Earth’s magnetic field is mysteriously weakening, causing satellites and spacecraft to malfunction

Image by mcbeaner from Pixabay 

The Earth's magnetic field is weakening between Africa and South America, causing issues for satellites and space craft.

Scientists studying the phenomenon observed that an area known as the South Atlantic Anomaly has grown considerably in recent years, though the reason for it is not entirely clear.

Using data gathered by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm constellation of satellites, researchers noted that the area of the anomaly dropped in strength by more than 8 per cent between 1970 and 2020.

"The new, eastern minimum of the South Atlantic Anomaly has appeared over the last decade and in recent years is developing vigorously," said Jürgen Matzka, from the German Research Centre for Geosciences.

"We are very lucky to have the Swarm satellites in orbit to investigate the development of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The challenge now is to understand the processes in Earth's core driving theses changes."

Read more at Independent 

Enlisting Monoclonal Antibodies in the Fight Against COVID-19

Caption: Antibody Binding to SARS-CoV-2. Structural illustration of B38 antibody (cyan, green) attached to receptor-binding domain of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (magenta). B38 blocks SARS-CoV-2 from binding to the ACE2 receptor (light pink) of a human cell, ACE2 is what the virus uses to infect cells. Credit: Y. Wu et a. Science, 2020

We now know that the immune system of nearly everyone who recovers from COVID-19 produces antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes this easily transmitted respiratory disease [1]. The presence of such antibodies has spurred hope that people exposed to SARS-CoV-2 may be protected, at least for a time, from getting COVID-19 again. But, in this post, I want to examine another potential use of antibodies: their promise for being developed as therapeutics for people who are sick with COVID-19.

In a recent paper in the journal Science, researchers used blood drawn from a COVID-19 survivor to identify a pair of previously unknown antibodies that specifically block SARS-CoV-2 from attaching to human cells [2]. Because each antibody locks onto a slightly different place on SARS-CoV-2, the vision is to use these antibodies in combination to block the virus from entering cells, thereby curbing COVID-19’s destructive spread throughout the lungs and other parts of the body.

Read more at NIH Directors Blog

Black hole found 1,000 light years from Earth

Astronomers say they have discovered a black hole on our doorstep, just 1,000 light years from Earth.

It was found in a system called HR 6819, in the constellation Telescopium.

The system appears through a telescope as a single bright star, but telltale signs in the light emitted have previously revealed there to be two stars present.

Now experts say they have further analysed the data to discover there is another body within the system: a black hole with a mass over four times that of our sun, and the closest to Earth found so far.

Read more at the Guardian 

The Best Websites for Expanding Your Scientific Knowledge

PNAS publishes cutting-edge research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, colloquium papers, and actions of the Academy that cover the biological, physical, and social sciences. 

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, or “Triple A-S,” is an international, professional, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.

ScienceStage.com is an online portal for the advanced teaching of science and scientific research. They provide a virtual conference room, lecture hall, laboratory, library, and a meeting venue for the presentation and transfer of scientific knowledge. 

ScienceDaily is one of the most popular science news sites on the web and covers breaking scientific news and the latest scientific discoveries.

Science News is an award-winning, news magazine that publishes concise, accurate, timely articles about all areas of science and covers important and emerging scientific research

Read more at HowtoGeek.com