The US Food and Drug Administration has granted an emergency authorisation to use donated blood plasma from covid-19 survivors to treat the disease, but the evidence that it works is lacking Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2252737-convalescent-plasma-treatment-for-covid-19-has-been-oversold-by-the-us/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Tag: plasma
FDA allows wide use of plasma for COVID-19 with little data that it works
Last week, the FDA stated it needed much more data to authorize the treatment. Source: https://www.livescience.com/fda-issues-emergency-authorization-plasma-therapy-for-covid.html
FDA wants more proof COVID-19 plasma therapy works
The agency is waiting on more data from “gold standard” clinical trials. Source: https://www.livescience.com/fda-authorization-plasma-therapy-for-covid.html
Researchers track slowly splitting ‘dent’ in Earth’s magnetic field
A small but evolving dent in Earth’s magnetic field can cause big headaches for satellites. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/researchers-track-dent-in-earths-magnetic-field…
Mysterious dimming of Betelgeuse explained?
Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope revealed a large amount of dense hot gas moving outwards through Betelgeuse’s extended atmosphere. This gas might have cooled and formed a dust cloud that partially blocked the star’s light as seen from Earth, earlier this year. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/betelgeuses-early-2020-dimming-explained…
Menopausal woman gives birth after blood plasma injection in ovaries
Five out of 60 women who were menopausal or transiting into the menopause became pregnant after having their own blood plasma injected into their ovaries, according to results of a pilot study Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2251489-menopausal-woman-gives-birth-after-blood-plasma-injection-in-ovaries/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Convalescent plasma could reduce death from COVID-19, early data suggests
But few “gold standard” trials have been completed on the therapy, so take the results with a grain of salt. Source: https://www.livescience.com/convalescent-plasma-therapy-reduces-covid19-deaths.html
Juno’s new images reveal Ganymede’s north pole
These are the first spacecraft images yet acquired of the north pole of Ganymede, largest moon of the giant planet Jupiter. NASA’s Juno spacecraft – now orbiting Jupiter – obtained them. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/ganymede-north-pole-infrared-images-juno-spacecraft-jupiter…
New evidence for fragmentation of energy release in solar flares
Type III radio bursts from the sun are signatures of energetic (∼1–100 keV) electrons, accelerated at the reconnection sites, propagating upward through the corona into the interplanetary medium along open magnetic field lines. The emission mechanism of the bursts is widely believed to be due to coherent plasma processes. The bursts are observed typically in the frequency range ≈1GHz–10kHz, which corresponds…
Iter: World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Project Begins Assembly
Thelasko writes: The world’s biggest nuclear fusion project has entered its five-year assembly phase. After this is finished, the facility will be able to start generating the super-hot “plasma” required for fusion power. The $23.5 billion facility has been under construction in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, southern France. Advocates say fusion could be a source of clean, unlimited power that would help tackle the…