Sampling environmental nucleic acids (eDNA and eRNA, collectively eNA) in aquatic systems facilitates the efficient exploration of the distribution of aquatic species. Since eRNA is inherently less stable than eDNA, eRNA may yield more spatiotemporally precise information about organisms, but this volatility also poses unique methodological challenges, making it unclear whether eDNA protocols are suitable for eRNA samples. To address this gap, we conducted experiments using naturally occurring eRNA and eDNA from the mitochondrial cytochrome b (CytB) gene from largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) along with DNA and RNA extracted from bluegill tissue (Lepomis megalotis). We first conducted a degradation experiment to test the efficacy of refrigeration for eRNA preservation (specifically mitochondrial messenger eRNA, emRNA), given its widespread use for eDNA samples. We then compared a suite of approaches for the long-term preservation and co-extraction of emRNA and eDNA in the laboratory. Despite the potential that the instability of eRNA might render eDNA approaches unsuitable, we found that methods developed for eDNA samples can be readily repurposed for emRNA. Contrary to our hypothesis that refrigeration of water samples might not efficiently preserve emRNA in the short term, samples in a cooler on ice showed no decrease in concentration or detectability over 25 h for largemouth bass (Tukey's, all p > 0.3). Filtration time (i.e., time spent at room temperature) also slightly reduced eRNA yields, with concentration decreasing as filtration time increased for largemouth bass emRNA (LM, p = 0.05), highlighting the importance of cold conditions throughout processing. Additionally, as we hypothesized, a low-cost chloroform extraction protocol yielded equivalent emRNA quantities to more expensive commercial kits for both largemouth bass and bluegill (Tukey's, p between methods > 0.8), in some cases even yielding higher concentrations than these methods. Overall, these results demonstrate the possible practical feasibility of eRNA sampling and provide guidance for future work on eRNA in natural systems.

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumours (PEComas) are rare mesenchymal neoplasms with characteristic myomelanocytic differentiation and limited descriptions in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens. A woman in her 30s with a history of ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma in remission was found to have a 2.1-cm hepatic mass during evaluation of persistent liver function abnormalities. Ultrasound-guided FNA demonstrated a cellular neoplasm composed of loosely cohesive clusters and singly dispersed epithelioid to spindle cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, mild to moderate nuclear atypia and prominent nucleoli. Immunohistochemical studies showed positivity for smooth muscle actin, caldesmon, HMB-45 and Melan-A, supporting a myomelanocytic phenotype. Molecular testing identified pathogenic TSC2 splice-site mutations. Subsequent resection confirmed hepatic PEComa, epithelioid angiomyolipoma variant. This case highlights the characteristic cytomorphologic, immunophenotypic and molecular features of hepatic PEComa and demonstrates the value of FNA with ancillary testing in establishing a preoperative diagnosis and excluding morphologic mimics.

Growing evidence shows that cultural and family resilience resources may serve as a protective buffer of the deleterious impacts of racial stress on psychosocial and health-related outcomes among Black adolescents. Thus, we sought feedback from Black adolescents and parents on their use of resilience resources to cope with stress. Specifically, Black facilitators conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 16 Black adolescents and parents (adolescents: ~63% male, Mage = 15 ± 2.45, MBMI percentile 97.0 ± 3.31; parents: 100% female, Mage = 49.19 ± 9.19, MBMI = 39.76 ± 6.84) to assess their experience with cultural and family resilience and to gather recommendations for integrating these resources into future resilience-based health promotion trials. Findings showed that families endorsed leaning on the core resilience resources of racial socialization (egalitarianism, preparation for racial bias, racial coping, cultural pride), racial identity (positive affirmations, Black history), cultural assets (spirituality, kinship, traditions around food), and family resilience (family meals, family bonding) to cope with stress. Families provided insightful recommendations of culturally relevant curriculum to integrate into future trials, including engaging in discussions and activities focused on family traditions and values of managing stress, racial coping skills, positive affirmations about Black identity, leaning on social support, and preparing for experiences of racial bias. Findings highlighted the value of core resilience resources as a critical buffer to stress among families. Participant insights guided the curriculum development for future resilience-based health promotion programs with Black families.

As human activity accelerates the spread of pathogens and other invasive species, reconstructing the cryptic early dynamics of undetected invasions has become a central challenge in disease ecology and invasion biology. Here, we leverage museum specimens to reconstruct the invasion of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a fungal panzootic driving global amphibian biodiversity loss, across historically enigmatic declines in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain Bd's historical dynamics in this region: long-term enzootic persistence versus recent epizootic invasion coinciding with declines. Using molecular screening, histopathology, and genotyping of museum and modern specimens, we find no evidence of Bd infection prior to the decline, followed by widespread infection immediately thereafter. Only the global panzootic lineage (Bd-GPL) was detected during the first year of post-decline sampling, implicating its invasion in driving regional losses. Infection prevalence varied among species following the decline, likely reflecting species-specific interactions between baseline susceptibility and ecological exposure risk. Contemporary host populations exhibit more uniform prevalence regardless of decline history, consistent with the evolution of pathogen tolerance under enzootic conditions. Together, these results provide the first site-specific evidence linking Bd-GPL invasion to enigmatic amphibian declines in Brazil and demonstrate the power of museum collections for resolving detection lag dynamics in emerging infectious diseases.

This article provides a personal and professional retrospective of the life and career of Professor Zelig Eshhar, a visionary immunologist whose work laid the foundation for Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Authored by Tova Waks, his long-time collaborator of 55 years.

Intensifying wildfire regimes under global change are expected to shift species interactions through changes in habitat structure and composition, vegetation productivity, and sensory cues. Yet there is little evidence of how burn-induced changes in habitat composition and structure modify predator-prey relationships. We investigated how wildfires influence relationships between mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and cougars (Puma concolor) in the US Intermountain West using high-resolution telemetry data, kill site locations, and annual measures of mule deer fawn production. Burned habitats experienced a wide range of fire severities, and most fires occurred between 5 and 20 years prior to animal data collection. We found that cougars were located closer to deer and their kill sites were nearly 2× more likely to occur in burned areas compared to unburned sites, suggesting that burns confer advantages to predators. In addition, fawn production declined by up to 14% at sites with histories of more recent, higher severity burns. Our findings suggest that increasingly frequent, severe burns are diminishing herbivore reproductive success, potentially due to increasing predation risks that outweigh improved foraging opportunities for prey. Ultimately, we reveal a possible pathway through which changing fire regimes could threaten herbivore prey populations in Western US ecosystems.

Cycles of whole-genome duplication (WGD) followed by return to diploidy have played a major role in plant evolution, yet genome evolution during intermediate stages of diploidization in autopolyploids remains less well characterized than in allopolyploids. We present a chromosome-scale genome assembly of Campanula americana to reconstruct its polyploid history and examine post-WGD diploidization. Our analyses revealed three WGDs, the most recent occurring approximately 10.4 million years ago. Multiple lines of evidence support an autopolyploid origin for C. americana, with none showing the chromosome-scale differentiation expected under allopolyploidy. At the structural level, duplicated homologous regions show extensive inversions and translocations, and the current chromosome number is reduced relative to the ancestral base number. These patterns are consistent with substantial cytological diploidization. In contrast, genic diploidization appears more gradual and balanced. Gene retention is broadly symmetric between homologous regions, and losses occur primarily as dispersed single-gene events rather than block-scale deletions, with no evidence for subgenome dominance. This pattern is consistent with limited inherited asymmetries between duplicated regions and differs from allopolyploids that show subgenome-biased fractionation. Phylogenetic and cytological evidence further suggest that the most recent WGD is shared across a small North American clade. Together, our results characterize C. americana as a polyploid in an intermediate diploidization stage (i.e. mesopolyploid), in which chromosome-level reorganization appears more advanced than gene fractionation. This genome establishes a foundation for comparative studies of genome evolution following WGD across the North American Campanulaceae, and more broadly for understanding how polyploid genomes return to a diploid-like state.

Thermal melanism, whereby darker pigmentation occurs in colder environments, is a widespread pattern, yet its genetic and physiological basis in eusocial insects remains poorly understood. East African honey bees (Apis mellifera) occupy elevational gradients in which highland populations are darker, larger, and more cold tolerant than lowland conspecifics. Here, we integrated population genomics, structural variations, and functional genomics to investigate elevational melanism. We sampled, phenotyped and resequenced 139 workers from five East African mountain systems. A genome wide association study identified 977 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with abdominal pigmentation, with a single, peak at the ebony ortholog AmEbony on chromosome 1. Allelic variation at AmEbony formed three genetic clusters tracking a continuous pigmentation gradient, and 77 divergent SNPs (DXY = 1) almost perfectly discriminated dark from light bees. Two inversions (r7, r9), previously linked to high elevation adaptation, were detected across additional mountain systems and enriched in dark, highland genomic backgrounds, but did not replace AmEbony as the primary pigmentation locus. CRISPR/Cas9 disruption of AmEbony in A. m. carnica produced darker adults in a qualitative comparison, supporting a conserved role in pigmentation. Head RNA-seq and GENIE3 analysis identified recurrent genotype-associated modules involving oxidoreductase activity and odorant binding. Because population structure covaries with elevation and pigmentation, the GWAS supports AmEbony as a major-effect locus but cannot identify causal variants. Similarly, head-expression data identify molecular changes associated with AmEbony disruption, but cannot establish whether they contribute to pigmentation or whether naturally segregating East African alleles act through the same pathways.

Brucella mastitis represents a rare infectious disease that is frequently misdiagnosed as metastatic breast carcinoma, particularly when older women present with systemic manifestations. Here, we report a 60-year-old woman presenting with a neck pain and left upper extremity numbness. Initial contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMR) and 18F-FDG PET-CT highly suggested breast malignancy with osseous metastasis, while contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) provided critical microvascular perfusion insights favoring an inflammatory process. The diagnosis was ultimately confirmed via blood culture and pathological examination. The patient was successfully treated with targeted antimicrobial treatment. This case offers important insights into the multimodal imaging differentiation of atypical breast lesions and emphasizes the diagnostic challenges of Brucella mastitis accompanied by systemic osteoarticular involvement.

While primates have traditionally been a focus of evolutionary anthropologists, the domestic dog represents a valuable complementary model due to its long shared evolutionary history with humans. The advantages of studying dogs are particularly evident in four key areas: (1) analyzing evolutionary adaptations, (2) understanding humanity's past, (3) examining humanity's cultural diversity, and (4) assessing factors that influence human health. Dogs have convergently evolved social cognition and local adaptations (including altitude adaptations and the ability to digest starches and lactose) that parallel those of humans, making them valuable models for testing evolutionary hypotheses. The global spread of dogs also illuminates human population histories, and isotopic analyses of dog remains can be proxies for human dietary data when sampling human remains is infeasible or inappropriate. Dogs' near-universal presence across human societies and exposure to the same real-world environments further make them uniquely powerful models for studying cultural variation and health.