by Kathleen Castner
The Helix’s monthly science column features brief summaries about new and exciting findings in different fields of science.
Health & Medicine: COVID-19
A pregnant health care worker received her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Three weeks later, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Surprisingly, the baby was born with COVID-19 antibodies that were detected by testing a blood sample from the umbilical cord. A second mother who was given her second dose of the vaccine also gave birth to a baby with COVID-19 antibodies. Additionally, early clinical studies have shown that vaccinated mothers are capable of passing antibodies to their babies through breastmilk. Pfizer is currently spearheading a clinical study to study their mRNA vaccine in pregnant women. As for now, this maternal transmission of COVID-19 antibodies is a step in the right direction in order to vaccinate the younger generation [3].
Pfizer began clinical trials in the United States for an oral antiviral drug to treat COVID-19. This would be administered upon first signs of the virus, hopefully preventing hospitalizations. The drug is a protease inhibitor; essentially it binds to the viral enzyme and stops the virus from replicating. Similar technology is used in HIV and hepatitis C treatment. Currently, the only FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19 is called Remdesivir which is injected into a vein. Pfizer plans to share its pre-clinical data for this new pill on April 6th [1].
Life Sciences: Animals
The March 4th report in the Current Biology journal revealed the findings of “noise-canceling” lungs in female green tree frogs. Imagine the cacophony of croaks and buzzes in the pond environment during mating season. This makes it difficult for female green tree frogs to decipher the mating calls of male green tree frogs. However, the females are able to make their eardrums less sensitive to unimportant sounds by just inflating their lungs. This lung-to-ear connection is not present in mammals, but frogs have body parts—in their ear canal, mouth, and larynx—which allow their eardrums to register vibrations in their lungs. The research was conducted at the University of Minnesota. The researchers played sounds for the female frogs at different frequencies. Between 1,400 and 2,200 hertz, the usual frequencies of male green tree frog’s croak, the females inflated their lungs [2]. This suggests that they are trying to block out other mating calls and hone in on the sounds of their male counterparts.
Physical Sciences: Space
‘Oumuamua, a dense object with an incredible velocity, was discovered by NASA scientists in October 2017. It was the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system. It is a rocky, flat object with a reddish color. Four years later, scientists are still trying to figure out what exactly ‘Oumuamua is. It was thought of to be an asteroid for a short time, and then a comet. But, a March 16th report by JGR Planets, hypothesizes that it was a piece of nitrogen ice that broke off of a dwarf planet million of years ago. In this study, scientists simulate how nitrogen ice would act if it was on the same trail that ‘Oumuamua took and the results were identical to ‘Oumuamua’s path. Nitrogen ice is also common on other exoplanets, such as Pluto. The researchers think two bodies collided when a far-away solar system was forming, thus, causing a chunk of nitrogen ice to break off [4]. Nevertheless, scientists are still excited about the fact that our solar system had a foreign visitor.
Science in Pictures
On March 19th, the Fagradalsfjall volcano, located about 30 miles from Iceland’s capital erupted for the first time in 700 years. As molten lava cascaded down the volcano, people started grilling hot dogs on the rocks. This is only the beginning of expected volcanic activity [5].
On March 25th, the International Union for Conservation of Nature updated its “Red List” of endangered species. It reported on the status of the two African elephant species independently for the first time. The African Forest elephant was listed as “critically endangered” while the African savanna elephant was listed as “endangered.” This grim report is a call to step up conservation efforts, such as cracking down on poaching [4].
Archaeologists in the Israeli desert have uncovered new Dead Sea Scrolls that are 2,000 years old. They are thought to be remnants from the Book of Prophets and are now being housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Moreover, researchers discovered a 6,000-year-old skeleton of a child and a 10,500-year-old basket [6].
Sources
1. Guzman, J. (2021, March 23). Pfizer is now testing a COVID-19 pill. The Hill. https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/544575-pfizer-is-now-testing-a-covid-19-pill
2. Lambert, J. (2021, March 4). Female green tree frogs have noise-canceling lungs that help them hear mates. Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/female-green-tree-frogs-noise-canceling-lungs-mating
3. Larsen, K. (2021, March 19). COVID antibodies detected in newborns, breast milk after moms are vaccinated. Abc7news. https://abc7news.com/woman-gives-birth-to-baby-with-covid-antibodies-moderna-testing-on-babies-first-born-against-19/10431402
4. Larson, N. (2021, March 25). Alarm bells' as African elephants see sharp decline: conservationists. Yahoo. https://news.yahoo.com/alarm-bells-african-elephants-see-084939408.html
5. Parsons, J. (2021, March 23). Man cooks hot dogs for lunch on molten lava after Iceland volcano eruption. Metro. https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/23/man-cooks-lunch-on-molten-lava-after-iceland-volcano-eruption-14289895/
6. Smith, P. (2021, March 16). Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries are first ancient Bible texts to be found in 60 years. NBC. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/dead-sea-scrolls-discoveries-are-first-ancient-bible-texts-be-n1261182
7. Desilva, D. (2021). [Brain giving thumbs up] [Photogaph]. Clipartkey. https://www.clipartkey.com/view/xTobm_cartoon-brain-clip-art-brain-cartoon-transparent-background/