Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, further data shows

Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, further data shows 

John Cairns/University of Oxford

FRI, 25 DEC, 2020 - 

NINA MASSEY, PA SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

The University of Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine induces an immune response and is safe, according to more data published by researchers.

The UK has secured 100 million doses of the jab which the university is developing with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

And the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently considering whether or not to grant approval for the vaccine to be rolled out.

The research published on Thursday includes data from phase one/two clinical trials of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Covid-19 vaccine, and shows why the team decided to move to a two-dose regimen in ongoing phase three trials.

The data also shows how the vaccine, developed with AstraZeneca, induces broad antibody and T cell functions.

Professor Katie Ewer at the University of Oxford said: “This highly detailed analysis of the immune responses to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 further underpins the potential of this vaccine to induce protection against Covid-19 disease and provides additional reassurance of the safety of this approach.

“Using these advanced immunological techniques, we can better understand the different cellular and antibody-mediated mechanisms that contribute to the protection afforded by this vaccine, as demonstrated in the recent data from the subsequent phase three trials.”

Previous studies have shown that in order to develop any vaccine against Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, two key elements of the immune system need to be activated.

These involve stimulating antibodies against the coronavirus spike protein, as well as robust T cell responses.

(PA Graphics)

The findings are reported in two papers, both released in the journal Nature Medicine.

One paper outlines the early-stage planning involved in the design of phase trials to investigate two booster dose schedules – a standard dose followed by a second standard dose and a standard dose followed by a lower dose.

Researchers used data from this to support the change to a two-dose regimen in the ongoing phase three trials.

The booster doses of the vaccine induced stronger antibody responses than a single dose, with the standard dose/standard dose activating the best response – supporting the decision to move to a two-dose vaccine regimen in phase three trials.

The paper also shows that many different antibody functions are triggered by the vaccine that may be important in protecting against the disease.

In the second paper, the authors detail an investigation of the T cell and antibody responses generated by the vaccine.

The authors report induction of a T cell subset, known to be particularly effective at clearing virus-infected cells from the body during infection.

This type of T cell response in combination with the detailed antibody profile is highly favourable for an efficacious vaccine, and further supports the profile of this vaccine as safe, researchers say.

RIP 
Cold War double agent George Blake dies at 98

BALANCE OF POWER

George Blake was a British spy who passed secrets to the Soviet KGB. He is considered a hero in Russia after exposing hundreds of Western agents during the Cold War.


George Blake at a news conference in Moscow in 1992

George Blake, a British spy who worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union, has died aged 98, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.

An agent for the British foreign intelligence service MI6, Blake named hundreds of Western agents to the Soviet KGB in the 1950s. His case was among the most notorious of the Cold War.

Born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 1922, Blake joined the Dutch resistance in World War II before escaping to Britain in January 1943. After serving in the British Navy, he joined MI6 in 1944.

After serving three years in Hamburg, he was sent to Korea to gather intelligence on Communist North Korea, Communist China and the Soviet Far East. He was captured and imprisoned in 1950 when North Korean soldiers captured Seoul during the Korean War.

He returned to Britain in 1953 after his released and was sent to East Berlin two years later. He collected information on Soviet spies, but also passed secrets to Moscow about British and US operations.

Exposed in the 1960s

Blake was exposed as a double agent in 1961 and was sentenced to 42 years in prison. He broke out of prison five years later using a rope ladder with the help of three cellmates and fled across the Iron Curtain to the Soviet Union where he would live out his remaining days.

Blake, who went by the Russian name Georgy Ivanovich, was awarded the rank of colonel by the Russian intelligence service, from which he received a pension. Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent himself, awarded him a medal in 2007.

Putin expressed his "deep condolences" to Blake's family and friends. "The memory of this legendary person will be preserved forever in our hearts," the Russian leader wrote in a condolence message on the Kremlin website.

British double agent George Blake, who spied for Soviets during Cold War, dies at 98
December 26, 2020
Agence France-Presse



George Blake, a former MI6 officer who worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union, walking in Moscow on June 28, 2001. © Yury Martyanov/Kommersant Photo/AFP

George Blake, who died in Russia on Saturday at the age of 98, was the last in a line of British spies whose secret work for the Soviet Union humiliated th

Britain says he exposed the identities of hundreds of Western agents across Eastern Europe in the 1950s, some of whom were executed as a result of his treason.

His case was among the most notorious of the Cold War, alongside those of a separate ring of British double agents known as the Cambridge Five.

Unmasked as a Soviet spy in 1961, Blake was sentenced to 42 years in London's Wormwood Scrubs prison. In a classic cloak-and-dagger story, he escaped in 1966 with the help of other inmates and two peace activists, and was smuggled out of Britain in a camper van. He made it through Western Europe undiscovered and crossed the Iron Curtain into East Berlin.00:00

He spent the rest of his life in the Soviet Union and then Russia, where he was feted as a hero.

Reflecting on his life in an interview with Reuters in Moscow in 1991, Blake said he had believed the world was on the eve of Communism.

"It was an ideal which, if it could have been achieved, would have been well worth it," he said.

"I thought it could be, and I did what I could to help it, to build such a society. It has not proved possible. But I think it is a noble idea and I think humanity will return to it."

Becoming a committed communist

Blake was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Nov. 11, 1922, to a Dutch mother and an Egyptian Jewish father who was a naturalised Briton.

He escaped from the Netherlands in World War Two after joining the Dutch resistance as a courier and reached Britain in January 1943. After joining the British navy, he started working for the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, in 1944.

After the war, Blake served briefly in the German city of Hamburg and studied Russian at Cambridge University before being sent in 1948 to Seoul where he gathered intelligence on Communist North Korea, Communist China and the Soviet Far East.

He wAs captured and imprisoned when North Korean troops took Seoul after the Korean War began in 1950. It was during his time in a North Korean prison that he became a committed Communist, reading the works of Karl Marx and feeling outrage at heavy U.S. bombing of North Korea.

After his release in 1953, he returned to Britain and in 1955 was sent by MI6 to Berlin, where he collected information on Soviet spies but also passed secrets to Moscow about British and U.S operations.

Early mammal with remarkably precise bite

Researchers investigate teeth of a small carnivorous mammal that are almost 150 million years old

UNIVERSITY OF BONN

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE INVESTIGATED DENTITION OF P. FRUITAENSIS. THE UPPER MOLARS (M2, M3) ARE OFFSET FROM THE LOWER ONES (M2, M3). THIS CAUSES THE CUSPS TO INTERLOCK IN A WAY THAT CREATES... view more 

CREDIT: © THOMAS MARTIN, KAI R. K. JÄGER / UNIVERSITY OF BONN

Paleontologists at the University of Bonn (Germany) have succeeded in reconstructing the chewing motion of an early mammal that lived almost 150 million years ago. This showed that its teeth worked extremely precisely and surprisingly efficiently. Yet it is possible that this very aspect turned out to be a disadvantage in the course of evolution. The study is published in the journal "Scientific Reports".

At just twenty centimeters long, the least weasel is considered the world's smallest carnivore alive today. The mammal that researchers at the University of Bonn have now studied is unlikely to have been any bigger. However, the species to which it belongs has long been extinct: Priacodon fruitaensis (the scientific name) lived almost 150 million years ago, at a time when dinosaurs dominated the animal world and the triumph of mammals was still to come.

In their study, the paleontologists from the Institute for Geosciences at the University of Bonn analyzed parts of the upper and lower jaw bones of a fossil specimen. More precisely: its cheek teeth (molars). Because experts can tell a lot from these, not only about the animal's diet, but also about its position in the family tree. In P. fruitaensis, each molar is barely larger than one millimeter. This means that most of their secrets remain hidden from the unarmed eye.

The researchers from Bonn therefore used a special tomography method to produce high-resolution three-dimensional images of the teeth. They then analyzed these micro-CT images using various tools, including special software that was co-developed at the Bonn-based institute. "Until now, it was unclear exactly how the teeth in the upper and lower jaws fit together," explains Prof. Thomas Martin, who holds the chair of paleontology at the University of Bonn. "We have now been able to answer that question."

How did creatures chew 150 million years ago?

The upper and lower jaws each contain several molars. In the predecessors of mammals, molar 1 of the upper jaw would bite down precisely on molar 1 of the lower jaw when chewing. In more developed mammals, however, the rows of teeth are shifted against each other. Molar 1 at the top therefore hits exactly between molar 1 and molar 2 when biting down, so that it comes into contact with two molars instead of one. But how were things in the early mammal P. fruitaensis?

"We compared both options on the computer," explains Kai Jäger, who wrote his doctoral thesis in Thomas Martin's research group. "This showed that the animal bit down like a modern mammal." The researchers simulated the entire chewing motion for both alternatives. In the more original version, the contact between the upper and lower jaws would have been too small for the animals to crush the food efficiently. This is different with the "more modern" alternative: In this case, the cutting edges of the molars slid past each other when chewing, like the blades of pinking shears that children use today for arts and crafts.

Its dentition therefore must have made it easy for P. fruitaensis to cut the flesh of its prey. However, the animal was probably not a pure carnivore: Its molars have cone-shaped elevations, similar to the peaks of a mountain. "Such cusps are particularly useful for perforating and crushing insect carapaces," says Jäger. "They are therefore also found in today's insectivores." However, the combination of carnivore and insectivore teeth is probably unique in this form.

The cusps are also noticeable in other ways: They are practically the same size in all molars. This made the dentition extremely precise and efficient. However, these advantages came at a price: Small changes in the structure of the cusps would probably have dramatically worsened the chewing performance. "This potentially made it more difficult for the dental apparatus to evolve," Jäger says.

This type of dentition has in fact survived almost unchanged in certain lineages of evolutionary history over a period of 80 million years. At some point, however, its owners became extinct - perhaps because their teeth could not adapt to changing food conditions.

###

Publication: Kai R. K. Jäger, Richard L. Cifelli & Thomas Martin: Molar occlusion and jaw roll in early crown mammals; Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79159-4

Team finds surprising connection between dinosaurs and mammals

by University of Manitoba

A complete sabre-toothed canine from a gorgonopsian from Zambia. This specimen includes both the crown (top) and root (bottom) of the tooth. | . Credit: Megan Whitney.

When thinking of fierce predators of the past, it's difficult not to imagine dinosaurs, considering theropods are well known for having blade-like teeth with serrated cutting edges used for biting and ripping their prey.

Next, one might imagine another creature—saber-toothed cats—only they roamed the earth hundreds of millions of years later.

But, a team of researchers discovered a surprising connection between the two vastly different prehistoric animals. And yes, the similarity is in their teeth.

In a paper published in Biology Letters, Megan Whitney from Harvard University, Aaron LeBlanc from King's College London, Ashley Reynolds from the University of Toronto, and Kirstin Brink from the University of Manitoba, examined thin slices of fossilized teeth belonging to a gorgonopsian, a large predatory animal that lived roughly 260 million years ago and resembled a cross between a dinosaur and a saber-toothed cat.

The research team discovered that gorgonopsians, which are early ancestors to mammals and not related to dinosaurs, have very similar tooth structure to carnivorous dinosaurs. Indeed, up until now, it was thought that the complex arrangement of tissues that enabled dinosaurs to have such murderous teeth was unique to them. Turns out, other creatures found a way to grow them too, and first. "When you compare a dinosaur tooth to a gorgonopsian tooth, they look pretty similar, like a blade with serrated edges on the front and back," says Brink, an assistant professor in the Department of Geological Sciences in the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources.

The team of researchers combined their expertise in paleohistology (the study of the microstructure of fossilized skeletal tissues) and examined thin sections of fossils from three synapsids—the group of animals the gorgonopsians belong too that are more closely related to mammals than reptiles on the tree of life—from three different time periods to test a theory of the structure of the serrations of their teeth.

A thin section of a partial gorgonopsian canine under polarized light. Serrations are evident on the right side of this specimen. Credit: Megan Whitney

"I was so sure that this somewhat complicated arrangement of tooth tissues in meat-eating dinosaurs was a character unique to dinosaurs that helped them become powerful predators in the Mesozoic period," says Brink.


"The findings in this study show that this type of tooth actually evolved about 20 million years before dinosaurs did. This suggests that this particular tooth structure is very efficient for biting and ripping into meat, and is a great example of convergent evolution—how a character or feature that evolves in very distantly related groups because of a similar function in the environment, not because of shared heritage—in the synapsid lineage and the reptile lineage. This tooth type evolved first in the synapsid lineage and was convergently evolved in dinosaurs much later."

In her previous work, Brink examined the internal microstructure (only visible with a microscope) of these serrations in dinosaurs to try and figure out how they develop, and if the microstructure could give clues to the function of the tooth. She found a unique arrangement of the tissues deep within the teeth of meat-eating dinosaurs, but not in other animals with serrated teeth like sharks, living lizards, plant-eating dinosaurs, saber-tooth cats, or Dimetrodon, which is an even older ancestor of gorgonopsians in the synapsid lineage.

"I concluded in 2015 that this arrangement of tissues was only found in meat-eating dinosaurs, and helped to strengthen the serrations so that they wouldn't get worn down or break while the dinosaur was eating its prey. This could have been one reason why meat-eating dinosaurs were so evolutionarily successful and dominated at the top of the food chain," says Brink.

The discovery surprised everyone. It meant that this type of serrated, cutting tooth evolved first in the prehistoric animals that eventually evolved into mammals, and only later evolved independently in dinosaurs.

"The results of the study were pretty surprising since we thought these microstructures were features found only in dinosaur teeth. In fact, this unique arrangement of tissues that form the serrations evolved first in the ancient ancestors of mammals, which are not related to dinosaurs at all, and much older."


Explore further

Researchers discover surprising connection between prehistoric dinosaurs and mammals in their teeth

More information: M. R. Whitney et al. Convergent dental adaptations in the serrations of hypercarnivorous synapsids and dinosaurs, Biology Letters (2020). 

DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0750

Journal information: Biology Letters

Provided by University of Manitoba

DECEMBER 24, 2020

Quantum philosophy: 

Four ways physics will challenge your reality

IT'S A QUANTUM UNIVERSE SINCE THEY TURNED ON LHC AT CERN

December 25, 2020 by Peter Evans
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Imagine opening the weekend paper and looking through the puzzle pages for the Sudoku. You spend your morning working through this logic puzzle, only to realise by the last few squares there's no consistent way to finish it.

"I must have made a mistake," you think. So you try again, this time starting from the corner you couldn't finish and working back the other way. But the same thing happens again. You're down to the last few squares and find there is no consistent solution.

Working out the basic nature of reality according to quantum mechanics is a little bit like an impossible Sudoku. No matter where we start with quantum theory, we always end up at a conundrum that forces us to rethink the way the world fundamentally works. (This is what makes quantum mechanics so much fun.)

Let me take you on a brief tour, through the eyes of a philosopher, of the world according to quantum mechanics.

1. Spooky action-at-a-distance

As far as we know, the speed of light (around 300 million metres per second) is the universe's ultimate speed limit. Albert Einstein famously scoffed at the prospect of physical systems influencing each other faster than a light signal could travel between them.

Back in the 1940s Einstein called this "spooky action-at-a-distance". When quantum mechanics had earlier appeared to predict such spooky goings-on, he argued the theory must not yet be finished, and some better theory would tell the true story.

We know today it is very unlikely there is any such better theory. And if we think the world is made up of well-defined, independent pieces of "stuff", then our world has to be one where spooky action-at-a-distance between these pieces of stuff is allowed.

2. Loosening our grip on reality

"What if the world isn't made of well-defined, independent pieces of 'stuff'?" I hear you say. "Then can we avoid this spooky action?"

Yes, we can. And many in the quantum physics community think this way, too. But this would be no consolation to Einstein.

Einstein had a long-running debate with his friend Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, about this very question. Bohr argued we should indeed give up the idea of the stuff of the world being well defined, so we can avoid spooky action-at-a-distance. In Bohr's view, the world doesn't have definite properties unless we're looking at it. When we're not looking, Bohr thought, the world as we know it isn't really there.

But Einstein insisted the world has to be made of something whether we look at it or not, otherwise we couldn't talk to each other about the world, and so do science. But Einstein couldn't have both a well-defined, independent world and no spooky action-at-a-distance … or could he?

3. Back to the future

The Bohr-Einstein debate is reasonably familiar fare in the history of quantum mechanics. Less familiar is the foggy corner of this quantum logic puzzle where we can rescue both a well-defined, independent world and no spooky action. But we will need to get weird in other ways.

If doing an experiment to measure a quantum system in the lab could somehow affect what the system was like before the measurement, then Einstein could have his cake and eat it too. This hypothesis is called "retrocausality", because the effects of doing the experiment would have to travel backwards in time.

If you think this is strange, you're not alone. This is not a very common view in the quantum physics community, but it has its supporters. If you are faced with having to accept spooky action-at-a-distance, or no world-as-we-know-it when we don't look, retrocausality doesn't seem like such a weird option after all.

4. No view from Olympus

Imagine Zeus perched atop Mount Olympus, surveying the world. Imagine he were able to see everything that has happened, and will happen, everywhere and for all time. Call this the "God's eye view" of the world. It is natural to think there must be some way the world is, even if it can only be known by an all-seeing God.

Recent research in quantum mechanics suggests a God's eye view of the world is impossible, even in principle. In certain strange quantum scenarios, different scientists can look carefully at the systems in their labs and make thorough recordings of what they see—but they will disagree about what happened when they come to compare notes. And there might well be no absolute fact of the matter about who's correct—not even Zeus could know!

So next time you encounter an impossible Sudoku, rest assured you're in good company. The entire quantum physics community, and perhaps even Zeus himself, knows exactly how you feel.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

This story is part of Science X Dialog, where researchers can report findings from their published research articles. Visit this page for information about ScienceX Dialog and how to participate.

Korean artificial sun sets the new world record of 20-sec-long operation at 100 million degrees

by National Research Council of Science & Technology
Credit: National Research Council of Science & Technology

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), a superconducting fusion device also known as the Korean artificial sun, set the new world record as it succeeded in maintaining the high temperature plasma for 20 seconds with an ion temperature over 100 million degrees (Celsius).

On November 24 (Tuesday), the KSTAR Research Center at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) announced that in a joint research with the Seoul National University (SNU) and Columbia University of the United States, it succeeded in continuous operation of plasma for 20 seconds with an ion-temperature higher than 100 million degrees, which is one of the core conditions of nuclear fusion in the 2020 KSTAR Plasma Campaign.

It is an achievement to extend the 8 second plasma operation time during the 2019 KSTAR Plasma Campaign by more than 2 times. In its 2018 experiment, the KSTAR reached the plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees for the first time (retention time: about 1.5 seconds).

To re-create fusion reactions that occur in the sun on Earth, hydrogen isotopes must be placed inside a fusion device like KSTAR to create a plasma state where ions and electrons are separated, and ions must be heated and maintained at high temperatures.

So far, there have been other fusion devices that have briefly managed plasma at temperatures of 100 million degrees or higher. None of them broke the barrier of maintaining the operation for 10 seconds or longer. It is the operational limit of normal-conducting device and it was difficult maintain a stable plasma state in the fusion device at such high temperatures for a long time.

In its 2020 experiment, the KSTAR improved the performance of the Internal Transport Barrier (ITB) mode, one of the next generation plasma operation modes developed last year and succeeded in maintaining the plasma state for a long period of time, overcoming the existing limits of the ultra-high-temperature plasma operation.

Director Si-Woo Yoon of the KSTAR Research Center at the KFE explained, "The technologies required for long operations of 100 million- plasma are the key to the realization of fusion energy, and the KSTAR's success in maintaining the high-temperature plasma for 20 seconds will be an important turning point in the race for securing the technologies for the long high-performance plasma operation, a critical component of a commercial nuclear fusion reactor in the future."

"The success of the KSTAR experiment in the long, high-temperature operation by overcoming some drawbacks of the ITB modes brings us a step closer to the development of technologies for realization of nuclear fusion energy," added Yong-Su Na, professor at the department of Nuclear Engineering, SNU, who has been jointly conducting the research on the KSTAR plasma operation.

Dr. Young-Seok Park of Columbia University who contributed to the creation of the high temperature plasma said: "We are honored to be involved in such an important achievement made in KSTAR. The 100 million-degree ion temperature achieved by enabling efficient core plasma heating for such a long duration demonstrated the unique capability of the superconducting KSTAR device, and will be acknowledged as a compelling basis for high performance, steady state fusion plasmas."

The KSTAR began operating the device last August and plans to continue its plasma generation experiment until December 10, conducting a total of 110 plasma experiments that include high-performance plasma operation and plasma disruption mitigation experiments, which are joint research experiments with domestic and overseas research organizations.

In addition to the success in high temperature plasma operation, the KSTAR Research Center conducts experiments on a variety of topics, including ITER researches, designed to solve complex problems in fusion research during the remainder of the experiment period.

The KSTAR is going to share its key experiment outcomes in 2020 including this success with fusion researchers across the world in the IAEA Fusion Energy Conference which will be held in May.

The final goal of the KSTAR is to succeed in a continuous operation of 300 seconds with an ion temperature higher than 100 million degrees by 2025.

KFE President Suk Jae Yoo stated, "I am so glad to announce the new launch of the KFE as an independent research organization of Korea. The KFE will continue its tradition of under-taking challenging researches to achieve the goal of mankind: the realization of nuclear fusion energy," he continued.

As of November 20, 2020, the KFE, formerly the National Fusion Research Institute, an affiliated organization of the Korea Basic Science Institute, was re-launched as an independent research organization.


Explore further  Superconducting tokamaks are standing tall

Provided by National Research Council of Science & Technology

Japanese spacecraft's gifts: 

Asteroid chips like charcoal

by Mari Yamaguchi

DECEMBER 24, 2020

 

This photo provided Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), shows soil samples, seen inside the A compartment of the capsule brought back by Hayabusa2, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Japanese space officials said Thursday they found more asteroid soil samples collected and brought back from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, in addition to black sandy granules they found last week, raising their hopes of finding clues to the origins of the solar system. (JAXA via AP)

They resemble small fragments of charcoal, but the soil samples collected from an asteroid and returned to Earth by a Japanese spacecraft were hardly disappointing.


The samples Japanese space officials described Thursday are as big as 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) and rock hard, not breaking when picked up or poured into another container. Smaller black, sandy granules the spacecraft collected and returned separately were described last week.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft got the two sets of samples last year from two locations on the asteroid Ryugu, more than 300 million kilometers (190 million miles) from Earth. It dropped them from space onto a target in the Australian Outback, and the samples were brought to Japan in early December.

The sandy granules the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency described last week were from the spacecraft's first touchdown in April 2019.

The larger fragments were from the compartment allocated for the second touchdown on Ryugu, said Tomohiro Usui, space materials scientist.

To get the second set of samples in July last year, Hayabusa2 dropped an impactor to blast below the asteroid's surface, collecting material from the crater so it would be unaffected by space radiation and other environmental factors.

This photo provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) shows soil samples, seen inside a container of the re-entry capsule brought back by Hayabusa2, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Officials from Japan's space agency said Tuesday they have found more than the anticipated amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule the country's Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought back from a distant asteroid this month, a sample-return mission they praised as a milestone for planetary research.(JAXA via AP)

This optical microscope photo provided Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020, by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), shows soil samples, seen inside C compartment of the capsule brought back by Hayabusa2, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Japanese space officials said Thursday they found more asteroid soil samples collected and brought back from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, in addition to black sandy granules they found last week, raising their hopes of finding clues to the origins of the solar system. (JAXA via AP)

In this Dec. 8, 2020, file photo, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda speaks during a press conference after a capsule containing asteroid soil samples returned to Japan, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo. Officials from Japan's space agency said Tuesday, Dec. 15, they have found more than the anticipated amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule the country's Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought back from a distant asteroid this month, a mission they praised as a milestone for planetary research. (Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP, File)

This photo provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), shows soil samples, seen inside a container of the re-entry capsule brought back by Hayabusa2, in Sagamihara, near Tokyo,Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Officials from Japan's space agency said Tuesday they have found more than the anticipated amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule the country's Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought back from a distant asteroid this month, a sample-return mission they praised as a milestone for planetary research.(JAXA via AP)

Usui said the size differences suggest different hardness of the bedrock on the asteroid. "One possibility is that the place of the second touchdown was a hard bedrock and larger particles broke and entered the compartment."

JAXA is continuing the initial examination of the asteroid samples ahead of fuller studies next year. Scientists hope the samples will provide insight into the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. Following studies in Japan, some of the samples will be shared with NASA and other international space agencies for additional research.

Hayabusa2, meanwhile, is on an 11-year expedition to another small and distant asteroid, 1998KY26, to try to study possible defenses against meteorites that could fly toward Earth.

Explore further Japan's space agency finds ample soil, gas from asteroid

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Human-made landscape promotes coexistence of two normally separated Andean warblers

Two Andean warbler species that typically occur at different elevations and hunt by tricking insects to escape can co-occur at the same elevation due to fragmentation of tropical montane forests caused by human agricultural practices

LABORATORY OF BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION AT SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE TWO SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS AT THE STUDY SITE IN ECUADOR (PHOTOS BY J. NOWAKOWSKI). THE HIGHER ELEVATION SPECIES, THE SPECTACLED WHITESTART, CHOOSES FRAGMENTED FORESTS WITH FEW TREES AND... view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO BY JACEK NOWAKOWSKI, THE COAUTHOR OF THE ORIGINAL PAPER AT WWW.NATURE.COM/ARTICLES/S41598-020-78804-2

In the mountains across the world, different types of vegetation occur at different elevations creating distinct zones with well-defined borders between them. Each vegetation zone provides specific living conditions for animals. Therefore species that are adapted to habitats created in the specific zone occur only at the specific elevations and do not overlap with other species of similar ecology and behavior adapted to other vegetation zones at different elevations. This zonation is believed to be especially true for ecologically similar species that narrowly specialize to use specific resources and therefore compete with each other if they co-occur next to each other in the same habitat.

However, human activities modify the natural zones and create new types of habitats disrupting the clear natural borders between them. This has consequences for the distribution, ecology and behavior of animals that in a natural situation would rarely co-occur. In the recent paper published in Scientific Reports a team of Polish ornithologists illustrates how those anthropogenic modifications of natural vegetation in the Andes create new conditions in which two ecologically specialized species of birds, that typically occur in different elevational zones, can now co-occur next to each other at the same elevation.

The team of Polish ornithologists, following the long-standing traditions of Polish ornithology in South America since 1800s (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Sztolcman; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Taczanowski; https://academic.oup.com/auk/article/120/3/577/5561874), have undertook field research on ecology of two warblers in the tropical montane forests of eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Piotr Jablonski (Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS & Seoul National University), Jacek Nowakowski (University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn), Marta Borowiec and Tadeusz Stawarczyk (University of Wroclaw) have focused on two very special warblers: the Slate-throated Whitestart, which typically occurs in the Andean montane forests [example of habitat is here and here, and its close relative, the Spectacled Whitestart, which typically occurs at higher elevation in cloud forests [example of habitat is here]. Both species forage in almost identical way: by foraging with outspread wings and tail, and by presenting spots of contrasting plumage during fast pirouetting movements these birds are able to "overstimulate" and to trigger escapes in their prey, which then is pursued and captured in the air. Therefore, this type of foraging is called "flush-pursue" foraging and it has been extensively studied by Piotr Jablonski. Examples of how "flush-pursuers" forage can be seen here and here.

During several visits to the Yanayacu Biological Station & Center for Creative Studies (Ecuador) , the researchers mapped the distribution of territories of the two species near the station in the landscape that contains patches of natural or secondary forests intermixed with pastures and open bushy areas. [aerial view is here ]. "The field work was hard but exciting for us because we are field ornithologists, who value real field work in various exotic locations" mentions Jacek Nowakowski. "We used classical "old-fashioned" typical ornithological methods of field observations based on ornithological skills and perseverance" comments Tadeusz Stawarczyk, who studied Slate-throated Whitestarts in Costa Rica in the past. "It took us three visits until we collected sufficient material" adds Marta Borowiec, who has also studied Painted Whitestarts in Arizona in the past.

The study found that both species occurred next to each other, but occupied different vegetation types. The Spectacled Whitestart was observed in a sunny man-made mosaic of pastures, clearings, and shrubs with small proportion of high trees, all of which created a landscape similar to the high elevation Andean vegetation where the species normally occurs. The Slate-throated Whitestart, was mostly observed in shady and dense forests with high proportion of tall trees. The two species differed relatively little in their foraging technique, but because they foraged in different habitats and locations they seem to co-occur without any direct competitive aggressive interactions. "In the future, we plan to evaluate the idea that the spatial separation of breeding territories between the two species at the study site may be created during territory establishment, when it is possible that the two species respond aggressively to each other's songs" says Jacek Nowakowski.

This work represents the first quantitative field study that incorporates both, the detailed foraging information and the habitat descriptions in order to evaluate the mechanisms that allows two "flush-pursue" species, that are normally separated in space along the elevation, to co-occur at the same elevation in the Andean landscape modified by man. "Our results illustrate how modern science can benefit from the "good old style" expedition-based intense field work" says Piotr Jablonski.

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Links:

Original scientific article is at: http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78804-2

For more information contact:

Dr Jacek Nowakowski: jacek.nowakowski@uwm.edu.pl;

Dr Marta Borowiec: marta.borowiec@uwr.edu.pl;

Prof. Tadeusz Stawarczyk, tadeusz.stawarczyk@uwr.edu.pl

FIGURE

The two species and their habitats at the study site in Ecuador (Photos by J. Nowakowski)

RUDN University scientist showed global warming effect on greenhouse gas emissions in paddy soils

RUDN UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: A SOIL SCIENTIST FROM RUDN UNIVERSITY STUDIED THE DECOMPOSITION OF ORGANIC MATTER IN RICE PADDIES--THE SOURCES OF CO2 AND METHANE EMISSIONS. BOTH GASES ADD TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND AFFECT... view more 

CREDIT: RUDN UNIVERSITY

A soil scientist from RUDN University studied the decomposition of organic matter in rice paddies--the sources of CO2 and methane emissions. Both gases add to the greenhouse effect and affect climate warming in subtropical regions. The emissions increase when the roots of plants influence microbial communities in the soil. This influence, in turn, depends on temperature changes. Therefore, climate warming can lead to more greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the study were published in the Applied Soil Ecologyclimate change. The intensity of this process depends on the temperature of the environment and soil microorganisms. In the soils of rice paddies, methane is produced by single-cell organisms called archaea. However, to make methane, they require intermediary substances that come from plant roots. This is how the so-called priming effect occurs: the life of microorganisms is supported by organic substances released by plants through their roots. It is this effect that determines the number and activity of microorganisms in the soil. A soil scientist from RUDN University was the first to discover a correlation between the priming effect and greenhouse gas emissions and to describe the dynamics of these processes in view of global warming.

The team took soil samples from rice paddies located in the Hunan province in South-Eastern China. The samples were sifted to remove soil fauna and bits of plants. After that, water was added to them to model the conditions of a submerged rice paddy. After that, the samples were kept in plastic containers in a dark room for 75 days. To imitate different seasons, the scientists maintained different temperatures in the containers: 5 °C (winter), 15 °C (spring), 25 °C (autumn), and 35 °C (summer). The team wanted to measure how methane and CO2 emissions would vary under the influence of the priming effect in different temperature regimes. Sodium acetate, the simplest form of organic carbon produced by plant roots, was added to the soil to support the archaea.

The team measured the levels of greenhouse gas emissions every 2 to 5 days. On the 75th day, methane emissions from primed soils turned out to have increased 153 times compared to the samples without sodium acetate. The scientists also learned that the priming effect depended on the temperature. The soils demonstrated the highest sensitivity at 15 °C: in these samples, a 10? increase in temperature caused methane emission volumes to grow 25 times. As for CO2 emissions, they directly correlated with temperature levels. According to the team, this is because microorganisms become more active in a warm environment.

"The priming effect determined the correlation between the temperature and the process of organic matter decomposition in the soil. At 5-15 °C, temperature fluctuations had a huge effect on methane emissions: they increased almost 25 times. One could conclude that in warm winters methane emissions from the soil could be the main reason for the greenhouse effect. The results of other studies that do not take the priming effect into account should be interpreted with caution," said Yakov Kuzyakov, a Ph.D. in Biology, and the Head of the Center for Mathematical Modeling and Design of Sustainable Ecosystems at the Agrarian and Technological Institute, RUDN University.

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International research team calls for 'glocal' approach to help mitigate flooding damage

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 RELEASE 24-DEC-2020

Research News

 

IMAGE: BY COUPLING A LARGE-SCALE HYDROLOGICAL MODEL WITH A LOCAL-SCALE, HIGH-RESOLUTION HYDRAULIC MODEL AND URBAN FLOOD MODEL WHILE INTEGRATING MULTIPLE SOURCES OF GROUND AND SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING DATA, A "GLOCAL " (GLOBAL... view more 

CREDIT: ADVANCES IN ATMOPHERIC SCIENCES

Large-scale global forecasting and on-the-ground observations need to meld into one system to better predict and prevent wide-spread flooding disasters, according to an international research team who published a short view in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on Dec. 23.

"A 'glocal' -- global to local -- hydrometeorological solution for floods is considered to be critical for better preparedness, mitigation, and management of different types of significant precipitation-caused flooding, which happen extensively almost every year and in many countries, such as China, India and the United States," said paper author Huan Wu, professor and deputy director in the Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies and School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University.

Such a solution, dubbed GHS-F by the researchers, is necessary for both scientific research and operational logistics, according to Wu. A GHS-F could combine wide-spread weather predictions with the deep understanding of how forecasted rain could affect river basins to produce highly detailed and consistent rain-flood information.

Wu pointed to the complex relationship between rain and floods, making the argument that if the meteorological and hydrological communities shared more observations, techniques, measurements and modeled data, as well as lessons learned, some flooding damage might be avoided.

The researchers specifically examined the flood events from May 20 to July 18 of 2020 in central-eastern and southern China. In those two months, the Yangtze River -- the longest river in Asia at a length of almost 4,000 miles -- had 49% more rain than the average amounts for the same time period over the last 60 years. The seven major rain events of this period affected almost 40 million people in 27 provinces, with 141 people reported dead or missing, according to the researchers.

"An encompassing view of flood occurrences, evolution, extent dynamics, and spatial distribution of areas at high risk from flooding over a global or national scale with local detail is highly desirable and, yet, missing for international and national agencies with a mandate in flood response and management," Wu said.

A GHS-F was first suggested about 10 years ago, Wu said, but the unprecedented computing capability and timely data availability, as well as model and data interoperability of the current era mean such a solution is now more practical.

The researchers plan to demonstrate feasibility in a GHS-F by assessing water level observations from ground and remote-sensing instruments in real time, with the goal of increasing the confidence of emergency management decision makers in using this tool for information and risk estimation.

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This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and, in part, by the Program for Guangdong Introducing Innovative and Entrepreneurial Teams and the project of the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management on "Catastrophe Evaluation Modeling Study."

Wu is also affiliated with the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Laboratory in China and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland in the United States. Xiaomeng Li, Zhijun Huang, Weitian Chen and Ying Hu, all with the Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies and School of Atmospheric Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University in China; Guy J.-P. Schumann, with the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom and the DFO Global Flood Observatory at the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States; Lorenzo Alfieri, with the CIMA Research Foundation in Italy; Yun Chen and Hui Xu, both with the National Meteorological Center in China; Zhifang Wu, with the Guangdong Meteorological Center; Hong Lu with the GuangXi Climate Center; Yamin Hu, with the Guangdong Climate Center; and Qiang Zhu, with the China Three Gorges Corporation. Chen is also affiliated with the Southern Maine Science and Engineering Laboratory.