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Travel restrictions as new Omicron variant spreads The world has a new COVID-19 "variant of concern." There's growing global alarm over B.1.1.529 variant. It was first identified on Nov. 23 in South Africa and is believed to be behind a sudden surge in cases. The B.1.1.529 variant has been given the name Omicron. It is said to be the most heavily mutated version of the novel coronavirus we have seen so far.  About 30 mutations have been identified in the spike protein-about twice as many as the Delta variant. The mutations could make Omicron more transmissible and it's unknown if it will prove more deadly than the previous variants.  The mutations make the spike protein significantly different than the original version of the virus that vaccines were based on. And it will take weeks to determine whether vaccines are effective against it.  The international response has been swift. Many countries have shut down air travel from South Africa itself. The bans also ex...

Dart Launch NASA is testing a new planetary defense system designed to knock an asteroid from a potential collision on Earth. But there's no need to panic, this one isn't headed for earth. They are doing that to basically test the technique to save the planet if there was ever killer asteroid coming towards earth. At this point you might be thinking of Hollywood movies like Armageddon where astronauts drill into an asteroid and plant a bomb or Deep Impact where the president orders a nuclear. But the technique in this mission will be a little less dramatic.  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a spacecraft has blasted off from California on a mission to smash a robot spacecraft into an asteroid.  The Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART will examine NASA's ability to alter an asteroid's trajectory with kinetic force. The mission is to basically go hit an asteroid and see if it can be moved. The DART technique could prove useful for the altering course of an asteroid y...