Rodent Thumbnails, the Red Planet and Rectal Health: A Science Roundup You Didn't Know You Needed

"Late last month NASA shared what its now-defunct InSight lander found out about the Red Planet's insides. In a study published in Science researchers reported on data from the seismometer that InSight placed on Mars's surface in 2018. By 2022, when the mission ended, the seismometer had recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes. Because a quake's seismic waves behave differently based on what kinds of material they're passing through, the shake-ups allowed scientists to study the planet's core, mantle and crust."

"According to the new study the Martian mantle is full of large lumps, some as big as 2.5 miles across. The researchers think they're seeing the rocky remains of ancient collisions between Mars and errant space objects. They say some of those impacts generated enough energy to melt huge spans of the planet's surface and mantle into oceans of magma, providing an opportunity for chunks of rock to push deep inside the Martian planet."

"According to a study published last Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine a common nasal spray could provide some protection against COVID. In a study of 450 adults who used either a nasal spray containing the antihistamine azelastine or a placebo three times a day for 56 days, the over-the-counter medication was associated with a 67 percent lower risk of catching COVID. The five folks who caught COVID while using the allergy spray tested positive for less time on average."

NASA's InSight seismometer, active from 2018 until 2022, recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes that revealed details of Mars's interior. Seismic data show a Martian mantle studded with large lumps up to about 2.5 miles across. Those lumps likely represent rocky remnants pushed inward during ancient, high-energy impacts that created magma oceans on the surface and within the mantle. A JAMA Internal Medicine study tested an over-the-counter azelastine nasal spray versus placebo in 450 adults using doses three times daily for 56 days. Azelastine use was associated with a 67% lower risk of catching COVID, shorter positive test durations for breakthrough cases, and fewer confirmed respiratory infections overall.

Read at www.scientificamerican.com