livescience--2020-11-24--Crested rats can kill with their poisonous fur

African crested are rabbit-size fuzzballs with endearing faces and a catlike purr .
But they 're also highly poisonous , their fur loaded with a toxin so powerful that just a few milligrams is deadly enough to kill a human .
The rats do n't produce the poison themselves .
Rather , they borrow it from a poisonous plant by chewing on the bark , mixing the toxin with their saliva and then grooming the lethal liquid into stripes of specialized hairs on their flanks , a new study shows .
Some mammal species , such as shrews , moles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saliva , while — the only venomous primate — homebrew their venom by mixing saliva with a secretion from their armpits .
But the crested rat ( Lophiomys imhausi ) is the only mammal to derive its poison protection directly from plants .
Related : Photos : The poisonous creatures of the North American deserts Crested rats ' bodies measure about 9 to 14 inches ( 225 to 360 millimeters ) long , and they inhabit woodlands in Ethiopia , Kenya , Somalia , Sudan , Tanzania and Uganda , according to ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the University of Michigan 's Museum of Zoology .
The rats were first described in 1867 and were long suspected of being poisonous .
But they were so difficult to trap or observe that little was known about their habits — or where their poison came from , researchers reported Nov. 17 in the .
In 2011 , biologists proposed that the rats extracted their poison by chewing bark from the poison arrow tree ( Acokanthera schimperi ) and then applied the toxic substance by licking specialized hairs that the rodents display @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cardenolides — compounds that are also found in foxglove ( Digitalis purpurea ) and which are highly toxic to most mammals .
Very small doses of cardenolides are used in medications such as digitalis to correct arrhythmia , but higher quantities can cause vomiting , convulsions , breathing difficulties and cardiac arrest .
Oral contact with the rats ' poison-slicked hairs can be fatal , and dogs have died after attacking crested rats , the scientists wrote .
But the 2011 investigation described bark-chewing and fur-licking in just one rat , so researchers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was in the species , Denise Dearing , co-author of the new study and a Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah , .
For the new study , the researchers captured 25 rats in Kenya and temporarily kept them in captivity , installing cameras in the animals ' enclosures and analyzing nearly 1,000 hours of footage of rat behavior : 447 daytime hours and 525 hours at night .
They observed 10 rats that chewed the bark from A. schimperi , applied toxin-loaded spit to their fur and did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the study .
Crested rats have `` an unusual four-chambered stomach with a dense bacterial community , '' so it 's possible that gut microbes break up cardenolides and prevent the toxins from sickening the rats , the study authors reported .
These toxins — and the rats ' warning coloration — are likely most effective against predators that attack by biting , such as hyenas , jackals and leopards , said lead study author Sara Weinstein , a Smithsonian-Mpala Postdoctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Utah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is probably much less effective against a predator that attacks from above and can avoid the poisonous hairs on the rat 's sides by grabbing with talons , '' Weinstein told Live Science in an email .
The scientists were also surprised to learn that the rats — thought to be solitary — lived monogamously in male-female pairs , spending more than 50 % of their time together and communicating with a range of sounds that included squeaks and purrs .
However , toxin application was not a shared activity , Weinstein explained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anointing themselves , even when in pairs , '' she said .
`` More behavioral studies , particularly looking at sequestration in very young rats , could be very interesting . ''
As the crested rat is rarely glimpsed in the wild , scientists are still uncertain about the rats ' population numbers and conservation status .
But with humans increasingly invading and reshaping the rats ' forest homes , risks to the animals have grown over the past decade , said Bernard Agwanda , Curator of Mammals at the Museums of Kenya @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 2011 paper .
`` We are looking at a broad range of questions influenced by habitat change , '' he explained .
`` We need to understand how that impacts their survival . ''

African crested rats are rabbit-size fuzzballs with endearing faces and a catlike purr. But they're also highly poisonous, their fur loaded with a toxin so powerful that just a few milligrams is deadly enough to kill a human.
The rats don't produce the poison themselves. Rather, they borrow it from a poisonous plant by chewing on the bark, mixing the toxin with their saliva and then grooming the lethal liquid into stripes of specialized hairs on their flanks, a new study shows.
Some mammal species, such as shrews, moles and vampire bats, possess a toxic saliva, while slow lorises — the only venomous primate — homebrew their venom by mixing saliva with a secretion from their armpits. But the crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) is the only mammal to derive its poison protection directly from plants.
Related: Photos: The poisonous creatures of the North American deserts
Crested rats' bodies measure about 9 to 14 inches (225 to 360 millimeters) long, and they inhabit woodlands in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, according to Animal Diversity Web (ADW), a biodiversity database maintained by the University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology. The rats were first described in 1867 and were long suspected of being poisonous. But they were so difficult to trap or observe that little was known about their habits — or where their poison came from, researchers reported Nov. 17 in the Journal of Mammalogy .
In 2011, biologists proposed that the rats extracted their poison by chewing bark from the poison arrow tree (Acokanthera schimperi) and then applied the toxic substance by licking specialized hairs that the rodents display when threatened. This tree bark contains cardenolides — compounds that are also found in foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and which are highly toxic to most mammals. Very small doses of cardenolides are used in heart medications such as digitalis to correct arrhythmia, but higher quantities can cause vomiting, convulsions, breathing difficulties and cardiac arrest. Oral contact with the rats' poison-slicked hairs can be fatal, and dogs have died after attacking crested rats, the scientists wrote.
But the 2011 investigation described bark-chewing and fur-licking in just one rat, so researchers didn't know how widespread this behavior was in the species, Denise Dearing, co-author of the new study and a Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah, said in a statement .
Microscopic image of the specialized hairs that the African crested rat anoints with poison from Acokanthera schimperi. (Image credit: Sara B. Weinstein)
For the new study, the researchers captured 25 rats in Kenya and temporarily kept them in captivity, installing cameras in the animals' enclosures and analyzing nearly 1,000 hours of footage of rat behavior: 447 daytime hours and 525 hours at night. They observed 10 rats that chewed the bark from A. schimperi, applied toxin-loaded spit to their fur and didn't seem affected by the poison, according to the study. Crested rats have "an unusual four-chambered stomach with a dense bacterial community," so it's possible that gut microbes break up cardenolides and prevent the toxins from sickening the rats, the study authors reported.
These toxins — and the rats' warning coloration — are likely most effective against predators that attack by biting, such as hyenas, jackals and leopards, said lead study author Sara Weinstein, a Smithsonian-Mpala Postdoctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Utah.
"The rats' defense system is probably much less effective against a predator that attacks from above and can avoid the poisonous hairs on the rat's sides by grabbing with talons," Weinstein told Live Science in an email.
Warning coloration and toxins on the rats' fur likely protect them from terrestrial predators. (Image credit: Stephanie Higgins)
The scientists were also surprised to learn that the rats — thought to be solitary — lived monogamously in male-female pairs, spending more than 50% of their time together and communicating with a range of sounds that included squeaks and purrs. However, toxin application was not a shared activity, Weinstein explained.
"We only ever observed rats anointing themselves, even when in pairs," she said. "More behavioral studies, particularly looking at sequestration in very young rats, could be very interesting."
As the crested rat is rarely glimpsed in the wild, scientists are still uncertain about the rats' population numbers and conservation status. But with humans increasingly invading and reshaping the rats' forest homes, risks to the animals have grown over the past decade, said Bernard Agwanda, Curator of Mammals at the Museums of Kenya, and co-author of this study and of the 2011 paper.
"We are looking at a broad range of questions influenced by habitat change," he explained. "We need to understand how that impacts their survival."
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-26--The best Osmo kit deals

The best Osmo kit deals

Osmo kits are add-ons for iPads or Amazon Fire tablets that turn screen time into tactile time .
These kits use manipulables — numbers , shapes , coding instruction squares — that let kids translate something they 're doing in the physical world to action on a screen , and back again .
To get started , you 'll need an Osmo base and a compatible tablet .
Then you can choose from a number of kits designed to teach different concepts .
The more kits you have , the more your child can do .
For Black Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on these kits , available on Amazon : This starter kit will work with all iPads running iOS9 or later , except Generation 1 , iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 12.9-inch .
Designed for 6- to 10-year-olds , it comes with an Osmo base and reflector for iPad , tangram pieces , number tiles , word tiles , storage for each game and five game apps : Numbers , Tangram , Words , Newton and Masterpiece .
At 25 % off on Amazon , you 're getting a great deal ; the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was December 2019 , when Amazon sold it for $ 69.99 .
View Deal Compatible with 7th Generation Fire 7 , HD 8 , HD 10 , 8th Generation Fire HD 8 , 9th Generation HD 7 , HD 10 , this kit is also designed for kids 6 to 10 years old .
It comes with an Osmo base and reflector for Fire tablets , tangram pieces , numbers tiles , words tiles , storage for each game and five game apps : Numbers , Tangram , Words , Newton and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is selling it for 40 % off the list price .
View Deal Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit for iPad : $ 55.99 at Amazon Like the Genius starter kit , but for preschoolers , this set comes with an Osmo base and reflector for iPad ( iOS9 or later ) , 19 cardboard pretend play costume pieces , 38 silicone sticks and rings , a silicone game play mat , stackable storage for game pieces and four game apps : ABCs , Costume Party , Stories and Squiggle Magic .
At 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starter kit is selling for one of its lowest prices ; it only went lower , at $ 55.99 , last year on Amazon .
View Deal Osmo Coding Starter Kit for Fire Tablet : $ 69.99 at Amazon ( Also for iPad : $ 78.99 at Amazon ) This kit contains everything you need to get your 5- to 10-year-old started on coding .
Compatible with the 7th Generation Fire 7 , HD 8 , HD 10 , 8th Generation Fire HD 8 , 9th Generation HD 7 and HD 10 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Fire tablets , 31 tangible coding blocks and storage , along with three game apps : Coding Awbie , Coding Jam and Coding Duo.View Deal Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit for iPad + Early Math Explorer : $ 80.99 at Amazon ( Also for Fire Tablet : $ 83.99 at Amazon ) This kit comes with an Osmo base and reflector , 19 costume pieces , 38 silicone sticks and rings , a silicone play mat , storage for game pieces and 6 game apps : Shape Builder , Counting Town , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Squiggle Magic .
Amazon is currently selling both the iPad and Fire versions for 30 % off .
View Deal Osmo Creative Starter Kit for iPad : $ 52.49 at Amazon ( Also for Fire Tablet : $ 48.99 at Amazon ) Designed for kids 5- to 10-years-old , this kit comes with an Osmo base and reflector , a creative board , four dry erase markers , microfiber eraser pouch , stackable storage for each game & three game apps : Monster , Newton and Masterpiece .
Right now , Amazon is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off and the Fire Tablet version for 30 % off the retail price.View Deal Five to 12-year-olds can make pizzas and practice counting change with this pizza-parlor game .
This kit comes with a pizza and tray , toppings , money tiles , stackable storage for game pieces and one game app : Pizza Co. Amazon is selling the add-on for 20 % off .
( Though its lowest offer on Pizza Co. was last February when Amazon sold it for $ 23.99 . )
View Deal For 5- to 11-year-olds , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2 Sketchpad , 2 Super Studio markers , a Super Sweeper eraser and the game app Super Studio Frozen 2 .
Kids will get step-by-step instructions on how to draw the scenes from `` Frozen 2 , '' and then watch the story come to life in their first animation .
Amazon is selling the the super studio kit for 25 % off .
View Deal

These Osmo deals are a great way to engage your kids in fun activities that boost their brainpower as well. Time in front of a screen for kids doesn’t need to be a passive experience, as Osmo kits are ideal for wannabe coders, keen learners and kids who love to read. These Osmo kit deals offer educational games that are fun and engaging.
Osmo is an electronic STEM toy that’s compatible with both iPads and Amazon Fire tablets, making it very accessible. They offer a tactile experience using manipulables — numbers, shapes, coding instruction squares — that takes what you’re doing in the real world and translates that to activity on the screen and then back again.
The Osmo base and a compatible tablet are all you need to get started and there’s a wide array of kits to pick from, letting you find the experience that’s best for you. Of course, the more kits you pick up the wider the array of different things your child can learn and with these Osmo deals, you might be able to afford more than one. Osmo's Super Studio is 30% off at Amazon is ideal for fans of Disney.
Don’t miss Live Science's list of the best coding toys for even more recommendations.
Today's best Osmo deals
Osmo Genius Starter Kit for iPad: $99.99 $69.99 at Amazon
This starter kit will work with all iPads running iOS 10 or later, except Generation 1-4, 9 & Mini 6. Designed for 6- to 10-year-olds, it comes with an Osmo base and reflector for iPad, tangram pieces, number tiles, word tiles, storage for each game and five games: Numbers, Tangram, Words, Newton and Masterpiece. At 30% off, you're getting a great deal.
Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit for iPad: $79.99 $59.99 at Target
Like the Genius starter kit, but for preschoolers, this set comes with an Osmo base and reflector for iPad (iOS 10 or later), 19 cardboard pretend play costume pieces, 38 silicone sticks and rings, a silicone game play mat, stackable storage for game pieces and four game apps: ABCs, Costume Party, Stories and Squiggle Magic. And right now, Target is selling the kit for 38% off the list price.
Osmo Creative Starter Kit for iPad: $69.99 $48.99 at Amazon
Designed for 5- to 10-years-old kids, this kit comes with an Osmo base and reflector, a creative board, four dry erase markers, microfiber eraser pouch, stackable storage for each game & three game apps: Monster, Newton and Masterpiece. Right now, Amazon is selling the iPad version for 30% off the retail price.
Osmo Coding Starter Kit for iPad: $99.99 $69.99 at Amazon
Designed for ages 5 to 10, this game bundle includes 31 tangible coding blocks, including Walk, Jump, Hand, Magic, Rest, Quantifiers (Numbers), Repeat, Subroutines, as well as Stackable storage for game pieces and three game apps: Coding Awbie, Coding Jam and Coding Duo. Right now, Amazon is selling the bundle for 30% off.
Osmo - Creative Starter Kit for iPad + Detective Agency: $119.98 $83.98 at Amazon
Get 30% off this starter kit, which comes with: Osmo Base for iPad, new Creative Board, 4 dry-erase markers, microfiber eraser pouch, Stackable storage for each game and 3 Game Apps: Monster, Newton and Masterpiece. Plus, kids can solve mysteries with the Detective Agency add-on, which contains four double-sided maps, a map holder, magnifying glass and one game app: Detective Agency. Designed for ages 5 to 12.
Osmo - Math Wizard and the Secrets of the Dragons for iPad & Fire Tablet: $59.99 $44.99 at Amazon
There be dragons with this Osmo kit deal for the Fire Tablet and for iPad. Kids in 1st and 2nd grade can learn about measurements and estimation in a world filled with dragons. Kids can also explore the Dragon Reserve to complete your Dragon Guidebook. Along the way, they will measure and care for their dragons, earn their trust and watch them grow. They won't even know they are becoming little mathematicians. For Cyber Monday, you can snag this kit for 25% off. NOTE: The Osmo Base is not included. You can get that on Amazon as well.
Osmo - Math Wizard and the Magical Workshop for iPad & Fire Tablet: $59.99 $41.99 at Amazon
Kids ages 6 to 8 can explore the village of Wyverndell with the wizard cat Mumbles. They will learn adding and subtracting, place value and more as they brew dragons' claw potions and magic sparkles, and help dragons fly up and down using balloons. Adults can adjust the game difficulty. Requires an Osmo base for iPad or a Fire tablet. Right now, this magical math game is 30% off at Amazon.
Osmo - Monster Starter Kit for iPad: $49.99 $38.59 at Walmart
What kid doesn't want to play with monsters? These are the cute kind of monsters, of course. With this kit, kids ages 5 to 10 can create their own monster drawings (dubbed "Mo") and bring it to life on the tablet, where kids can interact in one of Mo's amazing rooms. The kit comes with a drawing board, erasable marker, microfiber cleaning cloth and the Osmo Base for iPad. (It is also available in English and Spanish.)
Osmo Pizza Co: $49.99 $34.99 at Amazon
Five to 12-year-olds can make pizzas and practice counting change with this pizza-parlor game. This kit comes with a pizza and tray, toppings, money tiles, stackable storage for game pieces and one game app: Pizza Co.
Osmo - Super Studio Disney Frozen 2 Game: $29.99 $15.89 at Amazon
For 5- to 11-year-olds, this learn-to-draw pack includes a Super Studio Frozen 2 Sketchpad, 2 Super Studio markers, a Super Sweeper eraser and the game app Super Studio Frozen 2. Kids will get step-by-step instructions on how to draw the scenes from "Frozen 2," and then watch the story come to life in their first animation. The Osmo Base is NOT included.
Osmo - Detective Agency: $49.99 $43.99 at Amazon
Kids can become their own version of a Sherlock Holmes with this Osmo add-on for the Fire tablet and iPad. Using a game piece magnifying glass, your little P.I. can search for landmarks around the world while also learning trivia facts about geography, culture and history (Detective Agency). Along the way, there are plenty of mysteries to solve. The add-on comes with 4 double-sided maps, a map holder, a magnifying glass & 1 Game App: Detective Agency.
How do kids learn with Osmo?
The Osmo device works through what the company calls "augmented reality," in which a reflector mirror is attached to an iPad or Fire tablet that sits in the Osmo base. That reflector captures images from the table below and feeds them to the tablet's camera. With the Osmo app, those physical objects — such as Osmo's letter or number tiles — become part of the digital world, where your child can interact in a hands-on setting.
With that basic premise, Osmo has created a slew of add-ons, and that's where the learning truly begins. For these learning games, you can choose between different age groups: 3-5, 6-9 and 10+. Also, parents can adjust the skill level for these add-ons to fit their child's needs.
Math: If you have a child who needs help in math, or perhaps they need a number challenge, you can choose from several math add-ons depending on level and type of activity. For instance, for 6- to 8-year-olds, the Math Wizards Bundle comes with four games that teach geometry (with fun food puzzles), the foundations of multiplication (with all-star sports teams), measurement (with dragons!) and addition/subtraction by brewing silly potions in a magical workshop journey.
Literacy: To help your kids learn or just improve their reading skills, you can check out the "literacy" sets. For instance, the Early Literacy bundle can help kids with a range of skills, from letter recognition, vocabulary familiarity, sentence construction and even phonics with ABCs. The 38 silicon sticks and rings that come with the set can be used for creating letters that come alive on your tablet for gameplay and other fun learning activities. The bundle is rated for ages 3 to 12 because all of the "equipment" is flexible in terms of the games/apps it can be used with.
Science: Yes, Osmo dives into some science areas! With Osmo Newton , kids can either draw an object or find something lying around their room. Then, they use this imaginary cup, some new invention they hand-draw or real-life objects such as mom's keys to guide falling balls on the screen into targeted spots. And there are 60 levels.
Other skills targeted with Osmo add-ons and related apps include: coding, critical thinking, drawing, geography, imaginative play and puzzles.


livescience--2020-11-25--Dino-era bird had the head of a Velociraptor and beak of a toucan

In what may be one of the weirdest animal mash-ups , scientists have found the 68 million-year-old fossilized skull of an early bird with a -like face and a toucan-like beak , a new study finds .
This crow-size bird lived in northwestern Madagascar during the , when walked the Earth .
And its bizarre beaky face made it one of a kind .
`` Birds from the Mesozoic [ the dinosaur era ] , or any time for that matter , do not have faces built like this , '' study co-researcher Patrick O'Connor , professor of anatomy at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an email .
Researchers found the bird 's partial but `` exquisitely preserved '' skull in 2010 in a block of muddy sandstone .
They did n't CT scan it until 2017 , O'Connor said .
In that moment , they realized this 3-inch-long ( 8.5 centimeters ) skull — so small it could fit in the palm of your hand — had `` a beak never before seen in the Mesozoic , '' study co-researcher Alan Turner , associate professor of anatomy at Stony Brook University in New York , told Live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why : In modern birds , the skeleton underneath the beak is largely formed by a single bone .
`` You can sort of think of this as a set of rules that all living birds follow , '' from skinny beaked hummingbirds to fat-beaked shoebills , Turner said .
But in this newfound bird — dubbed Falcatakely forsterae , a combination of Latin and Malagasy words describing the fearsome beast 's small size and scythe-like beak — this beak-building `` rule '' was n't yet established .
Instead , most Mesozoic birds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their dinosaur ancestors , with both a bone underneath the beak and a large upper jawbone .
`` Falcatakely made up its face with the same bones and in a similar way as an animal like Velociraptor did , '' Turner said .
`` What is remarkable is that with this ancestral arrangement of bones , Falcatakely evolved a beak shape strongly reminiscent of modern birds with high , long upper bills . ''
Put another way , this toucan-like beak is an example of , when a similar feature evolves independently in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long upper bill tens of millions of years before modern birds such as toucans and hornbills did , Turner said .
`` So , it is actually the toucans and the hornbills that have the convergent morphology .
Falcatakely beat them to it , '' he said .
The study was published online Wednesday ( Nov. 25 ) in the journal .

An illustration shows the late Cretaceous bird Falcatakely forsterae flying in ancient Madagascar not too far from sauropod dinosaurs.
In what may be one of the weirdest animal mash-ups, scientists have found the 68 million-year-old fossilized skull of an early bird with a Velociraptor -like face and a toucan-like beak, a new study finds.
This crow-size bird lived in northwestern Madagascar during the late Cretaceous , when dinosaurs walked the Earth. And its bizarre beaky face made it one of a kind.
"Birds from the Mesozoic [the dinosaur era], or any time for that matter, do not have faces built like this," study co-researcher Patrick O'Connor, professor of anatomy at Ohio University, told Live Science in an email.
Related: Photos: Velociraptor cousin had short arms and feathery plumage
Researchers found the bird's partial but "exquisitely preserved" skull in 2010 in a block of muddy sandstone. They didn't CT scan it until 2017, O'Connor said. In that moment, they realized this 3-inch-long (8.5 centimeters) skull — so small it could fit in the palm of your hand — had "a beak never before seen in the Mesozoic," study co-researcher Alan Turner, associate professor of anatomy at Stony Brook University in New York, told Live Science in an email.
Image 1 of 4 Only the skull of Falcatakely forsterae, an early bird with a face like Velociraptor, was found, but here's what the rest of its body may have looked like. (Image credit: Mark Witton) A graphic showing the bird's skull (top left) and micro-CT scans of it before and after digital assembly. (Image credit: P. O'Connor, A. Turner, J. Groenke, & M. Witton) A profile of the toucan-beaked bird Falcatakely forsterae. (Image credit: Mark Witton) The newfound ancient bird had a beak similar to a modern toucan's. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Here's why: In modern birds, the skeleton underneath the beak is largely formed by a single bone. "You can sort of think of this as a set of rules that all living birds follow," from skinny beaked hummingbirds to fat-beaked shoebills, Turner said.
But in this newfound bird — dubbed Falcatakely forsterae, a combination of Latin and Malagasy words describing the fearsome beast's small size and scythe-like beak — this beak-building "rule" wasn't yet established. Instead, most Mesozoic birds, including Archaeopteryx , had snouts more like their dinosaur ancestors, with both a bone underneath the beak and a large upper jawbone.
"Falcatakely made up its face with the same bones and in a similar way as an animal like Velociraptor did," Turner said. "What is remarkable is that with this ancestral arrangement of bones, Falcatakely evolved a beak shape strongly reminiscent of modern birds with high, long upper bills."
Put another way, this toucan-like beak is an example of convergent evolution , when a similar feature evolves independently in separate groups. But Falcatakely evolved its long upper bill tens of millions of years before modern birds such as toucans and hornbills did, Turner said. "So, it is actually the toucans and the hornbills that have the convergent morphology. Falcatakely beat them to it," he said.
The study was published online Wednesday (Nov. 25) in the journal Nature .
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-25--Here are the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates out there

Editor 's Note : This story was updated on Nov. 25 .
Using materials from weakened cold viruses to snippets of genetic code , scientists around the world are creating dozens of unique vaccine candidates to fight the novel coronavirus — and they 're doing it at unprecedented speeds .
It 's not known exactly when the virus hopped from animals to humans and when it started spreading across borders .
But in less than a year since the World Health Organization ( WHO ) first alerted the world to a in Wuhan , China , researchers across the globe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidate vaccines to fight the coronavirus .
Most are in preclinical stages , meaning they are still being tested on animals or in the lab , but 48 of them are being tested on humans .
A handful of those 48 have reached late-stage clinical trials and three have already revealed promising results in late-stage trials and have applied for emergency use among high-risk populations .
The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could be given to people in the U.S. starting in December .
Clinical trials are broken up into three to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phase 1/phase 2 ) examining the safety , dosage , and possible side effects and efficacy ( how well it works at fighting the pathogen ) of the candidate vaccine in a small group of people , according to the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) .
The key to getting a candidate vaccine approved , however , is showing promising results in the more advanced phase 3 trial .
In phase 3 trials , researchers test the efficacy of the vaccine , while also monitoring for adverse reactions in thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those candidates : The vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 , popularly known as the Oxford vaccine , was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca .
The vaccine candidate is 70 % effective in preventing COVID-19 and can be 90 % effective when given in the right dose , the University of Oxford .
The vaccine is given in two doses , 28 days apart and is still being tested in phase 3 clinical trials across the globe , including in the U.S. , U.K. and Brazil .
The first analysis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 131 participants who developed COVID-19 after receiving either the vaccine or the placebo .
In those who received two full doses , the vaccine was around 62 % effective in preventing COVID-19 , but in those who first received a half dose and then a full dose ( this dosing was n't deliberate , but the result of dosing mistake in early trials ) , the vaccine was 90 % effective , .
However , the data is not yet released or peer-reviewed and so it 's not clear how many people received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine.No serious safety concerns were found , and none of the participants who developed an infection after receiving the vaccine were hospitalized or had serious disease , according to the statement .
The trials were paused twice before ( this is common in clinical trials ) after two different participants developed neurological symptoms , but they were resumed again when investigators did n't find a link between the vaccine and the symptoms , .
Another participant in the trial , a 28-year-old doctor in Brazil , died from COVID-19 complications , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety concerns nor was the trial stopped , so it 's likely he was given a placebo and not the vaccine itself , according to the BBC .
The vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus , called an adenovirus , that infects chimpanzees .
Researchers genetically altered the virus so that it could n't replicate in humans and added genes to code for the so-called that the coronavirus uses to infect human cells .
In theory , the vaccine will teach the body to recognize these spikes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposed , the can destroy it , according to a previous .
Researchers previously tested this vaccine in rhesus macaque monkeys and found that it did not prevent the monkeys from becoming infected when deliberately exposed to the coronavirus , but did prevent them from developing , suggesting that it was partially protective , according to a study published May 13 to the preprint database .
In April , researchers began testing the vaccine on people and published early results from their phase 1 and still-ongoing phase 2 trials on July 20 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cause any serious adverse effects in participants but did prompt some mild side effects , such as muscle ache and chills .
The vaccine spurred the immune system to produce SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cells — a group of white blood cells important in the fight against pathogens — and neutralizing , or molecules that can latch onto the virus and block it from infecting cells , according to the report .
The Oxford vaccine showed similar immune responses in those over the age of 56 and those between the ages of 18 and 55 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in older adults than younger adults , according to phase 2 results published on Nov. 18 in the journal .
This analysis was based on 560 participants , 240 of them 70 years of age and older .
The team at Oxford has also expressed interest in conducting challenge studies on humans , meaning they would deliberately infect low-risk volunteers with the virus , either alongside phase 3 trials or after they are complete , according to The Guardian .
A Chinese company , Sinovac Biotech , developed and is testing a candidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up of an inactivated version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus .
Inactivated vaccines use killed versions of a pathogen ( as opposed to weakened viruses , which are called live vaccines ) , according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) .
Inactivated viruses such as the or the hepatitis A vaccine , are typically not as protective as live vaccines and might require booster shots over time , according to the HHS .
In contrast , the Oxford vaccine is a weakened form of a live virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Weakened virus vaccines tend to be riskier for people with weakened immune systems or other health problems , according to the HHS .
Sinovac previously used the same technology to develop approved vaccines for hepatitis A , hepatitis B , swine flu , avian flu and the virus that causes hand , foot and mouth disease , .
Sinovac 's vaccine , given in two doses 14 days apart , was well-tolerated and induced an immune response in participants , according to results from their phase 1/phase 2 trials published in November in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in response to the vaccine was lower than the level found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 .
The vaccine is being tested in phase 3 trials in Brazil , Indonesia and Turkey ; the company has not yet announced results from these trials .
But enough participants in the Brazil trial have now been infected with the virus to conduct the first analysis of it , .
Results could come in early December , according to the trial organizers .
In September , that their vaccine was well-tolerated among older adults @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The phase 1/phase 2 trial involved 421 healthy volunteers between the ages of 60 and 89 ; these participants developed antibody levels comparable to the adult group ages 18 to 59 , according to the statement .
The vaccine protected rhesus macaque monkeys from infection with the novel coronavirus , according to a study published July 3 in the journal .
China has approved this vaccine for emergency use ( along with two other vaccines developed by Sinopharm ) .
About 90 % of Sinovac 's employees and their families have taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use program , on Sept. 6 .
This candidate vaccine ( mRNA-1273 ) , developed by U.S. biotech company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) , was the first to be tested on humans in the U.S. , according to a .
It 's also one of the first to release early results from its phase 3 trial .
An analysis of the early data suggested that Moderna 's vaccine is 94.5 % effective in protecting against COVID-19 , on Nov. 16 .
The analysis was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phase 3 trial who developed COVID-19 ; 90 of them received a placebo and five received the vaccine .
What 's more , 15 of those who developed COVID-19 were people who were at least 65 years old and 20 were from diverse communities .
Among the participants , 11 had severe cases of COVID-19 , but none of these severe cases were among those given the actual vaccine , .
Moderna 's vaccine relies on a technology that has n't been used in any approved vaccines to date : a piece of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
Traditional vaccines are made up of weakened or inactive viruses , or proteins of those viruses , to trigger an immune response ; mRNA vaccines , on the other hand , are made up of genetic material that teaches cells to build these viral proteins themselves ( in this case , the coronavirus ' spike protein ) .
Both traditional and mRNA vaccines trigger an immune response in the body such that if a person is naturally exposed to the virus , the body can quickly recognize and fight it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ including being quicker and easier to manufacture than traditional vaccines , which can take time to develop because scientists have to grow and inactivate entire pathogens or their proteins , .
mRNA vaccines might also be more durable against pathogens that tend to mutate , such as and flu viruses .
However , mRNA vaccines can cause adverse reactions in the body ; these types of vaccines also have problems with stability , breaking down quite quickly , which might limit the strength of immunity , according to National Geographic .
mRNA vaccines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alternative '' to traditional vaccines , but `` their application has until recently been restricted by the instability and inefficient '' delivery into the body , a group of researchers reported in a 2018 review published in the journal .
`` Recent technological advances have now largely overcome these issues , and multiple mRNA vaccine platforms against infectious diseases and several types of cancer have demonstrated encouraging results in both animal models and humans . ''
On July 14 , Moderna published promising early results from a phase 1 trial consisting of 45 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medicine .
Participants were divided into three groups and given a low , medium or high dose of the vaccine .
After receiving two doses of the vaccine , all participants developed neutralizing antibodies at levels above the average of those found in recovered COVID-19 patients , .
The vaccine appeared safe and generally well-tolerated , but more than half of the participants had some side effects ( similar to side effects that can happen from the annual flu shot ) including fatigue , chills , headache , muscle aches and pain at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the middle- and high-dose groups experienced a fever after the second injection .
One person who received the highest dose experienced a `` severe '' fever , nausea , lightheadedness and an episode of fainting , according to the report .
But this participant felt better after a day and a half .
Such high doses wo n't be given to participants in upcoming trials .
On July 28 , scientists published a new study in The New England Journal of Medicin detailing how Moderna 's vaccine induced a strong immune response in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 10 or 100 μg dose of the vaccine and then a second dose two weeks later ( some were not given a vaccine and served as a comparison point ) , the monkeys were `` challenged '' or exposed to the coronavirus at week 8 .
The researchers found that the monkeys developed a strong immune response to the virus , as their immune systems produced both neutralizing antibodies and T cells .
Two days after the monkeys were exposed to the coronavirus , the researchers could not detect any viral replication @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the vaccine protected against early infection .
( This is in contrast to the University of Oxford study conducted in monkeys , which seemed to prevent the monkeys from developing pneumonia , but did n't prevent them from getting infected with the novel coronavirus . )
The government 's Operation Warp Speed gave Moderna $ 955 million for research and development of its vaccine .
Moderna 's phase 3 trial is still ongoing , and the company expects to produce 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021 .
The company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorization ( EUA ) soon .
Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech have , like Moderna , developed a vaccine that uses messenger RNA to prompt the immune system to recognize the coronavirus .
A final analysis of their phase 3 data suggested that their vaccine is 95 % effective at preventing COVID-19 , the companies announced on Nov. 18 .
The companies became the first to submit a request for emergency use authorization on Nov. 20 .
The first doses of this vaccine will likely be given in December .
Pfizer and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million doses of its vaccine globally in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses of its vaccine by the end of 2021 , according to the statement .
The phase 3 trial , that began in late July , will continue for another two years and safety and efficacy data will continue to be collected , .
Moderna 's and Pfizer 's vaccines are made using the same technology , are both given in two doses and have shown to be similar in efficacy and safety .
The U.S. government has promised to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they are approved .
But Pfizer 's vaccine has an added difficulty : it must be stored in ultra-cold temperatures of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit ( minus 70 degrees Celsius ) , whereas Moderna 's needs to be stored at minus 4 F ( minus 20 C ) .
Pfizer did n't take any money from the government for research and development for its vaccine , whereas Moderna did .
The Pfizer vaccine did n't cause any serious adverse events and led to an immune response , according to phase 1/phase 2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The study involved 45 patients who were given one of three doses of either the candidate vaccine or a placebo .
None of the patients had serious side effects , but some developed side effects such as fevers ( 75 % in the highest dose group ) , fatigue , headaches , chills , muscle pains and joint pain .
The researchers found that the vaccine prompted the immune system to make neutralizing antibodies at levels 1.8 to 2.8 times higher than those found in recovered patients , according to the study .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ produce T cells and other molecules to help fight the virus , according to results from another phase 1/phase 2 trial that were published in the journal at the end of September .
In October , Pfizer and BioNTech received FDA approval to start enrolling children 12 years old and older in its trials , .
CanSino Biologics , in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology , developed a candidate vaccine ( Ad5-nCoV or Convidecia ) using a weakened adenovirus .
Unlike the Oxford vaccine , which relies on an adenovirus that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an adenovirus that infects humans .
Along with Moderna , this group also published results from their phase 2 trial on July 20 in the journal .
The trial , which was conducted in Wuhan ( where the first coronavirus cases emerged ) , involved 508 participants who were randomly assigned to receive either one of two different doses of the vaccine or a placebo .
This study also did n't find serious adverse events , though some reported mild or moderate reactions including fever , fatigue and injection site pain .
Around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responses and about 85 % developed neutralizing antibodies , according to the study .
`` The results of both studies augur well for phase 3 trials , where the vaccines must be tested on much larger populations of participants to assess their efficacy and safety , '' Naor Bar-Zeev and William J Moss , both part of John Hopkins ' International Vaccine Access Center , wrote in an in The Lancet referring to this study and the Oxford vaccine study published in the same journal .
`` Overall , the results of both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' In June , CanSino 's coronavirus vaccine was given approval to be used in China 's military , .
CanSino announced on Nov. 21 that they will start phase 3 trials of its vaccine in Argentina and Chile , Reuters reported .
They are already conducting phase 3 trials in Pakistan , Russia and Mexico .
The Russia Ministry of Health 's Gamaleya Research Institute has developed a coronavirus vaccine candidate , now known as `` Sputnik V , '' based on two different adenoviruses , or common cold viruses that infect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to not replicate in humans and to code for the coronavirus 's spike protein .
Russia on Nov. 24 that its vaccine was more than 91.4 % effective in preventing COVID-19 , according to results from a second analysis of its phase 3 trial .
The analysis was based on 39 participants who either received a placebo or the Sputnik V vaccine and later went on to develop COVID-19 ( Their results agreed with their first analysis of their phase 3 data based on 20 participants ) .
But the vaccine makers also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unspecified , smaller subset of the participants suggested that their vaccine was actually 95 % effective in preventing COVID-19 three weeks after participants received the second dose .
The researchers said they will do another analysis once 78 of the trial participants become infected with COVID-19 .
But some experts were skeptical about the 95 % figure because it was based on incomplete data , according to The New York Times .
In August , President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia approved the vaccine for use in tens of thousands of people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clinical trials , drawing international criticism , .
But the issued by Russia 's Ministry of Health showed that the vaccine was only approved for use in a small group of people , including health care workers , .
In September , the researchers published results from their phase 1/phase 2 trials in the journal .
The analysis , based on 76 participants ( none of whom were given a placebo ) , suggested their vaccine was `` safe and well tolerated . ''
Most adverse events were mild , none of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ participants developed higher antibody levels against the coronavirus than people who have recovered from COVID-19 .
Adenoviruses have been used to make vaccines for decades , and an adenovirus is also the base of the coronavirus vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson 's Janssen Pharmaceutical companies , China 's CanSino Biologics and the University of Oxford .
`` The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different human adenoviral vectors which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to the vaccines using one and the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the statement .
After the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca announced that two full doses of the same adenovirus led to a 62 % efficacy , the Sputnik V researchers : `` Sputnik V is happy to share one of its two human adenoviral vectors with @ AstraZeneca to increase the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine .
Using two different vectors for two vaccine shots will result in higher efficacy than using the same vector for two shots . ''
The state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group ( Sinopharm ) 's candidate vaccine is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aug. 13 , the company published data from its phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials in the journal .
In the phase 1 trial , 96 healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive either a low , medium or high dose of the vaccine or to receive aluminum hydroxide as a placebo .
They were given second and third doses of the vaccine ( or the placebo ) after 28 days and 56 days , respectively .
The researchers found that the vaccine triggered their bodies to produce neutralizing antibodies .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 12.5 % had adverse reactions .
In those who received low , medium and high dose vaccines , 20.8 % , 16.7 % and 25 % had mild adverse reactions , respectively , according to the study .
In the phase 2 trial , 224 adults were given a medium dose or a placebo and then a second shot either 14 days or 21 days after the first .
Again , the participants developed neutralizing antibodies and reported some mild adverse reactions .
The most common adverse reaction was pain at the injection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` No serious adverse reactions were noted , '' the authors wrote .
The company has already begun its in Abu Dhabi , which will recruit up to 15,000 people , .
The participants will receive one of two vaccine strains or a placebo , according to Reuters .
The company also launched phase 3 trials in Peru and Morocco , .
Sinopharm is testing a second vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products in a phase 3 trial in the United Arab Emirates and Argentina .
Almost 1 million people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in China under an emergency use program , .
The vaccine was given to construction workers , diplomats and students who have since traveled to 150 countries across the globe without reporting an infection , Sinopharm Chairman Liu Jingzhen said in an article on social media platform WeChat , according to CNN .
No serious adverse effects have been reported , according to the article .
The United Arab Emirates granted emergency approval on Sept. 14 for Sinopharm 's coronavirus vaccine for frontline health care workers , .
Johnson & Johnson 's Janssen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a weakened adenovirus ( ad26 ) and is given to volunteers as a single dose ( most of the other candidate vaccines are given in two doses ) .
Again , this type of vaccine , called a vector-based vaccine , uses a weakened virus ( a vector ) to deliver `` information '' about the pathogen to the body to spur the immune response .
Just as with other adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccines , the weakened adenovirus expresses the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein .
Janssen is using the same technology it used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Operation Warp Speed has funded $ 456 million for the development of this vaccine .
Johnson & Johnson a $ 1 billion agreement with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine in the U.S. if it receives approval or emergency use authorization from the FDA .
Johnson & Johnson began phase 3 trials in the U.S. on Sept. 23 .
The company has not yet released data from these trials .
In October , the company paused its trials ( this is common in clinical trials ) after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then resumed in the U.S. after a `` thorough evaluation '' did n't find a clear cause for the illness , according to a statement .
`` There are many possible factors that could have caused the event .
Based on the information gathered to date and the input of independent experts , the Company has found no evidence that the vaccine candidate caused the event , '' the company wrote in the statement .
But discussions with global regulatory agencies to resume trials in other countries are still continuing .
On Nov. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global phase 3 trial that will study the safety and efficacy of two doses of the vaccine ( rather than one ) .
Both phase 3 trials follow `` positive interim results , '' regarding safety and efficacy from the phase 1/phase 2 clinical trial , which has been posted to the preprint site and has n't yet been peer-reviewed .
Almost all of the participants developed a strong T cell response and antibodies to the virus , including neutralizing antibodies , after a single dose .
The trials are ongoing and they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine when given as two doses .
The majority of adverse events were `` mild and moderate , '' .
However , two adverse events were reported in the trials , the first event was found not to be related to the vaccine and the second was in a participant who developed a fever and was hospitalized with `` suspicion '' that they had COVID-19 but recovered in 12 hours , according to the statement .
Researchers reported on July 30 in the journal that a single shot of the Ad26 vaccine protected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this study , the scientists tested seven slightly varying types of Ad26 vaccine prototypes and identified the one that produced the highest number of neutralizing antibodies .
After receiving the chosen variant , the monkeys were then exposed to the coronavirus .
Six out of seven monkeys that were given this prototype vaccine , calledAd26.COV2.S , and then exposed to the coronavirus showed no detectable virus in the lower respiratory tract and one showed very low levels in the nose , according to a statement .
U.S.-based vaccine development company Novavax has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine called NVX-CoV2373 .
Called a `` recombinant nanoparticle vaccine , '' it 's made up of several SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins that are combined in a nanoparticle along with an immune-boosting compound called an adjuvant , according to The New York Times .
The company , which has not brought a vaccine to market in it 's 33-year-history , has made a $ 1.6 billion deal with the U.S. government under Operation Warp Speed , according to the Times .
On Sept. 2 , early , promising results from Novavax 's phase 1/phase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ England Journal of Medicine .
The trials involved 131 healthy adults : eighty-three of the participants received the vaccine with the adjuvant ; 25 received the vaccine without the adjuvant ; and 23 received the placebo .
The participants were given two doses of the vaccine 21 days apart .
`` No serious adverse events were noted , '' the researchers wrote .
One participant had a mild fever that lasted for a day , according to the paper .
Thirty-five days after the initial dose , participants who received the vaccine had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who recovered from COVID-19 .
All of the participants developed neutralizing antibodies at levels of four to six times greater than the average developed by recovered patients , .
In 16 participants , who were randomly tested , the vaccine seemed to generate T-cell responses ( T cells are a group of white blood cells important in the fight against pathogens ) .
`` The addition of adjuvant resulted in enhanced immune responses , '' the authors wrote .
Based on these safety results from phase 1 , the company has begun the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company has also begun a separate in South Africa , testing their candidate COVID-19 vaccine on both HIV-negative and HIV-positive volunteers .
On Sept. 24 , that it started its phase 3 testing of the vaccine in the United Kingdom and will enroll up to 10,000 volunteers .

Editor's Note: This story was updated on Nov. 25.
Using materials from weakened cold viruses to snippets of genetic code, scientists around the world are creating dozens of unique vaccine candidates to fight the novel coronavirus — and they're doing it at unprecedented speeds.
It's not known exactly when the virus hopped from animals to humans and when it started spreading across borders. But in less than a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) first alerted the world to a mysterious cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, researchers across the globe have already developed more than 200 different candidate vaccines to fight the coronavirus.
Most are in preclinical stages, meaning they are still being tested on animals or in the lab, but 48 of them are being tested on humans. A handful of those 48 have reached late-stage clinical trials and three have already revealed promising results in late-stage trials and have applied for emergency use among high-risk populations. The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could be given to people in the U.S. starting in December.
Related: Coronavirus live updates
Clinical trials are broken up into three to four stages, with earlier stages (phase 1/phase 2) examining the safety, dosage, and possible side effects and efficacy (how well it works at fighting the pathogen) of the candidate vaccine in a small group of people, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . The key to getting a candidate vaccine approved, however, is showing promising results in the more advanced phase 3 trial. In phase 3 trials, researchers test the efficacy of the vaccine, while also monitoring for adverse reactions in thousands of volunteers.
Here are the most promising of those candidates:
University of Oxford/AstraZeneca
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
The vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, popularly known as the Oxford vaccine, was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. The vaccine candidate is 70% effective in preventing COVID-19 and can be 90% effective when given in the right dose, the University of Oxford announced on Nov. 23 . The vaccine is given in two doses, 28 days apart and is still being tested in phase 3 clinical trials across the globe, including in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil. The first analysis from these late-stage trials was based on 131 participants who developed COVID-19 after receiving either the vaccine or the placebo. In those who received two full doses, the vaccine was around 62% effective in preventing COVID-19, but in those who first received a half dose and then a full dose (this dosing wasn't deliberate, but the result of dosing mistake in early trials), the vaccine was 90% effective, Live Science reported . However, the data is not yet released or peer-reviewed and so it's not clear how many people received the placebo and how many received the vaccine.No serious safety concerns were found, and none of the participants who developed an infection after receiving the vaccine were hospitalized or had serious disease, according to the statement. The trials were paused twice before (this is common in clinical trials) after two different participants developed neurological symptoms, but they were resumed again when investigators didn't find a link between the vaccine and the symptoms, according to Vox . Another participant in the trial, a 28-year-old doctor in Brazil, died from COVID-19 complications, but the University of Oxford didn't cite any safety concerns nor was the trial stopped, so it's likely he was given a placebo and not the vaccine itself, according to the BBC .
The vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus, called an adenovirus, that infects chimpanzees. Researchers genetically altered the virus so that it couldn't replicate in humans and added genes to code for the so-called spike proteins that the coronavirus uses to infect human cells. In theory, the vaccine will teach the body to recognize these spikes, so that when a person is exposed, the immune system can destroy it, according to a previous Live Science report .
Researchers previously tested this vaccine in rhesus macaque monkeys and found that it did not prevent the monkeys from becoming infected when deliberately exposed to the coronavirus, but did prevent them from developing pneumonia , suggesting that it was partially protective, according to a study published May 13 to the preprint database BioRxiv .
In April, researchers began testing the vaccine on people and published early results from their phase 1 and still-ongoing phase 2 trials on July 20 in the journal The Lancet . The vaccine didn't cause any serious adverse effects in participants but did prompt some mild side effects, such as muscle ache and chills. The vaccine spurred the immune system to produce SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cells — a group of white blood cells important in the fight against pathogens — and neutralizing antibodies , or molecules that can latch onto the virus and block it from infecting cells, according to the report.
The Oxford vaccine showed similar immune responses in those over the age of 56 and those between the ages of 18 and 55, and it was "better tolerated" in older adults than younger adults, according to phase 2 results published on Nov. 18 in the journal The Lancet . This analysis was based on 560 participants, 240 of them 70 years of age and older.
The team at Oxford has also expressed interest in conducting challenge studies on humans, meaning they would deliberately infect low-risk volunteers with the virus, either alongside phase 3 trials or after they are complete, according to The Guardian .
The coronavirus uses spike proteins (seen on its surface here) to invade human cells. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Sinovac Biotech
A Chinese company, Sinovac Biotech, developed and is testing a candidate vaccine called CoronaVac, which is made up of an inactivated version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Inactivated vaccines use killed versions of a pathogen (as opposed to weakened viruses, which are called live vaccines), according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Inactivated viruses such as the flu vaccine or the hepatitis A vaccine, are typically not as protective as live vaccines and might require booster shots over time, according to the HHS. In contrast, the Oxford vaccine is a weakened form of a live virus, which can create long-lasting immune responses. Weakened virus vaccines tend to be riskier for people with weakened immune systems or other health problems, according to the HHS. Sinovac previously used the same technology to develop approved vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, swine flu, avian flu and the virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease, according to STAT News .
Sinovac's vaccine, given in two doses 14 days apart, was well-tolerated and induced an immune response in participants, according to results from their phase 1/phase 2 trials published in November in The Lancet Infectious Diseases . But the number of antibodies produced in response to the vaccine was lower than the level found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. The vaccine is being tested in phase 3 trials in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey; the company has not yet announced results from these trials. But enough participants in the Brazil trial have now been infected with the virus to conduct the first analysis of it, Reuters reported . Results could come in early December, according to the trial organizers.
In September, Sinovac announced that their vaccine was well-tolerated among older adults and didn't cause serious adverse reactions. The phase 1/phase 2 trial involved 421 healthy volunteers between the ages of 60 and 89; these participants developed antibody levels comparable to the adult group ages 18 to 59, according to the statement. The vaccine protected rhesus macaque monkeys from infection with the novel coronavirus, according to a study published July 3 in the journal Science .
China has approved this vaccine for emergency use (along with two other vaccines developed by Sinopharm). About 90% of Sinovac's employees and their families have taken the experimental vaccine under China's emergency use program, Reuters reported on Sept. 6.
Moderna/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
This candidate vaccine (mRNA-1273), developed by U.S. biotech company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), was the first to be tested on humans in the U.S., according to a previous Live Science report . It's also one of the first to release early results from its phase 3 trial.
An analysis of the early data suggested that Moderna's vaccine is 94.5% effective in protecting against COVID-19, the company announced on Nov. 16. The analysis was based on 95 participants in Moderna's phase 3 trial who developed COVID-19; 90 of them received a placebo and five received the vaccine. What's more, 15 of those who developed COVID-19 were people who were at least 65 years old and 20 were from diverse communities. Among the participants, 11 had severe cases of COVID-19, but none of these severe cases were among those given the actual vaccine, Live Science reported .
Moderna's vaccine relies on a technology that hasn't been used in any approved vaccines to date: a piece of genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA). Traditional vaccines are made up of weakened or inactive viruses, or proteins of those viruses, to trigger an immune response; mRNA vaccines, on the other hand, are made up of genetic material that teaches cells to build these viral proteins themselves (in this case, the coronavirus' spike protein). Both traditional and mRNA vaccines trigger an immune response in the body such that if a person is naturally exposed to the virus, the body can quickly recognize and fight it.
These mRNA vaccines have several advantages, including being quicker and easier to manufacture than traditional vaccines, which can take time to develop because scientists have to grow and inactivate entire pathogens or their proteins, according to National Geographic . mRNA vaccines might also be more durable against pathogens that tend to mutate, such as coronaviruses and flu viruses. However, mRNA vaccines can cause adverse reactions in the body; these types of vaccines also have problems with stability, breaking down quite quickly, which might limit the strength of immunity, according to National Geographic.
mRNA vaccines have shown to be "a promising alternative" to traditional vaccines, but "their application has until recently been restricted by the instability and inefficient" delivery into the body, a group of researchers reported in a 2018 review published in the journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery . "Recent technological advances have now largely overcome these issues, and multiple mRNA vaccine platforms against infectious diseases and several types of cancer have demonstrated encouraging results in both animal models and humans."
On July 14, Moderna published promising early results from a phase 1 trial consisting of 45 participants in The New England Journal of Medicine . Participants were divided into three groups and given a low, medium or high dose of the vaccine. After receiving two doses of the vaccine, all participants developed neutralizing antibodies at levels above the average of those found in recovered COVID-19 patients, Live Science reported .
The vaccine appeared safe and generally well-tolerated, but more than half of the participants had some side effects (similar to side effects that can happen from the annual flu shot) including fatigue, chills, headache, muscle aches and pain at the injection site. Some participants in the middle- and high-dose groups experienced a fever after the second injection. One person who received the highest dose experienced a "severe" fever, nausea, lightheadedness and an episode of fainting, according to the report. But this participant felt better after a day and a half. Such high doses won't be given to participants in upcoming trials.
On July 28, scientists published a new study in The New England Journal of Medicin e detailing how Moderna's vaccine induced a strong immune response in rhesus macaque monkeys. After being given a 10 or 100 μg dose of the vaccine and then a second dose two weeks later (some were not given a vaccine and served as a comparison point), the monkeys were "challenged" or exposed to the coronavirus at week 8. The researchers found that the monkeys developed a strong immune response to the virus, as their immune systems produced both neutralizing antibodies and T cells. Two days after the monkeys were exposed to the coronavirus, the researchers could not detect any viral replication in the nose or lungs, suggesting that the vaccine protected against early infection. (This is in contrast to the University of Oxford study conducted in monkeys, which seemed to prevent the monkeys from developing pneumonia, but didn't prevent them from getting infected with the novel coronavirus.)
The government's Operation Warp Speed gave Moderna $955 million for research and development of its vaccine. Moderna's phase 3 trial is still ongoing, and the company expects to produce 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021. The company expects to submit for an emergency use authorization (EUA) soon.
mRNA vaccines teach cells how to make the spike protein (the mRNA is translated to amino acids, the building block of proteins inside what's called the cell's ribosome). (Image credit: Shutterstock)
Pfizer/BioNTech
Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech have, like Moderna, developed a vaccine that uses messenger RNA to prompt the immune system to recognize the coronavirus. A final analysis of their phase 3 data suggested that their vaccine is 95% effective at preventing COVID-19, the companies announced on Nov. 18. The companies became the first to submit a request for emergency use authorization on Nov. 20. The first doses of this vaccine will likely be given in December.
Pfizer and BioNTech plan to produce up to 50 million doses of its vaccine globally in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses of its vaccine by the end of 2021, according to the statement. The phase 3 trial, that began in late July, will continue for another two years and safety and efficacy data will continue to be collected, Live Science reported .
Moderna's and Pfizer's vaccines are made using the same technology, are both given in two doses and have shown to be similar in efficacy and safety. The U.S. government has promised to buy millions of doses of both vaccines if they are approved. But Pfizer's vaccine has an added difficulty: it must be stored in ultra-cold temperatures of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius), whereas Moderna's needs to be stored at minus 4 F (minus 20 C). Pfizer didn't take any money from the government for research and development for its vaccine, whereas Moderna did. The Pfizer vaccine didn't cause any serious adverse events and led to an immune response, according to phase 1/phase 2 data published in the journal Nature in August.. The study involved 45 patients who were given one of three doses of either the candidate vaccine or a placebo. None of the patients had serious side effects, but some developed side effects such as fevers (75% in the highest dose group), fatigue, headaches, chills, muscle pains and joint pain.
The researchers found that the vaccine prompted the immune system to make neutralizing antibodies at levels 1.8 to 2.8 times higher than those found in recovered patients, according to the study. This vaccine also prompted the body to produce T cells and other molecules to help fight the virus, according to results from another phase 1/phase 2 trial that were published in the journal Nature at the end of September. In October, Pfizer and BioNTech received FDA approval to start enrolling children 12 years old and older in its trials, according to NPR .
CanSino Biologics/Beijing Institute of Biotechnology
CanSino Biologics, in collaboration with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, developed a candidate vaccine (Ad5-nCoV or Convidecia) using a weakened adenovirus. Unlike the Oxford vaccine, which relies on an adenovirus that infects chimpanzees, CanSino Biologics is using an adenovirus that infects humans.
Along with Moderna, this group also published results from their phase 2 trial on July 20 in the journal The Lancet . The trial, which was conducted in Wuhan (where the first coronavirus cases emerged), involved 508 participants who were randomly assigned to receive either one of two different doses of the vaccine or a placebo. This study also didn't find serious adverse events, though some reported mild or moderate reactions including fever, fatigue and injection site pain. Around 90% of the participants developed T-cell responses and about 85% developed neutralizing antibodies, according to the study.
"The results of both studies augur well for phase 3 trials, where the vaccines must be tested on much larger populations of participants to assess their efficacy and safety," Naor Bar-Zeev and William J Moss, both part of John Hopkins' International Vaccine Access Center, wrote in an accompanying commentary in The Lancet referring to this study and the Oxford vaccine study published in the same journal. "Overall, the results of both trials are broadly similar and promising."
In June, CanSino's coronavirus vaccine was given approval to be used in China's military, according to Reuters . CanSino announced on Nov. 21 that they will start phase 3 trials of its vaccine in Argentina and Chile, Reuters reported. They are already conducting phase 3 trials in Pakistan, Russia and Mexico.
Gamaleya Research Center (Sputnik V)
The Russia Ministry of Health's Gamaleya Research Institute has developed a coronavirus vaccine candidate, now known as "Sputnik V," based on two different adenoviruses, or common cold viruses that infect humans. These viruses are genetically altered to not replicate in humans and to code for the coronavirus's spike protein.
Russia announced on Nov. 24 that its vaccine was more than 91.4% effective in preventing COVID-19, according to results from a second analysis of its phase 3 trial. The analysis was based on 39 participants who either received a placebo or the Sputnik V vaccine and later went on to develop COVID-19 (Their results agreed with their first analysis of their phase 3 data based on 20 participants). But the vaccine makers also said that an early analysis of an unspecified, smaller subset of the participants suggested that their vaccine was actually 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 three weeks after participants received the second dose. The researchers said they will do another analysis once 78 of the trial participants become infected with COVID-19. But some experts were skeptical about the 95% figure because it was based on incomplete data, according to The New York Times .
In August, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia approved the vaccine for use in tens of thousands of people, before it was thoroughly tested in late-stage clinical trials, drawing international criticism, Live Science previously reported . But the registration certificate issued by Russia's Ministry of Health showed that the vaccine was only approved for use in a small group of people, including health care workers, according to Science Magazine .
In September, the researchers published results from their phase 1/phase 2 trials in the journal The Lancet . The analysis, based on 76 participants (none of whom were given a placebo), suggested their vaccine was "safe and well tolerated." Most adverse events were mild, none of the participants had serious adverse events and the participants developed higher antibody levels against the coronavirus than people who have recovered from COVID-19.
Adenoviruses have been used to make vaccines for decades, and an adenovirus is also the base of the coronavirus vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical companies, China's CanSino Biologics and the University of Oxford.
"The uniqueness of the Russian vaccine lies in the use of two different human adenoviral vectors which allows for a stronger and longer-term immune response as compared to the vaccines using one and the same vector for two doses," according to the statement. After the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca announced that two full doses of the same adenovirus led to a 62% efficacy, the Sputnik V researchers tweeted : "Sputnik V is happy to share one of its two human adenoviral vectors with @AstraZeneca to increase the efficacy of AstraZeneca vaccine. Using two different vectors for two vaccine shots will result in higher efficacy than using the same vector for two shots."
Sinopharm
The state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm)'s candidate vaccine is an inactivated form of SARS-CoV-2. On Aug. 13, the company published data from its phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials in the journal JAMA . In the phase 1 trial, 96 healthy adults were randomly assigned to receive either a low, medium or high dose of the vaccine or to receive aluminum hydroxide as a placebo. They were given second and third doses of the vaccine (or the placebo) after 28 days and 56 days, respectively.
The researchers found that the vaccine triggered their bodies to produce neutralizing antibodies. In the participants who received the placebo, 12.5% had adverse reactions. In those who received low, medium and high dose vaccines, 20.8%, 16.7% and 25% had mild adverse reactions, respectively, according to the study. In the phase 2 trial, 224 adults were given a medium dose or a placebo and then a second shot either 14 days or 21 days after the first. Again, the participants developed neutralizing antibodies and reported some mild adverse reactions. The most common adverse reaction was pain at the injection site, and then mild fever. "No serious adverse reactions were noted," the authors wrote.
The company has already begun its phase 3 trial in Abu Dhabi, which will recruit up to 15,000 people, according to Reuters . The participants will receive one of two vaccine strains or a placebo, according to Reuters. The company also launched phase 3 trials in Peru and Morocco, according to Reuters . Sinopharm is testing a second vaccine developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products in a phase 3 trial in the United Arab Emirates and Argentina.
Almost 1 million people have already been given Sinopharm's vaccine in China under an emergency use program, according to CNN . The vaccine was given to construction workers, diplomats and students who have since traveled to 150 countries across the globe without reporting an infection, Sinopharm Chairman Liu Jingzhen said in an article on social media platform WeChat, according to CNN. No serious adverse effects have been reported, according to the article.
The United Arab Emirates granted emergency approval on Sept. 14 for Sinopharm's coronavirus vaccine for frontline health care workers, according to Reuters .
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies
Johnson & Johnson's Janssen experimental COVID-19 vaccine, is also based on a weakened adenovirus (ad26) and is given to volunteers as a single dose (most of the other candidate vaccines are given in two doses). Again, this type of vaccine, called a vector-based vaccine, uses a weakened virus (a vector) to deliver "information" about the pathogen to the body to spur the immune response. Just as with other adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccines, the weakened adenovirus expresses the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Janssen is using the same technology it used to develop its Ebola vaccine .
The U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed has funded $456 million for the development of this vaccine. Johnson & Johnson also announced a $1 billion agreement with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine in the U.S. if it receives approval or emergency use authorization from the FDA.
Johnson & Johnson began phase 3 trials in the U.S. on Sept. 23. The company has not yet released data from these trials. In October, the company paused its trials (this is common in clinical trials) after a participant developed an unexplained illness, but then resumed in the U.S. after a "thorough evaluation" didn't find a clear cause for the illness, according to a statement. "There are many possible factors that could have caused the event. Based on the information gathered to date and the input of independent experts, the Company has found no evidence that the vaccine candidate caused the event," the company wrote in the statement. But discussions with global regulatory agencies to resume trials in other countries are still continuing. On Nov. 15, Johnson & Johnson announced the start of a new global phase 3 trial that will study the safety and efficacy of two doses of the vaccine (rather than one).
Both phase 3 trials follow "positive interim results," regarding safety and efficacy from the phase 1/phase 2 clinical trial, which has been posted to the preprint site medRxiv and hasn't yet been peer-reviewed. Almost all of the participants developed a strong T cell response and antibodies to the virus, including neutralizing antibodies, after a single dose. The trials are ongoing and they are also testing the effect of a vaccine when given as two doses. The majority of adverse events were "mild and moderate," according to a statement . However, two adverse events were reported in the trials, the first event was found not to be related to the vaccine and the second was in a participant who developed a fever and was hospitalized with "suspicion" that they had COVID-19 but recovered in 12 hours, according to the statement.
Researchers reported on July 30 in the journal Nature that a single shot of the Ad26 vaccine protected rhesus macaques from infection with SARS-CoV-2. In this study, the scientists tested seven slightly varying types of Ad26 vaccine prototypes and identified the one that produced the highest number of neutralizing antibodies. After receiving the chosen variant, the monkeys were then exposed to the coronavirus. Six out of seven monkeys that were given this prototype vaccine, calledAd26.COV2.S, and then exposed to the coronavirus showed no detectable virus in the lower respiratory tract and one showed very low levels in the nose, according to a statement.
Novavax
U.S.-based vaccine development company Novavax has developed and is testing a candidate coronavirus vaccine called NVX-CoV2373. Called a "recombinant nanoparticle vaccine," it's made up of several SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins that are combined in a nanoparticle along with an immune-boosting compound called an adjuvant, according to The New York Times .
The company, which has not brought a vaccine to market in it's 33-year-history, has made a $1.6 billion deal with the U.S. government under Operation Warp Speed, according to the Times. On Sept. 2, early, promising results from Novavax's phase 1/phase 2 trials were published in The New England Journal of Medicine . The trials involved 131 healthy adults: eighty-three of the participants received the vaccine with the adjuvant; 25 received the vaccine without the adjuvant; and 23 received the placebo. The participants were given two doses of the vaccine 21 days apart. "No serious adverse events were noted," the researchers wrote. One participant had a mild fever that lasted for a day, according to the paper.
Thirty-five days after the initial dose, participants who received the vaccine had immune responses that exceeded those in patients who recovered from COVID-19. All of the participants developed neutralizing antibodies at levels of four to six times greater than the average developed by recovered patients, according to CNN . In 16 participants, who were randomly tested, the vaccine seemed to generate T-cell responses (T cells are a group of white blood cells important in the fight against pathogens). "The addition of adjuvant resulted in enhanced immune responses," the authors wrote.
Based on these safety results from phase 1, the company has begun the phase 2 trial of the study . The company has also begun a separate phase 2 study in South Africa, testing their candidate COVID-19 vaccine on both HIV-negative and HIV-positive volunteers. On Sept. 24, Novavax announced that it started its phase 3 testing of the vaccine in the United Kingdom and will enroll up to 10,000 volunteers.
Originally published on Live Science.


livescience--2020-11-25--Arecibo radio telescope, damaged beyond repair, seen from space

Satellites spotted gashes in the damaged Arecibo Observatory , which is set to be decommissioned by the U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) .
The 57-year-old radio telescope has sustained which has made its massive dish too unstable to safely repair , according to the NSF .
The cable failures have also damaged the massive dish , which spans a whopping 1,000 feet ( 305 meters ) across , gouging holes in its delicate metal panels .
Those holes in the telescope 's large dish and vegetation growing below the historic piece of technology can be seen from space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken by the Dove satellite constellation operated by Planet , a company based in California .
The image was produced on request from Nature , .
Related : Losing Arecibo Observatory would create a hole that ca n't be filled The NSF will decommission the telescope on account of the damage , the agency announced at a news conference held on Nov. 19 '' According to engineering assessments , even attempts of stabilization or testing the cables could result in accelerating the catastrophic failure , '' Ralph Gaume , director of the NSF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news conference .
`` Engineers can not tell us the safety margin of the structure , but they have advised NSF that the structure will collapse in the near future on its own . ''
Maxar 's WorldView satellite also recently imaged the observatory from space .
In the satellite imagery you can see small green spots dotting the gray dish .
That greenery is plant life local to Puerto Rico , where the observatory sits , growing below the dish and seen through gashes left by the two cable failures that happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first cable slipped , it hit panels around the edge of the telescope 's dish ; when the second cable broke , it tore large rips in the interior of the dish , .
Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd @ space.com or follow her on Twitter @ chelsea_gohd .
Follow us on Twitter @ Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Satellites spotted gashes in the damaged Arecibo Observatory, which is set to be decommissioned by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
The 57-year-old radio telescope has sustained two cable failures which has made its massive dish too unstable to safely repair, according to the NSF . The cable failures have also damaged the massive dish, which spans a whopping 1,000 feet (305 meters) across, gouging holes in its delicate metal panels.
Those holes in the telescope's large dish and vegetation growing below the historic piece of technology can be seen from space in a new, high-resolution satellite image taken by the Dove satellite constellation operated by Planet, a company based in California. The image was produced on request from Nature, according to a statement .
Related: Losing Arecibo Observatory would create a hole that can't be filled
Image 1 of 2 This satellite image of the Arecibo observatory shows how its dish has been torn, with green vegetation visible underneath. (Image credit: Planet Labs Inc.) This satellite image shows the damage done to the Arecibo radio telescope's dish. (Image credit: Planet Labs Inc.)
The NSF will decommission the telescope on account of the damage, the agency announced at a news conference held on Nov. 19
"According to engineering assessments, even attempts of stabilization or testing the cables could result in accelerating the catastrophic failure," Ralph Gaume, director of the NSF's astronomy division, said during the news conference. "Engineers cannot tell us the safety margin of the structure, but they have advised NSF that the structure will collapse in the near future on its own."
Maxar's WorldView satellite also recently imaged the observatory from space.
Image 1 of 2 A close-up satellite look at the damage done to the Arecibo observatory. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies) An up-close satellite view of the Arecibo radio telescope's dish. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)
In the satellite imagery you can see small green spots dotting the gray dish. That greenery is plant life local to Puerto Rico, where the observatory sits, growing below the dish and seen through gashes left by the two cable failures that happened in August and in November.
When the first cable slipped, it hit panels around the edge of the telescope's dish; when the second cable broke, it tore large rips in the interior of the dish, according to Nature .
Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.


livescience--2020-11-25--Spacecraft with precious asteroid cargo is almost home after 3 billion-mile trek

In the dusty desert town of Woomera , in the South Australian desert , scientists are getting ready .
On Dec. 6 , 2020 , after six years in space , the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will finally return to Earth .
It carries with it a cargo unbelievably rare , precious , and hard-won - at least 100 milligrams of material collected from the surface of asteroid Ryugu .
It will drop the capsule containing the sample to Earth , the spacecraft itself continuing on to visit more asteroid targets .
Hayabusa2 's return will mark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ space science , a total journey of around 5.24 billion kilometers ( almost 3.3 billion miles ) .
Asteroid Ryugu - formerly known as 1999 JU3 - is on an elliptical orbit that carries it just inside Earth 's orbital path around the Sun , and out almost as far as Mars ' orbit .
Planning Hayabusa2 's trip involved calculating where the asteroid would be in the future , and plotting a path that would get the spacecraft where it needed to go , using Earth 's gravity for bursts of acceleration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to touch down on the asteroid , twice , collect material both times , and bounce back off the asteroid again , before making its way back to where Earth would be by the time its journey back was over .
The spacecraft is on that home stretch now , and the capsule collection team have all arrived in Australia .
Capsule retrieval rehearsals and tests of the technology that will be used to track the incoming capsule are being conducted .
Preliminary team members who have already cleared their two-week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Australian Air Force base last week , and started preparations for the landing and retrieval .
That tiny cargo is a big deal .
Only one other mission has successfully returned an asteroid sample .
JAXA 's original Hayabusa mission to asteroid Itokawa returned a sample to Earth in 2010 - but the sampling device had failed , and only a few micrograms of material were ferried home .
One hundred milligrams is an absolute wealth of material in comparison , and scientists hope to be able to conduct detailed tests .
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's thought that it has preserved some of the most pristine material in the Solar System , relatively unchanged ( except for some irradiation ) since it formed around 4.5 billion years ago .
That small sample , scientists hope , will be able to provide some insight into the early days of the Solar System , and the formation and evolution of the inner rocky planets .
The capsule is expected to descend between 3.30 AM and 4.30 AM ACDT ( Australian Central Daylight Time ) on 6 December 2020 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heat of atmospheric entry .
A special heat shield will protect the capsule from temperatures around 3,000 degrees Celsius ( 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit ) .
After deploying its parachute , it is expected to land within a 100 square kilometer- ( 40 square mile- ) region within the Woomera Protected Area , sending out a radio signal to the retrieval team .
Once the beacon lands , this signal wo n't be detectable from ground stations , so a helicopter will be flown overhead to track the capsule down .
Once it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by helicopter to a Quick Look Facility .
There , any gases inside the container will be sampled , before the container is placed in a sealed transport box and airlifted back to Japan .
That 's when the next stage of the research process will truly begin , as scientists start the painstaking work of studying and analyzing the rock .
Although most of the world wo n't be able to watch the reentry live , JAXA has issued observing and photography tips for those who can , and , for everyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track the capsule 's trajectory .
JAXA is also considering a livestream of the capsule release and atmospheric entry .
Meanwhile , Hayabusa2 's flight will continue .
Its next stop will be asteroid ( 98943 ) 2001 CC21 in July 2026 , after which it will continue on to asteroid 1998 KY26 for a July 2031 rendezvous .
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert .
Read the original article here .

In the dusty desert town of Woomera, in the South Australian desert, scientists are getting ready. On Dec. 6, 2020, after six years in space, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft will finally return to Earth.
It carries with it a cargo unbelievably rare, precious, and hard-won - at least 100 milligrams of material collected from the surface of asteroid Ryugu. It will drop the capsule containing the sample to Earth, the spacecraft itself continuing on to visit more asteroid targets.
Hayabusa2's return will mark a milestone in a remarkable feat of space science, a total journey of around 5.24 billion kilometers (almost 3.3 billion miles). Asteroid Ryugu - formerly known as 1999 JU3 - is on an elliptical orbit that carries it just inside Earth's orbital path around the Sun, and out almost as far as Mars' orbit.
Planning Hayabusa2's trip involved calculating where the asteroid would be in the future, and plotting a path that would get the spacecraft where it needed to go, using Earth's gravity for bursts of acceleration.
Then, the spacecraft had to be able to touch down on the asteroid, twice, collect material both times, and bounce back off the asteroid again, before making its way back to where Earth would be by the time its journey back was over.
The spacecraft is on that home stretch now, and the capsule collection team have all arrived in Australia. Capsule retrieval rehearsals and tests of the technology that will be used to track the incoming capsule are being conducted.
Preliminary team members who have already cleared their two-week COVID-19 quarantine arrived at the Woomera Royal Australian Air Force base last week, and started preparations for the landing and retrieval.
That tiny cargo is a big deal. Only one other mission has successfully returned an asteroid sample. JAXA's original Hayabusa mission to asteroid Itokawa returned a sample to Earth in 2010 - but the sampling device had failed, and only a few micrograms of material were ferried home.
One hundred milligrams is an absolute wealth of material in comparison, and scientists hope to be able to conduct detailed tests. Because Ryugu is a primitive carbonaceous asteroid, it's thought that it has preserved some of the most pristine material in the Solar System, relatively unchanged (except for some irradiation) since it formed around 4.5 billion years ago.
That small sample, scientists hope, will be able to provide some insight into the early days of the Solar System, and the formation and evolution of the inner rocky planets.
The capsule is expected to descend between 3.30 AM and 4.30 AM ACDT (Australian Central Daylight Time) on 6 December 2020, creating a brilliant fireball produced by the heat of atmospheric entry. A special heat shield will protect the capsule from temperatures around 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,400 degrees Fahrenheit).
After deploying its parachute, it is expected to land within a 100 square kilometer- (40 square mile-) region within the Woomera Protected Area, sending out a radio signal to the retrieval team. Once the beacon lands, this signal won't be detectable from ground stations, so a helicopter will be flown overhead to track the capsule down.
Once it's located, the capsule will be taken by helicopter to a Quick Look Facility. There, any gases inside the container will be sampled, before the container is placed in a sealed transport box and airlifted back to Japan. That's when the next stage of the research process will truly begin, as scientists start the painstaking work of studying and analyzing the rock.
Although most of the world won't be able to watch the reentry live, JAXA has issued observing and photography tips for those who can, and, for everyone, an AR app for iOS to track the capsule's trajectory. JAXA is also considering a livestream of the capsule release and atmospheric entry.
Meanwhile, Hayabusa2's flight will continue. Its next stop will be asteroid (98943) 2001 CC21 in July 2026, after which it will continue on to asteroid 1998 KY26 for a July 2031 rendezvous.
This article was originally published by ScienceAlert. Read the original article here.