Published: Feb. 25, 2021

Here’s some news you can use: Answers to common COVID-19 vaccine questions, a new wearable device that turns the body into a battery and a Q&A on what went wrong with Texas’ power grid.

If I get the shot, can I still get COVID-19? Answers to common vaccine questions

What we learned:

  • What are mRNA vaccines, and how are they different than traditional vaccines?Are they safe?
  • How effective are these vaccines? Can I still get infected with COVID-19 after being vaccinated?
  • Once you are fully vaccinated, what can and can’t you do?

New wearable device turns the body into a battery

What we learned:

  • Researchers have developed a new kind of wearable device that draws power from your body heat and that you can wear like a ring, wristband or any other accessory that touches your skin.
  • The device can produce about 1 volt of energy for every square centimeter of skin space—enough to power many wearable electronics.
  • The team's creation is also stretchy, inexpensive to produce, self-healing and fully-recyclable.

What went wrong with Texas’ power grid? A Q&A with Boulder experts

What we learned:

  • What happened? What are “rolling blackouts,” and why did Texas use them?
  • Did the Texas grid fail due to renewable energy sources such as frozen wind turbines?
  • What can we learn from this significant power failure to prevent situations like this from happening again?