Science and Technology News | Scientists discover "invisible version" of Omicron virus

【Today’s cover】

Recently, there are about 1,500 black-necked cranes arriving in Linzhou County, Lhasa, Tibet, and this place has become a paradise for black-necked cranes to spend the winter. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Rufeng

News Station

Image source: Xinhua News Agency Weibo

●According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the first class of the "Tiangong Classroom" officially started at 15:40 Beijing time on December 9, 2021. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu of the Shenzhou 13 flight crew vividly introduced and displayed the work and life scenes of the space station, demonstrated cytological experiments, human body movements, liquid surface tension and other magical phenomena in a microgravity environment, and explained the scientific principles behind the experiments. This is the first space teaching activity on the Chinese space station. During the class, the astronauts interacted with teachers and students on the ground in real time through video calls. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Image source: "Gongxin Micro News" WeChat public account

●The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on the 9th that in the early stage, it had conducted inspections on Apps that violated regulations such as exceeding the scope and frequently requesting permissions, and publicly notified Apps that had not completed rectification as required. As of now, there are still five Apps that have not completed rectification as required, including Kankan News, Mama.com Pregnancy, Aihuihui, Douban, and Changba. All communications administration bureaus have carried out technical inspections in accordance with the overall deployment of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As of now, there are still 101 Apps that have not completed rectification. In accordance with relevant requirements, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized the removal of the above 106 Apps. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

New findings

● According to a recent report by the British newspaper The Guardian, researchers have discovered a "stealth" strain of Omicron virus that cannot be identified by the commonly used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and distinguished from other variants. The "stealth" variant has many of the same mutations as the common Omicron strain, but lacks a special genetic mutation. It is not yet known whether this new Omicron variant spreads in the same way as the common Omicron variant. (Source: Xinhuanet)

Left: binary star system, lower right: planet discovered this time, upper right: background star. Image credit: ESO/Janson et al.

●On December 8, Nature published a new study in which researchers from Stockholm University in Sweden discovered a giant gas planet orbiting two stars. The combined mass of the binary star system is at least six times that of the sun. This is the largest planetary host star system ever detected, and it may challenge the current understanding of planet formation. It is reported that previous studies have shown that there are very few planets orbiting stars with a mass more than three times that of the sun, or even no planets at all. (Source: China Science Daily)

Image source: Science Alert magazine

●The solar system exists in a "bubble", which space physicists call the heliosphere. Previously, a research team from Boston University revealed that the shape of the heliosphere is like a "croissant". Recently, the team's latest research published in The Astrophysical Journal shows that neutral hydrogen particles from interstellar space that hit it from the outside may have played a key role in shaping this "croissant" shape. Neutral hydrogen particles have equal amounts of positive and negative charges and are therefore electrically neutral. They make the heliosphere jet unstable and cause it to bend inward. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

See the world

On December 4, a woman waited in line for a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine in Burlingame, northern California, the United States. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling

● Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on the 8th that the United States has found more than 40 cases of Omicron infection so far, and almost all cases have mild symptoms, mainly coughing, nasal congestion and fatigue. Only one infected person was hospitalized, and no deaths were reported. Walensky pointed out that these are early data on Omicron infection cases in the United States, and the symptoms of some cases may become more serious over time. (Source: Xinhuanet)

Image source: American Fun Science website

●According to a report on the American website Fun Science on the 8th, Dutch scientists may have discovered a galaxy without dark matter. Given that the existing theory of galaxy formation believes that dark matter is the key to galaxy formation, the latest research, if confirmed, will overturn the existing basic theory of galaxy formation. The galaxy is named AGC114905 and is an ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG). Astronomers still need to conduct more research to confirm that this galaxy does not have dark matter. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Grand View Garden

Image source: Shaanxi TV News

●From June 2020 to date, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology has excavated 3,648 ancient tombs from the Warring States Period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Weicheng District, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. The tomb era lasted for more than 2,200 years, and more than 16,000 pieces (sets) of cultural relics were unearthed. Most of the tomb owners of the "Hongduyuan" cemetery are royal relatives and high-ranking officials; the proportion of excavated medium and large tombs is large, and the number of dated tombs is large, with the family cemetery in the ditch as the characteristic. This archaeological discovery has great positive significance for the construction of the archaeological system framework of ancient Chinese tombs. The huge amount of information contained in the excavated tombs of celebrities such as Shangguan Wan'er's Tomb and Xue Shao's Tomb is enough to continue writing half of the history of the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties. (Source: Shaanxi TV News)

●The UAE is scheduled to implement a four-and-a-half-day work week starting January 1 next year, with the work week ending at 12:00 on Friday and the full weekend shifted from Friday to Saturday. By then, the UAE will become the first country in the world to work less than five days a week. It is reported that the UAE government hopes to help people achieve a better work-life balance and improve their sense of happiness by extending the weekly rest time, while also improving work performance and enhancing the UAE's economic competitiveness. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

Editor: Zhang Shuang

Review: Julie

Final review: Liu Haiying

Science and Technology Daily