A Supernova Remnant and Two White Dwarfs Slamming 850 Years ago: Where should COVID-19 vaccines go?

The remains of this explosion were recorded over 850 years ago. Plus, the five best science books of the week, and should COVID-19 vaccines be given yearly?

“I have worked on supernova remnants for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” says astronomer Robert Fesen about the cosmic fireworks display that his team has imaged. The remnant contains hundreds of filaments radiating outwards, looking unlike the chaotic web of gas and dust left over from a standard supernova. The explosion was probably created by two white-Dwarf stars slamming together, which was documented by Chinese and Japanese astronomer nearly 850 years ago.

US scientists are in disagreement about a proposal to give annual vaccinations against COVID-19, similar to the practice of flu jabs. It is thought that it would make the COVID-19 vaccination schedule simpler. Others aren’t convinced about the timeline, because COVID-19 surges aren’t as seasonal as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 spawns new variants at a much faster rate. It’s also unclear whether future jabs should be targeted to a single variant or contain a ‘bivalent’ formulation against more than one strain.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00264-1

Speech Recognition in Diabetic Mice: The Effects of Serine Metabolic Imbalance on Neuropathy and the Naturalness of Red Hair

A woman who cannot speak because of the paralysing effects of motor neuron disease was able to communicate at a rate of 62 words per minute — three times the previous best — thanks to a brain implant. The device that implanted into the woman’s motor cortex was able to detect how she was using her mouth, tongue, and vocal cords, and send that information to a computer that showed her words. Philip Sabes, a neuroscientist who was not involved in the study, stated that the performance in the paper is already at a level which many people who cannot speak would want. “People are going to want this.”

Andrew Robinson’s pick of the top five science books to read this week includes the trans-Atlantic correspondence between James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis — the inventors of the Gaia hypothesis, in which all organisms on Earth and their non-living surroundings are viewed as a complex, interacting system — and an illustrated study of parasitic worms.

In mice, the serine slows nerve damage from diabetes. There’s no good way to treat nerve damage from diabetes in humans. Researchers found that diabetic mice have an imbalanced serine metabolism, which generates compounds that are toxic to neurons. Christian Metallo says that feeding serine-enriched diet to diabetic mice as they are getting older could help mitigate sensory neuropathy.

The rumours of the demise of red hair in the human gene pool have been greatly exaggerated, says geneticist Katerina Zorina-Lichtenwalter. (National Geographic | 6 min read)

Ancient Egyptian mummies from an embalming workshop. Is COVID-19 really a global health emergency? Analysis of Europe’s response to its first public health emergency

Pots from a 2,500-year-old embalming workshop have revealed the ingredients used to prepare ancient Egyptian mummies. Chemical analysis identified local plant extracts, animal fats and beeswax, as well as resins from plants grown as far away as southeast Asia. The first pots with labels have been found, and they will enable researchers to link the ingredients with historical texts. The discovery is incredible, says an archaeologist. They are getting stuff that might be coming from India.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that COVID-19 will probably stop being a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ soon because high levels of immunity are beginning to limit the virus’s impact and reach — but we’re not there just yet. The WHO’s assessment to keep the emergency status in place for now is in line with what many researchers think. Others think that the epidemic has moved beyond the initial definition of an emergency since it is already spreading to every corner of the globe. The WHO never said COVID-19 was a disease, in fact it only said that the term had defined the situation.

In 2022, wind and solar supplied more of the European Union’s electricity than any other power source for the first time ever, reports the think tank Ember. Other sources of low-carbon energy were hit, including: hydroelectric, which was hobbled by historic droughts, and an unexpected number of French nuclear reactor had to be offline for maintenance. Meanwhile, mild weather and public efforts to reduce energy use kept demand lower than in 2021. Europe did not return to coal in a huge way to replace gas supplies that have been cut by Russia. Dave Jones says any fears of a coal rebound are over.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00343-3

Nature does not disagree on disruptive science: technical hurdles for a solar power array in the early 20th century and the greatest challenges for the next 50 years

Nature asked last week whether disruptive science matters after examining the possible reasons for why it seems to have plummeted over the past 50 years.

Many respondents highlighted how funding systems favour scientists who aim for incremental advances — research that is likely to produce publishable results — rather than ‘blue sky’ projects with uncertain outcomes. The administrative burden leaves very little time to think.

The first orbiting solar power station could be operational by 2040. Huge technical hurdles remain until then. The array would need to be more than one square kilometre in size, and it would have to be assembled in space. Arguably the biggest problem: beaming the power generated in space back to Earth. One promising option is to convert energy into microwaves that will be captured by larger receiving stations than the solar-panel array.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00343-3

The Neuroscience of You: How to Take Your First Steps Towards a Realistic, Physically Accessible Treatment of Neuroscience Research Participants

Anna Lena Bercht said that physical access and mental access were needed to get close to the research participants. During her work in China and Norway, she took public transport to create opportunities to bump into people. Small talk is one of the ways to counteract the asymmetrical power relationship between the researcher and researched. Bercht says to show respect and be humble. “Having a modest view of yourself is essential to communicate at eye level with people.”

“I was really underprepared. I thought I had the time in my schedule to write The Neuroscience of You, but I still had to finish my academic work. She credits her book’s success in part to the expert guidance from her agent and other scientists who had written books. It is important to not compare your book with others. If you enjoy it, you should occupy that space.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00343-3

Comet C/2022 E3: The first comet to swing through the neighborhood of a gyroscope and an acoustic instrument

A green comet named Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is swinging through our neighbourhood for the first time in about 50,000 years. The name comes from the observatory in California where it was spotted last March. Did you see it yesterday, when it was closest to Earth? (Sadly, my sky was cloudy.) If you want to try tonight, it should be just visible to the naked eye, although binoculars are even better. For astronomers, ZTF provides an opportunity to learn more about the make-up of the early Universe, when the comet formed.

Carlos Ruiz-Miranda supports a vaccine for golden lion tamarins to prevent it from being touched by people. The stunning photos are worth the visit after 11 min read.