livescience--2020-09-30--Timothy Ray Brown, 1st person cured of HIV, dies after cancer relapse

Timothy Ray Brown , famous for being the first person to be cured of HIV , has died from cancer at age 54 .
Known as the `` Berlin patient , '' Brown was diagnosed with both and acute myeloid , a cancer of the white blood cells , while living in Berlin more than a decade ago , .
After his cancer diagnosis in 2006 , Brown received radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant in 2007 ; the goal of the treatment was to kill the existing cancer in his body and jumpstart production of healthy white blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bone marrow .
But the physician who led the procedure , Dr. Gero Huetter , aimed to treat both Brown 's leukemia and his HIV using the same operation , according to The Associated Press .
Huetter sought out a bone marrow donor with a rare genetic mutation that provides natural resistance against HIV infection .
The virus normally targets white blood cells called CD4-T cells , which it infiltrates through a specific receptor on the cells ' surfaces ; people with the genetic mutation have an altered version of this receptor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Live Science previously reported .
After his initial bone marrow transplant in 2007 , Brown was cleared of HIV and remained free of the virus until his death , The Associated Press reported .
He required a second transplant in 2008 to eliminate his leukemia , but after years in remission , the cancer returned last year and spread to his spine and brain , Reuters reported .
`` I 'm heartbroken that my hero is now gone .
Tim was truly the sweetest person in the world , '' Brown 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post , according to Reuters .
`` We owe Timothy and his doctor , Gero Huetter , a great deal of gratitude for opening the door for scientists to explore the concept that a cure for HIV is possible , '' Adeeba Kamarulzaman , president of the International AIDS Society , told Reuters .

Timothy Ray Brown at a press conference to announce the launch of the Timothy Ray Brown Foundation on July 24, 2012 in Washington, DC.
Timothy Ray Brown, famous for being the first person to be cured of HIV, has died from cancer at age 54.
Known as the "Berlin patient," Brown was diagnosed with both HIV and acute myeloid leukemia , a cancer of the white blood cells, while living in Berlin more than a decade ago, according to Reuters . After his cancer diagnosis in 2006, Brown received radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant in 2007; the goal of the treatment was to kill the existing cancer in his body and jumpstart production of healthy white blood cells, which are generated in the bone marrow.
But the physician who led the procedure, Dr. Gero Huetter, aimed to treat both Brown's leukemia and his HIV using the same operation, according to The Associated Press .
Related: 7 revolutionary Nobel Prizes in medicine
Huetter sought out a bone marrow donor with a rare genetic mutation that provides natural resistance against HIV infection. The virus normally targets white blood cells called CD4-T cells, which it infiltrates through a specific receptor on the cells' surfaces; people with the genetic mutation have an altered version of this receptor, so the virus can't slip inside, Live Science previously reported.
After his initial bone marrow transplant in 2007, Brown was cleared of HIV and remained free of the virus until his death, The Associated Press reported. He required a second transplant in 2008 to eliminate his leukemia, but after years in remission, the cancer returned last year and spread to his spine and brain, Reuters reported.
"I'm heartbroken that my hero is now gone. Tim was truly the sweetest person in the world," Brown's partner Tim Hoeffgen wrote in a Facebook post, according to Reuters.
"We owe Timothy and his doctor, Gero Huetter, a great deal of gratitude for opening the door for scientists to explore the concept that a cure for HIV is possible," Adeeba Kamarulzaman, president of the International AIDS Society, told Reuters.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-09-30--Ancient Siberian grave holds 'warrior woman' and huge weapons stash

Archaeologists in Siberia have unearthed a 2,500-year-old grave holding the remains of four people from the ancient Tagar culture — including two warriors , a male and female — and a stash of their metal weaponry .
The early Iron Age burial contained the skeletal remains of a Tagarian man , woman , infant and older woman , as well as a slew of weapons and artifacts , including bronze daggers , knives , axes , bronze mirrors and a miniature comb made from an animal horn , according to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Scythian civilization ( nomadic warriors who lived in what is now southern Siberia ) , often buried its dead with miniature versions of real-life objects , likely to symbolize possessions they thought were needed in the afterlife .
In this case , however , the deceased were laid to rest with full-size objects , the archaeologists said .
It 's not yet clear how these individuals died , but perhaps an illness caused their deaths , the archaeologists said .
A team from the Institute of and Ethnography found the burial in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region in Siberia , ahead of construction work on a railroad .
The finding is remarkable , given that grave robbers have looted most known Tagarian graves , Yuri Vitalievich Teterin , head of the excavation , .
( Of note , this culture is different than the fictional `` Targaryen '' dynasty from the TV drama `` . ''
) The remains of the man and woman , who likely died in their 30s or 40s , were laid down on their backs , with large ceramic vessels next to each of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sets of weapons ( two bronze daggers and two axes ) , and the woman had one set , according to the statement .
The woman 's weapons , including a long-handled instrument , perhaps a hatchet or battle ax , were an unusual find ; the Tagarians often buried their women with weapons , but those were usually long-range weapons , such as arrowheads , noted Oleg Andreevich Mitko , a leader of the excavation and head of archaeology at Novosibirsk State University in Russia .
The infant 's remains were in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` The remains of a newborn baby , no more than a month old , were also found in the burial , but fragments of its skeleton were scattered throughout the grave , possibly as a result of the activity of rodents , '' Olga Batanina , an anthropologist at the Paleodata laboratory of natural scientific methods in archeology , said in the statement .
At the man and woman 's feet , lay the remains of an older woman of about 60 years of age ; her body was positioned on her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Next to her , archaeologists found a small ceramic vessel and a comb with broken teeth .
It 's unclear how these people were related to one another , but a forthcoming analysis may reveal whether they had family ties .
The Tagar culture lasted for about 500 years , from about the eighth to the third centuries B.C .
; its people were spread across the Minusinsk Basin , a landscape that is a mix of steppe , forest-steppe and foothills , according to the statement .
The archaeologists have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work in 2019 revealed more than 10 archaeological sites , nine of which were directly in the railroad 's development zone .
This excavation is just one of those sites .

A man, two women and an infant were buried in this grave about 2,500 years ago in what is now Siberia.
Archaeologists in Siberia have unearthed a 2,500-year-old grave holding the remains of four people from the ancient Tagar culture — including two warriors, a male and female — and a stash of their metal weaponry.
The early Iron Age burial contained the skeletal remains of a Tagarian man, woman, infant and older woman, as well as a slew of weapons and artifacts, including bronze daggers, knives, axes, bronze mirrors and a miniature comb made from an animal horn, according to the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The Tagar culture, a part of the Scythian civilization (nomadic warriors who lived in what is now southern Siberia), often buried its dead with miniature versions of real-life objects, likely to symbolize possessions they thought were needed in the afterlife. In this case, however, the deceased were laid to rest with full-size objects, the archaeologists said.
Related: Image gallery: Ancient treasure trove discovered in Russia
It's not yet clear how these individuals died, but perhaps an illness caused their deaths, the archaeologists said.
A team from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography found the burial in the southern part of Khakassia, a region in Siberia, ahead of construction work on a railroad. The finding is remarkable, given that grave robbers have looted most known Tagarian graves, Yuri Vitalievich Teterin, head of the excavation, said in a statement . (Of note, this culture is different than the fictional "Targaryen" dynasty from the TV drama " Game of Thrones .")
The remains of the man and woman, who likely died in their 30s or 40s, were laid down on their backs, with large ceramic vessels next to each of them. The man also had two sets of weapons (two bronze daggers and two axes), and the woman had one set, according to the statement. The woman's weapons, including a long-handled instrument, perhaps a hatchet or battle ax, were an unusual find; the Tagarians often buried their women with weapons, but those were usually long-range weapons, such as arrowheads, noted Oleg Andreevich Mitko, a leader of the excavation and head of archaeology at Novosibirsk State University in Russia.
Image 1 of 4 Some of metal grave goods found in the group burial. (Image credit: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) An aerial view of the burial mount at the foot of Mount Aar-tag. (Image credit: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) The central part of the burial mound. (Image credit: Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) An individual burial of a warrior. (Image credit: Russian Academy of Sciences)
The infant's remains were in bad shape, the archaeologists found.
"The remains of a newborn baby, no more than a month old, were also found in the burial, but fragments of its skeleton were scattered throughout the grave, possibly as a result of the activity of rodents," Olga Batanina, an anthropologist at the Paleodata laboratory of natural scientific methods in archeology, said in the statement.
At the man and woman's feet, lay the remains of an older woman of about 60 years of age; her body was positioned on her right side, with her knees bent. Next to her, archaeologists found a small ceramic vessel and a comb with broken teeth.
It's unclear how these people were related to one another, but a forthcoming DNA analysis may reveal whether they had family ties.
The Tagar culture lasted for about 500 years, from about the eighth to the third centuries B.C.; its people were spread across the Minusinsk Basin, a landscape that is a mix of steppe, forest-steppe and foothills, according to the statement.
The archaeologists have a busy schedule ahead of them. Survey work in 2019 revealed more than 10 archaeological sites, nine of which were directly in the railroad's development zone. This excavation is just one of those sites.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-10-01--Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates

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


livescience--2020-10-01--A virus and bacteria may 'team up' to harm babies' brains

A newly discovered may be working with a common virus to cause a serious brain condition in infants in Uganda , according to a new study .
This brain disorder , called hydrocephalus , involves an abnormal buildup of fluid in the cavities of the brain and is the most common reason for brain surgery in young children , according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ( NINDS ) .
Every year , about 400,000 new cases of hydrocephalus are diagnosed in children worldwide , and the condition remains a major burden in low- and middle-income countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Sept. 30 ) in the journal .
About half of those hydrocephalus cases happen after a prior infection and are known as `` post-infectious hydrocephalus , '' according to the study .
But until now , scientists did n't know what microbes were infecting infants , and identifying those pathogens is key to preventing the condition , according to the authors .
For nearly 20 years , a small hospital in Uganda called the CURE Children 's hospital has been treating thousands of cases of hydrocephalus in children .
`` Hydrocephalus is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we see in the population that we serve , '' one of the lead authors Dr. Edith Mbabazi-Kabachelor , director of research , CURE Children 's Hospital of Uganda .
If left untreated in children younger than 2 years of age , hydrocephalus will increase head size , leading to brain damage ; the majority of those children will die , and the others will be left with physical or cognitive disabilities , she added .
So a group of international researchers set out to understand what could be causing this brain condition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visiting Uganda and seeing a stream of kids with hydrocephalus after infection I asked the doctors , 'What is the biggest problem you have that you ca n't solve ? '
'' one of the senior authors Steven J. Schiff , Brush Chair professor of engineering and professor of engineering science and mechanics , neurosurgery and physics at Penn State , said in the statement .
`` 'Why do n't you figure out what makes these kids sick ? '
was the reply . ''
Schiff and his team analyzed blood and cerebrospinal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old being treated at the CURE Children 's hospital for hydrocephalus — 64 of them developed the condition after an infection ( doctors knew they had been infected because the babies either had severe illness , seizures or brain imaging showed signs of a prior infection ) and 36 without a prior infection ( brain images and other tests showed another issue causing the condition such as tumors or cysts ) .
They sent these samples to two different labs for and RNA sequencing to look for possible traces of genetic material from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found that many of the samples from patients with infection-caused hydrocephalus contained `` this weird bacteria , '' Schiff said .
The bacteria turned out to be a previously unidentified strain of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus , now named `` Mbale '' after the Ugandan city where the CURE hospital is located .
They also found that some of the infants who developed hydrocephalus had also been infected with a common virus called cytomegalovirus ( CMV ) .
This virus was found in 18 out of 64 of the available blood samples from babies with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 of babies with hydrocephalus not following an infection .
CMV was also found in the cerebrospinal fluid samples from 8 of the babies with post-infectious hydrocephalus and none of the babies who had n't previously had an infection .
This virus is found all over the world , and though it typically causes minor symptoms in adults , it can cause more serious symptoms in babies , such as brain damage , seizures and failure to thrive , according to the National CMV Foundation .
Babies can be born with CMV or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in life .
The origin of the bacterial infection is more mysterious .
Though possibly found in soil or in water , more work is needed to understand where the bacteria lives , Schiff said .
However , the researchers found a correlation — not a causation — between these microbes and hydrocephalus .
They aren ’ t sure how the virus and bacteria are linked to each other and whether they worked together to cause the dangerous brain flooding in newborns , or merely happened to be there to witness it .

A newly discovered bacteria may be working with a common virus to cause a serious brain condition in infants in Uganda, according to a new study.
This brain disorder, called hydrocephalus, involves an abnormal buildup of fluid in the cavities of the brain and is the most common reason for brain surgery in young children, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Every year, about 400,000 new cases of hydrocephalus are diagnosed in children worldwide, and the condition remains a major burden in low- and middle-income countries, according to the study published today (Sept. 30) in the journal Science Translational Medicine .
About half of those hydrocephalus cases happen after a prior infection and are known as "post-infectious hydrocephalus," according to the study. But until now, scientists didn't know what microbes were infecting infants, and identifying those pathogens is key to preventing the condition, according to the authors.
Related: The 12 deadliest viruses on Earth
For nearly 20 years, a small hospital in Uganda called the CURE Children's hospital has been treating thousands of cases of hydrocephalus in children.
"Hydrocephalus is the most common childhood neurosurgical condition that we see in the population that we serve," one of the lead authors Dr. Edith Mbabazi-Kabachelor, director of research, CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda said in a statement . If left untreated in children younger than 2 years of age, hydrocephalus will increase head size, leading to brain damage; the majority of those children will die, and the others will be left with physical or cognitive disabilities, she added.
So a group of international researchers set out to understand what could be causing this brain condition.
"Thirteen years ago, while visiting Uganda and seeing a stream of kids with hydrocephalus after infection I asked the doctors, 'What is the biggest problem you have that you can't solve?'" one of the senior authors Steven J. Schiff, Brush Chair professor of engineering and professor of engineering science and mechanics, neurosurgery and physics at Penn State, said in the statement. "'Why don't you figure out what makes these kids sick?' was the reply."
CT brain scans of infants with hydrocephalus show differences in the brains of those with post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIH), non-post-infectious hydrocephalus (NPIH), infection with the bacteria Paenibacillus (Paeni) or infection with the virus cytomegalovirus (CMV). (Image credit: J.N. Paulson et al., Science Translational Medicine (2020))
Schiff and his team analyzed blood and cerebrospinal fluid from 100 infants under 3 months old being treated at the CURE Children's hospital for hydrocephalus — 64 of them developed the condition after an infection (doctors knew they had been infected because the babies either had severe illness, seizures or brain imaging showed signs of a prior infection) and 36 without a prior infection (brain images and other tests showed another issue causing the condition such as tumors or cysts).
They sent these samples to two different labs for DNA and RNA sequencing to look for possible traces of genetic material from bacteria, viruses , fungi and parasites. They found that many of the samples from patients with infection-caused hydrocephalus contained "this weird bacteria," Schiff said. The bacteria turned out to be a previously unidentified strain of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus, now named "Mbale" after the Ugandan city where the CURE hospital is located.
They also found that some of the infants who developed hydrocephalus had also been infected with a common virus called cytomegalovirus (CMV). This virus was found in 18 out of 64 of the available blood samples from babies with post-infectious hydrocephalus and in 9 out of 35 of babies with hydrocephalus not following an infection. CMV was also found in the cerebrospinal fluid samples from 8 of the babies with post-infectious hydrocephalus and none of the babies who hadn't previously had an infection.
This virus is found all over the world, and though it typically causes minor symptoms in adults, it can cause more serious symptoms in babies, such as brain damage, seizures and failure to thrive, according to the National CMV Foundation . Babies can be born with CMV or they can be infected with it early in life.
The origin of the bacterial infection is more mysterious. Though possibly found in soil or in water, more work is needed to understand where the bacteria lives, Schiff said.
However, the researchers found a correlation — not a causation — between these microbes and hydrocephalus. They aren’t sure how the virus and bacteria are linked to each other and whether they worked together to cause the dangerous brain flooding in newborns, or merely happened to be there to witness it.


livescience--2020-10-01--Nuclear fusion reactor could be here as soon as 2025

A viable nuclear fusion reactor — one that spits out more energy than it consumes — could be here as soon as 2025 .
That 's the takeaway of seven new studies , published Sept. 29 in the .
If a fusion reactor reaches that milestone , it could pave the way for massive generation of clean energy .
During , atomic nuclei are forced together to form heavier .
When the mass of the resulting atoms is less than the mass of the atoms that went into their creation , the excess mass is converted to energy , liberating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fusion powers the sun and stars , as the mighty at their hearts fuse to create .
Related : Science fact or fiction ?
The plausibility of 10 sci-fi concepts But an enormous amount of energy is needed to force atoms to fuse together , which occurs at temperatures of at least 180 million degrees Fahrenheit ( 100 million degrees Celsius ) .
However , such reactions can generate far more energy than they require .
At the same time , fusion does n't produce such as carbon dioxide , which drive , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And the fuel for fusion — such as the element — is plentiful enough on to meet all of humanity 's energy needs for millions of years .
`` Virtually all of us got into this research because we 're trying to solve a really serious global problem , '' said study author Martin Greenwald , a plasma physicist at MIT and one of the lead scientists developing the new reactor .
`` We want to have an impact on society .
We need a solution for global warming — otherwise , civilization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might help fix that . ''
Most experimental fusion reactors employ a donut-shaped Russian design called a tokamak .
These designs use powerful to confine a cloud of plasma , or ionized gas , at extreme temperatures , high enough for atoms to fuse together .
The new experimental device , called the SPARC ( Soonest/Smallest Private-Funded Affordable Robust Compact ) reactor , is being developed by scientists at MIT and a spinoff company , Commonwealth Fusion Systems .
If it succeeds , SPARC would be the first device to ever achieve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which the heat from all the fusion reactions keeps fusion going without the need to pump in extra energy .
But no one has ever been able to harness the power of burning plasma in a controlled reaction here on Earth , and more research is needed before SPARC can do so .
The SPARC project , which launched in 2018 , is scheduled to begin construction next June , with the reactor starting operations in 2025 .
This is far faster than the world 's largest fusion power project , known as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , which was conceived in 1985 but not launched until 2007 ; and although construction began in 2013 , the project is not expected to generate a fusion reaction until 2035 .
One advantage that SPARC may have over ITER is that SPARC 's magnets are designed to confine its plasma .
SPARC will use so-called high-temperature superconducting magnets that only became commercially available in the past three to five years , long after ITER was first designed .
These new magnets can produce far more powerful magnetic fields than ITER 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compared with ITER 's maximum of 12 teslas .
( In comparison , Earth 's magnetic field ranges in strength from 30 millionths to 60 millionths of a tesla . )
These powerful magnets suggest the core of SPARC can be about three times smaller in diameter , and 60 to 70 times smaller in volume than the heart of ITER , which is slated to be 6 meters wide .
`` That dramatic reduction in size is accompanied by a reduction in weight and cost , '' Greenwald , told LiveScience .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' In seven new studies , researchers outlined the calculations and supercomputer simulations underlying SPARC 's design .
SPARC is expected to generate at least twice as much as 10 times more energy as is pumped in , the studies found .
The heat from a fusion reactor would generate steam .
This steam would then drive a turbine and electrical generator , the same way most electricity is produced nowadays .
`` Fusion power plants could be one-to-one replacements for fossil fuel plants , and you would n't have to restructure electrical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In contrast , renewable energy sources such as solar and wind `` are not accommodated well by the current design of electric grids . ''
The researchers ultimately hope SPARC-inspired fusion power plants would generate between 250 to 1,000 megawatts of electricity .
`` In the current power market of the United States , power plants typically generate between 100 to 500 megawatts , '' Greenwald said .
SPARC would only produce heat , not electricity .
Once researchers have built and tested SPARC , they plan to construct the ARC ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would generate electricity from that heat by 2035 .
`` That 's very ambitious , but that 's the target we 're working toward , '' Greenwald said .
`` I think it 's really plausible . ''

A viable nuclear fusion reactor — one that spits out more energy than it consumes — could be here as soon as 2025.
That's the takeaway of seven new studies, published Sept. 29 in the Journal of Plasma Physics .
If a fusion reactor reaches that milestone, it could pave the way for massive generation of clean energy.
During fusion , atomic nuclei are forced together to form heavier atoms . When the mass of the resulting atoms is less than the mass of the atoms that went into their creation, the excess mass is converted to energy, liberating an extraordinary amount of light and heat . Fusion powers the sun and stars, as the mighty gravity at their hearts fuse hydrogen to create helium .
Related: Science fact or fiction? The plausibility of 10 sci-fi concepts
But an enormous amount of energy is needed to force atoms to fuse together, which occurs at temperatures of at least 180 million degrees Fahrenheit (100 million degrees Celsius). However, such reactions can generate far more energy than they require. At the same time, fusion doesn't produce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which drive global warming , nor does it generate other pollutants. And the fuel for fusion — such as the element hydrogen — is plentiful enough on Earth to meet all of humanity's energy needs for millions of years.
"Virtually all of us got into this research because we're trying to solve a really serious global problem," said study author Martin Greenwald, a plasma physicist at MIT and one of the lead scientists developing the new reactor. "We want to have an impact on society. We need a solution for global warming — otherwise, civilization is in trouble. This looks like it might help fix that."
Most experimental fusion reactors employ a donut-shaped Russian design called a tokamak. These designs use powerful magnetic fields to confine a cloud of plasma, or ionized gas, at extreme temperatures, high enough for atoms to fuse together. The new experimental device, called the SPARC (Soonest/Smallest Private-Funded Affordable Robust Compact) reactor, is being developed by scientists at MIT and a spinoff company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
If it succeeds, SPARC would be the first device to ever achieve a "burning plasma," in which the heat from all the fusion reactions keeps fusion going without the need to pump in extra energy. But no one has ever been able to harness the power of burning plasma in a controlled reaction here on Earth, and more research is needed before SPARC can do so. The SPARC project, which launched in 2018, is scheduled to begin construction next June, with the reactor starting operations in 2025. This is far faster than the world's largest fusion power project, known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which was conceived in 1985 but not launched until 2007; and although construction began in 2013, the project is not expected to generate a fusion reaction until 2035.
One advantage that SPARC may have over ITER is that SPARC's magnets are designed to confine its plasma. SPARC will use so-called high-temperature superconducting magnets that only became commercially available in the past three to five years, long after ITER was first designed. These new magnets can produce far more powerful magnetic fields than ITER's — a maximum of 21 teslas, compared with ITER's maximum of 12 teslas. (In comparison, Earth's magnetic field ranges in strength from 30 millionths to 60 millionths of a tesla.)
These powerful magnets suggest the core of SPARC can be about three times smaller in diameter, and 60 to 70 times smaller in volume than the heart of ITER, which is slated to be 6 meters wide. "That dramatic reduction in size is accompanied by a reduction in weight and cost," Greenwald , told LiveScience. "That's really the game-changer."
In seven new studies, researchers outlined the calculations and supercomputer simulations underlying SPARC's design. SPARC is expected to generate at least twice as much as 10 times more energy as is pumped in, the studies found.
The heat from a fusion reactor would generate steam. This steam would then drive a turbine and electrical generator, the same way most electricity is produced nowadays.
"Fusion power plants could be one-to-one replacements for fossil fuel plants, and you wouldn't have to restructure electrical grids for them," Greenwald said. In contrast, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind "are not accommodated well by the current design of electric grids."
The researchers ultimately hope SPARC-inspired fusion power plants would generate between 250 to 1,000 megawatts of electricity. "In the current power market of the United States, power plants typically generate between 100 to 500 megawatts," Greenwald said.
SPARC would only produce heat, not electricity. Once researchers have built and tested SPARC, they plan to construct the ARC (Affordable Robust Compact) reactor, which would generate electricity from that heat by 2035.
"That's very ambitious, but that's the target we're working toward," Greenwald said. "I think it's really plausible."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-10-01--Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones: Earth's tropical windstorms

If you live or like to vacation along the world 's coastlines , chances are good you 've been affected by a tropical storm or hurricane .
Hurricanes , which are more broadly called `` tropical cyclones '' because they originate over Earth 's tropical oceans , are some of nature 's largest and fiercest storms .
They get their name from Hurican , the Carib god of evil , according to the .
Tropical cyclones form in most of the world 's tropical oceans , but always at least 300 miles ( 480 kilometers ) north or south of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equator than this , and the inertial force that causes storms to spin to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere , called the coriolis force , wo n't cause the storm system to spin .
When they form in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific Oceans , tropical cyclones are called hurricanes .
In the western North Pacific , the same type of storms are called typhoons .
And in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans , they are called cyclones .
The Atlantic hurricane season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from mid-May through November .
Typhoons in the North Pacific occur year-round but peak in late August .
And in the South Pacific , the cyclone season begins in October and ends in May .
In the Atlantic , hurricanes typically follow one of three paths , according to : • Originating off the West Coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands and traveling west toward the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States .
• Originating in the western Caribbean , and moving into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. East Coast .
• Originating in the Gulf of Mexico and crashing into the Gulf Coast states , anywhere between Texas and Florida .
As with any weather event , certain atmospheric ingredients must be in place for a hurricane to cook up over the open ocean .
According to , these include : • Warm ocean waters of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit ( 27 Celsius ) extending from the sea surface to a depth of 150 feet ( 46 meters ) underwater .
• A moist and unstable atmosphere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with high humidity at upper levels and one in which air has a tendency to rise .
• A pre-existing disturbance near surface levels , such as a complex of thunderstorms , which meteorologists call tropical easterly waves .
• Sufficient distance ( at least 300 miles , or 480 km ) from the equator .
• Little to no wind shear , meaning wind speed and direction varies little between the surface and the troposphere , the lowest level of Earth 's atmosphere , which stretches tens of thousands of feet above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under these minimum criteria , it is deemed a tropical cyclone , or more specifically , a tropical disturbance .
At this initial stage , the disturbance is essentially a cluster of marine clouds and thunderstorms , but if ocean temperatures remain sufficiently balmy , the disturbance will continue to strengthen .
And as the system becomes slightly more organized it may start to circulate .
When the storm system 's winds begin to circulate around a well-defined center , but its maximum sustained wind speeds have not exceeded 38 mph ( 61 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a `` tropical depression . ''
It 's at this stage that the storm earns a name .
Once maximum sustained winds reach between 39 and 73 mph ( 63 to 117 km/h ) , the cyclone is classified as a `` tropical storm . ''
And when a storm 's sustained winds reach 74 mph ( 119 km/h ) or greater , the cyclone is classified as a hurricane — or typhoon if it 's in the North Pacific , and cyclone if in the South Pacific .
Hurricanes are categorized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sustained winds .
The scale used for this purpose , called the , was developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and by meteorologist and then-director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center , Bob Simpson .
The Saffir-Simpson scale rates a hurricane 's severity from 1 ( very dangerous ) to 5 ( catastrophic ) , based on the following wind speeds : Hurricanes that reach Category 3 or higher are considered `` major hurricanes '' because of their potential to cause significant damage and loss of life .
Similarly , typhoons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ km/h ) earn the title of `` super typhoon . ''
Although winds are the most common way to measure how intense a tropical cyclone is , central barometric pressure , which is the air pressure exerted by Earth 's atmosphere on the storm 's geographical center , is another way meteorologists measure a storm 's intensity .
In general , the lower a storm 's central pressure , the stronger the storm .
While lower pressure and higher winds tend to go hand-in-hand , one is n't necessarily indicative of the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Hurricane Wilma ( 2005 ) , a Category 5 hurricane , held the record for the lowest central pressure ( 882 millibars ) of any Atlantic hurricane , but Hurricane Allen ( 1980 ) , also a Category 5 hurricane , ranks as the Atlantic hurricane with the strongest winds ( its sustained winds reached 190 mph , or 306 km/h ) .
Beware of these features and hazards The main physical features of a hurricane are its rainbands , eye and eyewall .
These features take shape as surface air from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the storm in a counter-clockwise pattern ( or clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere ) .
Because this converging air has nowhere else to go it rises , creating a column of forceful rising air at the storm 's center known as the eyewall .
Rising air encourages clouds and thunderstorms to develop , which is why the eyewall is surrounded by a ring of towering thunderstorms that inflict some of the cylone 's most severe punishment .
Curved bands of clouds and thunderstorms trail away from the eyewall in a spiral fashion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outward 50 to 300 miles ( 80 to 483 km ) from the cyclone 's center , can produce heavy bursts of rain and wind , as well as tornadoes .
Related : Hurricane preparation : What to do The eyewall 's strong rotation of air creates an empty vortex at its center .
This empty area is the eye of the storm , and spans a distance about 20 to 40 miles ( 32 to 64 km ) in diameter on average , according to .
Inside the eye , air from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down toward the surface to fill the void of the air that was pulled into the storm .
Sinking air inhibits cloud formation , which is why the eye has calm winds and clear skies .
A tropical cyclone is said to have made landfall when its eye hits the shoreline .
Violent winds are not the only hazard of hurricanes or cyclones .
Storm surges — walls of seawater that are pushed toward shore by the sheer force of a storm 's winds — can increase water levels by 15 feet ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ predicted astronomical tide .
In 2017 , the began issuing storm surge watches and warnings to alert areas along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the unique risk for life-threatening inundation from approaching tropical cyclones .
Flooding caused by storm surges and by heavy rainfall is a major hazard of hurricanes .
According to a 2014 study published in The Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society , storm surge flooding has been the leading cause of hurricane-related fatalities for the past 50 years .
are determined by the World Meteorological Organization ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Geneva , Switzerland , that serves as the international authority on weather , climate and hydrology .
The WMO maintains six lists of alphabetical names that are recycled and reused every six years for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Ocean basins .
It also composes separate lists for the globe 's five other cyclone zones , including the western Pacific , northern Indian , southwestern Indian , southeastern Indian , and Australian Ocean basins .
According to the , the current practice of assigning male and female names to hurricanes was n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , only female names were used .
And for hundreds of years before that , storms often took the name of the holiday or saint 's day on which they occurred .
Names are preferred to numbers because they 're easier to remember .
The one exception to this no-numbering rule is tropical depressions ; because they are n't named , they take the title of whatever number cyclone they are within a particular season-year , that is , `` Tropical Depression Three , '' or `` Tropical Depression Fifteen , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so deadly or destructive that the future use of its name would be insensitive , that name is retired and a replacement name is chosen .
For example , the names Katrina and Sandy have been removed from the list of Atlantic cyclone names because of the astounding amount of destruction and death that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina ( 2005 ) and Sandy ( 2012 ) .
More recently , Matthew ( 2016 ) , Maria ( 2017 ) , .
During extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons , all the names on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When this happens , subsequent storms receive a name from the Greek alphabet ( Alpha , Beta , Gamma and so on ) .
This has only ever happened twice , according to : in 2005 and again in 2020 .
Hurricanes feed off of heat energy , so as Earth 's global temperatures continue to rise , hurricanes are bound to be affected .
So far , it 's not evident that hurricanes are necessarily forming more often because of rising temperatures , although scientists do predict that hurricane activity and intensity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is , however , a clear link between global warming and an increase in the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes .
Climate change also appears to be causing hurricanes to intensify more rapidly than ever before , and to produce far more rain , according to .
These trends are likely a result of higher ocean temperatures and higher water vapor content in the atmosphere as the air heats up , according to .
Warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea are already contributing to the active @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions have been producing busier-than-normal hurricane seasons since 1995 .
Scientists predict the annual trend of more frequent extreme storms and record-breaking hurricane seasons to continue as long as climate change persists .
• Discover which are on this year 's list at the World Meteorological Organization .
• Learn how to at Ready.gov .

Infrared satellite imagery of Hurricane Dorian as it made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane over three islands in the Bahamas on the morning of Sep. 2, 2019.
If you live or like to vacation along the world's coastlines, chances are good you've been affected by a tropical storm or hurricane.
Hurricanes, which are more broadly called "tropical cyclones" because they originate over Earth's tropical oceans, are some of nature's largest and fiercest storms. They get their name from Hurican, the Carib god of evil, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) .
Worldly windstorms
Tropical cyclones form in most of the world's tropical oceans, but always at least 300 miles (480 kilometers) north or south of the equator. Any closer to the equator than this, and the inertial force that causes storms to spin to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, called the coriolis force, won't cause the storm system to spin.
When they form in the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific Oceans, tropical cyclones are called hurricanes. In the western North Pacific, the same type of storms are called typhoons. And in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, they are called cyclones.
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June through November. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from mid-May through November. Typhoons in the North Pacific occur year-round but peak in late August. And in the South Pacific, the cyclone season begins in October and ends in May.
In the Atlantic, hurricanes typically follow one of three paths, according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center :
Originating off the West Coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands and traveling west toward the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States.
Originating in the western Caribbean, and moving into the U.S. Gulf Coast, or along the U.S. East Coast.
Originating in the Gulf of Mexico and crashing into the Gulf Coast states, anywhere between Texas and Florida.
Graphic representation on world map of the activity in the world’s major ocean tropical cyclones basins between 1842 - 2017. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
How hurricanes form
As with any weather event, certain atmospheric ingredients must be in place for a hurricane to cook up over the open ocean. According to NOAA's National Weather Service , these include:
Warm ocean waters of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) extending from the sea surface to a depth of 150 feet (46 meters) underwater.
A moist and unstable atmosphere. In other words, an atmosphere with high humidity at upper levels and one in which air has a tendency to rise.
A pre-existing disturbance near surface levels, such as a complex of thunderstorms, which meteorologists call tropical easterly waves.
Sufficient distance (at least 300 miles, or 480 km) from the equator.
Little to no wind shear, meaning wind speed and direction varies little between the surface and the troposphere, the lowest level of Earth's atmosphere, which stretches tens of thousands of feet above the surface.
When a storm forms under these minimum criteria, it is deemed a tropical cyclone, or more specifically, a tropical disturbance. At this initial stage, the disturbance is essentially a cluster of marine clouds and thunderstorms, but if ocean temperatures remain sufficiently balmy, the disturbance will continue to strengthen. And as the system becomes slightly more organized it may start to circulate. When the storm system's winds begin to circulate around a well-defined center, but its maximum sustained wind speeds have not exceeded 38 mph (61 km/h), the storm becomes categorized as a "tropical depression." It's at this stage that the storm earns a name.
Related: Storm targets: Where the hurricanes hit (infographic)
Once maximum sustained winds reach between 39 and 73 mph (63 to 117 km/h), the cyclone is classified as a "tropical storm." And when a storm's sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 km/h) or greater, the cyclone is classified as a hurricane — or typhoon if it's in the North Pacific, and cyclone if in the South Pacific.
How hurricanes are categorized
Hurricanes are categorized according to the speed of their maximum sustained winds. The scale used for this purpose, called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , was developed in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and by meteorologist and then-director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Bob Simpson. The Saffir-Simpson scale rates a hurricane's severity from 1 (very dangerous) to 5 (catastrophic), based on the following wind speeds:
Category 1: Winds of 74-95 mph (119-153 km/h)
Category 2: Winds of 96-110 mph (154-177 km/h)
Category 3: Winds of 111-129 mph (178-208 km/h)
Category 4: Winds of 130-156 mph (209-251 km/h)
Category 5: Winds exceeding 157 mph (252 km/h)
Hurricanes that reach Category 3 or higher are considered "major hurricanes" because of their potential to cause significant damage and loss of life. Similarly, typhoons with winds exceeding 150 mph (241 km/h) earn the title of "super typhoon."
Although winds are the most common way to measure how intense a tropical cyclone is, central barometric pressure, which is the air pressure exerted by Earth's atmosphere on the storm's geographical center, is another way meteorologists measure a storm's intensity. In general, the lower a storm's central pressure, the stronger the storm. While lower pressure and higher winds tend to go hand-in-hand, one isn't necessarily indicative of the other. For example, as of 2019, Hurricane Wilma (2005), a Category 5 hurricane, held the record for the lowest central pressure (882 millibars) of any Atlantic hurricane, but Hurricane Allen (1980), also a Category 5 hurricane, ranks as the Atlantic hurricane with the strongest winds (its sustained winds reached 190 mph, or 306 km/h).
Beware of these features and hazards
The main physical features of a hurricane are its rainbands, eye and eyewall. These features take shape as surface air from all directions spirals in toward the center of the storm in a counter-clockwise pattern (or clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere).
Because this converging air has nowhere else to go it rises, creating a column of forceful rising air at the storm's center known as the eyewall. Rising air encourages clouds and thunderstorms to develop, which is why the eyewall is surrounded by a ring of towering thunderstorms that inflict some of the cylone's most severe punishment. Curved bands of clouds and thunderstorms trail away from the eyewall in a spiral fashion. These rainbands, which typically extend outward 50 to 300 miles (80 to 483 km) from the cyclone's center, can produce heavy bursts of rain and wind, as well as tornadoes.
Related: Hurricane preparation: What to do
The eyewall's strong rotation of air creates an empty vortex at its center. This empty area is the eye of the storm, and spans a distance about 20 to 40 miles (32 to 64 km) in diameter on average, according to NOAA . Inside the eye, air from the top of the cyclone sinks back down toward the surface to fill the void of the air that was pulled into the storm. Sinking air inhibits cloud formation, which is why the eye has calm winds and clear skies. A tropical cyclone is said to have made landfall when its eye hits the shoreline.
Violent winds are not the only hazard of hurricanes or cyclones. Storm surges — walls of seawater that are pushed toward shore by the sheer force of a storm's winds — can increase water levels by 15 feet (4.5 m) or more above the predicted astronomical tide. In 2017, the National Weather Service began issuing storm surge watches and warnings to alert areas along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the unique risk for life-threatening inundation from approaching tropical cyclones.
Flooding caused by storm surges and by heavy rainfall is a major hazard of hurricanes. According to a 2014 study published in The Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society , storm surge flooding has been the leading cause of hurricane-related fatalities for the past 50 years.
Related: The costliest hurricanes in history
Who picks hurricane names?
Hurricane names are determined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, that serves as the international authority on weather, climate and hydrology. The WMO maintains six lists of alphabetical names that are recycled and reused every six years for the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Ocean basins. It also composes separate lists for the globe's five other cyclone zones, including the western Pacific, northern Indian, southwestern Indian, southeastern Indian, and Australian Ocean basins.
According to the National Hurricane Center , the current practice of assigning male and female names to hurricanes wasn't put into place until 1979. Before this, only female names were used. And for hundreds of years before that, storms often took the name of the holiday or saint's day on which they occurred.
Names are preferred to numbers because they're easier to remember. The one exception to this no-numbering rule is tropical depressions; because they aren't named, they take the title of whatever number cyclone they are within a particular season-year, that is, "Tropical Depression Three," or "Tropical Depression Fifteen," etc.
If a storm is ever so deadly or destructive that the future use of its name would be insensitive, that name is retired and a replacement name is chosen. For example, the names Katrina and Sandy have been removed from the list of Atlantic cyclone names because of the astounding amount of destruction and death that resulted from Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012). More recently, Matthew (2016), Maria (2017), Florence (2018), and Michael (2018) were retired .
During extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons, all the names on the names list may be used up. When this happens, subsequent storms receive a name from the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma and so on). This has only ever happened twice, according to NOAA : in 2005 and again in 2020.
Tropical Storm Beta nears the Texas coast on Sept. 21. (Image credit: NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES-East Geocolor)
Hurricanes and climate change
Hurricanes feed off of heat energy, so as Earth's global temperatures continue to rise, hurricanes are bound to be affected. So far, it's not evident that hurricanes are necessarily forming more often because of rising temperatures, although scientists do predict that hurricane activity and intensity will likely increase in future years.
There is, however, a clear link between global warming and an increase in the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes. Climate change also appears to be causing hurricanes to intensify more rapidly than ever before, and to produce far more rain, according to Yale Climate Connections . These trends are likely a result of higher ocean temperatures and higher water vapor content in the atmosphere as the air heats up, according to NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory .
Warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea are already contributing to the active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, NOAA reported . Similar conditions have been producing busier-than-normal hurricane seasons since 1995. Scientists predict the annual trend of more frequent extreme storms and record-breaking hurricane seasons to continue as long as climate change persists.
Additional resources:


livescience--2020-10-01--COVID nightmares are becoming frighteningly common

Having nightmares about being stuck maskless in a crowd or coming down with COVID-19 ?
You 're not alone .
A suite of new studies finds that pandemic dreams are remarkably common across multiple countries .
People in Finland , Italy , the U.S. , Canada and elsewhere around the world report many of the same themes , from dreams about becoming infected to anxiety dreams about social distancing .
Some of the examples are metaphorical , such as a cluster of dreams about being attacked by bugs .
This bug-attack metaphor seemed unique to the pandemic compared with other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of that study , Harvard Medical School psychology professor Deirde Barrett .
`` I had never seen one of those after 9/11 or after World War II , '' Barrett said , referring to studies she has done on the dreams of people who have witnessed trauma .
Related : Why do we have nightmares ?
Dreams are an interesting area of study , Barrett told Live Science , because they reflect inner worries and concerns , but in a highly dramatized way .
`` They make up a little highly visual drama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' she said .
`` They often tell us something that may not have otherwise been center stage in our attention . ''
They also sometimes trigger empathy , she said — for ourselves and others .
For example , one dreamer surveyed by Barrett had a nightmare in which she found out her 10-year-old 's entire class was coming to her house , and she was responsible for home-schooling them for the rest of the year .
People who hear that dream immediately grasp the woman 's real-life anxiety about school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's study , published in a special COVID-dream section on Sept. 25 in the journal , she surveyed 2,888 men and women about their dreams between March 23 and July 15 .
About 2,000 of the respondents were American , with the others coming from 85 other countries .
Consistent with previous research on crisis situations , Barrett found that people reported during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic .
Stress tends to make dreams more intense , she said , which explains part of the enhanced recall .
With stay-at-home orders and workplace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once the pandemic began , she said , and people who sleep longer report remembering more dreams .
This is because the length of dream cycles stretches out the longer the sleep session goes .
Related : Why ca n't we remember our dreams ?
Both men and women experienced more anxiety dreams and more dreams about death , but women reported a greater rise in both .
Women also reported an increase in dreams full of feelings of sadness and anger , while men did n't dream more about those emotions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ men and women have been affected by the pandemic , Barrett said .
Women are more likely to report dreams about caregiving for sick people , and women are more likely to be caregivers or work in caregiving careers in waking life .
Dreams about homeschool stress also turned up more in women 's reports than in men ’ s , perhaps reflecting a gender divide in responsibility for children 's schooling .
Women have also made up more of the unemployed during pandemic lockdowns .
`` For women , it 's affecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them sad and angry as well as anxious , '' Barrett said .
Another paper , this one published in the journal on Oct. 1 , finds that in a sample of more than 4,000 Finnish dreamers , 55 % of all bad dreams during the COVID-19 lockdown were pandemic-related .
For that study , researchers used an program to analyze nouns and verbs in dream reports and sort them into clusters .
One common cluster , dubbed `` disregard of distancing , '' included word pairs like mistake/hug , distancing/crowd , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said study author Anu-Katriina Pesonen , head of the Sleep & Mind Research Group at the University of Helsinki .
People reported dreams about being stuck at the border or not having the proper papers to travel home .
This reflected what was really going on in Europe during initial lockdowns , she told Live Science .
In an Italian study of 796 people , published in the journal , 20 % of respondents ' most recent dreams in April and May had something to do with COVID-19 .
People who knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or who had died of the virus reported that their dreams were more emotionally intense than those who were n't personally impacted .
These respondents reported dreams about being stuck in border checkpoints and dreams about leaving their homes for the first time after lockdown , only to realize they were n't allowed to do so .
In another online survey of more than 3,000 Americans , also published in , 29 % reported that they were recalling more dreams since the pandemic began ( the survey was taken in early May ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study , women were more likely than men to report pandemic-related dreams .
Respondents were asked about the impacts of the pandemic on their own lives , and the results revealed that those who reported greater impacts on their mental and physical health also reported more dreams about COVID-19 .
A much smaller study on just 19 Canadian college students had the advantage of tracking daily dreams , rather than asking people to recall their dreams for a survey .
These students had been enrolled in a dream-journal study in February and March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in which they had been recording their dreams every morning .
The researchers compared these dreams , which captured the early days of the pandemic , with dreams collected from an age- and sex-matched group during non-pandemic times .
They found that the participants ' dreams during the early pandemic period resembled the dreams of people with .
They reported more location changes in their dreams , and more animal imagery , which previous research has found to be more common in anxious dreamers .
That research was also published in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people 's dream reports from across the pandemic .
So far , interesting patterns have emerged as anxieties change , she said .
Early on in the pandemic , when store shelves emptied , many people reported dreams of starvation or famine , for example .
Those disappeared quickly as supply chains stabilized .
People 's personal circumstances also seem to matter , she said .
Those who reported isolating alone often dreamed of being imprisoned , while those isolating with family members sometimes reported dreams about overcrowded houses or claustrophobia .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in dream reports .
Dreams about bug attacks were relatively common among Americans , Barrett said , but did n't show up in English samples .
( Nor did any Finns report being attacked by bugs in their dream worlds , Pesonen said . )
It 's not clear whether that difference would hold if more people from other different countries were sampled , but the findings are interesting , Barrett said — and an example of how poetic dreams can be .
`` Lots of very small objects that cumulatively can harm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accurate metaphor for the virus , '' she said .

Having nightmares about being stuck maskless in a crowd or coming down with COVID-19? You're not alone.
A suite of new studies finds that pandemic dreams are remarkably common across multiple countries. People in Finland, Italy, the U.S., Canada and elsewhere around the world report many of the same themes, from dreams about becoming infected to anxiety dreams about social distancing. Some of the examples are metaphorical, such as a cluster of dreams about being attacked by bugs. This bug-attack metaphor seemed unique to the coronavirus pandemic compared with other wide-scale stressful experiences, said the author of that study, Harvard Medical School psychology professor Deirde Barrett.
"I had never seen one of those after 9/11 or after World War II," Barrett said, referring to studies she has done on the dreams of people who have witnessed trauma.
Related: Why do we have nightmares?
Pandemic dreams
Dreams are an interesting area of study, Barrett told Live Science, because they reflect inner worries and concerns, but in a highly dramatized way.
"They make up a little highly visual drama, with a narrative and vivid images," she said. "They often tell us something that may not have otherwise been center stage in our attention."
They also sometimes trigger empathy, she said — for ourselves and others. For example, one dreamer surveyed by Barrett had a nightmare in which she found out her 10-year-old's entire class was coming to her house, and she was responsible for home-schooling them for the rest of the year. People who hear that dream immediately grasp the woman's real-life anxiety about school shutdowns, Barrett said.
For Barrett's study, published in a special COVID-dream section on Sept. 25 in the journal Dreaming , she surveyed 2,888 men and women about their dreams between March 23 and July 15. About 2,000 of the respondents were American, with the others coming from 85 other countries.
Consistent with previous research on crisis situations, Barrett found that people reported recalling more dreams during the pandemic compared with pre-pandemic. Stress tends to make dreams more intense, she said, which explains part of the enhanced recall. With stay-at-home orders and workplace closures, people also reported sleeping longer once the pandemic began, she said, and people who sleep longer report remembering more dreams. This is because the length of dream cycles stretches out the longer the sleep session goes.
Related: Why can't we remember our dreams?
Both men and women experienced more anxiety dreams and more dreams about death, but women reported a greater rise in both. Women also reported an increase in dreams full of feelings of sadness and anger, while men didn't dream more about those emotions. The difference may reflect the different ways men and women have been affected by the pandemic, Barrett said. Women are more likely to report dreams about caregiving for sick people, and women are more likely to be caregivers or work in caregiving careers in waking life. Dreams about homeschool stress also turned up more in women's reports than in men’s, perhaps reflecting a gender divide in responsibility for children's schooling. Women have also made up more of the unemployed during pandemic lockdowns.
"For women, it's affecting them in lots more ways that make them sad and angry as well as anxious," Barrett said.
International impacts
Another paper, this one published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology on Oct. 1, finds that in a sample of more than 4,000 Finnish dreamers, 55% of all bad dreams during the COVID-19 lockdown were pandemic-related. For that study, researchers used an artificial intelligence program to analyze nouns and verbs in dream reports and sort them into clusters. One common cluster, dubbed "disregard of distancing," included word pairs like mistake/hug, distancing/crowd, and handshake/distancing. Another common theme was travel, said study author Anu-Katriina Pesonen, head of the Sleep & Mind Research Group at the University of Helsinki. People reported dreams about being stuck at the border or not having the proper papers to travel home. This reflected what was really going on in Europe during initial lockdowns, she told Live Science.
In an Italian study of 796 people, published in the journal Dreaming , 20% of respondents' most recent dreams in April and May had something to do with COVID-19. People who knew someone who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 or who had died of the virus reported that their dreams were more emotionally intense than those who weren't personally impacted. These respondents reported dreams about being stuck in border checkpoints and dreams about leaving their homes for the first time after lockdown, only to realize they weren't allowed to do so.
Related: 14 coronavirus myths busted by science
In another online survey of more than 3,000 Americans, also published in Dreaming , 29% reported that they were recalling more dreams since the pandemic began (the survey was taken in early May). Similar to findings from Barrett's study, women were more likely than men to report pandemic-related dreams. Respondents were asked about the impacts of the pandemic on their own lives, and the results revealed that those who reported greater impacts on their mental and physical health also reported more dreams about COVID-19.
A much smaller study on just 19 Canadian college students had the advantage of tracking daily dreams, rather than asking people to recall their dreams for a survey. These students had been enrolled in a dream-journal study in February and March that was eventually halted by the pandemic, in which they had been recording their dreams every morning. The researchers compared these dreams, which captured the early days of the pandemic, with dreams collected from an age- and sex-matched group during non-pandemic times. They found that the participants' dreams during the early pandemic period resembled the dreams of people with anxiety disorders . They reported more location changes in their dreams, and more animal imagery, which previous research has found to be more common in anxious dreamers. That research was also published in the journal Dreaming .
Barrett plans to continue studying people's dream reports from across the pandemic. So far, interesting patterns have emerged as anxieties change, she said. Early on in the pandemic, when store shelves emptied, many people reported dreams of starvation or famine, for example. Those disappeared quickly as supply chains stabilized. People's personal circumstances also seem to matter, she said. Those who reported isolating alone often dreamed of being imprisoned, while those isolating with family members sometimes reported dreams about overcrowded houses or claustrophobia.
There are also intriguing hints about cross-cultural differences in dream reports. Dreams about bug attacks were relatively common among Americans, Barrett said, but didn't show up in English samples. (Nor did any Finns report being attacked by bugs in their dream worlds, Pesonen said.) It's not clear whether that difference would hold if more people from other different countries were sampled, but the findings are interesting, Barrett said — and an example of how poetic dreams can be.
"Lots of very small objects that cumulatively can harm or kill you is really a very accurate metaphor for the virus," she said.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-10-01--35-year study hints that coronavirus immunity doesn't last long

Coronaviruses that cause the common cold can infect people repeatedly , hinting that immunity to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 might be similarly short-lived .
In a new study , published Sept. 14 in the journal , scientists monitored 10 individuals for more than 35 years to determine how often they became infected with the four known seasonal .
Since these viruses — known as HCoV-NL63 , HCoV-229E , HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1 — either cause mild symptoms of the common cold or no symptoms at all , the team periodically screened the participants ' blood for to spot new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show an increase in the number of antibodies targeting a specific virus , as compared with prior samples , that means that the person 's is fighting off a new infection .
The researchers determined how steep this shift in antibody levels had to be to constitute a confirmed infection , rather than random fluctuation .
Related : 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history '' The new data show that immunity to other coronaviruses tends to be short-lived , with reinfections happening quite often about 12 months later and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Dr. Francis Collins , director of the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , wrote in a .
In a few instances , reinfections occurred as early as six months and nine months after a prior infection , the study authors found .
The 10 study participants were all part of the Amsterdam Cohort Studies ( ACS ) on HIV-1 infection and AIDS , a study of the prevalence , incidence and risk factors for HIV infection that began in the 1980s .
The participants , all HIV-negative , gave blood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the study , providing 513 samples in total .
For the new study the authors rescreened those samples for coronavirus infections , in particular looking for antibodies that target a specific portion of each virus 's nucleocapsid — the hard shell of protein that surrounds their genetic material , known as .
Based on this analysis , the team found that each participant caught three to 17 coronavirus infections within the study period , with reinfections occurring every six months to eight years and nine months .
Most often , however , reinfection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year after the prior infection .
`` We show that reinfections by natural infection occur for all four seasonal coronaviruses , suggesting that it is a common feature for all human coronaviruses , including SARS-CoV-2 , '' the virus that causes COVID-19 , the authors wrote .
Although the authors did not study SARS-CoV-2 in their research , they argue that the trend seen among common coronaviruses might still extend to the new virus .
All the common coronaviruses , despite belonging to the same family , are genetically and biologically distinct , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be `` representative of all human coronaviruses , including SARS-CoV-2 , '' the authors wrote .
That said , we do n't yet know whether SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to reinfect humans as often as the others do .
What 's more , `` at least three caveats ought to be kept in mind when interpreting these data , '' Collins noted .
First , the participants ' fluctuating antibody levels do n't tell us anything about whether they actually got sick with each reinfection .
The increase in antibodies `` might have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a significant respiratory illness to a mild case of the sniffles or no illness at all , '' Collins wrote .
In theory , it 's also possible the four may have had genetic mutations that allowed them to reinfect people .
And participants may have had some immunity to the viruses through their white blood cells , rather than their antibodies alone .
White blood cells known as B cells and T cells work together to recognize foreign substances in the body , including viruses , and rally the immune system to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Live Science previously reported .
`` Antibodies are only one marker for immunity , which is probably also influenced by B cell- and T cell-mediated immunity , '' the authors noted .
T cells and B cells may also contribute to immunity against SARS-CoV-2 , though we do n't know how much , Collins wrote .
As people gain immunity to the virus , either through natural infections or a future vaccine , it will be important to track how long that immunity lasts , he said .
It 's possible that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a recurring basis to keep the virus at bay , Live Science previously reported .
In the new study , the team also found that seasonal coronavirus infections occur more often in the winter months than summer months in the Netherlands , and suggested that COVID-19 may eventually share the same seasonal pattern .
Other experts have also predicted that COVID-19 may circulate annually after the pandemic ends .

Coronaviruses that cause the common cold can infect people repeatedly, hinting that immunity to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 might be similarly short-lived.
In a new study, published Sept. 14 in the journal Nature Medicine , scientists monitored 10 individuals for more than 35 years to determine how often they became infected with the four known seasonal coronaviruses . Since these viruses — known as HCoV-NL63, HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1 — either cause mild symptoms of the common cold or no symptoms at all, the team periodically screened the participants' blood for antibodies to spot new cases of infection.
When blood samples show an increase in the number of antibodies targeting a specific virus, as compared with prior samples, that means that the person's immune system is fighting off a new infection. The researchers determined how steep this shift in antibody levels had to be to constitute a confirmed infection, rather than random fluctuation.
Related: 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history
"The new data show that immunity to other coronaviruses tends to be short-lived, with reinfections happening quite often about 12 months later and, in some cases, even sooner," Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), wrote in a commentary about the research . In a few instances, reinfections occurred as early as six months and nine months after a prior infection, the study authors found.
The 10 study participants were all part of the Amsterdam Cohort Studies (ACS) on HIV-1 infection and AIDS, a study of the prevalence, incidence and risk factors for HIV infection that began in the 1980s. The participants, all HIV-negative, gave blood samples every three to six months throughout the study, providing 513 samples in total.
For the new study the authors rescreened those samples for coronavirus infections, in particular looking for antibodies that target a specific portion of each virus's nucleocapsid — the hard shell of protein that surrounds their genetic material, known as RNA .
Based on this analysis, the team found that each participant caught three to 17 coronavirus infections within the study period, with reinfections occurring every six months to eight years and nine months. Most often, however, reinfection of a particular coronavirus occurred about a year after the prior infection.
"We show that reinfections by natural infection occur for all four seasonal coronaviruses, suggesting that it is a common feature for all human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2," the virus that causes COVID-19, the authors wrote.
Although the authors did not study SARS-CoV-2 in their research, they argue that the trend seen among common coronaviruses might still extend to the new virus. All the common coronaviruses, despite belonging to the same family, are genetically and biologically distinct, so any traits shared among them may be "representative of all human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2," the authors wrote. That said, we don't yet know whether SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to reinfect humans as often as the others do.
What's more, "at least three caveats ought to be kept in mind when interpreting these data," Collins noted.
First, the participants' fluctuating antibody levels don't tell us anything about whether they actually got sick with each reinfection. The increase in antibodies "might have provided exactly the response needed to convert a significant respiratory illness to a mild case of the sniffles or no illness at all," Collins wrote. In theory, it's also possible the four viruses may have had genetic mutations that allowed them to reinfect people. And participants may have had some immunity to the viruses through their white blood cells, rather than their antibodies alone.
White blood cells known as B cells and T cells work together to recognize foreign substances in the body, including viruses, and rally the immune system to fight pathogens in a variety of ways, Live Science previously reported. "Antibodies are only one marker for immunity, which is probably also influenced by B cell- and T cell-mediated immunity," the authors noted.
T cells and B cells may also contribute to immunity against SARS-CoV-2, though we don't know how much, Collins wrote. As people gain immunity to the virus, either through natural infections or a future vaccine, it will be important to track how long that immunity lasts, he said. It's possible that people will need to be vaccinated on a recurring basis to keep the virus at bay, Live Science previously reported.
In the new study, the team also found that seasonal coronavirus infections occur more often in the winter months than summer months in the Netherlands, and suggested that COVID-19 may eventually share the same seasonal pattern. Other experts have also predicted that COVID-19 may circulate annually after the pandemic ends.
Originally published on Live Science.