the world. It could be "really interesting" to see if the same approach would work for tick-borne diseases, for instance, by engineering bacteria that's bad for ticks but not harmful to humans, Chou said.
Chou and her team hope to zoom in on what's happening on the skin at the actual site of a tick bite. "We think that there could be a dual role of these antimicrobials," Chou said. They could be both "regulating what's happening in the tick but also regulating what's happening in the host."
The findings were published Thursday (Dec. 10) in the journal Cell .
Originally published on Live Science.