169 articles from WEDNESDAY 1.6.2022

Microgravity analog culture profoundly affects microbial infection process in 3-D human tissue models, a new study finds

Infectious microbes have evolved sophisticated means to invade host cells, outwit the body's defenses and cause disease. While researchers have tried to puzzle out the complicated interactions between microorganisms and the host cells they infect, one facet of the disease process has often been overlooked—the physical forces that impact host-pathogen interactions and disease outcomes.

Is the Covid pandemic finally nearing its end? | Aris Katzourakis

The virus’s behaviour in highly vaccinated countries may offer clues to our future with the diseaseAris Katzourakis is a professor in viral evolution at Oxford UniversityMore than two years on from the realisation that we are dealing with a novel pandemic, we are still nervously wondering what comes next. In the UK, Covid infection rates appear to have fallen to their lowest level since the...

II thought having a baby might turn me into an ‘elite sleeper’. I was wrong | Arwa Mahdawi

Scientists have found 3% of the population need less shut-eye than the rest of us. Could I train myself to be one of them?I don’t want to boast or anything, but I have always considered myself something of an elite sleeper. I love sleeping more than just about anything. Given the opportunity, I will sleep for marathon stretches and can snooze through even the most extreme situations. On one very...

Shanghai’s subway and shops reopen and streets fill up after two-month lockdown

Residents in areas deemed low-risk for Covid are allowed to move around the city freely againShanghai has eased a range of Covid-19 restrictions in a step towards returning to normal after a two-month lockdown that confined residents of the megacity to their homes and battered China’s economy.The commercial hub of 25 million people was closed down in sections from late March, when the Omicron...

Wild parrot chicks babble like human infants

Some content has been removed for formatting reasons. Please view the original article for the best reading experience. Babies don’t babble to sound cute—they’re taking their first steps on the path to learning language. Now, a study shows parrot chicks do the same. Although the behavior has been seen in songbirds and two mammalian species, finding it in these birds is important,...

World’s largest organism found in Australia

Some content has been removed for formatting reasons. Please view the original article for the best reading experience. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: Two closely related species hybridize and create a superorganism whose growth and expansion seems unstoppable. That’s what’s happened in Western Australia’s Shark Bay, researchers say, where a seagrass meadow (see above)...

Three jabs best for preventing Covid infections, global analysis finds

Number of doses, not vaccine combinations, key to boosting immunity, according to largest study of its kindThree doses of the same Covid-19 vaccine or a combination of jabs work equally well in preventing infections, according to the largest study of its kind.While the effectiveness of individual coronavirus vaccines is well known, the evidence around combinations of jabs has been less clear,...