Disease dilution (reduced disease prevalence with increasing biodiversity) has been described for
many different pathogens. Although the mechanisms causing this phenomenon remain unclear,
the disassembly of communities to predictable subsets of species, which can be caused by
changing climate, land use, or invasive species, underlie one important hypothesis. In this...
Genetic-modification strategies are currently being developed to reduce the transmission of vector-borne diseases, including African trypanosomiasis. For tsetse, the vector of African trypanosomiasis, a paratransgenic strategy is being considered: this approach involves modification of the commensal symbiotic bacteria Sodalis to express trypanosome-resistance-conferring products. Modified Sodalis can then be driven into...
The factors that control the explosivity of silicic volcanoes are critical for hazard assessment, but are often poorly constrained for specific volcanic systems. Mount Hood, Oregon, is a somewhat atypical arc volcano in that it is characterized by a lack of large explosive eruptions over the entire lifetime of the...
Exposure to microbial pathogens is the primary concern of sanitary sewer overflows; however, sewage spills may also be a significant source of toxic metals, including methylmercury (MeHg). Between November 2015 and January 2017, after Hurricane Joaquin, surface water samples were collected routinely from three creeks in Columbia, SC. Routine sampling...
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), a mysticete with a cosmopolitan distribution, demonstrate
marked behavioural plasticity. Recent studies show evidence of social learning in the transmission of specific
population level traits ranging from complex singing to stereotyped prey capturing behaviour. Humpback
whales have been observed to employ group foraging techniques, however details...
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), a mysticete with a cosmopolitan distribution, demonstrate
marked behavioural plasticity. Recent studies show evidence of social learning in the transmission of specific
population level traits ranging from complex singing to stereotyped prey capturing behaviour. Humpback
whales have been observed to employ group foraging techniques, however details...
Full Text:
E. Parks1, Dana A. Cusano1, Alison K. Stimpert2, Mason T. Weinrich3, Ari S. Friedlaender4
& David N
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), a mysticete with a cosmopolitan distribution, demonstrate
marked behavioural plasticity. Recent studies show evidence of social learning in the transmission of specific
population level traits ranging from complex singing to stereotyped prey capturing behaviour. Humpback
whales have been observed to employ group foraging techniques, however details...
Ebola viruses (EBOV) cause severe disease in humans and nonhuman primates with high mortality rates and continue to emerge in new geographic locations, including several countries in West Africa, the site of a large ongoing outbreak. Phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) are synthetic antisense molecules that are able to target mRNAs...
Ecological network models and analyses are recognized as valuable tools for understanding the dynamics and resiliency of
ecosystems, and for informing ecosystem-based approaches to management. However, few databases exist that can
provide the life history, demographic and species interaction information necessary to parameterize ecological network
models. Faced with the difficulty...
Two identical single-ascending-dose studies evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of AVI-6002 and AVI-6003, two experimental combinations of phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers with positive charges (PMOplus) that target viral mRNA encoding Ebola virus and Marburg virus proteins, respectively. Both AVI-6002 and AVI-6003 were found to suppress disease in virus-infected nonhuman primates...