Background: The fungus Metarhizium brunneum has evolved a remarkable ability to switch between different lifestyles. It develops as a saprophyte, an endophyte establishing mutualistic relationships with plants, or a parasite, enabling its use for the control of insect pests such as the aphid Myzus persicae. We tested our hypothesis that switches between lifestyles must be accompanied by fundamental transcriptional reprogramming, reflecting adaptations to different environmental settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In early 2020, the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus began to spread around the world and claim victims. Initially, in the Western world, COVID-19-related mortality was due to illness in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). To manage the COVID-19 crisis in LTCFs in Israel, the Ministry of Health established a task force named "Senior Shield.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe challenge in solar energy today is not the cost of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation, already competing with fossil fuel prices, but rather utility-scale energy storage and flexibility in supply. Low-cost thermal energy storage (TES) exists but relies on expensive heat engines. Here, we introduce the concept of luminescent solar power (LSP), where sunlight is absorbed in a photoluminescent (PL) absorber, followed by red-shifted PL emission matched to an adjacent PV cell's band edge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReef-building corals, the major producers of biogenic calcium carbonate, form skeletons in a plethora of morphological forms. Here we studied skeletal modifications of Stylophora pistillata (clade 4) colonies that adapt to increasing depths with decreasing ambient light. The coral show characteristic transitions from spherical morphologies (shallow depths, 5 m deep) to flat and branching geometries (mesophotic depths, 60 m deep).
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