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This Week In IFLScience! – November 29 - December 5

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Chris Carpineti

author

Chris Carpineti

Senior Video Editor

Chris is a senior media editor with a background in graphic design and degree in film and television production.

Senior Video Editor

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Pfizer Covid Vaccine Approved In The UK With First Vaccinations Starting Next Week

The United Kingdom has approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, becoming the first in the world to approve a Covid vaccine for widespread use. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has confirmed that immunization can begin next week. The data from the final phase 3 clinical trial show that the vaccine, administered in two dosages, has an efficacy of 95 percent.

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solarseven/Shutterstock.com

 

 

False Widow Spider Bites Can Transmit Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

New research has recognized an alternative complication for a patient with a false widow bite as it’s been discovered that these spiders can transfer antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that many spider bites are capable of transferring bacteria when they munch on a human and that previous assumptions that venom would neutralize it were false.

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False widows' venom isn't something to worry about, but the bacteria they're carrying is. ThatMacroGuy/Shutterstock.com

 

 

Scientists Test Hypersonic Jet Engine Prototype That Could Travel Anywhere On Earth In 2 Hours

According to scientists, a newly developed hypersonic jet engine can reach speeds of up to Mach 16 – that’s a blistering 19,000 kilometers per hour (11,850 miles per hour) – and was stable when tested in a wind tunnel. Strap that onto a plane and you could reach anywhere in the world within two hours. Their results were published in the Chinese Journal of Aeronautics.  

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Close-up of the engines that propelled the last commercial supersonic airliner, the Concorde. Credit: Piotr Przyluski / Shutterstock.com

 

 

China's Lunar Sample Return Mission Chang’e 5 Successfully Lands On The Moon

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The Chang’e 5 has successfully landed near Mons Rümker in Oceanus Procellarum (the Ocean of Storms), the vast dark-colored region on the Moon's near side. The mission aims to bring back lunar samples to study on Earth. Chang’e 5 is expected to collect about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of lunar material, some from the surface and the rest from a depth of 2 meters (6.6 feet), with the drilling scheduled to begin a few hours after landing.

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Full moon. Jaroslav Noska/Shutterstock.com

 

 

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Drug Found To Rapidly Reverse Age-Related Cognitive Deficits In Mice

A drug that interferes with cellular protein production has been found to completely reverse age-related mental decline in mice after just three days of treatment. Amazingly, older rodents that received the drug were able to perform just as well as young mice at complex memory tasks, while an analysis of their brains revealed that many neurons had reverted back to a more youthful state.

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Disrupted protein synthesis at the cellular level may be a major cause of dementia. Image: Orawan Pattarawimonchai/Shutterstock.com

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