Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein renders virus up to eight times more infectious

Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen biodiversity pattern of coral reef fishes that suggests some fishes might be exceptionally vulnerable to environmental change. A new study shows plankton-eating coral reef fishes (planktivores) are far more diverse than others in the Indo-Australian Archipelago, a global marine biodiversity hotspot. The findings highlight, for the first time, a unique link between the diet and distribution of species across the marine realm. "The archipelago is one of the most complex and dynamic geological regions in the tropics," said lead author Dr Ale Siqueira from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (Coral CoE at JCU). "And its ...

Teens who bully, harass, or otherwise victimize their peers are not always lashing out in reaction to psychological problems or unhealthy home environments, but are often using aggression strategically to climb their school's social hierarchy, a University of California, Davis, study suggests. These findings point to the reasons why most anti-bullying programs don't work and suggest possible strategies for the future. "To the extent that this is true, we should expect them to target not vulnerable wallflowers, but their own friends, and friends-of-friends, who are more ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Like a scene from a horror movie, tomato fruitworm caterpillars silence their food plants' cries for help as they devour their leaves. That is the finding of a multidisciplinary team of researchers, who said the results may yield insights into the abilities of crop plants -- such as tomato and soybean -- to withstand additional stressors, like climate change. "We have discovered a new strategy whereby an insect uses saliva to inhibit the release of airborne plant defenses through direct manipulation of plant stomata," said Gary Felton, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at Penn State, noting that stomata are tiny pores on plant leaves that regulate gas exchange, including plant defensive emissions ...

Wheat straw, the dried stalks left over from grain production, is a potential source of biofuels and commodity chemicals. But before straw can be converted to useful products by biorefineries, the polymers that make it up must be broken down into their building blocks. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have found that microbes from the guts of certain termite species can help break down lignin, a particularly tough polymer in straw. In straw and other dried plant material, the three main polymers -- cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin -- are interwoven into a complex 3D structure. The first two polymers are polysaccharides, which can be broken down into sugars and then converted to fuel in bioreactors. ...

Humans, like most social animals, tend to be organized hierarchically. In any group or social relationship there are always individuals who, for various reasons, significantly influence the behaviour of others. These individuals are attributed the highest status within the social group they belong to. As everyday examples of hierarchical relationships we find those of parents and children, teachers and students, bosses and workers, etc. Given the pervasiveness of such social organization, in recent years studies have begun to ascertain how and when children begin to recognize which people have higher and which have lower social status. Specifically, ...

Prolonged anesthesia, also known as medically induced coma, is a life-saving procedure carried out across the globe on millions of patients in intensive medical care units every year. But following prolonged anesthesia--which takes the brain to a state of deep unconsciousness beyond short-term anesthesia for surgical procedures--it is common for family members to report that after hospital discharge their loved ones were not quite the same. "It is long known that ICU survivors suffer lasting cognitive impairment, such as confusion and memory loss, that can languish for months and, in some cases, years," said Michael Wenzel, MD, lead author of a study published in PNAS this month that documents changes associated with prolonged anesthesia in the brains of mice. Wenzel, a former ...

The Mongolian Cyclone is a major meteorological driving force across southeast Asia. This cyclone is known for transporting aerosols, affecting where precipitation develops. Meteorologists are seeking ways to improve seasonal prediction of the relationship between the Mongolian cyclone and South Asia high. These features are major components of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and the corresponding heavy rain events. New research suggests that analyzing these phenomena in the upper-level atmosphere will enhance the summer rainfall forecast skill in China. "The lower seasonal predictability of EASM may happen when the coupling wheel of Mongolian cyclone and South Asia high prevails over East Asia." said Prof. ...

The unique properties of rare earth (RE) complexes including ligand-sensitized energy transfer, fingerprint-like emissions and long-lived emissions, make them promising materials for many applications, such as optical encoding, luminescence imaging/sensing and time-resolved luminescence detection. In particularly, the use of RE luminescent materials for in vitro and in vivo imaging can easily eliminate the autofluorescence of organisms and any interference from background fluorescence. However, most RE complexes have poor solubility and stability in aqueous solution and their luminescence can be easily quenched by nearby X-H (X ...

A large-scale study of the link between innovation and financial performance in Australian companies has found more innovative companies post higher future profits and stock returns. The findings highlight the significant financial benefits of innovation for companies, which in turn supports job creation and economic growth. The study, conducted by Dr Anna Bedford, Dr Le Ma, Dr Nelson Ma and Kristina Vojvoda from the University of Technology Sydney, examined patent registrations from 1296 ASX-listed companies between 1997 and 2018. They matched patent data with ...

After more than 1,000 orthopaedic procedures at a city health system, roughly 61 percent of the opioids prescribed to patients went unused, according to new research. This was discovered within a study at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania that showed most patients responded to text messages designed to gauge patients' usage of their prescriptions. Knowing that so many patients are comfortable texting this information to their care teams is extremely useful as medical professionals look to right-size painkiller prescriptions and reduce the amount of opioids that might be misused when they're left over. This study was published in NEJM Catalyst. "This approach is a step toward building a dynamic learning health system that evolves ...