Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily

1. Crystal structures in super slow motion
   Laser beams are used to change the properties of materials in an extremely precise way. However, the underlying processes generally take place at such unimaginably fast speeds and at such a small scale that they have so far eluded direct observation. Researchers have now managed to film, for the first time, the laser transformation of a crystal structure with nanometer resolution and in slow motion in an electron microscope.

   
2. NSAIDs might exacerbate or suppress COVID-19 depending on timing, mouse study suggests
   New research shows that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduced both antibody and inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice.

   
3. PTSD link to pandemic fears
   A new study of 1040 online participants from five western countries explores people's response to the stresses of the escalating pandemic, finding more than 13 percent of the sample had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms consistent with levels necessary to qualify for a clinical diagnosis.

   
4. Cargo delivery by polymers
   Degradable, bio-based polymers offer options for chemical recycling, and they can be a tool to store and release useful molecules. Scientists have developed a class of sugar-based polymers that are degradable through acid hydrolysis. The researchers also integrated 'cargo' molecules in the polymer, which are designed to split off after polymer degradation.

   
5. Rhesus macaques develop promising immune response to SARS-CoV-2
   In a promising result for the success of vaccines against COVID-19, rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 developed protective immune responses that might be reproduced with a vaccine.