End of the universe prolonged

Contrary to earlier estimates, which predicted that the Universe might end as soon as 11 billion years from now, new research into dark energy has suggested that the Universe will last for at least the next 24 billion years. Researchers at Stanford University used recent observations from the Hubble Space Telescope to make their prediction. Astrophysicists, however, are still divided about the way Universe will end. While some believe that the Universe will keep expanding forever, others believe that at some point it will begin to contract and “crunch.”

-Wendy Gu
Source: Nature

Diluted vaccine may be just as effective

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that a diluted flu vaccine injected under the skin is just as effective as the standard dose injected into the muscle. The skin is believed to be better in triggering a response than muscle tissue, because it is regularly exposed to microbes. The team of researchers found that the reduced dose of vaccine triggered the same immune response as the standard dose. However, authorities are hesitant to recommend the use of diluted vaccines this winter, despite widespread concerns about the current flu vaccine shortage.

-W.G.
Source: Nature

Unraveling the evolution of the eye

The evolution of the eye has always been both a source of mystery for biologists as well as a point of debate for those who see the complexity of the eye as evidence against Darwin’s theory of evolution. But now researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany believe they have found part of the answer to that mystery. A study published last week in the journal Science indicates that the cells that make up the light-sensitive part of the eye evolved from cells inside the brain. Scientists studying Platynereis dumerilii, a marine worm that still resembles its 600 million year-old ancestors, found that the cells within its brain closely resemble the cells of the human eye. Using a new technique called “molecular fingerprinting,” researchers determined that the cells likely had common origins.

-Will Richardson-Little
Source: Science