Summer solstice 2026: When does summer start in the Northern Hemisphere? - Live Science

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced its recommendations for the viral composition of influenza (or ‘flu’) vaccines for use in the 2027 southern hemisphere influenza season. The announcement was made following an international consultation on the composition of influenza virus vaccines. Seasonal influenza causes substantial illness and many hospitalizations each year. Regular updates to vaccine composition are needed because influenza viruses continually evolve. WHO’s recommendations are used by national vaccine regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies around the world to develop, produce, and license influenza vaccines for the following influenza season. This ensures that vaccines are closely matched to the viruses expected to circulate, offering the best possible protection against severe illness and death. Twice each year, WHO convenes experts from its Collaborating Centres and Essential Regulatory Laboratories to review surveillance data generated through the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and other sources, and recommend vaccine compositions for upcoming influenza seasons.

With 302 neurons, 200 of them in their heads, hermaphrodite female roundworms reveal surprising sex-specific differences in the nervous system and how these differences influence behavior, reproduction, and aging. Researchers at Northeastern University compared brain activity in male and hermaphroditic Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic worm widely used in biological research to understand how sex wires males and female nervous systems differently.

Artist’s concept of the new dinosaur species Invictibellatrix amberina, along with the fossil from which it was identified. The fossil had been sitting in a drawer for 100 years, until researchers pulled it out and became curious. Image via Sergey Krasovskiy and Pedro Salas/ Natural History Museum London. You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a new view of NGC 1827, an intermediate spiral galaxy seen edge-on in the constellation Columba. This Hubble image shows the edge-on, intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 1827. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Michael Jones, California Institute of Technology / Gladys Kober, NASA / Catholic University of America.