Gas monitoring at volcanic fields outside Naples exposes multiple sources of carbon dioxide emissions

New Geology Geoscience from The Geological Society of America

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

 

IMAGE: MAP OF THE PHLEGRAEAN VOLCANIC FIELDS (LEFT), WITH DETAILS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM SOLFATARA CRATER (RIGHT). SOURCE: G. BUONO ET AL., 2023. view more 

CREDIT: SOURCE: G. BUONO ET AL., 2023.

Boulder, Colo., USA: The Phlegraean volcanic fields just west of Naples, Italy, are among the top eight emitters of volcanic carbon dioxide in the world. Since 2005, the Solfatara crater—one of many circular depressions in the landscape left by a long history of eruptions—has been emitting increased volumes of gas. Today it emits 4,000-5,000 tons of carbon dioxide each day, equivalent to the emissions from burning ~500,000 gallons of gasoline. In a new paper published ahead of print in Geology on Thursday, researchers estimate that as much as 20%–40% of the current carbon dioxide emissions are from the dissolution of calcite in the rocks, while 60%–80% is from underground magma.

“Estimating the source of the carbon dioxide is important to properly reconstruct what is happening in the magmatic system and the hydrothermal system,” says Gianmarco Buono, a volcanologist at Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and lead author of the study. “Our aim is to provide a tool to better discriminate the contribution of magmatic and non-magmatic carbon dioxide that can also be applied to other systems.”

When magma moves toward Earth’s surface, the decreasing pressure on the magma results in degassing—the release of gases that were previously trapped inside the magma—including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Scientists monitor volcanoes for unrest and possible eruptions using a variety of observations—detecting earthquakes and tremors related to magma movement, taking detailed measurements of ground deformation, and assessing the types and volumes of gases released at the surface from fumaroles—openings in the earth that emit steam and other gases.

Eruptions are often preceded by increased fluxes of gas, but that does not mean that every increase in gas emissions will be followed by an eruption. It is also possible for carbon dioxide to come from sources besides magma. Interaction between hot underground fluids and host rocks can also release carbon dioxide.

Fumaroles at Solfatara crater. Source: Lucia Pappalardo (INGV).

CREDIT

Source: Lucia Pappalardo (Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology).

The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has been monitoring gas emissions from Solfatara crater since 1983, providing a long record of the changes in volume and composition of the gases released there. By comparing ratios of nitrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide in the emissions, researchers had previously established that the gases were coming from deep sources of magma.

“We focused mainly on geochemical variation, especially for carbon dioxide, helium, and nitrogen, because they are non-reactive species. They contain information about what is happening in the magma,” explains Buono.

But when the region started experiencing increased unrest in 2005, the data began to deviate from the chemical fingerprints of the magmas, a trend that continued to increase over time alongside rising temperatures in the shallow hydrothermal system. The unrest continued, and in 2012 the alert level was raised from green to yellow, indicating that there is heightened activity but not an imminent threat of eruption.

In addition to small earthquakes and higher gas emissions, the region also experienced deformation of the ground surface. Circulation of hot fluids underground could explain the rising temperatures, ground deformation, and increased gas emissions—interaction of hot acidic fluids with calcite in the rocks also releases carbon dioxide. Drill cores of the rocks from previous studies reveal that calcite in the rocks has similar composition to the gas emissions. The researchers estimate that 20%–40% of the carbon dioxide at the Solfatara crater site was from removal of the calcite in the host rock.

The Phlegraean Fields have hosted volcanic activity since first erupting ~40,00 years ago, with the most recent eruption in 1538. There have been several unrest phases since the 1950s. The current research is part of a strategic project by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, LOVE-CF: Linking surface Observables to sub-Volcanic plumbing-system: a multidisciplinary approach for Eruption forecasting at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy).

FEATURED ARTICLE
Discriminating carbon dioxide sources during volcanic unrest: The case of Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy)
Gianmarco Buono; Stefano Caliro; Antonio Paonita; Lucia Pappalardo; Giovanni Chiodini
Contact: Gianmarco Buono, gianmarco.buono@ingv.it
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/doi/10.1130/G50624.1/620796/Discriminating-carbon-dioxide-sources-during

GEOLOGY articles are online at https://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent . Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary articles by contacting Kea Giles at the e-mail address above. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

https://www.geosociety.org

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JOURNAL

Geology

DOI

10.1130/G50624.1 

ARTICLE TITLE

Discriminating carbon dioxide sources during volcanic unrest: The case of Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy)

Heart tissue heads to space to aid research on aging and impact of long spaceflights

Business Announcement

JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE

 

IMAGE: TISSUE CHAMBERS LOADED INTO A PLATE HABITAT DESIGNED FOR RESEARCH ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. view more 

CREDIT: DEOK-HO KIM AND DEVIN MAIR, JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE.

Note: Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers Deok-Ho Kim and Devin Mair will participate in a NASA teleconference for journalists on Tuesday, March 14, at 11 a.m. ET.

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers are collaborating with NASA to send human heart “tissue-on-a-chip” specimens into space as early as March. The project is designed to monitor the tissue for changes in heart muscle cells’ mitochondria (their power supply) and ability to contract in low-gravity conditions.

The tissue samples will be launched into space aboard SpaceX CRS-27, a resupply mission to the International Space Station, slated for liftoff no earlier than Tuesday, March 14, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Astronauts on board during the mission will also introduce three FDA-approved medicines to the samples in efforts to prevent heart cell changes known or suspected to occur in those undertaking long-duration spaceflights.

“It’s possible that what we learn from these experiments in space could also inform how we treat age-related cardiac problems,” says Deok-Ho Kim, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, because many heart cellular changes already detected in space explorers mimic changes linked to heart muscle aging in general.

To develop the microengineered human heart tissue-on-a-chip, researchers begin with human induced pluripotent stem cells grown in the laboratory. Such cells are able to develop into nearly any type of cell, and are coaxed biologically to develop into beating human cardiomyocytes, the muscle cells that make hearts contract.

Groups of cardiomyocytes form tissue that can be strung between two posts, one flexible and one stiff. The flexible post has an embedded magnet and, when placed over sensors, allows for collection of information on tissue contraction. The chamber enclosing the tissue is sealed so that liquid media feeding the tissue doesn’t float away in space. These tissue chambers are then loaded into so-called plate habitats with the magnetic sensors located beneath the tissue. The experimental payload consists of two of these plate habitats, which measure about 7 inches long, 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide.

Kim, his previous postdoctoral researcher Jonathan Tsui, and his doctoral student Devin Mair previously sent heart tissue into space in March 2020. Those experiments, presented at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Americas 2022 Annual Meeting, showed that microgravity in space changed the cells’ mitochondria and the tissues’ ability to contract.

In the new experiments with their microengineered human heart tissues-on-a-chip, the scientists will focus on the proteins activated during tissue inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction.

The astronauts aboard the space station will also test whether any of three medicines can stave off the problems anticipated in space-bound heart cells.

Funding for the research was provided by the National Institutes of Health (UH3TR003519).

Sediments, structures, shores, and storms: keeping a keen eye on eastern geology

2023 Joint Meeting of The Geological Society of America's Southeastern and Northeastern Sections

Meeting Announcement

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Boulder, Colo., USA: The 2023 joint meeting of the 72nd annual meeting of the Southeastern Section and 58th annual meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America will be held in Reston, Virginia, USA, on 17–19 March. We are pleased to announce a robust and diverse technical program that links the geology of the southeastern and northeastern U.S. and examines many key issues, including sea-level rise; climate and environmental change; energy and critical minerals; and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences. The meeting has many opportunities for students . Special tributes are planned for A. Conrad Neumann and William A. “Bill” Thomas.

The meeting offers short courses in applied micropaleontology, stormwater management in karst terrain, integrating ESRI mobile, online and desktop GIS for field data acquisitions, and an essential guide to luminescence dating.

Field trips will explore the Piedmont geology and the Civil War at North Anna River fall zone, Virginia; tectonic evolution of the northern Shenandoah massif, Virginia; Cretaceous and Paleocene fossiliferous sediments of Cabin Branch and Tinkers Creek, Maryland; and a visit to Capitol Hill.

Sponsors

U.S. Geological Society

University of Pennsylvania Master of Science in Applied Geosciences

Pittsburgh Geological Society

Learn more about the meeting on the Section Meeting home page. Interested media are invited to receive complimentary registration. Contact Audrey Heun at aheun@geosociety.org to attend.

The Geological Society of America (GSA) unites a diverse community of geoscientists in a common purpose to study the mysteries of our planet (and beyond) and share scientific findings. Members and friends around the world, from academia, government, and industry, participate in GSA meetings, publications, and programs at all career levels, to foster professional excellence. GSA values and supports inclusion through cooperative research, public dialogue on earth issues, science education, and the application of geoscience in the service of humankind.

www.geosociety.org

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Whistleblowers losing faith in media impact

Study shows that as newsrooms shrink, so does the trust of some former sources

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

The whistleblowers who once trusted journalism are losing faith in the institution.

A new study from the University of Georgia found that many whistleblowers who reached out to journalists in the past no longer believe media has the same ability to motivate change, and they feel let down by a system they once trusted.

“If you don’t believe that an outlet or journalist can carry you across the finish line—meaning can affect change, attract enough attention and attract the attention of the right people—then you’re losing faith,” said Karin Assmann, study lead and assistant professor in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “So if you think the institution of journalism no longer has the same impact, maybe because you see algorithms dictate what people pay attention to, then you lose faith.”

Distrust in institutions leads to skepticism

Assmann’s study was inspired by her own career as a journalist and a desire to protect the profession as it undergoes significant change. Assmann spoke with 16 whistleblowers who contacted journalists between the 1970s and 2010s, discussing their decisions to go to the press, their experience during interviews and their reflections on how media has changed.

Although they once believed journalists would protect sources and stories would foster accountability and evoke change, study participants noted the erosion of media’s reach throughout the last several decades.

“Especially with early whistleblowers, I would say through the early 2000s, there would be an emphasis on television,” Assmann said. “People would tune into the evening news, and pay attention to what this whistleblower had to say, trusting that it must be worthy of the audience’s attention if it made it into the evening news.”

But today, many whistleblowers believe consumers are less likely to watch the news or read a newspaper—they’re tuning into YouTube and reading brief push notifications or social posts instead. This, coupled with a loss of faith in institutions, meant that if they had another whistle to blow, they might rely on a different medium to spread the message.

“Another thing about whistleblowers is that their trust in their own institution has been damaged,” Assmann said. “So many of them see journalism as an institution that is equally damaged because they may have an ideology that tells them corporate ownership dictates how news is spread, the same way that maybe corporate ownership is responsible for whatever they’re blowing the whistle on.”

A lack of resources impacting newsrooms

Assmann’s study also cataloged the care with which whistleblowers selected journalists. They sought individuals with an established byline, experience reporting on specific topics and a dedicated audience.

“The whistleblowers talked about individuals plus institutions. Jeff Wigand, for example, was really strategic,” Assmann said, highlighting the former tobacco executive who reported that chemicals were added to a tobacco blend to increase the nicotine’s effect. “He looked at ‘60 Minutes,’ looked at the ratings. He knew the program was going to reach millions of people.”

Another example from the study was Tom Drake, who exposed excessive spending at the National Security Agency in 2010.

Drake relied on anonymity for his own safety, and he sought out a specific journalist who would understand the nuances of encryption and the intelligence community in order make sure his report was understood and well-reported. 

“He had to find somebody who understood encryption, who would buy into all of the safeguards he had set up in order to share what he had to share without being found out,” Assmann said. “That is an extreme example, but other people follow that same logic and choose who they see as a subject matter expert. That kind of expertise is now at risk, I would say, in the current media landscape.”

Now, reporters are stretched thin and more likely to cover multiple topics.

“You’ll often start working at a news organization, and maybe you’ll have a beat, but you’ll also have to do 100 other things,” Assmann said. “How are you supposed to build trust? How are people supposed to recognize you as somebody who is a subject matter expert?”

Trending lack of trust

There are several factors at hand in waning faith in media, including shrinking newsrooms and a growing gap between communities and journalists. And in a world where more consumers rely on quick articles—or just headlines—to stay up to date, newsrooms need to become better resourced to rebuild trust.

“My suspicion, and I don’t think I’m alone with that, is that there is a crisis in local news,” Assmann said. “People don’t meet journalists in their everyday life anymore. Normal citizens don’t find themselves represented in local broadcast or the local paper.”

Continued research, however, can highlight opportunities to support newsrooms and rebuild some of that trust to combat negative perceptions, Assmann said.

“There’s a mistrust in the news media that’s been fostered, I would say, in the last couple of years through some politicians who have something to gain from the news media losing credibility,” Assmann said. “So I think this is a huge construction site for us to work on as journalism scholars and as journalists.”

If things continue along the same trajectory, whistleblowers could start turning to alternative forms of media to share their stories. Many interviewees in the study reported having greater trust for alternative news sources—blogs or social media—than traditional media.

But Assmann is wary of fully attributing this shift to mistrust.

“I would say that rather than calling it mistrust, it reflects them being media savvy and understanding how media networks work and audiences work,” she said. “The new, modern whistleblower may be born out of mistrust for mainstream media and just figures out that these are the best ways to get their stuff out of there. Maybe the next whistleblower will say, ‘I’ll make it a TikTok video,’ if, you know, TikTok is even still around.”

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JOURNAL

Journalism Practice

DOI

10.1080/17512786.2022.2161067 

ARTICLE TITLE

Whistleblowers and their Faith in Journalism

STEP Demo pilot plant achieves supercritical CO2 fluid conditions

sCO2 demonstration facility on SwRI campus advances toward system-level testing

Business Announcement

SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 

IMAGE: SWRI’S JOHN KLAERNER, LEAD TURBINE ENGINEER, AND DR. JEFF MOORE, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE STEP DEMO PROJECT, ARE PICTURED WITH THE RECENTLY ASSEMBLED SCO2 TURBINE FOR THE 10 MWE DEMONSTRATION PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT SWRI. THE FACILITY, DEVELOPED THROUGH A COLLABORATION BETWEEN SWRI, GTI ENERGY, GE RESEARCH AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY (DOE/NETL), HAS ACHIEVED ITS FIRST OPERATION WITH CO2 AT SUPERCRITICAL FLUID CONDITIONS IN ITS COMPRESSOR SECTION, WHICH REPRESENTS SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD READYING THE FACILITY FOR SYSTEM-LEVEL TESTING. view more 

CREDIT: SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SAN ANTONIO — March 7, 2023 —The Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo pilot plant, a $155 million, 10-megawatt supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) test facility at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, developed in partnership with GTI Energy and GE Research and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, has successfully achieved its first operation with CO2 at supercritical fluid conditions in its compressor section. This accomplishment represents significant progress toward readying the facility for system-level testing.

“This exciting milestone represents a significant advancement for a truly transformational project,” said Dr. Tim Allison, director of SwRI’s Department of Machinery. “STEP Demo is laying the groundwork for power generation that is more efficient, with a smaller footprint.”

Unlike conventional power plants, which use water as the thermal medium in power cycles, STEP is designed to use high-temperature sCO2, which increases efficiency by as much as 10% due to its favorable thermodynamic properties. Carbon dioxide is nontoxic and nonflammable, and when held above a critical temperature and pressure can act like a gas while having the density near that of a liquid.

The efficiency of sCO2 as a working fluid allows for STEP turbomachinery to be approximately one-tenth the size of conventional power plant components, providing the opportunity to shrink the environmental footprint and construction cost of any new facilities. For example, a desk-sized sCO2 turbine can power up to 10,000 homes. The technology is also compatible with concentrated solar power and industrial waste heat.

“The sCO2 power cycle is a breakthrough clean, compact, and high-efficiency power generation technology that can deliver significant environmental performance. We look forward to continued operation of the current test to demonstrate control and operability of this power cycle while validating system performance over long periods of time,” notes Bhima Sastri, Director of Energy Asset Transformation, DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

The STEP Demo pilot plant is one of the largest demonstration facilities in the world for sCO2 technology to dramatically improve the efficiency, economics, operational flexibility, space requirements and environmental performance of this new technology. The facility’s turbine is currently being installed and will be tested later this year.

SwRI is an industry leader in the development of sCO2 power cycles. Staff members have conducted numerous related U.S. Department of Energy projects advancing the efficiency, reliability and commercial readiness of sCO2 power cycle turbomachinery, heat exchangers, cycles and systems. The team brings extensive experience with sCO2 technology and the key building blocks to make the STEP Demo project a success and a landmark demonstration.

About STEP Demo
The STEP Demo pilot facility will demonstrate a fully integrated electricity generating power plant using transformational sCO2-based power cycle technology that can offer dramatically improved size, performance, economics, and operational flexibility, with less environmental impact. OEMs, engineering companies, and power plant owner/operators from around the globe are invited to join this open project to gain a better understanding of how sCO2 technology can improve high-efficiency power generation. www.stepdemo.us

About GTI Energy
GTI Energy is a leading research and training organization. Our trusted team works to scale impactful solutions that shape energy transitions by leveraging gases, liquids, infrastructure, and efficiency. We embrace systems thinking, open learning, and collaboration to develop, scale, and deploy the technologies needed for low-carbon, low-cost energy systems.

GTI Energy leads the STEP Demo project as the prime contractor with the U.S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory.
www.gti.energy

About the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) conducts research, development, demonstration, and deployment that focuses on technologies to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts from fossil fuel production and use and from key industrial processes, particularly the hardest-to-decarbonize applications in the electricity and industrial sectors. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website or sign up for FECM news announcements. www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management

About the National Energy Technology Laboratory
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is the U.S. Department of Energy’s only Government-Owned, Government-Operated Laboratory. NETL focuses on the discovery, development, and deployment of technology solutions to enhance the nation’s energy foundation and protect the environment for future generations. These advanced technologies enable fossil fuels to produce the clean, reliable, and affordable energy needed to support increased domestic manufacturing, improve infrastructure, enhance global competitiveness, revitalize the workforce, and free the U.S. from dependence on foreign oil. www.netl.doe.gov

About GE Research
GE Research is GE’s innovation powerhouse where research meets reality. It is a world-class team of 1,000+ scientific, engineering and marketing minds (600+ Ph. Ds), working at the intersection of physics and markets, physical and digital technologies, and across a broad set of industries to deliver world-changing innovations and capabilities for their customers. www.ge.com/research

For more information, visit the STEP Demo website.

Teacher supports, guidance for elementary social studies education vary widely across U.S., report finds

Reports and Proceedings

RAND CORPORATION

A new RAND Corporation report finds that the basic infrastructure to support elementary (grades K-5) social studies instruction – academic standards, accountability requirements, assessment programs – is inadequate in many states. Even where state-level infrastructure to guide teachers’ instruction is in place, its comprehensiveness and quality vary greatly.

Support and guidance at the district and school level to underpin social studies instruction are also lacking compared to other core academic subjects. For example, elementary principals report less teacher evaluation and professional learning focused on social studies instruction than on reading/language arts, math and – to a lesser extent – science instruction.

Researchers conducted a review of state policies for social studies and analyzed results from nationally representative surveys of elementary teachers and principals about social studies instruction during the 2021-2022 school year.

“Over the past few decades, school systems have invested less in students’ civic development and more in academic and career preparation as educational priorities,” said Melissa Kay Diliberti, lead author of the report and assistant policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. “Our findings suggest that inadequate state and local infrastructure focused on social studies instruction may have affected what elementary teachers did in their classrooms in 2021-2022.”

For example, 29% of elementary principals surveyed said their schools had not adopted any recommended or required social studies curriculum materials, meaning that their schools or districts had not chosen any curricula to provide to teachers to support such instruction.

In turn, only 16% of elementary teachers surveyed reported using a required textbook for most of their social studies instructional time. More commonly, teachers cobbled together their instructional materials or leaned on self-created materials.

The researchers suggest that, ideally, all elementary social studies policies and guidance – state standards, accountability policies, assessment programs, teacher evaluation, professional learning opportunities, and guidance around materials – would work together to build coherent and strong infrastructure to support teachers’ instruction. This effort requires additional investments at all levels of the U.S. education system, from state policy to investments by school and district leaders themselves.

Other authors of  “The Missing Infrastructure for Elementary (K-5) Social Studies Instruction: Findings from the 2022 American Instructional Resources Survey” are Ashley Woo and Julia H. Kaufman.

RAND Education and Labor, a division of RAND, is dedicated to improving education and expanding economic opportunities for all through research and analysis. Its researchers address key policy issues in U.S. and international education systems and labor markets, from pre-kindergarten to retirement planning.

Synchronizing to a beat predicts how well you get ‘in sync’ with others

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

How well you synchronize to a simple beat predicts how well you synchronize with another mind, according to a new Dartmouth study published in Scientific Reports.

Previous work has demonstrated that the pupil dilation patterns of speakers and listeners synchronize spontaneously, illustrating shared attention. The team set out to understand how the tendency to synchronize in this way may vary at the individual level and generalize across contexts, as it has been widely debated whether one form of synchrony bears any relationship to another.

“We were quite surprised to find that how well your pupils dilate and constrict to something as simple as a rhythmic beat would predict how well you attend in the same way as another person,” says lead author Sophie Wohltjen, who was a graduate student in psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth at the time of the study and is now a postdoctoral researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison. “What this suggests is that there may be some sort of underlying mechanism that can unite a lot of the different ways that we talk about synchrony.”

The research was comprised of two studies. In the first study, individuals listened to a series of tones and were asked to indicate which one was softer than the others while their pupil responses were tracked. Each individual completed this “oddball detection task” during nine separate sessions that were held on a different day and time for each session. The researchers found stable, individually-specific variation in the amount each person entrained to the oddball rhythm. Some people’s pupils dilated strongly in time with the beat, others less so, and however strongly a person synchronized one day predicted how strongly they synchronized the next.

In the second study, 82 individuals completed the oddball task once and also listened to audio recordings of four emotional stories while their pupil responses were tracked. The storytellers’ pupil dilations were recorded earlier when they read the stories. The researchers calculated the pupillary synchrony between the storyteller and listener and then compared this synchrony to how strongly the listener synchronized to the rhythmic beat of the oddball task.  

The results demonstrate that the more someone entrained to the rhythmic beat of the task, the more likely they were to synchronize their pupils with those of the storyteller. As these individuals could not see the storyteller, pupillary synchrony could not be explained as simple visual mimicry. Instead, this synchrony was evidence that the storyteller and listener were attending to the story in the same way.  

“Identifying that these two forms of synchrony—simple, metronomic entrainment and complex shared attention—are linked is really interesting, as it opens up all sorts of larger questions about why this tendency to synchronize varies between people,” says senior author Thalia Wheatley, the Lincoln Filene Professor in Human Relations and director of the Consortium for Interacting Minds at Dartmouth. “Do musicians synchronize their attention more easily with others? Why are some people super-synchronizers while others are unable to synchronize altogether? Do strong synchronizers find it easier to click with others? These are all questions we plan to investigate further,” says Wheatley.

“This simple measure of being able to entrain to a beat could have clinical implications for autism and other disorders, which are not only about having difficulty with social interaction but are also about timing,” adds Wheatley.

The research on synchrony to a beat builds on the team’s earlier work, which finds that making and breaking eye contact is linked to fluctuations of pupillary synchrony between conversation partners and makes conversation more engaging.

Wohltjen and Wheatley are available for comment at: wohltjen@wisc.edu and thalia.p.wheatley@dartmouth.edu.

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JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Synchrony to a beat predicts synchrony with other minds

How high altitude changes your body’s metabolism

When mice are exposed to chronically low levels of oxygen, similar to those experienced at 4,500 meters of elevation, their metabolism changes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GLADSTONE INSTITUTES

 

IMAGE: A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS IN ISHA JAIN’S LAB AT GLADSTONE INSTITUTES SHOWED HOW CHRONICALLY LOW OXYGEN LEVELS, SUCH AS THOSE EXPERIENCED AT 4,500 METERS OF ELEVATION, REWIRE HOW MICE BURN SUGARS AND FATS. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: MICHAEL SHORT/GLADSTONE INSTITUTES

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—March 7, 2023—Compared to those of us who live at sea level, the 2 million people worldwide who live above 4,500 meters (or 14,764 feet) of elevation—about the height of Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, and many Colorado and Alaska peaks—have lower rates of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity.

Now, researchers at Gladstone Institutes have shed light on this phenomenon. They showed how chronically low oxygen levels, such as those experienced at high elevation, rewire how mice burn sugars and fats. The work, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, not only helps explain the metabolic differences of people who live at high altitude, but could also lead to new treatments for metabolic disease.

“When an organism is exposed to chronically low levels of oxygen, we found that different organs reshuffle their fuel sources and their energy-producing pathways in various ways,” says Gladstone Assistant Investigator Isha Jain, PhD, senior author of the new study. “We hope these findings will help us identify metabolic switches that might be beneficial for metabolism even outside of low-oxygen environments.”

Mimicking High Altitude Living

Around sea level, where a third of the world’s population lives, oxygen makes up about 21 percent of the air we breathe. But people who live above 4,500 meters, where oxygen makes up just 11 percent of the air, can adapt to the shortage of oxygen—known as hypoxia—and thrive.

Researchers studying the impact of hypoxia have typically carried out their research in isolated cells or within cancerous tumors, which often lack oxygen. Jain’s group wanted a more nuanced look at how long-term hypoxia impacts organs throughout the body.

“We wanted to profile the metabolic changes that take place as an organism adapts to hypoxia,” says Ayush Midha, a graduate student in Jain’s lab and first author of the new paper. “We thought this might provide some insight into how that adaptation protects against metabolic disease.”

Midha, Jain, and their colleagues at Gladstone and UC San Francisco (UCSF) housed adult mice in pressure chambers containing either 21 percent, 11 percent, or 8 percent oxygen—all levels at which both humans and mice can survive. Over 3 weeks, they observed the animals’ behavior, monitored their temperature, carbon dioxide levels and blood glucose, and used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to study how different organs were consuming nutrients.

Redistributing Fuel

In the first days of hypoxia, the mice living in 11 percent or 8 percent oxygen moved less, spending hours completely still. By the end of the third week, however, their movement patterns had returned to normal. Similarly, carbon dioxide levels in the blood—which decrease when mice or humans breathe faster to try to get more oxygen—initially decreased but returned to normal levels by the end of the 3 weeks.

The animals’ metabolism, however, seemed more permanently altered by the hypoxia. For animals housed within the hypoxic cages, blood glucose levels and body weight both dropped, and neither returned to pre-hypoxic levels. In general, these more lasting changes mirror what has been seen in humans who live at high altitude.

When the researchers analyzed PET scans of each organ, they also discovered lasting changes. To metabolize fatty acids (the building blocks of fats) and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins), the body needs high levels of oxygen, while less oxygen is required to metabolize the sugar glucose. In most organs, hypoxia led to an increase in glucose metabolism—an expected response to the shortage of oxygen. But the scientists found that in brown fat and skeletal muscle—two organs already known for their high levels of glucose metabolism—levels of glucose consumption instead went down.

“Prior to this study, the assumption in the field was that in hypoxic conditions, your whole body’s metabolism becomes more efficient in using oxygen, which means it burns more glucose and fewer fatty acids and amino acids,” says Jain, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry at UCSF. “We showed that while some organs are indeed consuming more glucose, others become glucose savers instead.”

In retrospect, Jain says the observation makes sense; the isolated cells previously studied don’t need to make trade-offs to save glucose, while an entire animal, to survive, does.

The lasting effects of long-term hypoxia seen in the mice— lower body weight and glucose levels—are both associated with a lower risk of diseases in humans, including cardiovascular disease. Understanding how hypoxia contributes to these changes could lead to new drugs that mimic these beneficial effects.

With that goal in mind, Jain’s group hopes to follow up on this work with studies that look even more closely at how individual cell types and levels of signaling molecules change in different ways with hypoxia. Such research could point toward ways to mimic the protective metabolic effects of hypoxia with drugs—or high-altitude trips.

“We already see athletes going to train at altitude to improve their athletic performance; maybe in the future, we’ll start recommending that people spend time at high altitude for other health reasons,” says Midha.

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About the Study

The paper “Organ-Specific Fuel Rewiring in Acute and Chronic Hypoxia Redistributes Glucose and Fatty Acid Metabolism” was published in the journal Cell Metabolism on March 7, 2023.

Other authors are Yuyin Zhou, Bruno Queliconi, Alex Barrios, Augustinus Haribowo, and Brandon Chew of Gladstone; and Cyril Fong, Joseph Blecha, Henry VanBrocklin, and Younghou Seo of UCSF.

The work was supported by the Medical Scientist Training Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM141323), the National Institutes of Health (DP5OD026398), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (HR0011- 474 19-2-0018), the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the National Science Foundation (2034836).

About Gladstone Institutes

Gladstone Institutes is an independent, nonprofit life science research organization that uses visionary science and technology to overcome disease. Established in 1979, it is located in the epicenter of biomedical and technological innovation, in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco. Gladstone has created a research model that disrupts how science is done, funds big ideas, and attracts the brightest minds.

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JOURNAL

Cell Metabolism

DOI

10.1016/j.cmet.2023.02.007 

ARTICLE TITLE

Organ-Specific Fuel Rewiring in Acute and Chronic Hypoxia Redistributes Glucose and Fatty Acid Metabolism

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

7-Mar-2023

Genetic and socioeconomic factors interact to affect risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity

Study’s findings have implications for both precision medicine and public health

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

BOSTON – New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), indicates that socioeconomic and genetic factors likely interact in an additive way to affect people’s risks of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. The findings, which are published in Diabetes Care, suggest that interventions to improve socioeconomic deprivation may decrease metabolic diseases at the individual and community levels, especially among people with concomitant high genetic risk.

Genetic and socioeconomic factors—one intrinsic and unmodifiable and one extrinsic and potentially modifiable—have both been shown to increase the risk of metabolic diseases, but the relative contributions of the two and the degree to which they may interact to impact a person’s risk are poorly understood. To investigate, scientists examined the independent and additive effects of genetic and socioeconomic risk in 26,737 and 223,843 participants of European genetic ancestry from the Mass General Brigham Biobank and the UK Biobank, respectively, as well as in 3,468 and 7,459 participants of non-European ancestry in the respective biobanks. The team examined individuals’ genetic data at millions of points across the genome as well as information related to education, income, and employment from their area of residence. Because educational attainment had the strongest association with type 2 diabetes and obesity out of all area-level socioeconomic variables examined, this was used as the primary socioeconomic risk measure.

Results indicated that people in the highest quintile of both genetic and socioeconomic risk had a more than seven-fold higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes (22.2% vs. 3.1%) and a more than three-fold higher prevalence of obesity (69.0% vs. 20.9%) compared with those in the combined lowest risk quintiles.

There was a significant positive interaction between genetic and socioeconomic risk on an additive scale.  This suggests that the absolute increase in metabolic disease prevalence with unfavorable socioeconomic risk was much greater for those at higher genetic risk than for those at lower genetic risk. For example, adverse area-level socioeconomic risk was associated with increased type 2 diabetes prevalence across the spectrum of genetic risk, but the absolute increase in prevalence was greatest in those at highest genetic risk: +9.2% in the highest genetic risk quintile vs. +1.7% in the lowest genetic risk quintile. Overall, the additive effects of genetic and socioeconomic factors accounted for 13.2% and 16.7% of type 2 diabetes and obesity prevalence, respectively.

“We believe that this research calls for a whole-person approach to metabolic disease prevention and that public health interventions may be most impactful if targeted to those who also have elevated genetic risk,” says lead author Sara Cromer, MD, an Endocrinologist in the Department of Medicine at MGH and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. “The next steps in this research include expanding models to include more risk factors (such as lifestyle factors and behaviors), improving models for individuals of non-European ancestry, exploring the predictive value of area-level socioeconomic measures in diverse populations, and examining the gene–socioeconomic status interplay in regards to other outcomes.”

Senior author Miriam Udler, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist the department of Medicine at MGH, an investigator in the MGH Center for Genomic Medicine, and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, adds that the study highlights not only the high prevalence of metabolic disease among individuals with both genetic and socioeconomic risk factors, but also that genetic risk for these diseases is not deterministic. “People at high genetic risk who live in low-risk socioeconomic regions have similar rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity as those with low genetic risk living in certain socioeconomic risk regions,” she says. “More research is needed to understand exactly why this is.”

Co-authors include Chirag M. Lakhani, Josep M. Mercader, Timothy D. Majarian, Philip Schroeder, Joanne B. Cole, Jose C. Florez, Chirag J. Patel, Alisa K. Manning, Sherri-Ann M. Burnett-Bowie, Jordi Merino, and Miriam S. Udler.


This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.

 

About the Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The Mass General Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than $1 billion and comprises more than 9,500 researchers working across more than 30 institutes, centers and departments. In July 2022, Mass General was named #8 in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America’s Best Hospitals." MGH is a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

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JOURNAL

Diabetes Care

DOI

10.2337/dc22-1954 

ARTICLE TITLE

Association and Interaction of Genetics and Area-Level Socioeconomic Factors on the Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity