Free Republic

A crocodile known locally as ‘Barrat’ emerges from the water of the lower Daintree River, Far North Queensland. Credit: Kevin Crook The wet season in tropical Australia begins with tension. Physical tension, caused by the friction of earth and clouds. Mental tension, caused by the heat, and the expectation of rain and relief. It is also an ecological tension, where every plant and animal is poised—genetically, physiologically—to grow, reap, sow and copulate within a few short months. We call it the build-up. The tension builds, and then it breaks. It was at the point of breaking when Val Plumwood,...

A 36-year-old woman with advanced HIV carried the novel coronavirus for 216 days, during which the virus accumulated more than 30 mutations, a new study has found. The case report, which has not been peer-reviewed, was published as a preprint on medRxiv on Thursday. The woman, who has not been named, was identified as a 36-year-old living in South Africa. The coronaviruses gathered 13 mutations to the spike protein, which is known to help the virus escape the immune response, and 19 other mutations that could change the behaviour of the virus. What do we know so far about the...