Space, next time
Virgin Galactic鈥檚 VSS Enterprise, which shares a name with the famous ship from Star Trek, has reached the stratosphere with a crew on-board. Eventually, the rocket will fly in an arc that reaches space for a few minutes. But it鈥檚 not yet ready to leave the nest: this time, the VSS Enterprise remained attached to its carrier, VMS Eve.
Painless injection
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A patch containing hundreds of microscopic needles could herald painless vaccination, and boost the effectiveness of immunisation against disease. The vaccine-laden needles penetrate the skin then dissolve. Mice tested with the patch showed a better immune response to flu than those given an injection (Nature, ).
Bioterror drug cuts
faces significant budget cuts. The project was created by the Bush administration in 2004 to foster development of new drugs to respond to a bioterror attack. Critics of the project say the money would be better spent developing antibiotics to fight bacterial diseases.
End of life support
The UK is the best in the world at supporting people at the end of life, according to . The report compares 40 countries in factors that include the level of government involvement, access to hospice care, and public awareness.
Smelling whales
We may have underestimated whales 鈥� not their size, but their senses. Dissections of bowhead whale brains point to a fully developed olfactory system, questioning assumptions that the largest animals on Earth have a lousy sense of smell (Marine Mammal Science, ).