Limited Evidence for Depth Specialism in Isolated Seamount Reef Predators.

Gradients in light, temperature and hydrodynamics associated with water depth are important determinants of ecological communities in marine environments. While depth specialism in coral reef fishes has been extensively studied in shallow (< 30 m) coastal reef systems, less is known about how depth-associated drivers operate over the larger depth ranges on isolated pinnacle and seamount reef systems, which are known to support abundant assemblages of predatory fishes. Using remotely operated vehicles, we surveyed predatory fish assemblages across a 100 m depth gradient on three seamount reefs in the Coral Sea.

Future of coral bleaching research.

Coral bleaching is the largest global threat to coral reef ecosystem persistence this century. Advancing our understanding of coral bleaching and developing solutions to protect corals and the reefs they support are critical. In the present article, we, the US National Science Foundation-funded Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network, outline future directions for coral bleaching research.

The TLR7/8 agonist INI-4001 enhances the immunogenicity of a Powassan virus-like-particle vaccine.

Powassan virus (POWV) is a pathogenic tick-borne flavivirus that causes fatal neuroinvasive disease in humans. There are currently no approved therapies or vaccines for POWV infection. Here, we develop a POW virus-like particle (POW-VLP) based vaccine adjuvanted with the novel synthetic Toll-like receptor 7/8 agonist INI-4001.

Exposure to COVID-19 virus-like particles modulates firing patterns of cortical neurons in the mouse brain.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes a systemic infection that affects the central nervous system. However, its high infectivity makes comprehensive research with the active virus challenging. Here, we use virus-like particles (VLPs) to explore how exposure to SARS-CoV-2 proteins affects brain activity patterns in wild-type mice and in mice that express the human tau protein.