Science Saturday: Lunar exploration, flu vaccine, prehistoric tracks and origin of life

Lunar exploration

Chinese scientists have discovered a method to extract water from lunar soil samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 mission. The scientists heated the lunar soil above 1000 degrees Celsius using concave mirrors, causing the soil to melt and release water vapor. From one gram of soil, over 50 milligrams of water were obtained. Extrapolating, 1 tonne of soil could yield more than 50 kilograms of water. This amount is sufficient to fill approximately one hundred 500-milliliter bottles, enough for 50 people to drink for one day. This discovery could significantly advance human habitation on the moon.

Flu Vaccine

A universal flu vaccine is showing promise in mice, according to trials conducted at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute. The vaccine candidate includes proteins from various influenza strains, covering multiple seasons and potentially pandemic strains such as H5N1. The goal is to provide protection against all known influenza strains, potentially eliminating the need for annual vaccinations. However, viral mutations continue to pose a challenge. Researchers hope to initiate human clinical trials within the next one to three years.

Prehistoric tracks

Dinosaurs traveled between Africa and South America more than 120 million years ago, before the continents split. Evidence of this prehistoric highway was discovered by scientists from Southern Methodist University. They discovered more than 260 similar footprints in Brazil and Cameroon. Scientists say these tracks can indicate the dinosaurs' behavior like how they walked or ran, and where they were going. They can also help us understand the ancient climate and how different types of animals thrived before supercontinents broke apart into the seven continents we know today.

Origin of life

A significant discovery in the evolution of life has been made by U.S. scientists, who found that rainwater may have played a crucial role in forming the earliest primitive cell walls. Without these protective barriers, RNA exchange between protocells would have been immediate, leading to uniform clones and preventing evolution. The cell walls impeded RNA exchange, allowing mutations and competition, essential drivers of evolution. These findings bring scientists closer to understanding how life began more than 3.8 billion years ago.