Science News Roundup: Omicron may raise re-infection risk; booster protection documented; Medicago's plant-based vaccine trial shows 75.3% efficacy against Delta variant and more

Speaking from Baikonur ahead of his 12-day space journey, Maezawa said flying into space had been a childhood dream.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Omicron may raise re-infection risk; booster protection documented

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Re-infection risk may be higher with Omicron variant

Medicago's plant-based vaccine trial shows 75.3% efficacy against Delta variant

Canadian drug developer Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, enhanced by GlaxoSmithKline's booster, was 75.3% effective against the Delta variant of the virus in a late stage study, the two companies said on Tuesday. They said the vaccine's overall efficacy rate against all variants of the coronavirus was 71%, except Omicron, which was not in circulation when the study was underway.

France to mimic Musk with own SpaceX-style launcher, minister says

European space company ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher to compete with the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. The launcher "must be able to be operational in 2026", Le Maire said during a trip to the ArianeGroup site at Vernon in Normandy, where the engines of Ariane rockets are tested.

Japan billionaire Maezawa to fulfil childhood dream with space flight

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said he could barely contain his excitement a day ahead of blasting off to the International Space Station in a prelude to a more ambitious trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX planned in 2023. The 46-year-old fashion magnate and art collector has been training at a space centre outside Moscow in recent months before becoming the first space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade. Maezawa will travel aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, which will launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, accompanied by his assistant Yozo Hirano, who will document the journey, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. Speaking from Baikonur ahead of his 12-day space journey, Maezawa said flying into space had been a childhood dream.

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