Peer review is the cornerstone of scientific publishing, ensuring that research is scrutinised by experts prior to publication, yet it can be notoriously slow. The journal, Biology Open, is taking a bold step to speed up the process with their Fast & Fair initiative. Recruiting paid reviewers in a proof-of-concept trial, the journal has provided first decisions about whether a paper is eligible for publication within seven business days on 20 manuscripts, revolutionising scientific publishing.

Fossil-fuel plants are increasingly being forced to stop and start production in response to changes in output from renewables. In a new study, researchers developed a dynamic competitive benchmark that accounts for start-up costs and other unit-level operating constraints.  They apply their framework to Western Australia, a setting where rooftop solar capacity more than doubled between 2014 to 2018 to world-leading rooftop solar penetration rates.  The study found that the large-scale expansion of rooftop solar capacity can lead to increases in the collective profitability of fossil fuel plants because competition softens at sunset—plants displaced by solar during the day must incur start-up costs to compete in the evening.  

A new study provides a unique insight into the group seeking gender-affirming care in Sweden. It shows that transgender people are a socioeconomically vulnerable group and that in 2020, 0.07% of Sweden's population had received a gender incongruence diagnosis, while 0.03% had undergone a legal gender change.