FDA Rejects Moderna's Influenza Vaccine Application
The FDA has declined to review Moderna's application for its mRNA-based influenza vaccine, citing concerns over the clinical trial's comparator, which it deemed inadequate. The agency's refusal to file letter, signed by Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, indicates that the trials compared Moderna's vaccine to standard flu shots rather than to those for high-risk individuals. Moderna reported that its vaccine was 26.6% more effective than the standard flu shot, but the FDA's decision halts the potential rollout for the upcoming flu season.
Study Reveals Earth's Core Contains Significant Hydrogen
Researchers led by Dongyang Huang from Peking University have estimated that Earth's core may contain between nine and 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen, according to a study published in Nature Communications. This finding suggests that the planet's water has been present since its formation, rather than arriving later from external sources. The study utilized high-pressure experiments to analyze the core's composition, revealing that hydrogen constitutes approximately 0.07 to 0.36 percent of the core by weight, which could influence geological processes and the development of Earth's magnetic field.
