Wednesday, February 19, 2020

A real global player: Previously unrecognised bacteria as a key group in marine sediments

Marine sediments cover more than two thirds of our planet's surface. Nevertheless, they are scarcely explored, especially in the deeper regions of the oceans. For their nutrition, the bacteria in the deep ocean are almost entirely dependent on remnants of organisms that trickle down from the upper water layers. Depending on how they process this material, it either remains in the depths of the ocean for a long time or moves back to the surface as carbon dioxide. Thus, sea-floor bacteria play an important role in the global carbon cycle, which makes them an exciting and important research object.

Global players at the seafloor

The research team around Christina Bienhold and Katy Hoffmann from the Max Planck Institute in Bremen and Pierre Offre, who now works at the NIOZ on the island of Texel, has now identified and characterised a particularly dominant group of microbes. "Although these bacteria have been known in the literature for some time," Bienhold explains, "nobody has paid much attention to them until now." While the team focused on the role of this group in the deep sea, other researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology investigated its importance in coastal sediments. "Only now does it become clear how numerous and widespread members of Woeseiales are," Bienhold continues. An impressive 40 million cells inhabit each millilitre of deep-sea floor—together with a billion other bacteria. In a thimble full of sediment, there are thus about 120 million cells of Woeseiales. "We know of no other group of bacteria that occurs in the ocean floor at such high abundances." Extrapolated to the entire deep-sea floor, the worldwide population of Woeseiales would amount to 5 x 1026 cells, the authors estimate. "Considering that these estimates include neither the coastal sediments nor the deep biosphere, these bacteria may be one of the most common groups of microorganisms on Earth," explains Bienhold.

A group with varied ecological roles

In their study, the authors present an ecological synthesis summarising current knowledge about the diversity and environmental distribution of these bacteria. The synthesis was built upon DNA sequence data, which were deposited in public databases over the last two decades, but also included new data, some of which was generated from arctic deep-sea sediments collected at the AWI-maintained long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN. "The analyses reveal that Woeseiales accommodate a myriad of organisms with varied ecologies," explains Pierre Offre, lead author of the study. "For example, different species of Woeseiales co-exist together at any location of the seabed, where they probably fulfill different ecological functions. Our study provides a first ecological guide to these fascinating organisms."

Moreover, the data now available indicate that members of Woeseiales could feed on so-called proteinaceous matter, such as the remains of cell walls and membranes or other leftovers of dead organisms. Considering that proteins are a major source of nitrogen—a fundamental nutrient for all life forms—in marine seafloor sediments, the potential ability of Woeseiales bacteria for protein degradation, may be ecologically important for the re-cycling of nitrogen in benthic ecosystems." I am convinced that further studies of these bacteria will provide new insights into the carbon and nitrogen cycles in marine sediments," concludes Offre, who continues investigating these microorganisms to understand the secret of their ecological success, together with his research team at NIOZ.

Marine extremophiles: The basal level of the food chain

More information: Katy Hoffmann et al, Diversity and metabolism of Woeseiales bacteria, global members of marine sediment communities, The ISME Journal (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-0588-4

New study results consistent with dog domestication during Ice Age

by Matt McGowan, University of Arkansas

Analysis of Paleolithic-era teeth from a 28,500-year-old fossil site in the Czech Republic provides supporting evidence for two groups of canids—one dog-like and the other wolf-like—with differing diets, which is consistent with the early domestication of dogs.

The study, published in the Journal of Archaeolgical Science, was co-directed by Peter Ungar, Distinguished Professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas.

The researchers performed dental microwear texture analysis on a sample of fossils from the Předmostí site, which contains both wolf-like and dog-like canids. Canids are simply mammals of the dog family. The researchers identified distinctive microwear patterns for each canid morphotype. Compared to the wolf-like canids, the teeth of the early dog canids—called "protodogs" by the researchers—had larger wear scars, indicating a diet that included hard, brittle foods. The teeth of the wolf-like canids had smaller scars, suggesting they consumed more flesh, likely from mammoth, as shown by previous research.

This greater durophagy—animal eating behavior suggesting the consumption of hard objects—among the dog-like canids means they likely consumed bones and other less desirable food scraps within human settlement areas, Ungar said. It provides supporting evidence that there were two types of canids at the site, each with a distinct diet, which is consistent with other evidence of early-stage domestication.

"Our primary goal was to test whether these two morphotypes expressed notable differences in behavior, based on wear patterns," said Ungar. "Dental microwear is a behavioral signal that can appear generations before morphological changes are established in a population, and it shows great promise in using the archaeological record to distinguish protodogs from wolves."

Dog domestication is the earliest example of animal husbandry and the only type of domestication that occurred well before the earliest definitive evidence of agriculture. However, there is robust scientific debate about the timing and circumstances of the initial domestication of dogs, with estimates varying between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago, well into the Ice Age, when people had a hunter-gatherer way of life. There is also debate about why wolves were first domesticated to become dogs. From an anthropological perspective, the timing of the domestication process is important for understanding early cognition, behavior and the ecology of early Homo sapiens.

3-D analysis of dog fossils sheds light on domestication debate

More information: Kari A. Prassack et al. Dental microwear as a behavioral proxy for distinguishing between canids at the Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) site of Předmostí, Czech Republic, Journal of Archaeological Science (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105092

Tombaugh's discovery of Pluto revolutionized knowledge of our solar system

by New Horizons FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The New Horizons spacecraft carries a small container of Clyde Tombaugh's ashes on its inside upper deck. An inscription on it, written by mission Principal Investigator Alan Stern, reads: "Interred herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's "Third Zone," Adelle and Muron's boy, Patricia's husband, Annette and Alden's father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde W. Tombaugh (1906-1997)." Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Ninety years ago today, Clyde Tombaugh, a young astronomer working at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, discovered Pluto. In doing so he unknowingly opened the door to the vast "third zone" of the solar system we now know as the Kuiper Belt, containing countless planetesimals and dwarf planets—the third class of planets in our solar system.

Lowell Observatory's namesake, Percival Lowell, first proposed the existence of a "Planet X" somewhere beyond the orbit of Neptune. Unable to find it before his death in 1916, the search for Planet X stalled for nearly a decade until renewed when Tombaugh was hired in 1929. Tombaugh found the object on February 18, 1930, at the age of 24, using a Zeiss blink comparator, a device that allowed him to spot moving objects against the background star fields he had photographed.

"What Tombaugh didn't know then was that Planet X would launch the era of exploration in the third zone of the solar system," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Science builds on science, and this discovery helped pave the way for New Horizons' exploration of this uncharted region."

Although he died in 1997, Tombaugh's ashes were aboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft when it launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in January 2006. Those ashes, carried in a small canister on the spacecraft, traveled with New Horizons on a nine-year, three-billion-mile journey to Pluto to make the first exploration of Tombaugh's planet.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Pluto's surface sports a remarkable range of subtle colors, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. Many landforms have their own distinct colors, telling a complex geological and climatological story that scientists have only just begun to decode. The image resolves details and colors on scales as small as 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers). Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

The spacecraft flew past Pluto and its five moons on July 14, 2015, coming to within 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) of the surface and delivering the now iconic images of Pluto and its heart, as well as all five of its moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx and Kerberos. The flyby revolutionized humankind's understanding of the Pluto system and dwarf planets. From the variety in its geological landforms, to its complex atmosphere, to its intriguing moons, Pluto showed a level of physical diversity and complexity that few expected to find.

Once thought by some to be only an icy rock, New Horizons discovered that Pluto is actually geologically active. From strange, bladed methane mountains to nitrogen glaciers, to ice volcanoes and the now suspected presence of a liquid water ocean inside the planet, Pluto has literally caused planetary scientists to rethink how complex and active small planets can be. Pluto also has a brilliant blue nitrogen atmosphere, replete with hazes stretching half a million meters into its sky and possible ground fogs and clouds.

Following the success of the Pluto flyby, NASA extended the New Horizons mission to fly past a small Kuiper Belt object a billion miles beyond Pluto. On Jan. 1, 2019, New Horizons brought that ancient body, Arrokoth, into focus and, in doing so, revealed how planetesimals—the building blocks of planets like Pluto—were formed.

"Looking back, Tombaugh's discovery was so much more than just the discovery of the ninth planet," said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute. "It was the harbinger of a whole new region of the solar system and two different and completely new types of bodies—dwarf planets and Kuiper Belt objects. I only wish that Clyde had lived to see all that New Horizons discovered and how stunningly beautiful Pluto is."

Explore further SwRI to plan Pluto orbiter mission
Provided by New Horizons

Germany to tighten screws on online hate speech

by Mathieu Foulkes

Members of Germany's Greens party staged a protest against hate speech in September 2019

With the danger growing from far-right extremists and torrents of threats against politicians, Germany plans to toughen online speech laws and tighten the screws on social networks.

Ministers in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government approved a new package of measures on Wednesday, days after 12 men were arrested for planning deadly attacks on mosques, communicating in part via chat groups.

The draft law now passes to parliament for MPs to deliberate.

"In future, those who make threats or spread hate online will be prosecuted in a tougher and more effective way," Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said on her ministry's website.

One headline measure in the bill will step up the pressure on social networking firms such as Facebook and Twitter to quickly remove the offending content.

In future, the Silicon Valley giants will also have to report certain types of illegal posts to the federal police, who will be able to pass on actionable data to prosecutors.

'End up where they belong'

Neo-Nazi propaganda or plans to commit a terrorist attack would be covered under such rules.

But people approving crimes, making death or rape threats or sharing child pornography images could also be caught in the widened net.

One measure in the German bill will step up the pressure on social networking giants like Facebook and Twitter to quickly remove offending content

Social media platforms that refuse to cooperate will face fines of up to 50 million euros.

"Hate crimes will finally end up where they belong: before a court," Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said.

On top of the new reporting processes, Berlin wants to toughen potential sentences, including up to three years in prison for online death or rape threats.

Especially in recent months, there has been a growing spread of anti-Semitic messages online—including a bizarre screed written by the perpetrator of an attack targeting a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle in October 2019.

The draft law would sharpen sentences still further for crimes arising from an anti-Semitic motive, which the justice ministry says have increased 40 percent since 2013.

But there are limits to the rules, leaving it up to the person affected to pursue cases of insult or libel.

In the most serious cases, such as terrorism or murder, network operators will be required to give up users' passwords to the authorities if ordered to by a judge—including if they are encrypted.

The office of Karamba Diaby, Germany's only black MP, was targeted in January

"Extremists don't radicalise themselves out of nowhere," Justice Minister Lambrecht said.

"Inhuman spreading of hate and threats online lowers the thresholds" to violence, she added.

Ministers' plans have not gone unopposed in Germany, where debate is fierce between those who value online anonymity as a shield against the state and those who see unregulated online spaces as a threat.

Bullied out of office

Elsewhere in the draft law, the government aims to reinforce its ability to protect prominent personalities.

Threats and verbal or physical attacks have become more common against office holders, with 1,241 politically-motivated attacks targeting elected officials in 2019 and increasing numbers requiring police protection.

Some local politicians have in recent months given up their posts or said they will not stand for re-election following such threats.

A synagogue in the city of Halle was targeted in an attack in October 2019

In mid-January, bullet holes apparently inflicted by a pellet gun appeared overnight in the windows of an office belonging to Germany's only black MP, Karamba Diaby, provoking widespread outrage.

Politicians from across the spectrum declared solidarity with Diaby.

The apparent attack came months after regional politician Walter Luebcke, a vocal proponent of accepting refugees, was murdered outside his home last June.

A neo-Nazi with a history of racially-motivated violent crimes is the prime suspect in the case.

In future, the authorities will be able to more easily protect personal data, including on public registers, belonging to people in the public eye like politicians, journalists and activists.

Such individuals will be warned if someone else requests their personal information.

Germany threatens online giants with 50 mn euro hate speech fines

Airbus Defence and Space to cut over 2,300 jobs

France-based Airbus last week reported a net loss of 1.36 billion euros in 2019

European plane-maker Airbus said Wednesday it planned to cut 2,362 jobs in its Defence and Space division over the next two years.

Airbus cited a "flat space market and postponed contracts on the defence side" for the decision to cut 829 jobs in Germany, 630 in Spain, 404 in France and 357 in Britain.

A further 142 jobs will be cut in other countries, it said, adding that it was in talks with its European works council on the restructuring.

"Airbus Defence and Space will provide updates on its plans and continues a constructive dialogue with employee representatives," it said in a statement.

The Defence and Space division accounts for 15 percent of the group's revenue.

It posted operating losses of 881 million euros ($951 million) in 2019.

Airbus said that "while the underlying business perspectives, especially in the core business, remain solid", job cuts were necessary after the book-to-bill ratio—the ratio of orders received to amounts billed—fell below 1 for the third year in a row.

France-based Airbus last week reported a net loss of 1.36 billion euros in 2019, mainly due to a 3.6-billion-euro fine over a bribery scandal and extra development costs for the A400M transport aircraft.

Fines cause turbulence for Airbus results

EU proposes rules for artificial intelligence to limit risks

by Kelvin Chan

The European Union unveiled proposals Wednesday to regulate artificial intelligence that call for strict rules and safeguards on risky applications of the rapidly developing technology.

The report is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. Big tech companies seeking to tap Europe's vast and lucrative market, including those from the U.S. and China, would have to play by any new rules that come into force.

The EU's executive Commission said it wants to develop a "framework for trustworthy artificial intelligence." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had ordered her top deputies to come up with a coordinated European approach to artificial intelligence and data strategy 100 days after she took office in December.

"We will be particularly careful where essential human rights and interests are at stake," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. "Artificial intelligence must serve people, and therefore artificial intelligence must always comply with people's rights."

EU leaders, keen on establishing "technological sovereignty," also released a strategy to unlock data from the continent's businesses and the public sector so it can be harnessed for further innovation in artificial intelligence. Officials in Europe, which doesn't have any homegrown tech giants, hope to to catch up with the U.S. and China by using the bloc's vast and growing trove of industrial data for what they anticipate is a coming wave of digital transformation.

They also warned that even more regulation for foreign tech companies is in store with the upcoming "Digital Services Act," a sweeping overhaul of how the bloc treats digital companies, including potentially holding them liable for illegal content posted on their platforms. A steady stream of Silicon Valley tech bosses, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft President Brad Smith, have visited Brussels in recent weeks as part of apparent lobbying efforts.

"It is not us that need to adapt to today's platforms. It is the platforms that need to adapt to Europe," said Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market. "That is the message that we delivered to CEOs of these platforms when they come to see us."

If the tech companies aren't able to build systems "for our people, then we will regulate, and we are ready to do this in the Digital Services Act at the end of the year," he said.

The EU's report said clear rules are needed to address "high-risk AI systems," such as those in recruitment, healthcare, law enforcement or transport, which should be "transparent, traceable and guarantee human oversight." Other artificial intelligence systems could come with labels certifying that they are in line with EU standards.

Artificial intelligence uses computers to process large sets of data and make decisions without human input. It is used, for example, to trade stocks in financial markets, or, in some countries, to scan faces in crowds to find criminal suspects.

While it can be used to improve healthcare, make farming more efficient or combat climate change, it also brings risks. It can be unclear what data artificial intelligence systems work off. Facial recognition systems can be biased against certain social groups, for example. There are also concerns about privacy and the use of the technology for criminal purposes, the report said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a presentation on Europe's Digital Future at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. A report on artificial intelligence released Wednesday is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Eeuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, talks to Commissioner for Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager during a weekly College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. During the meeting, the College will set out plans on the EU's strategy to deal with the challenges of the digital age and the use of artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Eeuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, center, greets Commissioner for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans, right, next to Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni during a weekly College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. During the meeting, the College will set out plans on the EU's strategy to deal with the challenges of the digital age and the use of artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Eeuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for a weekly College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. During the meeting, the College will set out plans on the EU's strategy to deal with the challenges of the digital age and the use of artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
European Commissioner for Europe fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager speaks during a presentation on Europe's Digital Future at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. A report on artificial intelligence released Wednesday is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Commissioner for Europe fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager speaks during a presentation on Europe's Digital Future at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. A report on artificial intelligence released Wednesday is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, right, and European Commissioner for Europe fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager participate in a presentation of Europe's Digital Future at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. A report on artificial intelligence released Wednesday is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a presentation on Europe's Digital Future at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. A report on artificial intelligence released Wednesday is part of the bloc's wider digital strategy aimed at maintaining its position as the global pacesetter on technological standards. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Eeuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, talks to Commissioner for Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager during a weekly College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. During the meeting, the College will set out plans on the EU's strategy to deal with the challenges of the digital age and the use of artificial intelligence. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Human-centered guidelines for artificial intelligence are essential because "none of the positive things will be achieved if we distrust the technology," said Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice president overseeing the EU's digital strategy.

Under the proposals, which are open for public consultation until May 19, EU authorities want to be able to test and certify the data used by the algorithms that power artificial intelligence in the same way they check cosmetics, cars and toys.

It's important to use unbiased data to train high-risk artificial intelligence systems so they can avoid discrimination, the commission said.

Specifically, AI systems could be required to use data reflecting gender, ethnicity and "other possible grounds of prohibited discrimination."

Other ideas include preserving data to help trace any problems and having AI systems clearly spell out their capabilities and limitations. Users should be told when they're interacting with a machine and not a human while humans should be in charge of the system and have the final say on decisions such as rejecting an application for welfare benefits, the report said.

EU leaders said they also wanted to open a debate on when to allow facial recognition in remote identification systems, which are used to scan crowds to check people's faces to those on a database. It's considered the "most intrusive form" of the technology and is prohibited in the EU except in special cases.

Zuckerberg meets EU officials as bloc's new tech rules loom

Standalone system produces water from the air, even in desert regions

by Kevin Hattori, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Researchers at the Technion have developed a standalone system that produces water from the air, even in desert regions. The innovative system is capable of providing water to small and isolated communities, without the need to transport water for long distances.

According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 13% of the world's population will suffer from insufficient availability of drinking water by 2025. For this reason, access to freshwater is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. This goal was the motivation for developing a standalone system for producing water from the air.

The technology was developed by Professor David Broday and Professor Eran Friedler from the Environmental, Water and Agricultural Engineering Division of the Technion Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI). It is the first technology of its kind in the world: an energy-efficient system for producing clean water from the air. Unlike the existing technology, the Technion researchers' system is based on a two-stage cyclic process: separation of moisture from the air by absorption using a highly concentrated saline solution, and separation of the moisture from the desiccant under and condensing the vapor under sub-atmospheric pressure conditions.

Credit: Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

"Besides being energy efficient, the new technology offers an additional advantage: as part of the process the water undergoes also pollutant removal processes," said Prof. Broday. "Our technology turns water into a commodity as it enables water to be produced anywhere in the world, without being dependent upon existing sources of liquid water. The prototype we have built demonstrates that the system works as expected and we currently work toward turning it into a commercial product."

"Existing technologies work simply as "reverse" air conditioners, by cooling the whole air mass entering the system in order to condense the moisture," said Prof. Friedler. "This 'direct cooling' approach is energetically inefficient, since such systems waste much of their energy requirements on cooling about 97% of the air volume, which is non-condensable. The new technology involves cooling of only the moisture that has been extracted from the air, significantly reducing the amount of energy required to produce water."

"We are not competing with desalination," explained Prof. Broday. "Israel is a developed nation situated near the sea and can supply all its water needs through desalination systems. Among other reasons, this is because Israel is a relatively small country and a significant portion of the population lives along the coast, such that water does not need to be transported over long distances. In contrast, transporting desalinated water to communities situated far from the coast is very expensive due to the need for extremely long pipelines. Herein lies the advantages of the new technology." The system is particularly relevant for small and isolated communities that are located far from fresh- or salty- water sources, as it can produce water where it is most needed.

According to Prof. Friedler, "in addition to being an essential component of life, water also influences other important aspects, among them individual and community health and even the empowerment of women. In many places, young girls do not attend school because they are busy providing water for the family. Even as adults, women devote hours to transporting water. Furthermore, access to water is a central factor in bloody confrontations in arid regions nowadays, and constitutes one of the foremost motives for immigration. In such conflict zones, the risk of children dying from polluted water is 20 times higher than dying due to violent acts."

Saving water when the sun shines

Can magic mushrooms and LSD treat depression and anxiety? Scientists are optimistic.

by Bethany Ao

When Marc Morgan tried lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as acid or LSD, for the first time as a teenager, he noticed that he could emotionally disconnect from traumatic memories of the sexual abuse he had suffered as a child.

"It allowed me to dissociate from the sharp pain that a lot of these memories can bring up, which caused me to shy away from processing them," said Morgan, who has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the abuse. "I was able to confront the topic in a more analytical way that felt healthier."

Years later, Morgan learned about microdosing—taking tiny portions of psychedelic substances, as little as a twentieth of a recreational dose, to get positive effects, like more focus and emotional balance, without negatives like hallucinations and disorientation. He realized that taking small doses allowed him to process his emotions without the stronger, visual effects and looping thoughts.

"It's basically like taking a cup of coffee," said Morgan, now 30. He said that he takes a full dose once or twice a year, and microdoses about four times a year. "You're just able to be a little more free and a little more honest with your emotions without breaking down. There's more of a mental clarity."

Morgan, who has lived in Philadelphia for the past decade, is part of a group of people who use both full doses and microdoses of psychedelic substances to process trauma, and better deal with depression. For some, it's because conventional antidepressants haven't worked for them. Others choose psychedelics because it's a more affordable option than therapy or medication.

However, medical experts don't recommend self-medicating.

"For people interested in a treatment who can't get into a trial, this is not the only thing out there," said Matthew Johnson, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University who has studied psychedelics for over 15 years. "It's one promising thing, and it's important for people to stay in treatment."

In recent months, the use of psychedelics for treatment-resistant depression, anxiety and PTSD—meaning patients do not respond to medication or therapy—has become a hot topic in the mental health field. The FDA approved a nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) last March, which uses a derivative of the hallucinogenic ketamine called esketamine. It is the first new antidepressant in decades. (It's currently offered at a handful of clinics in the Philadelphia area.)

In November, the FDA gave psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms, its second "breakthrough therapy" designation in just over a year. The designation fast-tracks the development and review of drugs.

In a 2017 study of psilocybin and depression, researchers at Imperial College London gave psilocybin therapy to 20 patients with treatment-resistant depression, who reported benefits as long as five weeks after treatment. The study found that psilocybin decreased activity in the amygdala, which processes emotions like fear and anxiety.

"We know that when someone is on a therapeutic dose of a psychedelic, there's a dramatic increase in communication across brain areas," Johnson said. "My theory is that what we're seeing with psychedelic therapy is more like what we normally associate with talk therapy. Psychedelic therapy prompts a therapeutic process, and people learn something by transcending their sense of self and getting out of their own way."

Much less is known about the science behind microdosing psychedelic substances, but a 2019 study by researchers at the University of California-Davis found that the practice can provide relief for symptoms of depression and anxiety in rats.

Additionally, a 2019 survey of more than 1,000 people from across the world who microdosed on LSD found that repeated microdoses were followed by "improvements in negative moods, especially depression" as well as increased positive moods and energy levels.

"There really hasn't been substantiation of the claimed benefits of so-called microdoses," Johnson said. "That's not to say the claimed benefits aren't possible."

The benefits people feel from microdosing might be from a combination of a strong placebo effect and some possible benefit from "tinkering with the serotonin system," Johnson said. But he's open to the potential benefits of microdosing, particularly for depression.

As a result of their research on how psychedelics can be used to help smokers and cancer patients, Johnson and others at Johns Hopkins have suggested that psilocybin's FDA classification should be changed from Schedule I, which means that it has no known medical benefit, to Schedule IV, similar to prescription drugs.

Victor Pablo Acero, a 24-year-old bioengineering doctoral candidate and executive director of the Penn Society for Psychedelic Science, said that accepting both full doses and microdoses as mental health treatments is an important step in destigmatizing the substances.

"Having a mystical experience is correlated with actually getting more clinical effects," Acero said. "Microdosing doesn't recapitulate the mystical experience or ego death. Also psychedelic use ... does not magically heal you, you have to put in work and effort to integrate your experience."

Acero said that he became interested in psychedelics once he began reading research papers about how the substances can be used in clinical settings. But he said that research in this area is still lacking.

"Funding is nonexistent," Acero said. "Scientists are having to argue that they need funding to study the medical purposes of a substance that's classified as having no medical purposes."

Most people suffering from treatment-resistant depression, anxiety or PTSD won't be able to access the new treatments for at least a few years, as research groups run clinical trials. The trials have a limited number of spaces ? - the Usona Institute, a nonprofit medical research group, recruited just 80 participants for a study that's part of their Phase 2 clinical trial for psilocybin. Similarly, LSD is being evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial as a treatment for depression in Switzerland. MDMA, better known as ecstasy or molly, is currently in a Phase 3 large-scale clinical trial for PTSD. Upon FDA approval, the SoundMind Center will open in Cedar Park, offering MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to populations with higher rates of PTSD.

While patients wait, self-medication without the aid of a therapist or medical professional is much more common, although it is not recommended. Johnson said that there are risks to psychedelic therapy for people with existing psychotic disorders, like schizophrenia.

"Even if this stuff is approved, it's not going to work for everyone," Johnson said.

Aysha Ali, who struggles with depression and anxiety, began using full doses and microdoses of magic mushrooms about two years ago. Ali, 21, said antidepressants caused side effects like appetite loss, decreased libido and nausea. She also found that mushrooms are more accessible and cheaper for her.

"It's definitely easier to go to bed at night," said Ali, who lives in Wilmington, Del. and works in King of Prussia. "I'm a little more focused, and I feel like I can smile and giggle in the moment. I can feel myself going through my day a little bit better, and the days after feel so much better."

She said that it refreshes her brain and allows her to wake up with a positive attitude.

"It helps me see that I'm not going to be stuck where I am," Ali said. "It's not a cure for everything, but the scientific information we're getting now is helping people get out of this mindset of, 'This is bad.'"

Mike Allebach, a photographer who lives in Montgomery County, first learned about magic mushrooms for mental health through a New York Times article last year.

"It didn't really quite match up with my understanding of mushrooms," said Allebach, 37.

Allebach, who was struggling with depression when he read the article, said that he later tried magic mushrooms in California, where psilocybin mushrooms are decriminalized in Oakland and Santa Cruz. The trip brought him out of his depression. Since coming home, Allebach uses breath work and meditation to maintain his mental health.

"As a society, we're in a place where the new rich is feeling calm and having peace. And if antidepressants don't work for someone, this could be great for someone who wants to be happy again and work on themselves," he said.

Psychedelic drugs could help treat PTSD

Carrots plus sticks: Study looks at what works to reduce low-value care

by University of Michigan

The old story of a farmer trying to get a stubborn mule to pull a wagon by dangling a carrot in front of its nose, or hitting its rump with a stick, may not seem to have much to do with the practice of medicine.

But a new study suggests that when it comes to making the best use of health care dollars, it will take a combination of carrots and sticks to move things forward.

The study looks at the effects of two initiatives that aimed to reduce the use of two blood tests that experts consider "low value" for most patients: Routine vitamin D tests, and an unnecessary thyroid test for tracking thyroid hormone levels.

After an organization that advises the health care system in Ontario, Canada reported in 2010 that population-based Vitamin D screening does not improve outcomes, the province's health plan for all residents declared it wouldn't pay for low-value vitamin D tests.

Soon after, the rate of testing dropped nearly 93 percent, the study shows. Patients who had a condition or medication that might lower their vitamin D levels could still get tested.

But in the U.S., where no such payment change took place, 2.6 million unnecessary vitamin D screening tests happened in just one year, according to the researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Toronto and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System who published the new findings in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A few years later, as part of an education campaign called Choosing Wisely, physician professional societies issued recommendations on when not to use Vitamin D and T3 testing. And while use of the test in Ontario dropped an additional 4.5%, the use in U.S. patients covered by Veterans Health benefits or commercial insurance dropped about 14%.

"Our study found small reductions in the use of unnecessary vitamin D screenings in response to recommendations from the Choosing Wisely campaign, but much greater reductions in Ontario when recommendations were complemented by policy change," says Eve Kerr, M.D., M.P.H., senior author of the new paper and a professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine. "The biggest lesson is that while recommendations alone can work to reduce low value care, recommendations have greater impact when they are reinforced by changes to policy and practice."

Improving value

Kerr heads a program at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation called the Michigan Program on Value Enhancement. She and her colleagues used the same Choosing Wisely guideline to build an alert for clinicians who had ordered a vitamin D test of low potential value into the electronic health record at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center.

In 2018, they reported that this guideline-based "carrot" had led to a positive and sustained change in orders for low-value vitamin D tests.

James Henderson, Ph.D., the first author of the new paper, assistant director of MPrOVE and a data science consultant at U-M's Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research unit, notes that the new paper's findings show that Choosing Wisely recommendations for T3 testing did not appear to have had the desired impact.

T3 testing, which is no longer recommended for patients with known thyroid issues because a test called TSH is more accurate, did not decline in either the U.S. or Canada after Choosing Wisely guidelines were issued. In fact, in the study population of U.S. patients with private insurance, the rate of testing actually went up slightly.

Handle with care

Kerr, Henderson and their colleagues from IHPI and the VA Center for Clinical Management Research note that policy decisions for low-value care—including payment changes—must be made with care, to avoid problems with access to that type of care for patients who could benefit.

For instance, the Ontario payment change exempted patients who have bone or digestive disorders that can change vitamin D levels, and patients who take certain medications that can change vitamin D absorption from food and supplements.

"Payment policies are not the only effective means for reducing low-value care," says Kerr. "Indeed, sometimes restricting payment may be too blunt an approach and could lead to underuse."

She adds, "Other effective policies that can be coupled with recommendations include population based education programs, communication approaches to help patients and physicians make more patient-centered decisions, decision support for doctors about low-value care, and most importantly, culture change initiatives that emphasize the responsibility of health care institutions, clinicians, and patients to provide and seek high-value, evidence-based care while avoiding low-value services."

More awareness of Choosing Wisely campaign needed for nurses

More information: James Henderson et al, Comparison of Payment Changes and Choosing Wisely Recommendations for Use of Low-Value Laboratory Tests in the United States and Canada, JAMA Internal Medicine (2020). DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.7143

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