It’s almost four years since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic. Although the state of emergency has now passed‚ and vaccines and treatment advances have helped turn the tide‚ the virus is very much still out there. The latest variant‚ JN.1‚ has brought with it some unexpected new symptoms – but how worried should we be?JN.1 is a descendent of the “Pirola” variant‚ BA.2.86‚ that began to spread in late Summer 2023. In fact‚ it was only a single change in the virus’s spike protein that gave rise to JN.1. It’s now the dominant variant in the UK‚ responsible for around 60 percent of new COVID cases‚ as well as in the US according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The fact that JN.1 has become so dominant has been taken as evidence that it is either more transmissible than previous variants‚ or better at evading the immune system. The latest UK figures at the time of writing‚ for the seven days up to and including January 3‚ 2024‚ show cases are up by 8.6 percent. At first glance‚ a variant that gets around the immune protection conferred by vaccines or prior infections sounds like bad news‚ but the number of people catching COVID is only part of the story. It’s also important to look at how sick they’re getting.There‚ at least‚ there may be some cause for cautious optimism. Paul Hunter‚ a professor at the University of East Anglia‚ took a look at the figures and told New Scientist that this wave of the pandemic is resulting in far fewer serious illness cases than before. “On average‚ someone catching COVID-19 in this wave is less likely to be admitted to hospital‚” Hunter said. “I think immunity is probably playing a big role‚ but it may be that the latest variant is also less virulent.”That’s not to say that the number of people being hospitalized with the virus is no longer an issue at all. In the US‚ admissions to hospital for COVID-19 saw increases for nine consecutive weeks up to the first week of January‚ predominantly in the 65 and over age group.As we’ve learned‚ hospitalization is not the only factor that should be taken seriously with COVID-19. Even mild infections carry with them the risk of long-lasting symptoms that can be very debilitating.  So‚ should we be worried?While the numbers of deaths from COVID-19 no longer make as disturbing a reading as they did at the height of the pandemic‚ the virus still has the potential to put enormous pressure on healthcare systems – which in the Northern Hemisphere are already trying to cope with the usual winter illnesses like flu and respiratory syncytial virus. On an individual level‚ people are still dying or developing life-altering complications.At a recent briefing‚ Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus‚ Director-General of the World Health Organization‚ encouraged world leaders not to take their foot off the gas when it comes to COVID-19 surveillance.    IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Vaccination‚ for those able to access it‚ remains key when it comes to protecting yourself. A study published just this week in The Lancet concluded that over 7‚000 hospitalizations and deaths in the UK during the summer of 2022 could have been avoided with better vaccine coverage.Ever-controversial mask mandates are also making a comeback in some quarters‚ and we can all do our part to try and limit the spread by doing our best to keep our distance from others when we're sick. While for many people‚ infection with JN.1 is likely to be mild and self-limiting‚ if the last four years have taught us one thing‚ it’s that you can never completely write off COVID-19 as a potential threat. So far‚ the data do not seem to suggest that we need to be especially worried about this variant. However‚ they do underline the importance of continuing to keep a close watch on this disease – it could still surprise us.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current. The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice‚ diagnosis‚ or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions. 

Somebody on the Internet has asked a question that comes up from time to time: "How did the human race survive for thousands of years without vaccines?"Well‚ the answer‚ as has been explained to the poster in X's (formerly known as Twitter) community note feature‚ is that the human race did survive without vaccines (hence you reading this)‚ but millions upon millions of people died from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines.          IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The question has a small whiff of survivor bias to it. If you haven't encountered survivor bias‚ think of a person (probably on Facebook) who tells you: "My gran smoked every day of her life and she made it to 95". Or Uncle Billy‚ who says‚ "I used to pound 35 cans of Budweiser before every commute‚ and not once did I die". These are all examples of "survivor bias"‚ which goes like this: these activities look less dangerous than they are because you are in the group of survivors. There's a reason you don't hear from people with similar stories‚ such as "I used to pound 35 cans of Budweiser before driving and died instantly‚ day one" from Uncle Billy (God rest his soul)‚ and it's because Uncle Billy is dead.Though overall the human species has survived every disease thus far‚ that doesn't mean that diseases of the past (ones named things like "the Black Death") were harmless. You are just the latest in a long line of people who have procreated without being killed by said diseases. In the case of the plague‚ 30 to 50 percent of the entire population of Europe was killed‚ sometimes to be catapulted at their enemies.  The disease resurged in pockets for centuries after the initial epidemics of the 1300s. We can now treat the plague‚ which occasionally spreads to humans from animal sources‚ with antibiotics‚ but vaccines are also available.Another example of a disease that we "survived" before vaccines is smallpox. Smallpox‚ to put it lightly‚ was extremely deadly‚ with about 30 percent of people infected with the variola virus succumbing to the disease. With no vaccines to fight it‚ and no other tools against it other than deliberately infecting people with pus from pustules‚ the disease was a constant threat to life.That is until the world's first vaccine was developed by Edward Jenner in 1796‚ after he heard rumors that milkmaids were immune to smallpox following previous infections with cowpox. Thanks to a successful global vaccination program‚ the World Health Organization (WHO) was able to declare it eradicated in 1979.Another disease we survived without vaccines‚ by dying in huge numbers until a vaccine was developed.

Astronomers have estimated the size and activity of a supermassive black hole discovered in one of the most distant galaxies we have ever seen. Because the speed of light is finite‚ looking farther into the universe is like looking farther back in time. The light from this galaxy comes from just 400 million years after the Big Bang‚ making this the oldest known supermassive black hole found yet.At the time‚ the black hole had a mass 1.6 million times that of our Sun‚ about a third of Sagittarius A* which sits at the center of our galaxy‚ but its own galaxy‚ GN-z11‚ is a mere one-hundredth of the Milky Way. This is another example of an overmassive black hole from the early universe‚ however‚ such a large object so early is a bit of a problem. Scenarios put forward to explain supermassive black holes include that they may have formed from a "light seed" – a truly massive star going supernova‚ forming a sizable black hole that then grows supermassive – or a "heavy seed" scenario which sees a supermassive black hole form directly from gas clouds‚ 10‚000 to 100‚000 times the mass of the Sun. The latter would fit better with data from this galaxy‚ but the black hole's activity makes it less clear-cut. “It’s very early in the universe to see a black hole this massive‚ so we’ve got to consider other ways they might form‚” lead author Roberto Maiolino‚ from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory and Kavli Institute of Cosmology‚ said in a statement sent to IFLScience. “Very early galaxies were extremely gas-rich‚ so they would have been like a buffet for black holes.”Recent data from JWST has pushed a preference towards the "heavy seed" scenario‚ but it is not clear which scenario would work best for this particular supermassive black hole‚ and that’s because of the incredible accretion of material it is undergoing. The balance between the gravitational pull of an object and the pressure from the radiation (light) created by said object is called the Eddington limit. Above this limit‚ things are broken apart‚ below they collapse.Supermassive black holes don’t emit light but the material that surrounds them does. As it spins around ready to be eaten‚ this material experiences incredible gravitational forces. It heats up‚ releasing incredible energy. Supermassive black holes are extreme objects and they can overcome the Eddington limit. In the case of the supermassive black hole at the core of GN-z11‚ the rate of accretion (and associated light) is five times the Eddington limit. The team is not convinced that this extreme feeding has been constant since its formation‚ but if it was‚ it would allow for the "light seed" scenario to be possible. The team hopes that the discovery of even more distant black holes might help disentangle the scenarios: do they start out large or do they grow really fast?A paper describing the research is published in Nature.

Some fish can walk‚ but the armored catfish goes one step further in wriggling its way across desert environments in search of resources. Wriggling is the wrong word‚ however‚ as scientists considered the mode of locomotion to be so unusual as deserving of its own word: reffling.The armored catfish reffles its way across land when it finds itself at a dead end in its present habitat. It may be that the isolated body of water it was living in has run out of food or some other resource‚ and so rather than giving in to its fate‚ it ups sticks and reffles off someplace else.These fish are loricariid catfishes‚ a highly diverse group of fishes that can be found in Central and South America. They have a highly specialized morphology that enables them to inhabit aquatic and terrestrial environments without dying – but that doesn’t mean it's easy.In National Geographic's Welcome To Earth‚ we saw an armored catfish making the perilous journey. It leaves a unique track in the sand as it reffles its way towards water. The clip states they can survive for hours at a time on land‚ but if time runs out‚ it can be fatal.    Fortunately‚ the nomadic catfish they caught on camera completes its mission‚ reffling across the sand and splashing back into more comfortable aquatic surroundings. They're able to navigate thanks to tastebuds that line their bodies and can detect compounds that indicate water's proximity and quality.The term “reffling” was coined by a 2021 study that sought to better understand the terrestrial behaviors of armored catfish‚ which were previously poorly described.“Loricariid catfishes use a novel‚ highly asymmetric form of axial appendage-based terrestrial locomotion involving their mouth‚ pectoral fins‚ pelvic fins‚ posterior axial body‚ and tail‚” wrote the authors. “As this behavior is so unlike any other described locomotor behavior‚ we have created a new word to describe it: reffling.”     The unique approach to moving across land may be the consequence of them being rather stiff for a fish‚ but their rigidity has its perks‚ too.“These species have numerous unique morphological traits that may greatly reduce body and fin flexibility‚” they continued. “Because loricariids are so inflexible‚ they may be constrained into reffling as their only means of terrestrial locomotion‚ but their stiffness may improve force transmission‚ allowing them to be among the fastest fishes on land.”Those fins weren’t made for walking‚ and that’s not what armored catfish do.

Researchers have been able to achieve quantum coherence at room temperature – this is the ability of a quantum system to maintain a well-defined state without being affected by external disturbances. This breakthrough is an important step forward in the development of quantum computers. It is easier to work with them if you do not have to cool them down to incredibly low temperatures.Quantum computers’ fundamental unit of information is the qubit. These tend to be made of a few particles entangled in a specific state. That means that no matter the distance you put between them‚ any interaction with one of them affects all the particles in the state. This is extremely useful for the computation side of things‚ but an entangled state is also very fragile.         In this work‚ the team achieved an entangled quintet state in electrons. They were able to craft it by using a chromophore – a dye molecule that absorbs light and emits a specific wavelength (or color)‚ making it perfect to excite electrons in a specific way to get to the singlet. But that alone is not enough. The chromophore was embedded in a metal-organic framework (MOF)‚ which is a nanoporous crystalline material.The MOF was chosen to accumulate a lot of chromophores‚ but keep them restricted in their angle of motion. They are able to move sufficiently that as they emit color they excite electrons in the quintet state‚ but the motion restrictions suppress the shaking that would lead to a breakdown of the state.“This is the first room-temperature quantum coherence of entangled quintets‚” co-author Professor Yasuhiro Kobori of Kobe University said in a statement.The team was able to use microwave light to check the state of the system‚ showing it remained in quantum coherence for over 100 nanoseconds. This is a tiny fraction of a second‚ but it shows that quantum coherence is achievable at room temperature.“It will be possible to generate quintet multiexciton state qubits more efficiently in the future by searching for guest molecules that can induce more such suppressed motions and by developing suitable MOF structures‚” speculates senior author Associate Professor Nobuhiro Yanai from Kyushu University. “This can open doors to room-temperature molecular quantum computing based on multiple quantum gate control and quantum sensing of various target compounds.”Quantum sensing is a particularly exciting application. By using the extremely sensitive nature of quantum entanglement (which is usually the problem)‚ researchers believe they can develop sensing technologies with higher resolutions and sensitivities compared to the ones currently in use.The study is published in Science Advances.

A series of statements attributed to British astronomers and astronauts have sparked speculation the JWST has found evidence for alien life. Those quoted are respected names‚ but since at least one of them has been misquoted‚ there’s probably more smoke than fire. Even if something has been found‚ it’s almost certainly hints of little green microbes‚ not a message from little green men. According to The Spectator‚ three prominent figures with links to the British astronomical community marked the change of year by dropping hints of a big 2024 announcement in the quest for life beyond the Earth. Even that article acknowledged none had gone into detail. The most explicit quote was attributed to astrophysicist and science communicator Dr Becky Smethurst‚ who they claim said: “I think we are going to get a paper that has strong evidence for a biosignature on an exoplanet very‚ very soon. Let’s just say it’s on my bingo card for 2024.”However‚ the video they linked to doesn’t contain this quote. Meanwhile‚ what Smethurst did say has been seriously misrepresented.         IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.So far neither astronaut Tim Peake‚ nor Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock‚ the other two figures mentioned‚ have commented. However‚ if Smethurst knew something‚ even if she couldn’t talk about it just yet‚ it’s unlikely she would want to issue such a clear denial. So‚ it looks like if anyone does think they have found evidence of alien life‚ they’re not waving it under the noses of prominent astronomers.In a previous video‚ Smethurst did say: “Hopefully you will agree with me that now we have the JWST‚ I don’t think it’s a case of if we’ll detect biosignatures in an exoplanet’s atmosphere‚ I think it’s a case of when.” However‚ this video was made more than a year ago. If Smethurst knew something then that the rest of us didn’t‚ it would almost certainly have come out by now.The article didn't just leave it at twisting/inventing the words of respected scientists. Instead‚ it linked in UFO conspiracy theorists‚ the type that are not only convinced aliens are visiting us‚ but the powers that be know and are keeping the truth from the public. Let’s say it again – the more people a conspiracy requires‚ the harder it is to keep secret. The idea that politicians‚ public servants‚ and astronomers are all working together to keep the biggest story of all time quiet‚ and have done so for years‚ is just silly.Ars Technica picked up The Spectator’s story. On the one hand‚ they were keen to put to rest any association with alien technological civilizations. On the other hand‚ they gave a further boost to the idea of a major JWST finding on the way. “The rumors have been out there for a while now‚ percolating through respectable corners of the astronomy and astrobiological community‚ that the James Webb Space Telescope has found a planet with strong evidence of life‚” the article claims‚ before firmly attaching these to K2-18b‚ the planet where last year the JWST found methane‚ carbon dioxide and what might conceivably be dimethyl sulfide‚ (CH3)2S.K2-18b transits in front of its star every 33 days‚ and is considered such a priority that the JWST watches when it does. Consequently‚ it now has a larger bank of data than it had at the time that paper came out. This means it’s likely someone processing the data knows either that the dimethyl sulfide find is wrong‚ or somewhat more solid than it looked based on just two transits.One difficulty with rumors is that it’s hard to know who to ask for comment. Like most scientific fields‚ the astronomical community is large enough that just because someone doesn’t know anything about a soon-to-be-released discovery doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It could just be a different team involved. Ars Technica sought comment from NASA. They quote JWST’s deputy project scientist Knicole Colón as saying: "JWST has not found definitive evidence of life on an exoplanet. It is anticipated that JWST observations may lead to the initial identification of potential biosignatures that could make habitability more or less likely for a given exoplanet. Future missions will be needed to conclusively establish the habitability of an exoplanet."That sounds like a “nothing yet” to us‚ but Ars Technica‚ called it “not a hard no”. You can be the judge on that‚ but it’s very unlikely the JWST has collected enough evidence for confidence of life on K2-18b. Even if we found solid evidence of dimethyl sulfide‚ which is probably years away‚ it would be far from proof of life. On Earth‚ dimethyl sulfide only seems to be made by living things‚ but it’s a simple enough molecule that it might form in other ways under the right conditions. Other gases are considered more reliable biosignatures‚ but are probably beyond the JWST’s capacity to find.If we want to find life this way‚ rather than picking up a clear radio signal from an advanced civilization‚ we’re unlikely to get anything close to certainty from the JWST. For that‚ as former IFLScience writer Jonathan O’Callaghan noted‚ we have to wait at least for the Grace Roman Observatory‚ which will not be launching until 2027 at the earliest. More likely both the JWST and Roman will‚ in this area at least‚ simply act as precursors for the Habitable Worlds Observatory‚ which is decades away and could use what other telescopes find to guide its path.Other planets are even less likely prospects. K2-18b was targeted because it’s a large Hycean world‚ making its atmosphere relatively easy to study‚ and therefore a stepping stone to smaller worlds. JWST isn’t even looking at most of the rocky planets considered the best prospects for life because‚ for all its great powers‚ it lacks the sensitivity to find signs of life around them.It’s hard to find something where you’re not looking. On the other hand‚ as The Spectator article shows‚ it’s very easy to report something that’s not there if you want it badly enough.

Here's a fun fact to annoy people with; depending on how pedantic you are as a person‚ you could call the Sun blue-green. In fact‚ you have NASA's permission to do so."So‚ the sun actually emits energy at all wavelengths from radio to gamma ray. But‚" NASA explained ahead of the 2017 eclipse‚ "it emits most of its energy around 500 nm‚ which is close to blue-green light. So one might say that the sun is blue-green!"Of course‚ we don't see it like that‚ thanks to how our eyes work."Though the sun emits strongest in the green part of the spectrum‚ it also emits strongly in all the visible colors – red through blue‚" NASA continued. "Our eyes which have three color cone cell receptors‚ report to the brain that each color receptor is completely saturated with significant colors being received at all visible wavelengths. Our brains then integrate these signals into a perceived white color."Now that we've got the fact that the Sun is blue-green but perceived as white out of the way‚ why are sunsets and sunrises red?When the Sun hits our atmosphere‚ light in the blue spectrum is scattered more efficiently than red light by particles within it‚ known as Rayleigh scattering. With less blue light hitting your eyes‚ you will perceive the Sun as tinted slightly yellow. The more atmosphere the light has to travel through – say at sunrise and sunset – the more blue light gets scattered‚ making the Sun appear yellower or red.Conversely‚ when the Sun is directly above you it will appear whiter‚ as the blue light has less atmosphere to scatter through in order to reach your eyes.  IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.On Mars‚ with a far thinner atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and dust‚ red light scatters more efficiently‚ meaning all the robots we have sent there look out on an eerie blue sunset‚ contrasting nicely with all the red.

What did the galaxies in the early universe look like? Researchers now think they have a clearer idea‚ and like many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are battling with freezing temperatures and dreaming of summer. So‚ in their beach-themed analogy‚ galaxies at the edge of what we can see are close in shape to pool noodles and surfboards.The occasional frisbee or volleyball-shaped galaxy appears in the data‚ with frisbees becoming more and more common with time. Most of these objects are flatter compared to the galaxies we see today‚ most of which have either got a spiral structure or an elliptical one (like those volleyballs but much bigger).Shapes of galaxies seen by JWST.Image Credit: NASA‚ ESA‚ CSA‚ Joseph Olmsted (STScI)“Roughly 50 to 80 percent of the galaxies we studied appear to be flattened in two dimensions‚” explained lead author Viraj Pandya‚ a NASA Hubble Fellow at Columbia University‚ in a statement. “Galaxies that look like pool noodles or surfboards seem to be very common in the early universe‚ which is surprising‚ since they are uncommon nearby.”Elongated galaxies were already spotted in the deep Hubble data. JWST confirmed those observations and showed that even more distant galaxies have those characteristic shapes – important insights into how these early galaxies formed.“In the early universe‚ galaxies had had far less time to grow‚” said Kartheik Iyer‚ a co-author and NASA Hubble Fellow also at Columbia University. “Identifying additional categories for early galaxies is exciting – there’s a lot more to analyze now. We can now study how galaxies’ shapes relate to how they look and better project how they formed in much more detail.”The current beachware range might not be all that there is out there. Researchers admit that there are still major gaps in our knowledge of these distant cosmic objects. JWST will continue to see deeper and wider and find many more of these early galaxies.“These are early results‚” said co-author Elizabeth McGrath‚ an associate professor at Colby College in Waterville‚ Maine. “We need to delve more deeply into the data to figure out what’s going on‚ but we’re very excited about these early trends.”A paper with these results is submitted to The Astrophysical Journal and available on the Arxiv.

Imagine a scene straight out of a storybook‚ set in the lush southern Indian jungle. Here‚ a touching story unfolds‚ much like a children’s tale‚ but filled with the authentic charm of nature. Our story stars a young elephant calf‚ merely four to five months old‚ who finds herself in a predicament. She’s lost‚ separated... The post Mama elephant can’t contain emotions when she finally reunites with missing baby appeared first on Animal Channel.

Fostering dogs is a heartwarming journey many animal lovers embark on. It’s about opening your home to a homeless dog from a shelter‚ providing them with love‚ care‚ and attention as if they were your own. This was the path chosen by Julie Harrison-Harney‚ who decided to foster Chips Ahoy‚ a shelter dog‚ with the... The post Rescue dog is ‘heartbroken’ when she’s returned to foster family 2 days after being adopted appeared first on Animal Channel.