An affordable and fast clinical test that can save human lives and spares at-risk population

by Frontiers

Horseshoe crabs are remarkable animals, beautiful in their weirdness. These "living fossils" evolved 450 million years ago and have lived through at least five mass extinctions fatal to the majority of multicellular lifeforms on Earth. Sea-dwelling relatives of spiders, horseshoe crabs can lay millions of eggs, have four pairs of eyes, and (importantly to us) have blue blood containing amoeba-like immune cells. These horseshoe crab immune cells are analogous to the white blood cells of in our bodies, which protect us against a wide range of pathogens.

Few people are aware that these cells from horseshoe crabs, called amebocytes, are indispensable for modern medicine. They are the only known source of Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), a reagent extraordinarily sensitive to the liposaccharide toxins produced by Gram-negative bacteria, which are responsible for 80% of cases of life-threatening sepsis in humans.

Each year, around 11 million people die from sepsis worldwide. Since its approval by the FDA in 1977, the LAL assay has been the standard test for contamination of medical devices by Gram-negative bacteria.

But every attempt to use LAL to detect these bacteria in the blood of human patients has failed so far, due to the presence of substances in blood that inhibit the test. Combined with concerns about the impacts of harvesting horseshoe crabs for LAL production, the medical community has had two major problems to overcome with this technique. But new research in Frontiers in Marine Science may have found the answer.

"We wanted to find a way to keep horseshoe crabs healthy in the laboratory, in such a way that we could regularly and reliably obtain LAL from them for medical tests while safeguarding their wellbeing as much as possible. Now that we have managed this, harvesting them from the ocean won't be necessary anymore," says Lee Robertson, Director of Scientific Communication and Operations at Kepley BioSystems. This team worked in collaboration with researchers from the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Robertson also emphasizes, "We also show that LAL from healthy and well-fed horseshoe crabs in aquaculture is of a higher quality, which for the first time makes it possible to do quick, affordable, and precise LAL assays on specially treated human blood."

These are welcome results for human patients at risk of life-threatening sepsis, and also for horseshoe crabs, since current harvesting practices are hardly sustainable.

Every year, up to 600,000 individuals of the Atlantic horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus are harvested in the USA alone for transport to the laboratory, bleeding to extract amebocytes for LAL production, and subsequent return to the ocean. Unless they die from the procedure, which has an estimated mortality rate of 30%. L. polyphemus are typically harvested during the spawning season (May-June), when they are extra vulnerable due to the stress of mating and reproduction.

These practices put considerable pressure on wild populations, already classified as a vulnerable species at risk from habitat fragmentation, global warming, and harvesting as feedstock for eels and whelks. But thanks to the new method described here, amebocytes can be extracted up to 24 times per year from L. polyphemus kept long-term in aquaculture, abolishing the need to harvest them from the ocean.

The authors calculate that a single cohort of 45,000 L. polyphemus in aquaculture would yield enough LAL for all current needs, and even allow its use in new clinical applications—in particular for rapid sterility tests on human blood.

In order to achieve this new method, the team developed a recirculating aquaculture system to house L. Polyphemus. To enable regular extraction of amebocytes, they were gently immobilized (while bathing their gills in saltwater), while a capped intravascular catheter was implanted through the pericardial membranes under sterile conditions. Every effort was made to safeguard their wellbeing as much as possible: the entire procedure had a zero mortality rate, and the animals displayed the full range of natural behaviors in aquaculture while maintaining their body weight. Regular body checks and biochemical and cell composition analysis of their blood further proved that they remained healthy throughout.

"This study offered tremendous opportunity to improve conditions of a threatened animal species that is intrinsically linked with human health," says Dr. Rachel Tinker-Kulberg, the study's lead author.

"With a carefully developed diet and rigorous monitoring, we were excited to see the health parameters and blood quality respond positively. We have a significant advantage over current LAL collection methods in that our aquaculture-derived LAL has less batch-to-batch variability and it is a more sustainable approach that will yield more reliable and higher quality product. The horseshoe crabs continue to be lively and active in their new environment and even laid eggs."

Tests showed that LAL produced from L. polyphemus in aquaculture tends to have a higher activity than lyophilized and preserved LAL from commercial kits. This suggests that this fresh LAL has a greater concentration of clotting factors necessary for defense against disease-causing bacteria, presumably because animals in aquaculture are better fed and healthier.

The results show that LAL derived from aquaculture can be reliably used to detect endotoxins in human blood. The new blood assay—described in greater detail in an upcoming study by the same authors—was sufficiently sensitive to detect toxins across the clinically relevant range of 1—500,000 Colony-Forming Units (CFU) per ml blood.

"LAL has never before been used for patient diagnostics due to cross-reactivity and inhibitors in human blood. Using high quality and potent LAL from aquaculture, we have now developed a method that makes blood samples compatible with the LAL assay, allowing it for the first time to be used in early, potentially life-saving detection of bacteria and fungi in blood," says Dr. Anthony Dellinger, President of Kepley BioSystems.

"Infectious disease is in our daily headlines and blood-borne bacterial infections leading to sepsis is the number one cause of untimely deaths worldwide. Humanity has now entered an era of pathogenic contagion that demands diagnostic and therapeutic breakthroughs of note. Our aquaculture method not only spares at-risk populations of horseshoe crabs: it also yields LAL that can finally be used in a quick, affordable, and ultra-sensitive assay for the early stages of sepsis, when time is of the essence for saving patients' lives."Into watching horseshoe crabs have sex? Florida needs your help

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More information: Rachel Tinker-Kulberg et al, Horseshoe Crab Aquaculture as a Sustainable Endotoxin Testing Source, Frontiers in Marine Science (2020). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00153

Using sound and environmental DNA to find an elusive, endangered whale

by Kim Fulton-Bennett, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Aerial view of a Bryde’s whale in the Gulf of Mexico. Image courtesy of NOAA; photograph taken under NOAA research permits #14450-05 and 21938. Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

In an ongoing effort to detect endangered Bryde's whales, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and MBARI have teamed up to deploy an Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) in the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers from NOAA will analyze environmental DNA (eDNA) collected by the ESP to see if Bryde's whales can be detected. They will compare the eDNA results with data from an underwater sound-recording device that can capture the distinct calls of these elusive whales.

Bryde's (pronounced "broodus") whales are relatives of blue and humpback whales and are found in temperate and warm waters around the world. However, the subspecies of Bryde's whales that lives in the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most endangered whales in the world, with fewer than 100 living individuals. It was not until 2014 that genetic testing showed that Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales were a separate subspecies from other Bryde's whales. These whales face ongoing threats from oil and gas development, vessel strikes, increasing ocean noise, and entanglement in fishing gear. They were declared endangered by NOAA in 2019.

Unlike some whales, which migrate seasonally, Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales typically remain in the northeastern corner of the Gulf all year long, feeding along the continental shelf break at depths of 100 to 400 meters (about 330 to 1,300 feet). Currently, this is the only place where these whales are known to live, but historical whaling records suggest they may have once ranged more widely across the Gulf. This project aims to investigate whether the whales utilize areas outside the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Approximate boundaries of core habitat for Bryde’s whales in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Credit: NOAA and Google Earth.

Bryde's whales spend much of their time within 15 meters (49 feet) of the sea surface, but they likely forage for food (including small fish and crustaceans) on or near the seafloor. Like most baleen whales, they produce distinctive low-frequency calls underwater, presumably as a means of communicating with one another.

Although they may grow up to 15 meters (49 feet) long, Bryde's whales are extremely hard to spot at sea. They surface at irregular intervals and sometimes have small, inconspicuous spouts. Occasionally they will even exhale underwater rather than making a spout that is visible above water. They also have long, narrow streamlined bodies and their flukes rarely break the surface of the ocean.

Because Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales are so rare and difficult to observe, scientists have had a hard time getting an accurate estimate of their abundance. Researchers at NOAA have used ships, aerial drones, eDNA, and hydrophones (underwater microphones) to study them.

A Bryde’s whale surfaces to breathe in the Gulf of Mexico. Image courtesy of NOAA; photograph taken under NOAA research permits #14450-05 and 21938. Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

As part of NOAA's most recent study, MBARI researchers deployed an Environmental Sample Processor in a new area in the western Gulf to explore whether the whales use any habitats in this region. The ESP was deployed in late February 2020. If all goes well, it will operate for four months.

The ESP is attached to a deep-water mooring in water 240 meters (790 feet) deep and far from shore. The instrument itself is moored about 15 meters (49 feet) below the sea surface for protection from ship traffic. However, it uses a long hose to collect seawater from just three meters below the surface. Researchers believe Bryde's whales are likely to release eDNA into the surface waters when they come to the surface to breathe.

Each day, two hours before sunrise, the ESP collects water samples and then filters and preserves the eDNA in these samples. This time of day was chosen because Bryde's whales are thought to spend the nighttime hours relatively close to the surface.

A Bryde’s whale pierces the clear water of the Gulf of Mexico. Image courtesy of NOAA; photo taken under NOAA research permit #14450-05 and 21938. Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

After the ESP is recovered, NOAA researchers will analyze the samples collected by the ESP to look for eDNA from Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales. They will then compare these eDNA results with data from a High Frequency Acoustic Recording Package (HARP)–an underwater sound-recording device–deployed about two kilometers (one and one-quarter miles) away from the ESP. Among other things, the researchers hope to find out if whale eDNA was detected on the same days when whales were heard on NOAA's hydrophone.

NOAA conceived and funded this project and provided about $70,000 to MBARI for mooring design and engineering costs. The agency also provided ship time for the deployment. MBARI donated the second-generation ESP and the mooring, as well as additional engineering time.

"This was a very complicated mooring deployment," explained Birch. "The ESP team put in a lot of effort to make this work. Scott Jensen designed the mooring string and built it on the back deck of the R/V Pelican, a UNOLS research vessel. Brent Roman developed a new communications method using a satellite phone instead of the cell phone system we've used previously for nearshore deployments. A similar system could be used for future MBARI deployments in remote locations."

Like MBARI's ongoing research on coho salmon in California, this experiment will allow researchers to compare eDNA data with other methods for environmental monitoring. In both cases, the Environmental Sample Processor will provide an automated method for collecting clean, well-preserved samples of eDNA at regular intervals in remote locations. If these pilot projects are successful, they will provide scientists and resource managers with new methods for monitoring and studying endangered species.

Bryde's whales share secrets with their fins

Stronger pandemic response yields better economic recovery

by Peter Dizikes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A new study co-authored by Emil Verner, an assistant professor at The MIT Sloan School of Management, shows that in the 1918 flu pandemic, cities that had more aggressive interventions including social distancing also experienced stronger economic recoveries afterward. Credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT; stock image buildings

With much of the U.S. in shutdown mode to limit the spread of the Covid-19 disease, a debate has sprung up about when the country might "reopen" commerce, to limit economic fallout from the pandemic. But as a new study co-authored by an MIT economist shows, taking care of public health first is precisely what generates a stronger economic rebound later.

The study, using data from the flu pandemic that swept the U.S. in 1918-1919, finds cities that acted more emphatically to limit social and civic interactions had more economic growth following the period of restrictions.

Indeed, cities that implemented social-distancing and other public health interventions just 10 days earlier than their counterparts saw a 5 percent relative increase in manufacturing employment after the pandemic ended, through 1923. Similarly, an extra 50 days of social distancing was worth a 6.5 percent increase in manufacturing employment, in a given city.

"We find no evidence that cities that acted more aggressively in public health terms performed worse in economic terms," says Emil Verner, an assistant professor in the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-author of a new paper detailing the findings. "If anything, the cities that acted more aggressively performed better."

With that in mind, he observes, the idea of a "trade-off" between public health and economic activity does not hold up to scrutiny; places that are harder hit by a pandemic are unlikely to rebuild their economic capacities as quickly, compared to areas that are more intact.

"It casts doubt on the idea there is a trade-off between addressing the impact of the virus, on the one hand, and economic activity, on the other hand, because the pandemic itself is so destructive for the economy," Verner says.

The study, "Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Do Not: Evidence from the 1918 Flu," was posted to SSRN Electronic Journal as a working paper on March 26. In addition to Verner, the co-authors are Sergio Correia, an economist with the U.S. Federal Reserve, and Stephen Luck, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Evaluating economic consequences

To conduct the research, the three scholars examined mortality statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), historical economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and banking statistics compiled by finance economist Mark D. Flood, using the "Annual Reports of the Comptroller of Currency," a government publication.

As Verner notes, the researchers were motivated to investigate the 1918-1919 flu pandemic to see what lessons from it might be applicable to the current crisis.

"The genesis of the study is that we're interested in what the expected economic impacts of today's coronavirus are going to be, and what is the right way to think about the economic consequences of the public health and social distancing interventions we're seeing all around the world," Verner says.

Scholars have known that the varying use of "nonpharmaceutical interventions," or social-distancing measures, correlated to varying health outcomes across cities in 1918 and 1919. When that pandemic hit, U.S. cities that shut down schools earlier, such as St. Louis, fared better against the flu than places implementing shutdowns later, such as Philadelphia. The current study extends that framework to economic activity.

Quite a bit like today, social distancing measures back then included school and theater closures, bans on public gatherings, and restricted business activity.

"The nonpharmaceutical interventions that were implemented in 1918 interestingly resemble many of the policies that are being used today to reduce the spread of Covid-19," Verner says.

Overall, the study indicates, the economic impact of the pandemic was severe. Using state-level data, the researchers find an 18 percent drop in manufacturing output through 1923, well after the last wave of the flu hit in 1919.

Looking at the effect across 43 cities, however, the researchers found significantly different economic outcomes, linked to different social distancing policies. The best-performing cities included Oakland, California; Omaha, Nebraska; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, which all enforced over 120 days of social distancing in 1918. Cities that instituted fewer than 60 days of social distancing in 1918, and saw manufacturing struggle afterward, include Philadelphia; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Lowell, Massachusetts.

"What we find is that areas that were more severely affected in the 1918 flu pandemic see a sharp and persistent decline in a number of measures of economic activity, including manufacturing employment, manufacturing output, bank loans, and the stock of consumer durables," Verner says.

Banking issues

As far as banking goes, the study included banking write-downs as an indicator of economic health, because "banks were recognizing losses from loans that households and businesses were defaulting on, due to the economic disruption caused by the pandemic," Verner says.

The researchers found that in Albany, New York; Birmingham, Alabama; Boston; and Syracuse, New York—all of which also had fewer than 60 days of social distancing in 1918—the banking sector struggled more than anywhere else in the country.

As the authors note in the paper, the economic struggles that followed the 1918-1919 flu pandemic reduced the ability of firms to manufacture goods—but the reduction in employment meant that people had less purchasing power as well.

"The evidence that we have in our paper … suggests that the pandemic creates both a supply-side problem and a demand-side problem," Verner notes.

As Verner readily acknowledges, the composition of the U.S. economy has evolved since 1918-1919, with relatively less manufacturing today and relatively more activity in services. The 1918-1919 pandemic was also especially deadly for prime working-age adults, making its economic impact particularly severe. Still, the economists think the dynamics of the previous pandemic are readily applicable to our ongoing crisis.

"The structure of the economy is of course different," Verner notes. However, he adds, "While one shouldn't extrapolate too directly from history, we can learn some of the lessons that may be relevant to us today." First among those lessons, he emphasizes: "Pandemic economics are different than normal economics."

Lessons from the Spanish flu: Early restrictions lowered disease, mortality rates

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More information: Sergio Correia et al. Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Do Not: Evidence from the 1918 Flu, SSRN Electronic Journal (2020). DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3561560

Homo naledi juvenile remains offers clues to how our ancestors grew up

by Public Library of Science

Homo naledi juvenile remains offers clues to how our ancestors grew up. Credit: Bolter et al. PLOS ONE 2020 (CC BY)

A partial skeleton of Homo naledi represents a rare case of an immature individual, shedding light on the evolution of growth and development in human ancestry, according to a study published April 1, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Debra Bolter of Modesto Junior College in California and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and colleagues.

Much research has gone into the evolution of ancient hominins—human relatives and ancestors—but little is known about their growth and development. Most hominin fossils represent adult individuals, and remains of developmentally young hominins are rare. This has left a gap in our understanding of how our ancient relatives grew from young into adults, and how modern human growth patterns evolved.

In this study, Bolter and colleagues examined fossils from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave System in South Africa. This site is famous for providing abundant remains of the hominin Homo naledi, including individuals ranging from infants to adult. These fossils date to the late Middle Pleistocene, between 335,000 and 226,000 years ago, possibly overlapping in time with the earliest members of our own species. The team identified a collection of arm and leg bones and a partial jaw as the remains of a single young individual designated DH7.

The bones and teeth of DH7 were not fully developed and display a mixture of maturity patterns seen in modern humans and earlier hominins. DH7 is estimated to be similar in its developmental stage to immature specimens of other fossil hominins between 8-11 years old at death. The authors note, however, that if Homo naledi had a slower growth rate like modern humans, DH7 might have been as old as 15. Further study is needed to assess how Homo naledi grew and where it fits into the evolution of human growth and development.

Bolter adds: The rare juvenile Homo naledi partial skeleton will shed light on whether this extinct species is more human-like in its development, or more primitive. The findings help reconstruct the selective pressures that shaped extended maturity in our own species.What dental remains from Homo naledi can tell us

More information: Bolter DR, Elliott MC, Hawks J, Berger LR (2020) Immature remains and the first partial skeleton of a juvenile Homo naledi, a late Middle Pleistocene hominin from South Africa. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0230440. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230440

Almond orchard recycling a climate-smart strategy

by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis

Wood chips from recycled almond trees are spread across an orchard in California's Stanislaus County. Credit: Brent Holtz, UCANR

Recycling trees onsite can sequester carbon, save water and increase crop yields, making it a climate-smart practice for California's irrigated almond orchards, finds a study from the University of California, Davis.

Whole orchard recycling is when old orchard trees are ground, chipped and turned back into the soil before new almond trees are planted.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that whole orchard recycling can help almond orchards be more sustainable and resilient to drought while also increasing carbon storage in the soil.

"To me what was really impressive was the water piece," said corresponding author Amélie Gaudin, an associate professor of agroecology in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. "Water is central to how we think about agriculture in California. This is a clear example of capitalizing on soil health. Here we see some real benefits for water conservation and for growers."

Burn vs. turn

Drought and high almond prices have encouraged higher rates of orchard turnover in recent years. The previous practice of burning trees that are no longer productive is now restricted under air quality regulations, so whole orchard recycling presents an alternative. But how sustainable and effective is it for the environment and for farmers?

Almond blossoms bloom in Yolo County. Credit: Kat Kerlin, UC Davis

For the study, scientists measured soil health and tree productivity of an almond orchard that turned previous Prunus woody biomass back into the soil through whole orchard recycling and compared it with an orchard that burned its old trees nine years prior.

They also experimentally reduced an orchard's irrigation by 20 percent to quantify its water resilience.

Their results found that, compared with burn treatments, whole orchard recycling can:
Sequester 5 tons of carbon per hectare
Increase water-use efficiency by 20 percent
Increase crop yields by 19 percent

"This seems to be a practice that can mitigate climate change by building the soil's potential to be a carbon sink, while also building nutrients and water retention," said Gaudin. "That can be especially important as water becomes more limited."


Explore further A nutty idea—a little stress could be good for walnuts
More information: Emad Jahanzad et al, Orchard recycling improves climate change adaptation and mitigation potential of almond production systems, PLOS ONE (2020). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229588

Journal information: PLoS ONE


Provided by UC Davis 

The unlikely story of the green peafowl

by Nathan Williams, Fauna & Flora International

Credit: Niti Sukumal

We all know that habitat loss is pushing many species to the brink of extinction, with the conversion of forests for agricultural use a particular problem.

While mega-farms converting hundreds of hectares for monocrops are a primary culprit, new research shows that farmed land can, in the right setting, play an important role in supporting threatened forest wildlife.

Once common across Southeast Asia, the green peafowl has been a victim of land use change, as well as intense poaching. Classified on the IUCN Red List as Endangered, this spectacular bird is now absent entirely from much of its former range.

In an agricultural area of central Myanmar, however, the species continues to thrive—and scientists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) alongside other research partners have now determined why.

Farming practices in Myanmar are changing as traditional subsistence methods are replaced by intensive agriculture techniques, driven by globalisation and a market economy. Despite this, the landscape in many parts of the country retains small fragments of forest, typically around monasteries and temples. These areas tend to be protected by the religious communities who live there and often harbour abundant wildlife populations.

Collaborative green peafowl research

One such fragment is found in the south of Shan State in the eastern part of the country, around the community of Pwe Hla village. Here a unique partnership between a community-run environmental group, Pwe Hla Environmental Conservation and Development—PHECAD, and the Buddhist monks of Nan Kone Buddha Monastery, has afforded protection to the green peafowl living in the surviving forest on the monastery's grounds. It was this area that provided the focus for this research.

A green peafowl looks out from the edge of its forest habitat. Credit: Niti Sukumal

Led by the Conservation Ecology Programme at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (Thailand) and Friends of Wildlife (Myanmar) and assisted by Chester Zoo and FFI, the study set out to determine how the green peafowl responded to the existence of non-intensive subsistence agricultural areas in the close vicinity of its typical forest habitat.

Over the course of a year, the authors determined that four distinct habitat types cover the peafowl's range. Forest fragments dominated by pine and evergreen species are surrounded by areas of scrub, which consist of rocky ground and sparse vegetation. Alongside these are the areas of subsistence agriculture and then finally areas left fallow –uncultivated fields on which no crop is grown.

Cropland as animal feeding ground

As might be expected, the researchers found that the green peafowl prefers forest to the surrounding habitat types, but this is not the full story. Peafowl observations outside of the forest fragments occurred largely within a 300m "buffer zone" near the forest edge. Of the three habitat types within this 300m range, cropland was significantly preferred over scrub and fallow, which came as something of a surprise.

Cropland does not offer any considerable cover to avoid predators, but it is home to the invertebrates that are so crucial for young galliform diets in the first six to eight weeks of life. The researchers determined therefore that the cropland was providing a reliable feeding ground for young birds and adults alike.

Unfortunately the benefit provided by this cropland is under threat from increased use of pesticides as agriculture intensifies in the area. To counter this, local environmental groups are working with the monks to encourage and support sustainable agricultural practices that ensure the cropland remains a sanctuary for the green peafowl.

The unusual story of the green peafowl in Myanmar shows how non-traditional or converted landscapes, when managed properly, can both feed humans and be an ally in the fight against species extinction.

"The importance of isolated forest fragments and low intensity agriculture for the long-term conservation of the green peafowl Pavo muticus" is published in Oryx.

Explore further Forest fragments surprising havens for wildlife
More information: Nay Myo Shwe et al. Importance of isolated forest fragments and low intensity agriculture for the long-term conservation of the green peafowl Pavo muticus, Oryx (2020). DOI: 10.1017/S0030605319000267
Journal information: Oryx


Provided by Fauna & Flora International
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Climate researcher on promise amidst the pandemicby Fariss Samarrai, University of Virginia
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

As people suspend travel during this time of social distancing, Earth-observing satellites have recorded a marked reduction in air pollution in regions of the world most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Space Agency recently detected lower levels of nitrogen oxide in northern Italy and China's Hubei province. NASA also has observed temporary drops in the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide over parts of the United States.


It's too early to know if people will change behaviors once the pandemic passes, but some view this as an opportunity to contemplate how our behaviors affect the health of the planet—and our own wellbeing.

Deborah Lawrence, a University of Virginia professor of environmental sciences, studies climate change. Here she offers her thoughts for readers of UVA Today.

Q. Is there possibly a silver lining, as has been suggested, to this reduced use of resources and activities, such as less flying?

A. I find it really hard to see a silver lining. Yes, greenhouse gas emissions are plummeting, but I never wanted to see it happen this way. No one did. The situation we find ourselves in, quite suddenly, is exactly what early, aggressive climate action is meant to avoid: catastrophic damage to our economy.

If we don't act now on climate, meaning the now that begins as we emerge from the pandemic, we will face disaster after disaster, like last year's flooding in the Midwest and in Mozambique, fires in California and Australia, droughts in the southeastern U.S. and in South Africa.

Much as COVID-19 patients overload hospitals, these disasters will pile up on one another, exceeding our ability to cope. Instead of a timeline of weeks, it would be a timeline of months or years. But the pattern will be the same. A series of disasters will sap our ability to respond—logistically, financially and emotionally. Perhaps the silver lining is that we will think ahead.

Q. What can we learn from these events?

A. I hope we can learn two things. First, the data don't lie. I am heartened that every American now knows what that curve looks like—the one we are trying to flatten. Our doctors were looking at the beginning of that curve and knew where it was going. They asked us to join together to do something to stop it. Our leaders listened.

Similarly, the graph of our greenhouse gas emissions should inspire immediate collective action. Climate scientists know that more CO2 means more global warming, and they know we humans have never seen anything like it and that it will seriously harm our economy and our wellbeing. Maybe now, our leaders will listen.


The second thing we can learn is that early, aggressive action can change our outcome. What is true for the virus is true for climate. The sooner we act, the sooner we can flatten the climate curve.

Q. Do you think changed behaviors will outlast this pandemic crisis?

A. I do think we will be changed by this pandemic. We have only just begun to fathom what is happening, so it is hard to know how our behaviors will change.

Without the commute to work or school, we all have extra time in our day—30, 60, 90 minutes or more. What are we doing with it? Some days, I have just been working more. Other days, I devour endless coronavirus updates. Those are not behaviors I want to continue. I want my days to have meaning—the hours I've always had, and the extra time I now have. I would like to spend more time being with the people I love and being in nature. I would like to change the world. For me, that means figuring out what it takes to build a better climate future. None of that is really different from what I wanted before the pandemic. But maybe this time is different. Maybe now each of us can really, really reflect on the way we do everything—individually and as a community.

I am interested in what we'll do, but I am more interested in who we'll be. Will we be kinder? We are so far. Will this bring us together? I hope so. Maybe then we can tackle the big issues, including climate change.

In an email the other day, a student asked, "What does this mean about individuals' capacity to rapidly change their lifestyles for the greater good?" She sees something. We are doing things differently, we are making sacrifices, and we are doing it fast because we know it matters.

She added, "What will our economy look like after this, what is the potential to rebuild a global economy through teaming up around climate?" With the economy already disrupted, it will be difficult to argue that changing to a cleaner, greener path is too disruptive. As the pandemic grows, our experts have been guiding us and comforting us. We trust them, and we need them. As we rebuild the economy, I hope we listen to the experts who say our health and safety are at risk due to global warming. We can make lifestyle choices, we can make sacrifices, but we can't make our own energy and infrastructure. We rely on our governments for that. As we rebuild our economy, we need to hold them accountable.

Q. What do you recommend that we do as individuals and societies to behave more sustainably into the future?

A. Right now, it is hard to ask individual people to prioritize sustainability when we are all struggling to adjust and survive. Taking care of ourselves and each other seems like the top priority. Perhaps, as we think about this crisis that is afflicting every country on the planet, we can find room to ponder global warming.

Until now, we have never seen a global disaster. Global warming is a global disaster. Like the pandemic, it will affect all of us. Behaving sustainably means acting on what we can see coming, or trusting the experts and acting on what they see coming. As a society, we will have choices to make as we rebuild. We need to use our collective voices to make sure the choices lead to a safer future.


Explore furtherCOVID-19: Economic slowdown doesn't stop climate change
Provided by University of Virginia
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Europe and African relations post COVID-19: Time to add size, scale and speed

by Carlos Lopes, The Conversation

Satellite imagery of Africa. Credit: Public Domain

Since 2000, European and African leaders have been talking about giving the partnership between the two continents a "new strategic" dimension. In 2007, they reiterated their ambition to come together "in awareness of the lessons and experiences of the past, but also in the certainty that our common future requires an audacious approach."

Why then, despite such good intentions, have they fallen so far behind?

The financial crisis of 2008, protracted Brexit negotiations, the EU's fragmented approach in its engagement with Africa and the reluctance in certain quarters to recognize the leadership role of the African Union have all exacted a toll. And now there's the coronavirus cyclone.

A new partnership is important for Africa and Europe alike. The entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the world's largest free-trade area by number of countries, can provide investment opportunities for European business.

But Europe needs to realise that 2020 is bringing a new reality. It is no longer possible to do business as usual after COVID-19. The time is ripe to put an end to dialogue fatigue and cynicism about new unilateral European initiatives, each one announced with pomp and circumstance.

Instead, EU-Africa relations should be guided by an instrument that frames the continent-to-continent partnership clearly, with joint governance and agreed goals and targets. Serious negotiations should take place when COVID-19 offers a respite.

Opportunities and dangers

The EU likes to emphasize that it is Africa's largest trading and investment partner and its top aid provider, but that position is declining fast.

Nor is it a one-way street. Africa is Europe's third-largest trading partner, after the US and China, but ahead of either Japan or India. Africa's youthful population can be a problem but also a unique opportunity given Europe's aging population.

There are dangers too. The spread of conflicts in the Sahel, reinforcement of terrorist networks and human trafficking in Africa signal growing threats that both continents need to address.

Climate action is a priority and an area made for multilateral cooperation. As we know better now, health conditions everywhere protect more anywhere.

Fortunately, there is a renewed sense of urgency from the EU. The administration of Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European commission, has prioritized relations with Africa. She recently visited Addis Ababa, seat of the AU, accompanied by 22 European commissioners, the largest such a delegation ever. And an EU African strategy was announced this month. The AU is formulating its own strategy towards Europe too.

The periphery post COVID-19

The world faces its worst economic contraction since the Great Depression. Trillions of dollars in stimulus packages will certainly revive the central economies. But the peripherical ones will face a different scale of challenges.

The geostrategic dynamics, particularly the increased international interest in the continent that was demonstrated—not only by China, but from the Gulf States and the likes of India, UAE, Russia and Turkey—are bound to be deeply affected by the coronavirus crisis. In this context, African countries are openly speaking of the need to give substance to the partnership with Europe and for it to show "deliverables", turning the rhetoric heard since 2000 into more tangible action.

To be fair, many voices in Europe say the same.

Giving substance means moving beyond the tendency of listing the areas of cooperation around which the continents can cooperate, the usual shopping list approach. In fact, EU-AU common priorities are straightforward. Cooperation around issues such as peace and security, trade and investment, climate change, human mobility or education are key and have been given significant European resources in the past. What was often controversial were the approaches to tackle them. We can now add size, scale and speed to the debate.

Stimulus packages in central economies will certainly provoke higher risk for the countries that cannot afford the same. With depressed prices for most of its major commodities and shrinking demand resulting from a production halt, Africa will be facing a perfect storm. Its internal demand will contract, its informal sector collapse, most major players looking for scarce bridge financing and governments struggling with a $44 billion debt servicing in 2020, while facing the most adverse fiscal environment of the last 20 years.

This is the time Europe's new approach towards Africa can show its teeth. The solidarity required to combat a pandemic seems obvious to scientists and most pundits. But it has been challenged even inside the EU. Will the space to look even beyond the European borders be there to comfort the strategic southern neighbor?

Most agreements engaging the EU with various configurations of African countries and the African Union expire this year. Another reminder it is time to turn the page. These are all signs of changing winds. The time for talk is over.

West Africa clamps down on borders as coronavirus cases rise

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Provided by The Conversation 

Virus-linked fraud schemes cost US consumers nearly $5 mn

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Coronavirus-related fraud schemes are rising fast and have cost US consumers some $4.77 million so far, a government watchdog said Tuesday.

The Federal Trade Commission said it had more than 7,800 coronavirus-related reports from consumers as of Monday, double the number from a week earlier.

The consumer protection agency said the fraud complaints include emails about travel and vacation cancellations and refunds, online shopping scams and government and business imposter schemes.

Many of the schemes were also being perpetrated by mobile text or robo-calls, the FTC said.

The median loss for consumers was $598.

The potential for fraud could rise further, notably as a result of the $2 trillion stimulus approved by Congress this month.

The FTC warned consumers earlier in March to expect scammers to ask for a social security number, which could be used for identity theft, or to pay an upfront fee to qualify for stimulus payments.

"The government will not ask you to pay anything up front to get this money," the FTC said in a statement.

"No fees. No charges. No nothing."

US hits dating operator over 'fake love interest' messages

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© 2020 AFP

Those without broadband struggle in a stuck-at-home nation

by Tali Arbel and Michael Casey

Julie Dolan, chair of her town's Broadband Committee, poses with her computer on the steps of her family's rural home in Sandwich, N.H., Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the town of 1,200 best known as the setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

In Sandwich, New Hampshire, a town of 1,200 best known as a setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports.

Julie Dolan, a 65-year-old retiree in Sandwich, has asthma. Her husband has high blood pressure. Dolan doubts her substandard home internet could manage a remote medical appointment, and these days no one wants to visit the doctor if they can help it. That leaves 19th-century technology—her landline phone. "That is all I would have," she says.

As schools, workplaces and public services shut down in the age of coronavirus, online connections are keeping Americans in touch with vital institutions and each other. But that's not much of an option when fast internet service is hard to come by.

Although efforts to extend broadband service have made progress in recent years, tens of millions of people are still left out, largely because phone and cable companies hesitate to invest in far-flung rural areas. Government subsidies in the billions haven't fully fixed the problem.

Many more simply can't afford broadband. U.S. broadband costs more than in many comparable countries—an average of $58 a month compared to $46.55 across 29 nations, according to a 2018 Federal Communications Commission report.

Such disconnected people "already have to work harder to tread water," said Chris Mitchell, who advocates for community broadband service at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. "I don't think people appreciated the magnitude of the problem."

Even in cities, the high cost of internet access means many go without. Low-cost local alternatives such as libraries and cafes have shut down.

In St. Louis, Stella Ashcraft, 63, lives from check to check and can't afford internet. Her senior center, where she plays bingo, does puzzles and gets lunch five days a week, is closed. So is her church and the library where she checks email. She's gotten texted photos of her newborn grandchild, but forget about a Zoom call to see the baby.

"I feel very withdrawn, isolated, alone," she said.

There are no definitive numbers on those without broadband. The FCC puts the number at 21 million, but its data is faulty and most likely undercounts the problem. An independent group called BroadbandNow pegs it at 42 million. The digital divide disproportionately affects rural areas, African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans on tribal lands.


Phone and cable companies have pledged not to cut people off if they can't pay bills and opened their Wi-Fi hotspots to the public. Some are expanding low-cost programs for poor people and lifting data caps so more people can get and stay connected.

Millions of Americans working from home are learning to use online video in place of face-to-face meetings, but that's not an option for those with only a trickle of data service.

Ashley Bullard, left, sits on the porch of her family's rural home in North Sandwich, N.H., as her daughters Raven, center, a senior in high school, and Willow, right, a freshman at Brandeis University, try to complete their classwork from home during the virus outbreak on a very limited internet connection, Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the town of 1,200 best known as the setting for the movie "On Golden Pond," broadband is scarce. Forget streaming Netflix, much less working or studying from home. Even the police department has trouble uploading its reports. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Brie Morrissey, who owns a building outfitted with broadband in Dublin, New Hampshire, would prefer to maintain social distance by working from home. But she keeps heading into the office for the connection, and as a result, is constantly cleaning the place—wiping down door knobs, the bathroom sinks and "every inch of the building," she says.

Morrissey avoids other tenants and won't rent space to anyone else. Most people recover from the virus, but the elderly and those with underlying conditions are more likely to get seriously ill or die.

"I have to tell people to stay home and that we can't accommodate them, which is a hard thing to do for a small business owner in a small town," she said. "You obviously want to help. But following guidelines means for the most part we can't."

Students, meanwhile, struggle with a "homework gap" when they can't get or submit assignments, much less watch online lectures or participate in discussions. Online schoolwork is now the norm, but the millions of students who don't have home internet or access to computers at home require creative solutions as schools shut down.

In rural western Alabama, less than 1% of Perry County's roughly 9,100 residents have high-quality internet at home, so online lessons are out. County teachers spent three days manually loading scanned images of math worksheets and other materials on to iPads and Chromebooks for the system's 1,100 students to take home while out of class, said Superintendent John Heard.

A New York City family shelter has no Wi-Fi and 175 school-age children, only 15 of whom have laptops. City schools are sending some kids tablets equipped with internet service. But Estrella Montanez, who runs the shelter, worries that kids will have trouble managing remote work.

"Many families are not so tech-savvy," she said.

Lawmakers want the federal government to send schools and libraries more money to lend out Wi-Fi hotspots to students. But the FCC says it's not authorized to do that under current law and is discussing a solution with Congress.

On Navajo Nation, the country's largest Native American reservation, it's common to see people sitting in their vehicles at night outside local government centers, fast-food restaurants and grocery stores to connect to Wi-Fi. Diné College is lending laptops to students and asking internet providers to improve service.

Digital-access advocates hope that this crisis propels the government to do more to get people connected. In some places, relief was expected later this year. But that's too late to help with the current crisis.

A cable company is supposed to start servicing Berkshires town Peru, Massachusetts, later this year. State Rep. Paul Mark has only satellite internet now, though, and that doesn't let him videoconference. Even Facebook video is a strain. And, like many others in his area, he also has unreliable mobile service at home. To help his constituents, he has to get in his car and drive around to get on calls and go on local TV and radio.

"It's a hassle," he said during a recent phone interview from his car as he drove to the Boston statehouse. Then the line went dead.

Explore furtherSchool shutdowns raise stakes of digital divide for students

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