The current study was initiated when our specific-pathogen-free laboratory toms developed unexpectedly high levels of cross-reactive antibodies to human SARS-CoV-2 (SCoV2) receptor binding domain (RBD) upon mating with feline coronavirus (FCoV)-positive queens.
Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emergent arthropod-borne virus that causes an acute febrile illness accompanied by arthralgia, similar to chikungunya virus. Increasing urbanization of MAYV outbreaks in the Americas has led to concerns for geographic expansion and spillover.
Climate change models often assume similar responses to temperatures across the range of a species, but local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity can lead plants and animals to respond differently to temperature in different parts of their range. To date, there have been few tests of this assumption at the scale of continents, so it is unclear if this is a large-scale problem.
UF biostatisticians confirm in a recent meta-analysis that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and getting a booster or two is the best way to protect against severe outcomes.
Virome analysis via high-throughput sequencing (HTS) allows rapid and massive virus identification and diagnoses, expanding our focus from individual samples to the ecological distribution of viruses in agroecological landscapes. Decreases in sequencing costs combined with technological advances, such as automation and robotics, allow for efficient processing and analysis of numerous samples in plant disease clinics, tissue culture laboratories, and breeding programs.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected people who experience incarceration in state or federal run correctional facilities. To mitigate transmission and disease burden, US state and federal Departments of Correction (DOCs) implemented vaccine programs in the winter of 2020–2021. However, vaccine hesitancy is common among incarcerated populations due to distrust of the medical community and uncertainty around vaccine effectiveness.
The K+/Cl− cotransporter (KCC) is the primary mechanism by which mature neurons maintain low intracellular chloride (Cl−) concentration and has been shown to be functionally coupled to the GABA-gated chloride channels (GGCC) in Drosophila central neurons.
A UF researcher with expertise in infectious bacteria offers commentary and perspective on extensively drug-resistant Shigella infections following a recent CDC warning.
U.S. initiatives to meet the recently concluded Healthy People 2020 goals have made strides in improving breastfeeding rates and reducing supplementation of formula. Yet while only 58% of U.S. infants receive some amount of mother’s own milk (MOM) at 6 months of age, just 50% of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants receive MOM at discharge–a mean duration of 2 months. This rate is starkly lower (34.4%) for Black infants compared to non-Hispanic white infants (56%).
Over 476 million confirmed cases and 6.1 million deaths occurred during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the majority of cases and deaths from infection with the etiologic agent SARS-CoV-2 have been in adults, severe and fatal cases involving children have occurred throughout the pandemic.
