People who had received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and received an mRNA vaccine for their second dose had a lower risk of infection compared to people who had received both doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. This is shown in a nationwide study performed by researchers at Umeå University, Sweden. “Having received any of the approved vaccines is better compared to no vaccine, and two doses are better than one,” says Peter Nordström, professor of geriatric medicine at Umeå University....

However, while the coexistence of waves with accelerated particles in the magnetosphere has been studied for many years, the gradual nature of the interactions between them has made observation of these processes difficult. Detection of local energy transfer between the particles and the fields is therefore required to enable quantitative assessment of their interactions. Researchers from Nagoya University’s Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE) are part of a research team that have performed ultrafast measurements using four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft to evaluate the energy transfer that occurred during interactions associated with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves....

In a newly published study, researchers detail the discovery of a new photocatalyst, demonstrating the use of cobalt oxide nanoparticles to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Researchers from the University of Houston have found a catalyst that can quickly generate hydrogen from water using sunlight, potentially creating a clean and renewable source of energy. Their research, published online Sunday in Nature Nanotechnology, involved the use of cobalt oxide nanoparticles to split water into hydrogen and oxygen....

Previous characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray spectroscopy and topography, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were based on bulk regions of electrodes or electrolytes, and they overlooked the critical surface/interface behaviors that govern the operation and failure in ESDs. Recently, a research team led by Prof. FU Qiang from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed the atmosphere-dependent relaxation and failure mechanisms of ESDs by in situ surface science methodology....

The scientists published their findings in the journal BMC Plant Biology. In 2010, researchers sent petri dishes loaded with seeds to the International Space Station, where astronauts tended growth experiments on the plants. The first involved monitoring root development. The researchers measured how roots “waved” (how the root tip wandered through a small circle over the course of a 24-hour period) and “skewed” (began growing at an angle when it touched a surface) every 6 hours during the first 15 days of growth....

To determine the answer, University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers studied the production of antibodies from a sample of nearly 6,000 people and found immunity persists for at least several months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. “We clearly see high-quality antibodies still being produced five to seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, associate professor, UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Department of Immunobiology....

At least two satellites caught a glimpse of oil in the ocean off the coast of Southern California on October 2-3, 2021. The first image above is a natural-color view acquired at 11:22 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (18:22 Universal Time) on October 3 by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. Amid clouds and haze, as well as white streaks from large cargo ships and boat wakes, hints of oil are faintly visible....

Hirnstein is curious about how biological, psychological, and social variables influence sex/gender disparities in cognitive skills, as well as the underlying brain mechanisms. Will the results finally put an end to bar arguments over who is better? “So far, the focus has mostly been on abilities, in which men excel. However, in recent years the focus has shifted more towards women”, says Hirnstein. We thought Women were better – and they are!...

It is hoped that cells created in a test tube can answer some of the major questions in biology. What is the minimum that a cell needs in order to live? And how did life on Earth begin? Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems in Magdeburg and the Paul Pascal Research Center at the CNRS and University of Bordeaux are now presenting the forerunners of an artificial cell....

The discovery, published last week in the journal Science Advances, could create more efficient energy generation from the heat in things like car exhaust, interplanetary space probes, and industrial processes. “Because of this discovery, we should be able to make more electrical energy out of heat than we do today,” said study co-author Joseph Heremans, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology at The Ohio State University....

Ribosomes churn out proteins that carry out all of life’s functions, but when missing a key and previously overlooked factor, they can break down in times of stress, Yale University scientists have discovered. The protein, Lso2/CCDC124, is so tiny — just 92 amino acids — it did not turn up under search parameters used by most scientists studying cell biology. But the Yale team, headed by Wendy Gilbert, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry, found that without it ribosomal function in yeast was disrupted in times of stress....

Previous studies had already shown that Myc was a key protein in tumor development and had established how to inhibit Myc through gene therapy. This protein is involved in the development of diverse tumors and so Myc-targeted therapy could make a positive contribution to the therapeutic options for different types of cancer. The study, led by the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), has managed to eliminate mouse lung tumors by inhibiting Myc, a protein that plays a key role in the development of many different tumors....

The scientists used large radio telescopes and ultraviolet cameras on a NASA spacecraft to better understand the exotic but poorly understood “fourth state of matter”. Known as plasma, this matter could hold the key to developing safe, clean, and efficient nuclear energy generators on Earth. The scientists published their findings in the leading international journal, Nature Communications. Most of the matter we encounter in our everyday lives comes in the form of solid, liquid, or gas, but the majority of the Universe is composed of plasma – a highly unstable and electrically charged fluid....

The researchers used “IR3535” an insect repellent developed by MERCK, to create their prototypes. “Mosquito sprays containing IR3535 are very gentle on the skin and have been used all over the world for many years. That’s why we’ve been using the agent for our experiments”, says Professor René Androsch from the MLU. It typically comes in the form of a spray or lotion and provides protection for several hours. However, Androsch and his colleagues are searching for methods to release the agent over a much longer length of time, such as encapsulating it in a wearable ring or bracelet....

Now, two University of Washington scientists have developed a statistical framework that incorporates key COVID-19 data — such as case counts and deaths due to COVID-19 — to model the true prevalence of this disease in the United States and individual states. Their approach, published the week of July 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, projects that in the U.S. as many as 60% of COVID-19 cases went undetected as of March 7, 2021, the last date for which the dataset they employed is available....

The paper, by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the University of Michigan suggests investigations into what it means to be human should shift from attempts to uncover the earliest material traces of ‘art,’ ‘language,’ or technological ‘complexity’ towards understanding what makes our species ecologically unique. In contrast to our ancestors and contemporary relatives, our species not only colonized a diversity of challenging environments, including deserts, tropical rainforests, high altitude settings, and the palaeoarctic, but also specialized in its adaptation to some of these extremes....

It may seem like magic that some materials can withstand being shot through with fast, electrically charged ions without exhibiting holes afterward. This phenomenon, which would be impossible at the macroscopic level, becomes possible at the level of individual particles. However, not all materials exhibit this behavior. In recent years, various research groups have conducted experiments with varying results. Vienna University of Technology researchers have been able to provide a detailed explanation for why some materials are perforated while others are not....

The thin coating layer should be especially useful to prevent leakage of tiny molecules that can penetrate through most materials, such as hydrogen gas that could be used to power fuel-cell cars, or the radioactive tritium (a heavy form of hydrogen) that forms inside the cores of nuclear power plants. Most metals, with the notable exception of gold, tend to oxidize when exposed to air and water. This reaction, which produces rust on iron, tarnish on silver, and verdigris on copper or brass, can weaken the metal over time and lead to cracks or structural failure....

Shale gas extraction is associated with large influxes of specialized, trained workers into rural areas to meet the labor demands of the drilling rigs, and commonly involves the formation of “work camps” composed of relatively young men. The influx of workers in these situations is thought to increase STI risk because male workers typically live and socialize in communities with masculinized social norms, do not bring families and thus have opportunities to seek other sex partners, and may have few emotional ties to the local community....

The newly discovered star, referred to as baby star X3a, is incredibly young, with an age estimated to be only several tens of thousands of years old, making it younger than the human species. The remarkable aspect of this star is its proximity to the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, as it should not theoretically be able to exist so close to the black hole....