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Unexpected find in the clouds of Venus

Artist drawing of Venus
A radar mosaic image of Venus. NASA.gov

The detection of phosphine in Venus’ clouds is a big deal – here’s how we can find out if it’s a sign of life

Paul K. Byrne, North Carolina State University

On Sept. 14, 2020, a new planet was added to the list of potentially habitable worlds in the Solar System: Venus.

Phosphine, a toxic gas made up of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms (PH₃), commonly produced by organic life forms but otherwise difficult to make on rocky planets, was discovered in the middle layer of the Venus atmosphere. This raises the tantalizing possibility that something is alive on our planetary neighbor. With this discovery, Venus joins the exalted ranks of Mars and the icy moons Enceladus and Europa among planetary bodies where life may once have existed, or perhaps might even still do so today.

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Monarch butterflies at risk

Photo of Monarch butterflies sitting together on a plant
Monarch butterflies cover a tree at El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico. D. André Green II, CC BY-ND

Monarch butterflies’ spectacular migration is at risk – an ambitious new plan aims to help save it

D. André Green II, University of Michigan

One of nature’s epic events is underway: Monarch butterflies’ fall migration. Departing from all across the United States and Canada, the butterflies travel up to 2,500 miles to cluster at the same locations in Mexico or along the Pacific Coast where their great-grandparents spent the previous winter.

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Vaccine distribution will require specialized handling

Photo of refrigerated trailers
Trucks, planes and storage facilities all need to be able to keep a vaccine cold. J2R/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Keeping coronavirus vaccines at subzero temperatures during distribution will be hard, but likely key to ending pandemic

Anna Nagurney, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Just like a fresh piece of fish, vaccines are highly perishable products and must be kept at very cold, specific temperatures. The majority of COVID-19 vaccines under development – like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – are new RNA-based vaccines. If they get too warm or too cold they spoil. And, just like fish, a spoiled vaccine must be thrown away.

So how do companies and public health agencies get vaccines to the people who need them?

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Nutrition as a first line of defense

Photo of a basket of fresh vegetables
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables will boost the immune system. Stevens Fremont via Getty Images

Good nutrition can contribute to keeping COVID-19 and other diseases away

Grayson Jaggers, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The connection between the pandemic and our dietary habits is undeniable. The stress of isolation coupled with a struggling economy has caused many of us to seek comfort with our old friends: Big Mac, Tom Collins, Ben and Jerry. But overindulging in this kind of food and drink might not just be affecting your waistline, but could potentially put you at greater risk of illness by hindering your immune system.

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Using ultraviolet light to aid in disinfecting indoor spaces

Photo of workers disinfecting subway car with UV light
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 2, 2017: Lamps that produce ultraviolet (UV) light disinfect a Moscow Underground train carriage at the Kaluzhskoye maintenance depot. Sergei Bobylev/TASS (Photo by Sergei BobylevTASS via Getty Images)

Ultraviolet light can make indoor spaces safer during the pandemic – if it’s used the right way

Karl Linden, University of Colorado Boulder

Ultraviolet light has a long history as a disinfectant and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is readily rendered harmless by UV light. The question is how best to harness UV light to fight the spread of the virus and protect human health as people work, study, and shop indoors.

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Hurricane Laura’s damage not yet fully revealed

Photo of gulf coast hurricane damage
A chemical fire burns at a facility during the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, near Lake Charles, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A burning chemical plant may be just the tip of Hurricane Laura’s damage in this area of oil fields and industry

John Pardue, Louisiana State University

Hurricane Laura plowed through the heart of Louisiana’s oil and chemical industries as a powerful Category 4 storm, leaving a chlorine plant on fire and the potential for more hazardous damage in its wake.

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An artificial pancreas offers hope in treating pediatric diabetes

syringe and glucose monitor
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

National Institutes of Health

A clinical trial at four pediatric diabetes centers in the United States has found that a new artificial pancreas system — which automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels — is safe and effective at managing blood glucose levels in children as young as age six with type 1 diabetes. The trial was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results from the trial were published August 26 in the New England Journal of Medicine(link is external).

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A closer look at Covid-19 mortality demographics

Photo of elderly patient being placed into an ambulance
A patient is transferred from Elmhurst Hospital Center to a waiting ambulance during the current coronavirus outbreak, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week that patients could be moved from city hospitals to other facilities, including on Long Island, as hospitals in the city fill up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Coronavirus is hundreds of times more deadly for people over 60 than people under 40

Nir Menachemi, IUPUI

How deadly is SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? And what are the risks of death for people of different ages and demographics? These have been hard numbers to calculate during this pandemic.

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COVID-19 antibodies decline quickly

Antibodies attacking virus, illustration
Antibodies (pink) attacking a virus particle (blue). STEVEN MCDOWELL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Declining antibodies and immunity to COVID-19 – why the worry?

Alexander (Sasha) Poltorak, Tufts University

Most people are aware that testing for antibodies in a person’s blood can show if someone has had a specific disease, such as COVID-19. Those antibodies provide protection from getting the disease again.

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A promising new treatment for childhood eczema

A physician examines a 7-month-old infant with eczema. BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images

Live bacteria spray is showing promise in treating childhood eczema

Ian Myles, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Here’s a shorthand way to think of my research: Using bugs as drugs may one day bring hope to soaps.

Patients with atopic dermatitis, more commonly known as eczema, suffer from dry, itchy skin and rashes, and have a higher risk of developing hay fever, asthma and food allergies. The cause of eczema is still unknown, but studies completed by my team and others continue to suggest that manipulating the skin microbiome – the community of all the bacteria and other microorganisms living on the surface of the skin – may offer therapeutic benefits to patients.

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