Bats are critical viral reservoirs that harbor viromes with a high risk of cross-species transmission. However, the diversity of their viromes in the Indochina Peninsula remains underexplored. A study on bat viromes across China’s Yunnan, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Cambodia identified 137 viral strains, including 40 new species. Viral richness was highest in Rhinolophidae bats along China’s southwestern border, and Cambodian bat viruses were more evolutionarily distant from known viruses. A porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)-related virus was discovered in Cambodia, showing 90.36% genome homology with PEDV CV777, and exhibiting recombinant features between Suidae-adapted ORF1ab and Chiroptera-adapted Spike genes, suggesting that bat coronaviruses could be the evolutionary source of PEDV. Bat virome and deep learning models predict cross-species transmission risks, highlighting the need for enhanced One Health surveillance targeting viral recombination hotspots and human-bat interfaces in this ecologically critical region.

New research from the Center for Integration of Science and Industry at Bentley University shows that public companies with products subject to price negotiations in the first two years of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) were more profitable than comparable companies in the S&P 500 and that revenues from these drugs were not essential for corporate operations or R&D. This research also shows the estimated margins from sales of these drugs exceeded the average cost of product development, including normal returns, before beginning IRA price negotiations.