Humans

A study by Rockefeller University suggests that patients who recovered from a Covid-19 infection were immune to the virus for at least six months. Participants showed an improvement of antibodies even after the infection has waned and an increased ability to block various Covid-19 mutations.

"This is really exciting news. The type of immune response we see here could potentially provide protection for quite some time, by enabling the body to mount a rapid and effective response to the virus upon re-exposure," says Michel C. Nussenzweig, the Zanvil A. Cohn and Ralph M. Steinman Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology

A study by the University of Southern California has found that "due to COVID-19 deaths last year, life expectancy at birth for Americans will shorten by 1.13 years to 77.48 years" – the largest single-year decline in four decades. The research found that life expectancy was further reduced among the Black and Latino populations in the US, with a reduction of 2.10 years to 72.78 years for Black people and 3.05 years to 78.77 years for Latinos, compared to a reduction of 0.68 years to 77.84 years for white people.

"Our study analyzes the effect of this exceptional number of deaths on life expectancy for the entire nation, as well as the consequences for marginalized groups," said study author Theresa Andrasfay, a postdoctoral fellow at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. "The COVID-19 pandemic's disproportionate effect on the life expectancy of Black and Latino Americans likely has to do with their greater exposure through their workplace or extended family contacts, in addition to receiving poorer health care, leading to more infections and worse outcomes."

Those who spend their entire teenage years playing violent computer games need not expect harmful psychological consequences. This is the result of a U.S. study now published in the journal "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking," in which scientists observed a group of children and adolescents between the ages of ten and 23 over a total period of ten years and assessed their behavior.

Scientists have renamed some 27 human genes over the past year to avoid Microsoft Excel misinterpreting their alphanumeric codes as dates.

These codes are used as a shorthand method for researchers to identify the genes in the human genome. Sometimes, though, they end up reading as something else. For instance, the gene symbol for Septin 2, SEPT2, defaults to the date '2-Sep' when typed into Excel, while Membrane-Associated Ring Finger, aka MARCH1, becomes '1-Mar'.

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) defined guidelines for naming protein-coding genes, RNA genes, and pseudogenes to avoid such mishaps. The instructions further say gene symbols should only contain Latin letters and Arabic numerals; should not contain common abbreviations; should not refer to any particular species; should not be offensive, and should be unique.

Archaeologists discovered a circle of deep shafts 3km from Stonehenge. The discovery is considered the largest prehistoric structure ever found in Britain.

The structure, that surrounded the settlement of Durrington Walls, consists of a 2km wide circle of large shafts measuring more than 10 meters in diameter by 5 meters depth and was excavated more than 4,500 years ago.

A team of researchers at POSTECH, Pohang University of Science and Technology, developed a smart contact lens technology for "both continuous glucose monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy". The contact lenses were tested on diabetic rabbits and were able to measure glucose levels in tears that matched their blood glucose levels. The team has also confirmed that the technology could trigger the release of drugs encased in the contact lenses to treat diabetic retinopathy.