The Webb Space Telescope, after years of delays, has finally reached the launch pad. It’s a momentous occasion, but the observatory still needs to go through a complex and unprecedented commissioning process that will require a nerve-wracking six months to complete. The hard part, it would seem, is still to come.
Francis added his Christmas greetings in the form of another public brow-beating of Vatican clerics, who normally are treated with the utmost deference.
The Delaware Democrat said he is experiencing “minimal symptoms.”
Devin Ratray, who played older brother Buzz McAllister in the 1990 Christmas movie, was booked on two domestic assault and battery complaints.
The quarterback took a ribbing on Twitter for the “biggest backhanded compliment.”
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Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill will already have some competition in the US. As the Associated Pressreports, the Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization for Merck’s Molnupiravir pill. The treatment limits replication of SARS-CoV-2 by inserting “errors” in the virus’ genetic code while an infection is relatively young, ideally preventing mild or moderate cases from becoming severe in high-risk patients.
The medicine might not get as much use as Pfizer’s Paxlovid, however. Merck’s offering will only be available to those 18 years or older versus 12 years for Pfizer’s, as there are concerns it might affect bone and cartilage development in younger patients. There are also warnings against using it during pregnancy or while attempting to conceive — the FDA said people should use birth control both during and after treatment, with women waiting days and men waiting three months.
Molnupiravir also doesn’t appear to be as effective as Paxlovid. While Pfizer’s solution reduced hospitalization and death by as much as 90 percent, Merck’s only managed 30 percent. This pill may become the secondary option, particularly in situations where Paxlovid isn’t available. Both companies’ products are expected to remain effective against the virus’ Omicron variant as they don’t target mutating spike proteins.
Still, this might become another useful tool for minimizing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Pfizer’s pill will be the most readily available when the US is ordering enough to treat 10 million patients, but there will be enough of Merck’s drug to address 3.1 million. Even if the effectiveness is limited, that could spare hundreds of thousands of people from the worst the disease has to offer.
Crafted by musical mad scientist Sam Battle of Youtube channel Look Mum No Computer, the Santasizer isn’t an antibacterial hand gel to help keep the coronavirus at bay, but eleven dancing Santa toys from the 90’s connected to a synthesizer that reacts to the input being played through them. Fingers crossed, my company booked them for this year’s holiday party!
In the video, Sam and the Santas perform a funky rendition of the Christmas classic ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,’ complete with all the Santas’ sunglasses moving up and down as they bob to the beat. I only wish I could dance that well, then maybe people wouldn’t point and laugh so much when I hit the dance floor, usually with my head or face.
Now Sam just needs to install lasers in all of Santa’s eyes, so whenever they lift their sunglasses, they produce a laser light show, and he’s got himself a Christmas concert I would pay to go see! Not that I’m not excited to go see my nieces and nephews sing a bunch of carols off-key, there’s just always a very noticeable lack of laser beams.
[via Laughing Squid]
Writer Kyle Higgins and artist Marcelo Costa’s Radiant Black has been quite the hit for Image Comics. Issue #11 isn’t even out yet, but the Power Rangers-influenced superhero comic has already had a spin-off of Rogue Sun, and a crossover event with Mat Groom and Erica D’Urso’s Kamen Rider-esque Inferno Girl Red. Now…
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