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Reconstruction of a rotavirus

Rotavirus is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus and the leading cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, nearly all of whom have an infection by age five. Rotavirus A, the most common species, causes more than 90 per cent of human infections. Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal–oral route. It infects cells that line the small intestine and produces an enterotoxin, which induces gastroenteritis, leading to severe diarrhoea and sometimes death through dehydration. Campaigns to combat rotaviruses focus on oral rehydration therapy for infected children and vaccination. Vaccines introduced in the 2000s have reduced the severity of infections in children and lowered hospitalisation rates. Although rotavirus was discovered in 1973 by Ruth Bishop and her colleagues, its importance has historically been underestimated within the public health community, particularly in developing countries. Rotavirus also infects animals and is a pathogen of livestock. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

The Vecihi K-VI

... that after building Turkey's first airplane (pictured), its builder was sentenced to jail for flying it without a permit?
... that Abraham Lincoln Davis cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., serving as his vice president?
... that the Communist Party of Lithuania and Belorussia organized partisan units behind the front lines during the Polish–Soviet War?
... that George F. Kosco filmed the signing of the Japanese surrender in color?
... that evidence of the battle of Benfleet was found in the 19th century in the form of charred timbers and human bones?
... that James W. Lugenbeel's journal became the only known record of the proceedings of the 1847 Liberian Constitutional Convention?
... that because of the increasing prevalence of sesame allergy, the U.S. will join the EU and Canada in 2023 in instituting mandatory food labeling?
... that baseball player Mark Littell developed an anatomically correct athletic cup called the "Nutty Buddy"?

In the news

Jason Sudeikis

In television, Ted Lasso (lead actor Jason Sudeikis pictured) wins best comedy and Succession wins best drama at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard dies at the age of 91.
More than 210 soldiers die in renewed fighting in the border crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea, leaving at least seven people dead.

On this day

September 18: Banned Books Week begins (2022); Battle of Britain Day in Canada (2022)

Flag of Scotland

1048 – Byzantine–Seljuk wars: Byzantine forces defeated their Seljuk opponents in the flanks of the nocturnal Battle of Kapetron, but learned of their Georgian allies' defeat in the centre the next morning.
1918 – World War I: The Central Powers' defeat at the Battle of Dobro Pole played a role in the Bulgarian withdrawal from the war and led to the subsequent liberation of Vardar Macedonia.
1948 – The Australian cricket team's Invincibles tour of England concluded; they had played 34 matches, including five Tests, without defeat.
1974 – Hurricane Fifi struck Honduras, destroying 182 towns and villages in the first 24 hours, and ultimately causing more than 8,000 deaths.
2014 – Scotland (flag pictured) voted against independence from the United Kingdom.

Zhang Xianzhong (b. 1606)
Edwin McMillan (b. 1907)
Christian Pulisic (b. 1998)

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Today's featured picture

Trimeresurus popeiorum is a species of venomous pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is native to northern and northeastern parts of India, Southeast Asia, and parts of Indonesia. Common names include Pope's pit viper, Pope's tree viper, and Pope's bamboo pitviper. Trimeresurus popeiorum preys upon frogs, lizards, birds, and rodents (especially rats and squirrels).

Photograph credit: Rushenb

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