There were a slew of intriguing, exciting, interesting and entertaining news stories over the weekend, not all of which we were able to cover. So, from meteors to global warming, here's a little recap of the weekend.
United States Space Command confirmed that scientists discovered the first known interstellar meteor to ever hit the Earth.
The meteor, which is known as CNEOS 2014-01-08, crash-landed along the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea on Jan. 8, 2014, CNN quoted a SPACECOM document as saying.
The finding came as a surprise for Amir Siraj, who identified the object as an interstellar meteor in a 2019 study he coauthored while an undergraduate at Harvard University, the media outlet reported.
Siraj was working with Harvard University's Abraham Loeb, a professor of science, to investigate "Oumuamua," the solar system's first known interstellar object discovered in 2017, it added.
Loeb and Siraj were unable to publish their findings in a journal because their data came from NASA's CNEOS database, which does not include information such as the accuracy of the measurements.
After years of trying to obtain the necessary information, they received official confirmation from John Shaw, the deputy commander of the SPACECOM, that it was, in fact, an interstellar meteor.
"Dr. Joel Mozer, the Chief Scientist of Space Operations Command, the United States Space Force service component of U.S. Space Command, reviewed analysis of additional data available to the Department of Defense related to this finding. Dr. Mozer confirmed that the velocity estimate reported to NASA is sufficiently accurate to indicate an interstellar trajectory," Shaw wrote in his letter.
The command is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense and is responsible for military operations in outer space.
An interstellar meteor is a space rock that originates from outside our solar system – a rare occurrence.
Still on the topic of space, China announced that it would conduct six space missions, including two manned flights, this year to complete the construction of its Tiangong space station.
The Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft will be launched in June from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, according to Hao Chun, head of the China Manned Space Agency.
It will take three astronauts to be stationed in orbit for six months, state-run CGTN quoted him as saying at a news conference.
This will be preceded by the launch of a Tianzhou-4 cargo spacecraft in May that will take supplies, experimental materials and fuel to the space station.
"In July, the space station’s first lab component Wentian, or Quest for the Heavens, will be launched, while the second lab named Mengtian, or Dreaming of the Heavens, will be sent to dock with the station in October," said Hao.
Once they are connected with Tiangong, Hao added, "the station will become complete with a T-shaped structure."
The Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft will be launched after that point, according to the official.
The Shenzhou-15 will take three more astronauts to stay in orbit for six months.
Huang Weifen, chief trainer of Chinese astronauts, said the Shenzhou-14 and Shenzhou-15 crews are in "very good condition and have had extensive training and preparations."
The astronauts are "actively being trained for a series of missions, including the assembly and operation of different modules on the space station, robotic arms tests and extravehicular activities," read the CGTN report.
Until now, many cancer patients have been unable to benefit from COVID-19 vaccines due to the impact of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on their ability to build antibodies.
However, researchers in Germany say they have now successfully developed a new type of vaccine designed specifically to protect cancer patients and people with congenital immunodeficiency from COVID-19.
The CoVac-1 vaccine, developed by researchers from the German city of Tübingen, showed a desired effect in 93% of the vaccinated volunteers in a small clinical study – namely the activation of a T-cell immune response.
The findings were reported by the scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in New Orleans.
The extent to which the 14 patients in the study were actually protected from infection or severe symptoms with the vaccine was not investigated, however. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this vaccine will be able to protect high-risk patients from a severe case of COVID-19.
The current COVID-19 vaccines mainly trigger a so-called humoral immune response in the body, i.e. the formation of antibodies by the B cells.
However, many forms of chemotherapy and some kinds of immunotherapy destroy the B cells, so the vaccines do not work well in these patients.
The formation of antibodies is also limited in people with certain congenital immunodeficiencies. CoVac-1 is therefore primarily intended to build up cellular immunity, which is triggered by T cells.
Twenty-eight days after the CoVac-1 vaccination, the researchers registered a robust T-cell response in 13 patients. A clinical trial with more patients is currently being prepared.
According to new research, 60% of cactus species will wind up in less hospitable climates over the coming decades as global warming sets in, challenging the long-held assumption the iconic desert plants will thrive with more heat.
By 2070, up to 90% could be threatened with extinction due to climate change, habitat loss and other stressors, triple the current percentage, scientists reported in Nature Plants.
Some 1,500 species of cacti spread across the Americas live in varying climes, ranging from sea-level deserts to the high Andes mountains, from bone-dry ecosystems to humid tropical forests.
Biodiversity hot spots rich in species and numbers include central Mexico and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
To test the notion that cacti will benefit from a warmer and more drought-prone world, researchers led by Michiel Pillet from the University of Arizona examined data on more than 400 species and ran models projecting how they would fare at mid-century and beyond under different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios.
The findings "paint a more pessimistic future," according to the study.
Currently, the main threat to cacti is expanding agriculture, along with land degradation, biodiversity loss and harvesting for various uses.
Even without climate change, cacti "is one of the most endangered groups of organisms on the planet," with more than 30% classified as at risk of extinction, the authors note.
Under a moderate emissions scenario in line with current policies, global warming will soon be a significant threat as well.
