and fungi, are vital to the function of all ecosystems. This is largely because they exist in enormous numbers (there are roughly 5 × 10 bacteria alone worldwide) and so have immense cumulative mass and activity. They are also probably more diverse than any other organisms, so it is easy to see why the structure of microbial communities, that is, the different kinds of organisms and their abund...

microscopic, eukaryotic phytoplankton known as diatoms. These photosynthetic workhorses are found in waters worldwide, wherever there is sufficient light and nutrients. Their name is derived from the Greek diatomos, meaning ‘cut in half ’, a reference to their distinctive two-part cell walls made of silica (Fig. 1). Each year, diatom photosynthesis in the sea generates about as much organic car...

754 about the hips and by back extension; weight support is biased towards the forelimbs. This mechanism is characteristic of cursorial quadrupeds. It is associated with muscular hip retractors and with forelimbs that are dominated by bone, tendon and highly pennate muscles, which act almost like passive springs and are capable of opposing considerable weight-induced forces. This means that the...

Transmissible pathogens are the bane of social animals, so they have evolved behaviours to decrease the probability of infection. There is no record, however, of social animals avoiding diseased individuals of their own species in the wild. Here we show how healthy, normally gregarious Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) avoid conspecifics that are infected with a lethal virus. Early det...

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) or malignant hyperpyrexia is a rare life-threatening condition that is usually triggered by exposure to certain drugs used for general anesthesia, specifically the volatile anesthetic agents and the neuromuscular blocking agent, succinylcholine. In susceptible individuals, these drugs can induce a drastic and uncontrolled increase in skeletal muscle oxidative metabol...

O ano de 2020 iniciou-se com alto contágio da COVID-19 no mundo, levando a Organização Mundial Saúde classificá-la como pandemia. Sem vacinas ou outros medicamentos eficazes para combater o vírus, países recorreram ações severas, antes impensáveis em um mundo globalizado: distanciamento social, quarentenas, lockdowns e fechamento fronteiras; afetando economia na busca estagnação disseminação in...