Scientists React​ to Halt of Leading Coronavirus Vaccine Trial

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September 09, 2020

Dear Reader, Global trials of the coronavirus-vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca are on hold after a "suspected adverse event" in a person who received the vaccine in the U.K. Our lead story has the details. Up next, the first small nuclear reactor design has been approved in the U.S. The design is intended to speed construction, lower cost and improve safety over larger traditional nuclear reactors. Also featured in today's roundup is a story on how fossils and DNA have revealed the complexity of human evolution. And lastly, we take a look at the trendy intermittent fasting diet. Is it better than others?

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Medicine Scientists React​ to Halt of Leading Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Scientists urge caution in the global vaccine race as AstraZeneca reports an 'adverse event' in a person who received the Oxford vaccine By Nicky Phillips,David Cyranoski,Smriti Mallapaty,Nature magazine

Electronics Blood and Silicon: New Electronics-Cooling System Mimics Human Capillaries Microchannels strategically carved in chips could help meet demand for ever-smaller devices and cut energy use By Mariana Lenharo

Evolution How Scientists Discovered the Staggering Complexity of Human Evolution Darwin would be delighted by the story his successors have revealed By Kate Wong

Energy First U.S. Small Nuclear Reactor Design Is Approved Concerns about costs and safety remain, however By Dave Levitan

Public Health Coronavirus: How It Infects Us and How We Might Stop It How does SARS-CoV-2 sneak into our body? What can our immune system do and how can the virus sometimes defeat it? How do the leading drug and vaccine candidates work? Will the virus plague us forever? Scientific American presents a conversation about these burning questions with Britt Glaunsinger, a virologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute who is a specialist in viral infection. By Mark Fischetti,Britt Glaunsinger,Macarena Carrizosa,Sunya Bhutta

Behavior & Society Fighting Back against the Loneliness Epidemic Throughout the country, socially distanced young adults and older adults have been forming connections By Anagha Kumar

The Body How Good a Diet Is Intermittent Fasting? The popular fasting diet regimen can work well for weight loss, but many other claims about its benefits remain to be proved By Claudia Wallis

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QUOTE OF THE DAY "If the event is linked definitively, or even probably, to the vaccine, it could be a definitive blow to this particular vaccine candidate." Marie-Paule Kieny, vaccine researcher at INSERM

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