Two days after touching down on asteroid Bennu, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission team received on Thursday, Oct. 22, images that confirm the spacecraft has collected more than enough material to meet one of its main mission requirements -- acquiring at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of the asteroid's surface material.
Scientists have devised a method for mapping in unprecedented detail the thickets of slippery sugar molecules that help shield HIV from the immune system. Mapping these shields will give researchers a more complete understanding of why antibodies react to some spots on the virus but not others, and may shape the design of new vaccines that target the most vulnerable sites on viruses.
Through intricate experiments designed to account for sex-specific differences, scientists have zeroed-in on certain changes in the brain that may be responsible for driving alcohol abuse among people with PTSD. In studies with rodents, researchers found that males and females exhibit their own distinct symptoms and brain features of PTSD and alcohol use disorder. Such differences are not typically accounted for in laboratory-based studies yet could lead to more successful clinical treatments.
Scientists have developed a theoretical approach that could ease the process of making highly complex, compact molecules. Such molecules are often found in plants and other organisms, and many are considered desirable starting points for developing potential new drugs. But they also tend to be highly challenging for chemists to construct and modify in the lab--a process called synthesis.
ALMA shows rings around the still-growing proto-star IRS 63.
