Climate Point: We made it back to Mars, but your earthly home might be in flood zone

Mark Olalde, USA TODAY 
2/25/2021

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and environment news from around the Golden State and the country (and the galaxy). In Palm Springs, Calif., I’m Mark Olalde.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech This is the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover after its landing on Feb. 18, 2021.

America is back on Mars! If you're anything like me, that means you spent the past week obsessively consuming news about NASA's Perseverance rover that landed on the red planet. If not, then I've got you covered. First, check out this AP video of the moment that touchdown was confirmed because cheering scientists either mean you're watching the end of a '90s movie or we just did something wild. Then, check out this USA Today piece on how the mission team has taken steps toward diversity. Next, Florida Today has more information on some quirks of the Mars mission. And, finally, head over to Perseverance's Twitter feed for a plethora of cool stuff, ranging from sounds recorded on Mars to insights from NASA.

Back on Earth, here's some other important reporting....

Politics as usual. Currently, all eyes in Washington, D.C., are on U.S. Department of the Interior confirmation hearings, where Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., could become the first Native American to hold a cabinet position. But, conservatives aren't making life easy for her, as they argue she would be bad for fossil fuels — Haaland previously came out in favor of the progressive Green New Deal. HuffPost has an interesting look at the irony of politicians who voted against action on climate change lecturing her to "respect the science." Still, as CNN reports, fossil fuel-friendly Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he will support her, likely meaning she'll be confirmed. Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press reports that former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has pushed for both electric vehicles as well as renewables, has been confirmed by the Senate to helm the Department of Energy.

High water mark. Next up, here's one that you might not have heard about but could make your wallet a lot slimmer or a lot fatter, depending on where you live. USA Today reports on new data that speaks to an overhaul of the federal flood insurance program. The data from research group First Street Foundation estimates that average insurance rates need to quadruple in places to keep the program solvent. "For some 265,000 properties, annual premiums would need to climb $10,000 or more to match the actual risk," the team writes. This story is complete with helpful maps and tools, so if you live anywhere near water, take a look at how you might be impacted.

Lights out. After a cold snap brought much of Texas' grid to its knees, it's supposed to be 72 degrees in Dallas tomorrow. Welcome to the modern, wildly variable climate. The thaw is also bringing time to reflect on what exactly went wrong after rolling blackouts caused by a variety of factors — not least of which was natural gas infrastructure that wasn't weatherized — left people without power for days. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune are out with a deep dive on the event, chronicling how "lawmakers and regulators, including the (Texas Public Utility Commission) and the industry-friendly Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, have repeatedly ignored, dismissed or watered down efforts to address weaknesses in the state’s sprawling electric grid." Meanwhile, the Austin American-Statesman, which previously reported that members of the board overseeing the majority of Texas' grid did not live in the state, writes that five members are resigning.

© Joshua Roberts/Getty Images Rep. Deb. Haaland on Dec. 19, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.

POLITICAL CLIMATE

California courtroom. I grew up watching legal dramas with my mom, so, now that I cover the Golden State, I've realized a courtroom TV show about California environmental litigation is long overdue. For The Desert Sun, I've got the details about two important cases currently underway in the state. First, a judge refused to strip temporary protections from Joshua trees in a case that has implications on whether climate change is a justifiable reason to protect species. Then, an environmental group is targeting state oil regulators, filing a suit to compel them to more closely follow environmental laws when handing out drilling permits.

Video: Regulatory Agency Permanently Bans Fracking, Natural Gas Drilling Near Delaware River (CBS Philadelphia)

Don't cross the Delaware. Speaking of hydrocarbons, there's some big news out East, where the Pocono Record reports that fracking has been banned on 13,539 square miles of land surrounding the Delaware River. This comes from a vote by representatives of the governors of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

Legislating lumens. Back in the West, Sam Metz of AP reports that Nevada's Senate unanimously upvoted a bill to recognize "dark sky places." The legislation will "create a state program aligned with the International Dark Sky Association" to protect areas around the state that have some of the best stargazing in the world.

Battery battles. And finally on the U.S. politics front this week, High Country News published a feature that looks at the debate over America's nascent lithium mining industry. On one hand, lithium plays a key role in the batteries that will store the energy fueling the clean energy transition. On the other hand, tribes, environmentalists and ranchers argue that rushed mining proposals are threatening land in states like Nevada. Take a look at how this conflict is playing out near the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Reservation.
GOING GLOBAL

Disaster on the horizon. This week, I want to briefly take you around the world, where some important environmental stories are quickly unfolding. Let's start in Yemen, where the ongoing war could have a surprising victim — the country's coastal and marine ecosystems. For Newlines Magazine, Lylla Younes reports that an oil tanker has been sitting moored 4 miles offshore for five years after it was abandoned. The ship holds more than 1 million barrels of crude, and neglect and saltwater are eating away at it. If the tanker isn't pulled to shore and emptied soon, then it could cause a spill four times as massive as the infamous Exxon Valdez.

Extreme extraction. Humans aren't so great at the three R's — reduce, reuse, recycle — leading us to ever more extreme ways of digging up new resources. The latest international battle is centered on seabed mining, which is the fledgling practice of stripping the bottom of the ocean for minerals and dumping the refuse back into the water. If practiced on a large scale, it's expected to be hugely destructive. Under increasing pressure, though, a territory in Australia has outright banned the mining technique, The Guardian reports.

Breaking the ice. In a dizzying sign of the times, Bloomberg writes that a tanker made the first-ever February trip through Arctic sea ice after another hot year. Russia's deputy prime minister's response was that he's "confident that the Northern Sea Route is competitive." Without a shred of irony, the expedition was a return trip after dropping off a load of liquified natural gas in China.© David Goldman, AP Broken sea ice emerges from under the hull of the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica as it sails through the Victoria Strait while traversing the Arctic's Northwest Passage on July 21, 2017.
AND ANOTHER THING

Much ado about nothing. And to kick this week's edition, let's keep things international, where Politico digs into the latest intergovernmental attempt to address a changing climate. "When it comes to climate change, bombs don’t work, so the United Nations Security Council prefers words to action," reporter Karl Mathiesen writes. But Russia, which as a permanent member of the council has veto power, warned against any move to recognize warming as a threat to global security.

Scientists agree that to maintain a livable planet, we need to reduce the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration back to 350 ppm. We’re above that and rising dangerously. Here are the latest numbers:© George Petras Atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue rising.

That’s all for now. Don’t forget to follow along on Twitter at @MarkOlalde. You can also reach me at molalde@gannett.com. You can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here. And, if you’d like to receive a daily round-up of California news (also for free!), you can sign up for USA Today’s In California newsletter here. Mask up; we’re doing it! Cheers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Climate Point: We made it back to Mars, but your earthly home might be in flood zone

MICHELLE OBAMA

Perceived discrimination makes black females more likely than males to exercise, eat healthy

Study suggests optimism plays a role

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Research News

Black men and women, as well as adolescent boys and girls, may react differently to perceived racial discrimination, with Black women and girls engaging in more exercise and better eating habits than Black men and boys when faced with discrimination, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

"In this study, Black women and girls didn't just survive in the face of racism, they actually responded in a positive manner, in terms of their health behavior," said lead researcher Frederick Gibbons, PhD, with the University of Connecticut. "This gives us some hope that despite the spike in racism across the country, some people are finding healthy ways to cope."

For a paper published in the journal Health Psychology, researchers evaluated data collected over 14 years from an ongoing study on the impacts of racism on the physical and mental well-being of Black people. The analysis looked at 889 families living in Iowa and Georgia who have been participants in the Family and Community Health Study. The families consisted of an adolescent, the adolescent's primary caregiver and in 289 cases, an older sibling. The first analysis examined the correlation between perceived racial discrimination and participants' body mass index. Researchers then looked at how participants responded to survey questions on optimism and on eating and exercise habits.

The relationship between perceived racial discrimination and healthy habits in Black males was insignificant, the study found. Black women and adolescent girls, on the other hand, showed improvements in healthy eating and exercise as their perceptions of racism increased. And there was an even more significant increase in healthy behaviors for Black women who indicated they had an optimistic view of their lives and the future, according to the researchers. There was no correlation between racial discrimination and BMI in either Black males or Black females.

"The findings were surprising and suggest that adaptive coping strategies may lead to resiliency," Gibbons said. "This contrasts with the avoidant coping strategies that we might see out of someone who is less optimistic."

The findings should be placed in the context of the larger body of research on this issue, which has shown a correlation between perceived racial discrimination and unhealthy behaviors, including those leading to higher BMI, according to Gibbons.

"The question is why are these results different from the ones we've found in previous studies?" he said. "There are several possible explanations, including the fact that participants in previous studies may have conflated weight-based discrimination with perceived racial discrimination. It could also be that studies not finding a connection between perceived racial discrimination and poor health outcomes are less likely to be published."

If the findings are confirmed in subsequent research, they could be used in resiliency programs targeting people of color and underserved populations, according to the researchers.

"There are programs already in place that work to instill a sense of resiliency and optimism in disenfranchised youth," Gibbons said. "The findings from this study would suggest that these programs are on the right track, and that perhaps we should be developing more programs that focus on these types of coping skills."

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Article: "Perceived Racial Discrimination and Healthy Behavior Among African Americans," by Frederick X. Gibbons, PhD, Meg Gerrard, PhD, and Mary E. Fleischli, PhD, University of Connecticut; Ronald L. Simons, PhD, University of Georgia; and John H. Kingsbury, PhD, Minnesota Department of Health. Health Psychology, published online Feb. 25, 2021.

Contact: Frederick Gibbons, PhD, can be reached at rick.gibbons@uconn.edu.

Full text of the article is available online at https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/hea-hea0001056.pdf.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 122,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.

Plant-based diets improve cardiac function, cognitive health

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Research News

(Boston)--What if you could improve your heart health and brain function by changing your diet? Boston University School of Medicine researchers have found that by eating more plant-based food such as berries and green leafy vegetables while limiting consumption of foods high in saturated fat and animal products, you can slow down heart failure (HF) and ultimately lower your risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Heart failure (HF) affects over 6.5 million adults in the U.S. In addition to its detrimental effects on several organ systems, presence of HF is associated with higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Similarly, changes in cardiac structure and function (cardiac remodeling) that precede the appearance of HF are associated with poor cognitive function and cerebral health.

The adoption of diets, such as the Mediterranean diet (MIND) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), which are characterized by high intakes of plant-based foods are among lifestyle recommendations for the prevention of HF. However, whether a dietary pattern that emphasizes foods thought to promote the maintenance of neurocognitive health also mitigates changes in cardiac structure and function (cardiac remodeling) has been unclear until now.

The researchers found the MIND diet, which emphasizes consumption of berries and green leafy vegetables while limiting intakes of foods high in saturated fat and animal products, positively benefited the hearts' left ventricular function which is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood throughout the body.

The researchers evaluated the dietary and echocardiographic data of 2,512 participants of the Framingham Heart Study (Offspring Cohort), compared their MIND diet score to measures of cardiac structure and function and observed that a dietary pattern that emphasizes foods thought to promote the maintenance of neurocognitive health also mitigates cardiac remodeling.

According to the researchers previous studies have highlighted the importance of diet as a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. "Our findings highlight the importance of adherence to the MIND diet for a better cardiovascular health and further reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in the community," explained corresponding author Vanessa Xanthakis, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and biostatistics at BUSM and an Investigator for the Framingham Heart Study.

Although Xanthakis acknowledges that following a healthy diet may not always be easy or fit with today's busy schedules, people should make a concerted effort to adhere to healthy eating to help lower risk of disease and achieve better quality of life.

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These findings appear online in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Funding for this study was provided by the NHLBI Multidisciplinary Training Program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology (5T32HL125232) and the PRIMER Promoting Research In Medical Residency program (1R38HL143584), the American Heart Association (20CDA35310237), the NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Framingham Heart Study (Contract Nos. NO1-HC-25195, HHSN268201500001I, and 75N92019D00031; and P20 HL113444 and P30 DK020579. Dr. Vasan is supported in part by the Evans Medical Foundation and the Jay and Louis Coffman Endowment from the Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine.

New research on hagfish provides insight into evolutionary origin of the eye

U of A biologists studying hagfish eyes uncover unexpected similarities to those of other vertebrates, including humans.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Research News

 

IMAGE: AN ADULT HAGFISH IN A CONTAINER FILLED WITH SEA WATER. NEW U OF A RESEARCH REVEALS UNEXPECTED SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE EYES OF HAGFISH AND THOSE OF OTHER VERTEBRATES INCLUDING HUMANS,... view more 

CREDIT: RYAN WAYNE

The answer to the age-old mystery of the evolutionary origins of vertebrate eyes may lie in hagfish, according to a new study by biologists at the University of Alberta.

"Hagfish eyes can help us understand the origins of human vision by expanding our understanding of the early steps in vertebrate eye evolution," explained lead author Emily Dong, who conducted the research during her graduate studies with Ted Allison, a professor in the Faculty of Science and member of the U of A's Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute. "Our findings solidify the hagfish's place among vertebrates and open the door to further research to uncover the finer details of their visual system."

For years, hagfish eyes were thought to be different from those of vertebrates--so the researchers were surprised to discover hagfish eyes contain many of the same features. These include neurons that connect light-sensitive photoreceptors to ganglion cells, continued growth of the eye late into adulthood, and a hidden layer of support cells that are prominent in other vertebrates and are key to photoreceptor function.

"This is important because it broadens the picture of early vertebrate eye evolution," explained Dong. "The fossil record can only provide us limited information, because soft tissues like eyes do not preserve well. And so we look to living members of these early lineages, such as the hagfish."

Hagfish are the most ancient line of vertebrates still living today, representing vertebrates before the evolutionary appearance of the jaw or paired fins, such as limbs. As a result, studying hagfish provides important information about early evolution in vertebrates, setting the foundation for what scientists can learn by studying other animal models such as zebrafish and mice.

"The data shed light on the confusing and dimly lit evolutionary origins of the vertebrate eye," added Allison, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Dong's master's supervisor.

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Dong is now a PhD student at the University of Toronto. The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.

The study, "Vertebrate features revealed in the rudimentary eye of the Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii)," was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Zebra finches choose nest materials based on past experience, new research shows

U of A scientists find that learning and past success play a role in how birds build their nests

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Research News

 

IMAGE: A FEMALE (LEFT) AND MALE ZEBRA FINCH. NEW U OF A RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE BIRDS' PRIOR EXPERIENCE RAISING CHICKS INFLUENCES WHETHER THEY STICK WITH TRIED-AND-TRUE MATERIALS OR TRY SOMETHING... view more 

CREDIT: ANIMAL COGNITION RESEARCH GROUP

When building a nest, previous experience raising chicks will influence the choices birds make, according to a new study by University of Alberta scientists.

The results show that birds that have successfully raised families stick with tried-and-true methods when building their nests, whereas less successful birds will try something new.

"We found that when presented with a choice between a familiar material, coconut fibre, and a never-before-encountered material, white string, zebra finches who had successfully raised chicks preferred to stick with the same material they had previously used. Birds who failed to raise chicks built nests with equal amounts of familiar and novel material," explained Andrés Camacho-Alpízar, a PhD student in the Faculty of Science.

Male Zebra Finch selecting string

The research shows that nest building is a behaviour based on learning and past experiences, and sheds new light on the decision-making processes birds use when creating nests.

"Much like human architecture is ever-adapting--from changing styles to improved construction materials--birds also adapt their nest-building behaviour based on trial-and-error learning," added Camacho-Alpízar, who conducted the study under the supervision of Lauren Guillette, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.

The study also showed that all birds took fewer days to complete their second nests compared with their first nest.

Zebra Finch nests

Nests built by previously successful (left) and unsuccessful (right) zebra finches. The nest on the left is built mainly with coconut fibre, a familiar material type for the birds. The nest on the right was built with a more equal proportion of familiar and new material, in this case white string. (Photo: Animal Cognition Research Group)

"This study adds to the small but growing area of research about nest-building behaviour that challenges long-held assumptions about why animals do what they do," said Guillette.

"While one can find many references in both the scientific and lay literature that suggest nest building in birds is entirely pre-programmed, our work shows that birds learn and modify the material they put into their nest based on past breeding experiences with that or similar material."

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This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada.

The study, "If it ain't broke don't fix it: breeding success affects nest-building decisions," was published in Behavioural Processes.

Population of critically endangered Bahama Oriole is much larger than previously thought

New study suggests there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as previously believed, and offers insights that could inform future conservation efforts for the orioles and other Caribbean bird species

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY

Research News

 

IMAGE: THIS BAHAMA ORIOLE IS PERCHED IN A PINE TREE ON ANDROS ISLAND IN THE BAHAMAS, THE ONLY PLACE THESE BIRDS LIVE. NEW RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT THESE ORIOLES FREQUENTLY INHABIT... view more 

CREDIT: MATTHEW KANE

On a low-lying island in the Caribbean, the future of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole just got a shade brighter. A new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) estimates the population of these striking black and yellow birds at somewhere between 1300 and 2800 individuals in the region they surveyed, suggesting the overall population is likely several thousand. Older studies estimated the entire population at fewer than 300, so the new results indicate there are at least 10 times as many Bahama Orioles as previously understood. The research appeared this week in Avian Conservation and Ecology.

The research team is sharing its findings with Birdlife International, the organization that makes recommendations to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) about birds on its Red List of threatened species. The new findings may influence IUCN to down-list the Bahama Oriole, which only lives on Andros Island in the Bahamas, from critically endangered to endangered.

The new result "is a step forward for conservation," says Michael Rowley, a 2018 UMBC alumnus and one of two co-lead authors on the study. "This makes the world a bit more informed about what we should be putting our efforts toward. There are other birds that could use attention as well."

A fresh look

In addition to freeing up resources to protect other threatened birds in the Caribbean, details of the study revealed new avenues for protecting the still-endangered Bahama Oriole. Earlier work had largely discounted the pine forest, which covers approximately 20 percent of the island, as important habitat for the Bahama Oriole. Instead researchers focused on human-dominated habitats such as villages and agricultural lands.

However, a 2018 study led by 2017 UMBC alumnus Daniel Stonko upended that understanding of Bahama Oriole ecology. Stonko and colleagues reported the first three Bahama Oriole nests ever recorded in the pine forest. A follow-up study led by 2019 UMBC alumna Briana Yancy, published in December 2020, further detailed nest site characteristics for the orioles on Andros, finding they prefer pine forest containing thatch palms.

Supporting local efforts

The latest study builds on both of those projects. The research team conducted bird counts at 467 sites across 713 square kilometers in the northern 25 percent of the island. They chose sites along abandoned and previously unmapped logging roads, to strike a balance between ease of access and lack of human influence on the birds' presence. The team found the strongest predictor of oriole abundance was the presence of pine forest. Nesting habitat studies, including Yancy's, suggest that during the breeding season the birds may be most common in pine forest with plenty of thatch palms in the understory.

"The orioles seem to be able to nest in quite a few different habitats, which is really good for the orioles and important to know," says Kevin Omland, professor of biological sciences at UMBC and senior author on all three studies. "It gives us really useful information on what the nesting habitat is like, so we can tell the IUCN."

The new findings also supply important information for local conservation efforts led by the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), which has been a key partner to Omland's research group throughout its long-standing work in the Caribbean.

"If the BNT is able to create or expand national parks, they might try to include more of the pine forest with these tall thatch palm trees in the understory," Omland says.

Lasting impact

The other co-lead author, Richard Stanley at the University of Florida, conducted most of the in-person bird counts for the new study, using maps developed by the Omland team. Then Rowley took the lead on a complicated statistical analysis with support from Colin Studds, professor of geography and environmental systems at UMBC, and scientists at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

The highly impactful findings are particularly exciting for a researcher like Rowley, who completed the research as an undergraduate and is still quite early in his scientific career. Before joining Omland's group, "I'd never been outside of the contiguous U.S.," Rowley says. "It was an incredible privilege, and it really opened me up to my current interest in conservation work."

As for the findings themselves, "It's amazing. How many people get to work on a project when they're an undergrad that has such a real world impact, while also being able to do field work, and work with animals, and get involved in the community?" Rowley says. "It's really great to know that the work we've done is having such an exciting impact."

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Tiny crustaceans' show fastest repeatable movements ever seen in marine animals

New research shows that amphipod claws make snapping movements at 100 kilometres per hour and can accelerate nearly as fast as a bullet.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Research News

 

IMAGE: AMPHIPODS CAN SNAP THEIR OUTSIZED CLAWS AT 100 KILOMETRES AN HOUR. AS IT SNAPS SHUT, THE PINCER ACCELERATES NEARLY AS FAST AS A BULLET, ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH. (PHOTO: ARTHUR... view more 

CREDIT: ARTHUR ANKER

A group of crustaceans called amphipods can accelerate as fast as a bullet--literally, according to a new study by biologists at the University of Alberta and Duke University.

This study shows that a tiny and unusual species is responsible for making the fastest repeatable movements yet known for any animal in water.

"The high speeds of these repeatable movements reach nearly 30 metres per second or more than 100 kilometres per hour," explained Richard Palmer, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences and co-author on the study.

"They have the highest accelerations of any animal in water, reaching more than 0.5 million metres per second squared, which is close to the acceleration of a bullet."

A high-speed video camera captures footage of an amphipod's claw snapping at 300,000 frames per second. (Video: Sheila Patek, Duke University)

Amphipods are a type of crustacean related to marine beach hoppers and freshwater scuds. Male amphipods use their large claws to make ultra-fast, repeatable snapping motions. The snaps make a popping sound and create rapid water jets that may be used to defend their territory.

"Each new discovery of extreme movements in a novel group of organisms raises fascinating questions about how such extreme adaptations are achieved in terms of biomechanics and functional behaviour, and how they evolved from more common, slower-moving relatives," said Palmer.

Though faster movements have been seen in other creatures, these movements only happen once and cannot be repeated. As Palmer noted, the mechanism that allows amphipods to create such high-speed movements repeatedly could inspire human engineering efforts.

"This may suggest novel engineering solutions to design and build small structures that can move extremely fast over and over."

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This research was led by Sarah Longo and Sheila Patek at Duke University, in collaboration with Palmer in the U of A's Faculty of Science. Funding was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

The study, "Tiny snaps of an amphipod push the boundary of ultrafast, repeatable movement," was published in Current Biology.

Eating human food could mean trouble for urban coyotes, study shows

New U of A research illustrates link between anthropogenic diet, human-like gut bacteria and poor health.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Research News

 

IMAGE: URBAN COYOTES THAT SUBSIST ON HUMAN FOOD HAVE MORE HUMAN-LIKE GUT BACTERIA--WHICH COULD AFFECT THEIR HEALTH, IMMUNE FUNCTION AND POSSIBLY EVEN THEIR BEHAVIOUR, ACCORDING TO A U OF A STUDY.... view more 

CREDIT: COLLEEN CASSADY ST. CLAIR

A diet rich in human food may be wreaking havoc on the health of urban coyotes, according to a new study by University of Alberta biologists.

The research team from the Faculty of Science examined the stomach contents, gut microbiome and overall health of nearly 100 coyotes in Edmonton's capital region. Their results also show coyotes that consume more human food have more human-like gut bacteria--with potential impact on their nutrition, immune function and, based on similar findings in dogs, even behaviour.

"If eating human food disturbs the 'natural' coyote gut bacteria, it is possible that eating human food has the potential to affect all these other aspects of coyote health and behaviour as well," said Scott Sugden, lead author and recent master's graduate from the Department of Biological Sciences.

"The gut microbiome has been consistently related to various aspects of human health and behaviour, and the same is true for animals," Sugden noted.

The research also shows that urban coyotes, which eat more human food, also have lower body fat, stressed immune systems and more parasites. The study builds on Sugden's previous research into the relationship between an anthropogenic, or human, diet and the health of urban coyotes.

Urban coyotes that subsist on human food have more human-like gut bacteria--which could affect their health, immune function and possibly even their behaviour, according to a U of A study. (Photo: Colleen Cassady St. Clair)

"If access to human food has the potential to affect coyote health and behaviour by disturbing the gut microbiome, it's important to address the root of the issue by limiting their access to protein-poor human food," explained Sugden.

"This would likely be more effective, and easier to implement, than trying to manage aggressive coyotes and unhealthy coyotes as separate issues," he said, adding that another U of A project will more directly address bold urban coyotes.

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Sugden completed the research under the supervision of ecologist Colleen Cassady St. Clair and microbiologist Lisa Stein, both professors in the Department of Biological Sciences.

The research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Collaborators include U of A undergraduate student Kyra Ford and Dana Sanderson from MacEwan University, as well as the City of Edmonton's Animal Care and Control Centre and Animal Damage Control in Sherwood Park.

The study, "An altered microbiome in urban coyotes mediates relationships between anthropogenic diet and poor health," was published in Scientific Reports.

Market design to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine supply

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

 NEWS RELEASE 25-FEB-2021

Research News

 

Although the value of vaccines for COVID-19 may seem obvious, government action and investment in vaccines have not been commensurate with the enormous scale of benefits they offer, argue Juan Camilo Castillo and colleagues in this Policy Forum. Since even one extra month of exposure to COVID-19 kills hundreds of thousands, reduces global gross domestic product (GDP) by hundreds of billions of dollars, and generates large losses to human capital by harming education and health, expanding vaccine capacity even further would generate substantial global benefits. Castillo et al. report results of two related exercises: estimating the global benefits from vaccine capacity already in place, and estimating the benefits of undertaking additional capacity investment starting now. "The enormous estimates from both exercises provide a wake-up call relevant for the current [and future pandemics]," they say. For example, the results suggest that investing now in expanding capacity for an additional annual 1 billion courses of vaccine could accelerate completion of widespread immunization by over 4 months, providing additional global benefits of $576 to $989 per course. "This dwarfs prices of $6 to $40 per course seen in deals with vaccine producers," they say. They urge governments and international organizations to contract with vaccine producers to further expand capacity and encourage measures - such as delayed second doses, lower-dose regimens, or provision of only one dose to those previously infected - to "stretch" existing capacity. "These proposals could have large potential benefits; thus, investigating their medical appropriateness is worthwhile," they say. To avoid the issue of some countries ending up with vaccine allocations that are not optimally matched to their needs, the authors advocate for steps including a cross-country vaccine exchange. Such a mechanism is under consideration by COVAX, a global initiative to promote access to COVID-19 vaccines.

 

Chip simplifies COVID-19 testing, delivers results on a phone

Programmed magnetic nanobeads enable diagnostic device designed at Rice University

RICE UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: A SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY RICE UNIVERSITY ENGINEERS EMPLOYS A STAMP-SIZED MICROFLUIDIC CHIP THAT MEASURES THE CONCENTRATION OF SARS-COV-2 NUCLEOCAPSID PROTEIN IN BLOOD SERUM TO DIAGNOSE COVID-19 IN LESS THAN AN... view more 

CREDIT: LILLEHOJ RESEARCH GROUP/RICE UNIVERSITY

HOUSTON - (Feb. 25, 2021) - COVID-19 can be diagnosed in 55 minutes or less with the help of programmed magnetic nanobeads and a diagnostic tool that plugs into an off-the-shelf cell phone, according to Rice University engineers.

The Rice lab of mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj has developed a stamp-sized microfluidic chip that measures the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein in blood serum from a standard finger prick. The nanobeads bind to SARS-CoV-2 N protein, a biomarker for COVID-19, in the chip and transport it to an electrochemical sensor that detects minute amounts of the biomarker.

The researchers argued their process simplifies sample handling compared to swab-based PCR tests that are widely used to diagnose COVID-19 and need to be analyzed in a laboratory.

"What's great about this device is that doesn't require a laboratory," Lillehoj said. "You can perform the entire test and generate the results at the collection site, health clinic or even a pharmacy. The entire system is easily transportable and easy to use."

The research appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Sensors.

Lillehoj and Rice graduate student and lead author Jiran Li took advantage of existing biosensing tools and combined them with their own experience in developing simple diagnostics, like a microneedle patch introduced last year to diagnose malaria.

The new tool relies on a slightly more complex detection scheme but delivers accurate, quantitative results in a short amount of time. To test the device, the lab relied on donated serum samples from people who were healthy and others who were COVID-19-positive.

Lillehoj said a longer incubation yields more accurate results when using whole serum. The lab found that 55 minutes was an optimum amount of time for the microchip to sense SARS-CoV-2 N protein at concentrations as low as 50 picograms (billionths of a gram) per milliliter in whole serum. The microchip could detect N protein in even lower concentrations, at 10 picograms per milliliter, in only 25 minutes by diluting the serum fivefold.

Paired with a Google Pixel 2 phone and a plug-in potentiostat, it was able to deliver a positive diagnosis with a concentration as low as 230 picograms for whole serum.

"There are standard procedures to modify the beads with an antibody that targets a particular biomarker," Lillehoj said. "When you combine them with a sample containing the biomarker, in this case SARS-CoV-2 N protein, they bond together."

A capillary tube is used to deliver the sample to the chip, which is then placed on a magnet that pulls the beads toward an electrochemical sensor coated with capture antibodies. The beads bind to the capture antibodies and generate a current proportional to the concentration of biomarker in the sample.

The potentiostat reads that current and sends a signal to its phone app. If there are no COVID-19 biomarkers, the beads do not bind to the sensor and get washed away inside the chip.

Lillehoj said it would not be difficult for industry to manufacture the microfluidic chips or to adapt them to new COVID-19 strains if and when that becomes necessary.

CAPTION

Programmed magnetic nanobeads paired with an off-the-shelf cellphone and plug-in diagnostic tool can diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less, according to Rice University engineers.

CREDIT

Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Rice University COVID-19 Research Fund supported the research.

Read the abstract at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssensors.0c02561.

This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2021/02/25/chip-simplifies-covid-19-testing-delivers-results-on-a-phone/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

Lillehoj Research Group: http://lillehoj.rice.edu

Department of Mechanical Engineering: https://mech.rice.edu

George R. Brown School of Engineering: https://engineering.rice.edu

CAPTION

Rice University mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj, left, and graduate student Jiran Li developed a system that uses programmable magnetic nanobeads, an off-the-shelf cellphone and a plug-in diagnostic tool to diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less.

CREDIT

Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

Images for download:

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_PHONE-1-WEB.jpg A system developed by Rice University engineers employs a stamp-sized microfluidic chip that measures the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein in blood serum to diagnose COVID-19 in less than an hour. The system uses an off-the-shelf cellphone and potentiostat to deliver the results. (Credit: Lillehoj Research Group/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_PHONE-2-WEB.jpg Programmed magnetic nanobeads paired with an off-the-shelf cellphone and plug-in diagnostic tool can diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less, according to Rice University engineers. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2021/02/0215_PHONE-3-WEB.jpg Rice University mechanical engineer Peter Lillehoj, left, and graduate student Jiran Li developed a system that uses programmable magnetic nanobeads, an off-the-shelf cellphone and a plug-in diagnostic tool to diagnose COVID-19 in 55 minutes or less. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

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