A deep sequencing study of 747 SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates has revealed mutant peptides derived from the virus that cannot effectively bind to critical proteins on the surface of infected cells and, in turn, hamper activation of CD8+ killer T cells that recognize and destroy these infected cells. These peptides, the authors say, represent one way the coronavirus subverts killer T cell responses and stymies immunity in the host. Their results may be of particular importance for SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines, such as the RNA vaccines currently in use, which induce responses against a limited...…A deep sequencing study of 747 SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates has revealed mutant peptides derived from the virus that cannot effectively bind to critical proteins on the surface of infected cells and, in turn, hamper activation of CD8+ killer T cells that recognize and destroy these infected cells. These peptides, the authors say, represent one way the coronavirus subverts killer T cell responses and stymies immunity in the host. Their results may be of particular importance for SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines, such as the RNA vaccines currently in use, which induce responses against a limited...WW…

By late summer 2020, the resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States was largely driven by adults between the ages of 20 and 49, a new study finds. The results indicate that in locations where novel highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 lineages have not yet established, additional interventions among adults of these ages could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control and avert deaths. Following initial declines in the number of reported SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths - a result largely attributed to non-pharmaceutical interventions - a resurgence in transmission of COVID-19 occurred in...…By late summer 2020, the resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States was largely driven by adults between the ages of 20 and 49, a new study finds. The results indicate that in locations where novel highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 lineages have not yet established, additional interventions among adults of these ages could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control and avert deaths. Following initial declines in the number of reported SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths - a result largely attributed to non-pharmaceutical interventions - a resurgence in transmission of COVID-19 occurred in...WW…

An analysis of long-term menstrual cycle records kept by 22 women for up to 32 years shows that women with cycles lasting longer than 27 days intermittently synchronized with cycles that affect the intensity of moonlight and the moon's gravitational pull. This synchrony was lost as women aged and when they were exposed to artificial light at night. The researchers hypothesized that human reproductive behavior may have been synchronous with the moon during ancient times, but that this changed as modern lifestyles emerged and humans increasingly gained exposure to artificial light at night....…An analysis of long-term menstrual cycle records kept by 22 women for up to 32 years shows that women with cycles lasting longer than 27 days intermittently synchronized with cycles that affect the intensity of moonlight and the moon's gravitational pull. This synchrony was lost as women aged and when they were exposed to artificial light at night. The researchers hypothesized that human reproductive behavior may have been synchronous with the moon during ancient times, but that this changed as modern lifestyles emerged and humans increasingly gained exposure to artificial light at night....WW…

Researchers who studied antibody and immune cell responses in more than 180 men and women who had recovered from COVID-19 report these patients' immune memory to the virus - across all immune cell types studied - was measurable for up to 8 months after symptoms appeared. The results indicate "that durable immunity against secondary COVID-19 disease is a possibility in most individuals," the authors say. As the number of daily COVID-19 cases worldwide continues to mount, whether an initial infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to long-lasting protective immunity against COVID-19 remains a...…Researchers who studied antibody and immune cell responses in more than 180 men and women who had recovered from COVID-19 report these patients' immune memory to the virus - across all immune cell types studied - was measurable for up to 8 months after symptoms appeared. The results indicate "that durable immunity against secondary COVID-19 disease is a possibility in most individuals," the authors say. As the number of daily COVID-19 cases worldwide continues to mount, whether an initial infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to long-lasting protective immunity against COVID-19 remains a...WW…

The abrupt shift to hotter and drier conditions over inner East Asia is unprecedented and may herald an irreversible shift to a new climate regime for the region, according to a new study. The findings reveal a positive feedback loop fueled by declining soil moisture, which may have nudged the area's climate over an important tipping point. Extreme heatwaves and droughts are two of society's most pressing concerns as climate change driven by human activity continues unabated. Global warming has already led to recent and rapid shifts in climate worldwide, including inner East Asia, which has...…The abrupt shift to hotter and drier conditions over inner East Asia is unprecedented and may herald an irreversible shift to a new climate regime for the region, according to a new study. The findings reveal a positive feedback loop fueled by declining soil moisture, which may have nudged the area's climate over an important tipping point. Extreme heatwaves and droughts are two of society's most pressing concerns as climate change driven by human activity continues unabated. Global warming has already led to recent and rapid shifts in climate worldwide, including inner East Asia, which has...WW…

Implementing social distancing, business closures, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in the U.S. two weeks sooner, during the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, may have prevented more than a million cases and saved more than 59,000 lives prior to May 3, 2020, when many state and local governments began relaxing restrictions, according to a new metapopulation modeling study. The results highlight the importance of quick and aggressive NPI implementation to counter transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and could help inform efforts to control new surges in the U.S. and...…Implementing social distancing, business closures, and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in the U.S. two weeks sooner, during the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, may have prevented more than a million cases and saved more than 59,000 lives prior to May 3, 2020, when many state and local governments began relaxing restrictions, according to a new metapopulation modeling study. The results highlight the importance of quick and aggressive NPI implementation to counter transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and could help inform efforts to control new surges in the U.S. and...WW…

Residents of U.S. counties with more social connections (measured as Facebook friends) to China or Italy - the first countries to report major COVID-19 outbreaks - were more likely to adhere to social distancing restrictions at the onset of the pandemic, according to a new study. The findings suggest that social networks supplied pandemic-related information that significantly influenced individual behavior. However, social ties also could have negative effects on pandemic-related behavior. For instance, areas within the U.S. with more connections to counties with low education levels, high...…Residents of U.S. counties with more social connections (measured as Facebook friends) to China or Italy - the first countries to report major COVID-19 outbreaks - were more likely to adhere to social distancing restrictions at the onset of the pandemic, according to a new study. The findings suggest that social networks supplied pandemic-related information that significantly influenced individual behavior. However, social ties also could have negative effects on pandemic-related behavior. For instance, areas within the U.S. with more connections to counties with low education levels, high...WW…

The frequency of combined droughts and heatwaves - which are more devastating when they occur in unison - has substantially increased across the western U.S. and in parts of the Northeast and Southeast over the past 50 years, according to a new study. The findings also suggest areas that experience compound dry-hot extremes are growing less scattered and more connected, resulting in larger impacted regions that place enormous strain on regional and national relief efforts. "Episodes of extreme dryness and heat are the recipe for large forest fires," said Mojtaba Sadegh, the senior author of...…The frequency of combined droughts and heatwaves - which are more devastating when they occur in unison - has substantially increased across the western U.S. and in parts of the Northeast and Southeast over the past 50 years, according to a new study. The findings also suggest areas that experience compound dry-hot extremes are growing less scattered and more connected, resulting in larger impacted regions that place enormous strain on regional and national relief efforts. "Episodes of extreme dryness and heat are the recipe for large forest fires," said Mojtaba Sadegh, the senior author of...WW…

That tropical amphibian populations have been crippled by the chytrid fungus is well-known, but a new study linking this loss to an "invisible" decline of tropical snake communities suggests that the permeating impacts of the biodiversity crisis are not as apparent. Based on these findings, the researchers say ecosystem structures could be deteriorating faster than expected from the cascading effects of disease, invasive species, habitat loss and climate change. Thus, "fast-moving policies are essential...to mitigate the impacts of the world's biodiversity crisis," they say. Species...…That tropical amphibian populations have been crippled by the chytrid fungus is well-known, but a new study linking this loss to an "invisible" decline of tropical snake communities suggests that the permeating impacts of the biodiversity crisis are not as apparent. Based on these findings, the researchers say ecosystem structures could be deteriorating faster than expected from the cascading effects of disease, invasive species, habitat loss and climate change. Thus, "fast-moving policies are essential...to mitigate the impacts of the world's biodiversity crisis," they say. Species...WW…

Nearly 2 million years ago, three hominin genera - Australopithecus, Paranthropus and the earliest Homo erectus lineage - lived as contemporaries in the karst landscape of what is now South Africa, according to a new geochronological evaluation of the hominin fossil-rich Drimolen Paleocave complex. Combined with other evidence, authors Andy Herries et al. argue that the site reflects a period of transition in southern Africa driven by climatic variability, one marked by endemic species, like Australopithecus, going extinct, while new migrants - Homo and Paranthropus - moved in. In their...…Nearly 2 million years ago, three hominin genera - Australopithecus, Paranthropus and the earliest Homo erectus lineage - lived as contemporaries in the karst landscape of what is now South Africa, according to a new geochronological evaluation of the hominin fossil-rich Drimolen Paleocave complex. Combined with other evidence, authors Andy Herries et al. argue that the site reflects a period of transition in southern Africa driven by climatic variability, one marked by endemic species, like Australopithecus, going extinct, while new migrants - Homo and Paranthropus - moved in. In their...WW…