Scientists made use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify molecular signatures in the immune component of the blood which can reveal how patients with sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome are likely to respond to the conditions.

The Oxford University has revealed that the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine AZD1222 was 90 % and 62 % in two different dose regimens respectively. It also shared that the vaccine is 70.4 % effective when combining the data from the two dosing regimens.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Prof. Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Scientific and Managing Director of the newly established Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens in Berlin for her groundbreaking work on the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. She shares the prize with Jennifer Doudna from the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Some, if not all, early sharks that lived 300 to 400 million years ago not only dropped their lower jaws downward but rotated them outwards when opening their mouths, paleontologists at the Universities of Zurich and Chicago have now shown using CT scanning and 3D printing.

Southern small-leaved oak forests are the habitats with a higher level of spider endemism in the Iberian Peninsula. A new study analyses the factors that affect biodiversity patterns of spider communities in the national park network of Spain, and explains the role of the environmental factors in the distribution of the biodiversity of this faunistic group in the peninsular territory.

Researchers have analysed immune cell types and numbers from the blood of healthy volunteers, Covid-19 patients experiencing mild-to-moderate effects and patients classified as severe. After comparing the T cell immune response, the researchers noted the surprising absence of a strong anti-viral response in the blood of Covid-19 patients.

Scientists at the Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have identified a protein called sperm associated antigen 5 or Spag5 which if present in certain breast cancer patients indicates how they will respond to specific therapies.

Scientists at the Global Center for Biomedical Science and Engineering have revealed that the molecular mechanism regulating the trafficking of lysosomes increases the invasiveness and metastasis of radioresistant cancer cells following radiotherapy.

Insects offer a plethora of inspirational concepts for novel technologies. One such example has been studied by Dutch scientists: the antennae of moth. They could allow for new approaches to the development of microsensors.

Global trends in the production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals continued to pick up in the summer months, reports the German Chemical Association (VCI - Verband der Chemischen Industrie) in its monthly ‘World Chemistry Report’. The VCI-report shows the latest developments in chemical and pharmaceutical production in 16 countries, 6 regions and around the world.