The James Webb Space Telescope, which was launched into space last December, has delivered its first images back to Earth, revealing “emerging star nurseries” and “cosmic rocks” in the Carina Nebula, according to NASA.
DTU Space, the national space institute at the Technical University of Denmark, has been one participant in the James Webb Mission since its inception. Researchers and experts involved in the mission celebrated its success at an event in Lyngby on 12 July.
A global collaboration
The James Webb mission is the result of a global collaboration led by NASA and the European Space Agency.
Experts from DTU Space have developed and supplied various technologies for the telescope, including a carbon fiber suspension and a protective packaging for the telescope’s infrared camera.
In addition, DTU Space researchers are collaborating with experts from the University of Copenhagen to use data that is now pouring in from the telescope.
Danish team says that aluminum in vaccines lacks evidence
In many vaccines, aluminum is added as an ‘adjuvant’ to strengthen the patient’s immune response. However, after a systematic review of 102 randomized trials, Danish researchers have not found evidence that this practice is beneficial. The team from Rigshospitalet concluded that only 3 of the 102 trials were completed “without bias”. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) informed Videnskab.dkhowever, that “the safety of using aluminum adjuvant alone or in combination with an antigen is well established”.
The risk of allergic reactions after vaccination can be hereditary, the study claims
Together with researchers from the Allergy Research Center, experts at the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) have investigated the risk factors associated with allergic reactions to vaccines among children. The study focused on aluminum-containing vaccines and found that the type and amount of aluminum affected the risk, as well as the patient’s vaccine history. They also revealed evidence of a genetic component in the development of vaccination granulomas – the main vaccine side effect among children. According to SSI, however, the use of aluminum in vaccines is safe – granulomas are rare and not life-threatening.
The vaccination rate varies according to education and income
Almost 90 percent of the population in Denmark has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, according to the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), some groups have been vaccinated less than others. In its analysis of 5 million individuals, SSI determined that the vaccination rate is significantly lower among the following groups: young people, immigrants and their descent, people with an annual income below DKK 250,000 and those who have only had primary school. education.
New coronavirus variant is no cause for concern
A new mutation of the Omicron coronavirus variant has spread in India – and now in Europe. The BA.2.75 variant is now making up 23 percent of COVID-19 infections in India and has also been detected in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. In Europe, it has only so far been discovered in Germany and the United Kingdom. Talking to TV2, a virologist at the University of Copenhagen has said that the new variant is unlikely to overtake the BA.5 strain that is currently dominant in Europe. He also said the new variant is unlikely to limit the effectiveness of vaccines.
KU professor will be the first in Denmark to receive a prestigious grant
Professor Samir Bhatt from the University of Copenhagen has this received the Schmidt Science Polymaths Award. He is the first in Denmark to receive the grant, which provides hundreds of thousands of dollars to newly hired professors with “remarkable track records, promising futures and a desire to explore interdisciplinary research”. Bhatt’s research takes place at the crossroads of public health, mathematics, and computer science. With the grant money, Bhatt says he will “start thinking more about evolutionary theory and the big questions in science”.
Center for Plastic Research established at Aarhus University
Professor Daniel Otzen, with DKK 57 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is now opening of a center for plastic research at Aarhus University. The center, officially called the Center for the Enzymatic Deconstruction of Thermoset Plastics for a Sustainable Society, will focus on identifying naturally occurring molecules that are capable of degrading various types of plastics. According to Otzen, 300 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide each year. “The world is drowning in plastic,” Otzen said. “And we can not keep up.”
About 50 CO2 capture and storage projects launched in Denmark
INNO-CCUS is one of four strategic partnerships established to help Denmark achieve its goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70 percent by 2030. In the last few weeks, the partnership has launched its first round of projects that focus on on the promotion of carbon capture, exploitation and storage – a concept that includes various methods and technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and industrial emissions. In addition to various authorities in the Danish government, the INNO-CCUS partnership involves Aalborg University, Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen and more than 50 other private and public entities.