This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 disintegrating in 2006 shows the tails and comas of the individual pieces of the comet; new research on comet composition included infrared spectrography of this comet during its breakup. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (APL), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (STScI)

A new study has revealed similarities and relationships between certain types of chemicals found on 30 different comets, which vary widely in their overall composition compared to one another. The research is part of ongoing investigations into these primordial bodies, which contain material largely unchanged from the birth of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.

By studying the composition of hazy comas and tails of these comets, researchers found tha...

2-hour moderate-intensity exercise in the exercise trial; Early PP, early postprandial period; Late PP, late postprandial period.

The researchers also found timing of exercise may play a role in how beneficial it is for your metabolism. The study’s senior author, Katarina Borer, said the study illustrates that small changes can make a difference, such as watching the kinds of foods you eat and not exercising at an inappropriate time. The study reported that when people ate 3 meals containing just 30% carbohydrates over a 24-hour period, they had a 30% reduction in their after-meal insulin resistance and insulin levels. People who are resistant to insulin have a higher risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

When people ate 3 meals containing 60% carbohydrates over 24 hours, there was no s...

The atomic structure of influenza A virus nucleoprotein. Credit: Jane Tao/Rice University

A new type of vaccine may allow for a new approach to generating live virus vaccines which could conceivably be adapted to any type of virus. Published in the journal Science, the Peking University team outlines how they modified an influenza virus causing it to incite an immune response without a risk of infection.

Most vaccines today contain viruses that have been killed or weakened to the point that they are unlikely to cause an infection when injected into a healthy patient. Such vaccines work by causing the immune system to target similar viruses if found in the body before they have a chance to multiply, causing an infection...

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, with SpaceShipTwo attached, takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California on an earlier test flight. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic’s new spaceship has made a successful first glide flight, a key step after a deadly crash of its predecessor two years ago, the spaceflight company said on Saturday. The new SpaceShipTwo, dubbed VSS Unity, was hoisted aloft by carrier airplane WhiteKnightTwo VMS Eve from the Mojave Air & Space Port in California, the company said on Twitter.

Released from the mothership, VSS Unity flew home to Earth on its own, according to the company owned by British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson. “VSS Unity has landed...