CRISPR CRITTERS

UMD researcher leads new FFAR grant to speed development of enhanced crops

Researchers will upgrade conventional CRISPR genome editing systems to introduce CRISPR-Combo systems that can perform multiple functions

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

 

IMAGE: YIPING QI IN THE LAB, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

While gene editing technology has improved crop breeding and adaptation, the process of regrowing a plant from edited cells is costly, lengthy, and unpredictable. Many popular crops are difficult to regenerate with existing methods. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is providing a $664,000 grant through its Crops of the Future Collaborative to the University of Maryland (UMD) to develop a technology that can both edit a crop’s genes and speed up crop regeneration. Matching funds provide a total $739,000 investment in this work.

"In this grant, we are upgrading the conventional CRISPR genome editing systems to the more powerful CRISPR-Combo systems, which would ease genome editing applications,” says Yiping Qi, lead investigator in the Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture at UMD. “The current CRISPR systems can only do either genome editing or gene activation to turn up a gene’s function, but the CRISPR-Combo systems can do both at the same time. CRISPR-Combo represents a powerful tool to facilitate genome editing, and ultimately crop breeding."

“The limitations of current regeneration methods are throttling the development of enhanced nutritional and agronomic traits,” says Jeff Rosichan, director of the Crops of the Future Collaborative. “Breakthroughs in gene editing are constrained if they don’t lead to viable, affordable crops. Applying proven gene editing technology to the problem of crop regeneration bottlenecks will more easily produce crops with enhanced nutrition and agronomic benefits.”

Currently, only a small number of plant species respond well to regeneration techniques that involve cell culturing—growing cells outside the plant in a suitable environment—though the reasons for this are unclear to researchers. Even among crops that regenerate, the process poses risks. Regeneration takes a long time, forcing researchers to predict which crops and traits will be in demand years in advance. Also, there are often multiple undesired and unpredictable changes to genomes that occur during the process.

Qi will lead a team of co-investigators including Kranthi Mandadi of Texas A&M University and Randall Niedz of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop CRISPR-Combo systems that will use CRISPR gene editing technology to kick-start the regeneration process. Researchers are initially focusing on introducing traits that reduce allergen content in carrots, promote herbicide and disease resistance in potatoes, and promote disease resistance in citrus. These crops were chosen in part because they are high-value food crops that face various impediments in breeding new varieties, and CRISPR-Combo could help overcome these hurdles.

"Compared to conventional breeding, genome editing technologies can accelerate crop breeding with high precision, less time and cost,” says Qi. “This project aims to make genome editing in crops more efficient and successful, which will translate into improved crop production and enhanced nutrition in the produce we eat with sustainable inputs. This can help sustain a growing global population."

“We are delighted to join forces with UMD and USDA and develop innovative CRISPR-based technologies to improve vegetable and fruit crops of relevance to Texas and US agriculture,” adds Mandadi.

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This grant was awarded as part of the Crops of the Future Collaborative’s Accelerated Crop Breeding program. The program accelerates development of diverse crop species suited to sustainable agriculture and improved human nutrition.

Qi and Mandadi are also previous awardees of FFAR’s New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award, which provides early-career scientists the investment needed to propel them into successful research careers.

Crops of the Future Collaborative

The Crops of the Future Collaborative is a public-private, multi-participant consortium convened by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. The Collaborative brings together companies and research organizations to accelerate development of new crop varieties that address food and agriculture challenges. The Collaborative leverages participants’ resources to expand the scientific understanding of characteristics giving rise to complex traits that crops need to adapt to changing environments.

 

UK doctors must engage with the assisted dying debate now, says The BMJ

Legalisation in the UK seems more likely a question of when, not if

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

As the UK considers new laws to permit assisted dying, The BMJ this week explores the debate around assisted dying - prescribing life ending drugs for terminally ill, mentally competent adults to administer themselves within strict legal safeguards.

The UK public has shown consistent support for legalisation, yet doctors’ views on assisted dying are split, and most doctors’ organisations take no position on the issue, explain editor in chief Dr Fiona Godlee and colleagues in an editorial.

They point out that currently, fewer than 50 British citizens a year seek help to die in Switzerland, as many as 14% of UK suicides are among people with terminal or chronic illness, and some people ask loved ones or doctors to help, although those who agree risk investigation and potentially prosecution.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which opposes legalisation, is due to debate the issue at its annual meeting this month, with motions calling for it to move to a neutral stance, after a poll last year showed a split among members' views.

The BMJ has previously called for the professions’ representatives to take a position of “engaged neutrality” - neither in support nor opposition - “because doctors should not obstruct a decision that is for society and parliament to make.”

Neutrality is far from an abdication of responsibility, say the authors. Instead they believe that it enables organisations to facilitate and fully engage with essential yet currently lacking societal conversations about death and what it means to die well.

“No professional should be obliged to participate. But doctors who oppose assisted dying should not stand in the way of colleagues who find it ethically justifiable to assist a dying patient’s death. Nor should they stand in the way of dying patients who reasonably are asking for doctors’ help to end their life,” they conclude.

Many will assume that faith groups are implacably opposed to assisted dying, but this is not the case, say former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey and Rabbi Jonathan Romain. They discuss their involvement in a new religious alliance in support of doctor assisted dying, and argue that nothing in the scripture directly prohibits assisting a death to end suffering. 

“There is nothing holy about agony,” they write. “If terminally ill people do not wish to live out their last few months in pain, for what purpose should they be forced to do so, and in whose interest is that life being prolonged?”

They acknowledge that this is difficult territory, but say it is religiously appropriate to try to navigate it. “If there is a right to die well - or at least to die as well as possible - it means having the option of assisted dying, whether or not it is taken up. That, surely, is a truly compassionate, and very religious, response.”

The main arguments for legalisation are respecting self-determination and alleviating suffering, but Professor Ole Hartling questions whether self-determination is genuinely possible when choosing your own death. 

As former Chairman of the Danish Council of Ethics and author of Euthanasia and the Ethics of a Doctor’s Decisions – An Argument Against Assisted Dying, he describes some of the critical issues that would arise if assisted dying were legalised and argues that autonomy is largely an illusion in the case of assisted dying.

“A patient overwhelmed by suffering may be more in need of compassion, care, and love than of someone kindly offering to help end his or her life,” he writes. “It is not a question of whether people have a right to say that they are unworthy. It is a question of whether they have a right to be believed when saying it.”

It’s more vital than ever that we have data to support the debate on assisted dying, says Jacky Davis, consultant radiologist.

A recent BMA survey showed that more UK doctors personally support law change (50%) than oppose it (39%), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been asked to investigate how many dying people in the UK take their own lives and how many travel abroad to access assisted dying. 

“The BMA survey results have forced people to question their long held assumptions about the status quo,” says Davis. “It is to be hoped that the evidence from the ONS will do the same and that the information will be available in time for the forthcoming debate in the House of Lords.”

The importance of using high quality evidence to inform legislative change is well recognised. But Katherine Sleeman and Gareth Owen argue that there are evidence gaps to fill and that we must prioritise research.

They call for a deeper understanding of public opinion to help guide any legislative change and say important questions about the effectiveness of consent as a safeguard and what exactly the role of the doctor should be remain unanswered.

“Whether or not assisted dying becomes legal in the UK, good palliative care, provided across care settings, is essential,” they write. “In addition, much more needs to be understood about the perspectives of patients and carers towards assisted dying.”

Disability rights activist Stephen Duckworth, says he is “deeply troubled by the persistent narrative that disabled people have something to fear from a change in the law on assisted dying.”

He points out that transparent assisted dying legislation with appropriate safeguards and protections for disabled people can exist and already work effectively around the world. 

“I am pleased that medical opinion in the UK is shifting,” he writes. “It should not matter if we are disabled, medically qualified, both or neither, surely together we can recognise that the outright ban on assisted dying goes against an individual’s right to choose?”

Two feature articles describe where UK healthcare bodies stand on legalising assisted dying, and ask will Scotland become the first part of the UK to legalise assisted dying?

[Ends]

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DOI

https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2128 

WE MAY NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE BORN

BUT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DIE ONCE HERE

SAID THE ADOPTEE

NOISE POLLUTION

Exposure to traffic noise linked to higher dementia risk

Reducing noise is a public health priority, say experts

EV CARS CAN BE ONE SOLUTION

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

Exposure to noise from traffic on roads and railways over a long period is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease, suggests a study from Denmark published in The BMJ today. 

The researchers estimate that as many as 1,216 out of the 8,475 cases of dementia registered in Denmark in 2017 could be attributed to these noise exposures, indicating a great potential for dementia prevention through reduction in traffic related noise. 

Worldwide, the number of people with dementia is expected to exceed 130 million by 2050, making it a costly and growing global health crisis. Besides well established risk factors, such as cardiovascular diseases and unhealthy lifestyle, environmental exposures may also play a role in the development of dementia.

Transportation noise is considered the second worst environmental risk factor for public health in Europe after air pollution, and around a fifth of the European population is exposed to transportation noise above the recommended level of 55 dB (decibels).

Studies have consistently linked transportation noise to various diseases and health conditions, such as coronary heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. There is, however, little research on transportation noise and dementia and findings are inconsistent.

To address this, researchers investigated the association between long term residential exposure to road traffic and railway noise and risk of dementia among two million adults aged over 60 and living in Denmark between 2004 and 2017. 

The researchers estimated road traffic and railway noise at the most and least exposed sides (or façades) of all residential addresses in Denmark. 

They then analysed national health registers to identify cases of all-cause dementia and different types of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson’s disease related dementia) over an average of 8.5 years.

They found 103,500 new cases of dementia during the study period.

After taking account of potentially influential factors related to residents and their neighbourhoods, the researchers found that a 10-year average exposure to road traffic and railway noise at the most and least exposed sides of buildings was associated with a higher risk of all-cause dementia.

These associations showed a general pattern of higher risk with higher noise exposure, but with a levelling off or even small declines in risk at higher noise levels.

Further analysis by type of dementia showed both road traffic and railway noise were associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease - up to 27% higher for exposure to road traffic noise of 55 dB and up to 24% higher for exposure to railway noise of 50 dB compared with less than 40 dB.

However, only road traffic noise was associated with an increased risk of vascular dementia, and not railway noise.

Possible explanations for an effect of noise on health include release of stress hormones and sleep disturbance, leading to a type of coronary artery disease, changes in the immune system and inflammation – all of which are seen as early events in the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

This is an observational study so can’t establish cause, and the authors point to some limitations such as a lack of information about lifestyle habits, which can play a part in a person’s risk of developing dementia, and a lack of information on factors such as sound insulation in homes that might affect personal exposure to noise.

However, the study’s strengths included its large size, long follow-up time, and high quality assessment of noise exposure from two different transportation sources.

As such, the authors conclude: “If these findings are confirmed in future studies, they might have a large effect on the estimation of the burden of disease and healthcare costs attributed to transportation noise. Expanding our knowledge on the harmful effects of noise on health is essential for setting priorities and implementing effective policies and public health strategies focused on the prevention and control of diseases, including dementia.”

This large and comprehensive study has substantial strengths, but does not present the full picture of possible harm to the ageing brain associated with long term exposure to noise, for example from airports, industrial activities, or occupational exposure, say US researchers in a linked editorial.

Noise might also affect the risk of other chronic disorders such as high blood pressure, through which noise contributes indirectly to dementia risk, they add. 

The widespread and substantial exposures to noise worldwide, the severity of associated health consequences, and the limited tools available for people to protect themselves, strongly support the WHO’s argument that “noise pollution is not only an environmental nuisance but also a threat to public health,” they write.

“Reducing noise through transportation and land use programs or building codes should become a public health priority,” they conclude.

[Ends]

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DOI

https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n1954 

ARTICLE TITLE

Research: Residential exposure to transportation noise in Denmark and incidence of dementia: national cohort study

 PENSIONERS AS MALL RATS

Socializing may improve older adults’ cognitive function in daily life

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PENN STATE

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Socializing with others is important for mental health and wellbeing, and it may help improve cognition, as well -- especially for older adults, according to new research.

In a study led by Ruixue Zhaoyang, assistant research professor of the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State, the researchers found that when adults between the ages of 70 and 90 reported more frequent, pleasant social interactions, they also had better cognitive performance on that day and the following two.

Zhaoyang said the findings -- recently published in the journal PLOS ONE -- may have special relevance now due to social distancing mitigation measures throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our study is one of the first to show that whether you have social interactions on one day can immediately affect your cognitive performance that same day and also on the following days,” Zhaoyang said. “The fact that we found that the cognitive benefits of having pleasant social interactions could manifest over such a short time period was a happy surprise and could be a promising area for future intervention studies.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to rise to almost 13 million by 2050. Additionally, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias have risen by 16 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zhaoyang said that without reliable drug therapies, it’s critical to find ways to help prevent these conditions before they reach the clinical stage.

“Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias impose substantial burdens on patients as well as their family and caregivers,” Zhaoyang said. “It’s important to find modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline before they progress to the clinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Social isolation later in life is one risk factor for dementia, and also one we have some control over.”

The researchers used data collected by smartphones over 16 days on 312 older adults for the study. The participants were prompted five times throughout the day to report how many social interactions they’d had, who they interacted with, and whether it was a positive or negative experience. Digital interactions like talking by phone or texting were counted as well as in-person ones.

In addition, participants completed three mobile cognitive tests after each check-in. One was designed to measure processing speed and attention, one measured spatial working memory, and the last measured intra-item feature memory binding.

The researchers found that when older adults interacted more frequently with people they were close to -- especially their friends -- they performed better on these cognitive tests than those who interacted less frequently with close partners .

They also found that when older adults weren’t typically experiencing certain types of social contact, they performed better cognitively on days when they had the type of contact they'd been lacking. For example, if a person usually didn't have much contact with family, they experienced a boost in cognition on days they had more than usual contact with their family.

Zhaoyang said that while the study suggests that a lack of socializing can have negative effects on cognition, it also shows an opportunity for future interventions.

“Our findings suggest that the lack of positive social interactions in daily life could be a critical risk factor for declining cognitive function later in life,” Zhaoyang said. “Older adults who are relatively more deprived in certain social interaction experiences could potentially benefit the most from interventions that help to ‘boost’ their usual levels of social interactions in daily life.”

Martin J. Sliwinski, Penn State; Lynn M. Martire, Penn State; and Stacey B. Scott, Stony Brook University, coauthored this work.

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JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0256583 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Daily social interactions related to daily performance on mobile cognitive tests among older adults

Columbia University and Pfizer to establish clinical trials diversity initiative

Business Announcement

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER

Columbia University Irving Medical Center, its Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Pfizer Inc. have established the Columbia-Pfizer Clinical Trials Diversity Initiative, with the aim of reducing health disparities by increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in clinical trials and enhancing the diversity of clinical researchers.

Pfizer will provide a three-year, $10 million grant to Columbia to help establish and expand the Initiative.

Improving diversity among clinical trial participants is a critical step toward reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health. In the United States, 12% of the population is Black and 18% is Hispanic or Latino. But among the 32,000 patients who participated in the clinical trials that led to the FDA approval of new drugs in 2020, only 8% were Black and 11% were Hispanic, according to the agency.

“People of different ethnicities can have different responses to the same medicine or treatment, so a lack of diversity among clinical trial participants means doctors cannot know if the treatment will be effective in all the patients they treat,” said Anil K. Rustgi, MD, Interim Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at Columbia University and director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Increasing diversity in trials will improve the treatment of patients from underrepresented groups and is a moral imperative as well as a fundamental medical issue.”

Rod MacKenzie, PhD, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Pfizer, said, “Diversity of representation in clinical trials is a matter of equity, which is a core Pfizer value.  We are deeply committed to ensuring our clinical trials reflect the diversity of the communities like New York in which they are conducted.  We look forward to working with Columbia University both to offer any willing individual, regardless of background, the opportunity to participate in and contribute to clinical research, and to expand the roster of diverse clinical researchers who are helping us conduct studies.”

The Columbia-Pfizer Clinical Trials Diversity Initiative will work to improve the diversity of participants in clinical trials by examining the barriers that prevent participation by individuals from underserved groups. The initiative will expand Columbia’s Community Health Workers Program network to connect with underserved populations and create culturally sensitive engagement tools. The effort also will include identifying new ways to make clinical trials more accessible through telemedicine, wearable technology, and home visits.

The Initiative also aims to improve diversity among clinical research faculty and staff. Columbia will help build an additional pipeline of diverse clinical investigators through a new National Diversity Clinical Trials Leadership Program to increase the number of faculty and staff from underrepresented groups as well.

“A diverse research staff not only helps to improve trust in clinical trials among participants from underserved groups but improves the entire clinical trial enterprise by bringing different questions, experience, and perspective to the table,” Rustgi said.

Men may sleep worse on nights during the first half of the lunar cycle

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UPPSALA UNIVERSITY

Men’s sleep may be more powerfully influenced by the lunar cycle than women’s, according to a new study from Uppsala University, now published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Previous studies have produced somewhat conflicting results on the association between the lunar cycle and sleep, with some reporting an association whereas others did not. There are several possible explanations for these discrepant findings, such as that some of the results were chance findings. However, many past studies investigating the association of the lunar cycle with human sleep did not control their analyses for confounders known to impact human sleep, such as obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia.  

During the waxing period, the amount of illuminated moon surface as seen from Earth increases, and the moment that the moon crosses a location's meridian gradually shifts to late evening hours. In contrast, during the waning period, the illuminated surface decreases and the moment that the moon crosses a location's meridian gradually shifts to daytime hours.

 "We used one-night at-home sleep recordings from 492 women and 360 men. We found that men whose sleep was recorded during nights in the waxing period of the lunar cycle exhibited lower sleep efficiency and increased time awake after sleep onset compared to men whose sleep was measured during nights in the waning period. In contrast, the sleep of women remained largely unaffected by the lunar cycle. Our results were robust to adjustment for chronic sleep problems and obstructive sleep apnea severity," says Christian Benedict, Associate Professor at Uppsala University's Department of Neuroscience, and corresponding author of the study.

One mechanism through which the moon may impact sleep is sunlight reflected by the moon around times when people usually go to bed. In addition, a recent study suggests that the male brain may be more responsive to ambient light than that of females.

"Our study, of course, cannot disentangle whether the association of sleep with the lunar cycle was causal or just correlative," concludes Christian Benedict.   

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DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150222 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Sex-specific association of the lunar cycle with sleep

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Sep-2021

How genetic islands form among marine molluscs

International study appears in the research journal Science Advances

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BIELEFELD UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: WHEN REPRODUCING, LIMPETS CLIMB ON TOP OF EACH OTHER SO THAT EGGS AND SPERM ARE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY WHEN THEY ARE RELEASED INTO THE WATER. view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY

Usually, the individuals of a population of marine species that have the potential to disperse over long distances all share a similar genetic composition. Yet every now and then, at small, localised sites, small groups of genetically different individuals suddenly appear within populations for a short period of time. A new study explains how this chaotic formation of genetic islands can occur in marine molluscs. Scientists from Bielefeld University and the British Antarctic Survey collaborated on the research. Their study has appeared in Science Advances.

By studying the limpet Nacella concinna, the researchers have managed to attribute the genetic divergence of animal groups within a population to two factors. Using genomic data, data from drift buoys, and computer simulations they were able to prove that, in the case of the limpet, an entire generation of offspring had descended from an extremely limited number of parents and that the current had carried the larvae together to one location. ‘We have succeeded in bridging the gap between theory and how things are in reality,’ says molecular biologist Professor Dr Joseph Hoffman from Bielefeld University, who is one of the authors of the study. 

First evidence for theoretical assumptions on the formation of genetic islands

Whether or not chaotic island formation occurs often depends on coincidences. ‘The dispersion of these types of organisms can be geographically limited and unstable over time,’ says Dr David Vendrami, Joseph Hoffman’s colleague and lead author of the study. ‘There are a great many theories that try to explain how these genetic islands occur,’ he says. ‘In practice, however, it has so far not been possible to attribute this to a concrete mechanism.’ 

The study is a collaboration between the Bielefeld researchers and colleagues from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the UK’s polar research programme, who collected the data on site. Professor Lloyd Peck PhD from BAS collected limpet samples while diving in Antarctica and together with Joseph Hoffmann came up with the idea for the study. ‘The limpet Nacella concinna is one of the creatures that densely inhabit the shallow waters in Antarctica. Almost 500 animals live there per square metre in some places,’ says Peck. Every year, the females release millions of eggs into the water, from which larvae develop. Analysis of the genetic samples from Antarctica clearly showed a genetic island was present and suggested that genetic islands are likely to occur and disappear relatively frequently among these limpets. ‘We discovered genetic structures in which the animals in the populations are closely related to each other, so that brothers and sisters, and cousins are very dominant in a small area.’

CAPTION

Limpets inhabit the shallow waters in Antarctica.

CREDIT

Photo: British Antarctic Survey

Methodology allows the reconstruction of further cases of genetic island formation

The research data are from 1999 and 2015 and were collected from nine locations in Antarctica. The researchers analysed the genomic data and combined them with data from drift buoys, which provided information about ocean currents. ‘We also developed computer simulations in which we recreated the life cycle of limpets to understand what events might lead to the appearance of a genetic island,’ says David Vendrami. The findings were conclusive: the entire generation of limpets in one place descended from a tiny number of parents. The larvae had also moved in unison with the ocean current and thus settled in the same place. 

However, this does not mean that all other theories regarding genetic island formation are wrong. ‘An entirely different theory may apply in other cases,’ says Vendrami. ‘Our research design makes it possible to reconstruct genetic islanding in other cases as well and to narrow down the possible causes.’

‘In order to understand how marine populations evolve, it is essential to comprehend the mechanisms that influence their genetic diversity,’ says David Vendrami. This is important, for example, to be able to better assess the impact of man-made interventions or for managing protected areas and fishing grounds. ‘Our findings provide a basis for better understanding and managing marine populations.’ Anyone managing a protected area, for example, may be concerned if a lot of individual animals in one place are genetically very similar. ‘But it could also just be the formation of a short-term genetic island,’ says the scientist. ‘If this can be verified, it is easier to assess, for example, whether it makes sense to intervene because a population is at risk, or whether it is possibly just a short-term and random event.’

CAPTION

Dr David Vendrami from Bielefeld University helped develop a computer simulation that reconstructs the formation of genetic islands.

CREDIT

Photo: Elena Fissenewert

Original publication:
David L. J. Vendrami, Lloyd S. Peck, Melody S. Clark, Bjarki Eldon, Michael Meredith, Joseph I. Hoffman: Sweepstake reproductive success and collective dispersal produce chaotic genetic patchiness in a broadcast spawner. Science Advances, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj4713, published on 10 September 2021

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.abj4713 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Sweepstake reproductive success and collective dispersal produce chaotic genetic patchiness in a broadcast spawner

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Sep-2021

 

Balancing food security and nitrogen use

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Environmental targets to limit excess nitrogen require the large-scale deployment of dedicated nitrogen mitigation strategies to avoid a strong increase in the risk of food insecurity. Without these measures, the amount of dietary energy available to people would be greatly reduced, which would in turn lead to high food prices and an increase in the number of undernourished people.

Nitrogen is crucial to the agricultural sector. Every year, more than 100 million tonnes of nitrogen are applied to crops in the form of fertilizer to ensure that enough food is produced to feed the ever-expanding global population. Since part of the added nitrogen is not taken up by plants, there is an inevitable nitrogen surplus that results in run-off to surface water, which in turn contributes to biodiversity loss and algal blooms.

In an effort to address this problem and improve the health of both people and ecosystems, many regions and countries have proposed or implemented measures to limit nitrogen pollution. However, there is still an insufficient understanding of the trade-offs between food security (which requires the use of nitrogen) and environmental targets (which require a reduction in nitrogen use).

A team of researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Zhejiang University, China, and Ritsumeikan University, Japan, explored the possible effects that current nitrogen related mitigation options could have on reconciling regional food security and environmental targets for nitrogen in a new study published in the journal Nature Food. They derived regional nitrogen surplus boundaries for 37 global regions and showed that the current nitrogen inputs cross those boundaries in 14 of these regions, including high nitrogen input regions such as China, India, and Western Europe. They then assessed the tradeoffs between regional food security and reaching those nitrogen boundaries with current management. In addition, they identified the impacts of mitigation options to reconcile the tension between regional food production and environmental targets for nitrogen.

“Our findings suggest that policies promoting the mobilization of a comprehensive set of nitrogen mitigation options would allow compliance with proposed nitrogen sustainability boundaries without worsening food security across the world. Hunger could in fact be significantly alleviated, putting 590 million less people at risk of hunger from 2010 to 2050, even when respecting regional nitrogen surplus boundaries. Such policies could also have other environmental and economic co-benefits beyond the impacts of nitrogen pollution,” explains study lead author Jinfeng Chang, a guest researcher in the Integrated Biosphere Futures Research Group of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program.

The researchers considered several strategies including promoting higher nitrogen use efficiency in agronomic practices, improving manure recycling and sewage management, reducing harvest losses and food waste, and encouraging a shift in diets away from animal products.

Among these strategies, increasing nitrogen use efficiency emerged as the most effective strategy to reduce undernourishment while respecting the defined nitrogen-boundaries. However, given the scale of the challenge, policies that facilitate and encourage multiple nitrogen mitigation options, both on the supply- and demand-side, need to be implemented simultaneously to deal with nitrogen pollution.

“A balance between food availability and regional nitrogen surplus boundaries could also be improved through international trade in agricultural products by promoting exports from regions that are not exceeding their nitrogen boundaries to the regions that need to reduce their nitrogen inputs in order to address a nitrogen surplus,” adds Chang. “However, if efforts to reduce the nitrogen surplus in middle-income developing regions such as East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, or South Asia, were based on reduced domestic supply rather than improving nitrogen use efficiency, this could have severe spillover effects on food security in the least developed regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. It could also exacerbate other environmental challenges, such as deforestation in Latin America,” he concludes.

Reference

Chang, J., Havlík, P., Leclère, D., de Vries, W., Valin, H., Deppermann, A., Hasegawa, T., Obersteiner, M. (2021). Reconciling regional nitrogen boundaries with global food security. Nature Food DOI: 10.1038/s43016-021-00366-x

About IIASA:

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. www.iiasa.ac.at

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JOURNAL

Nature Food

DOI

10.1038/s43016-021-00366-x 

ARTICLE TITLE

Reconciling regional nitrogen boundaries with global food security

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Sep-2021

'MAYBE' TECH

UCF leads hydrogen gas turbine research aimed at decarbonizing power sector

The work is funded by an $800,000 award from the U.S Department of Energy.

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

ORLANDO, Sept. 13, 2021 – The University of Central Florida is helping to lead the country’s charge of obtaining 100% clean electricity by 2035 with a new $800,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance hydrogen fuel research.

The award is through the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s University Turbine Systems Research program and is part of nearly $6.2 million awarded to seven universities for research and development projects to make hydrogen a high performing, efficient gas for turbine-based electricity generation.

The research is important because using clean burning, carbon-free fuels, such as hydrogen, will offer an alternative to carbon-based fuels that produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and can be produced from various resources. Its only combustion byproduct is water.

U.S. President Joe Biden set goals of creating a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. Hydrogen fuel technologies could play a major role in reaching those goals.

“Part of our path to a net-zero carbon future means investing in innovation to make clean energy sources like hydrogen more affordable and widely adopted so we can reach our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in a release announcing the awards. “These projects will put us one step closer to unlocking the scientific advancements needed to create a strong domestic supply chain and good-paying jobs in the emerging clean hydrogen industry.”

Along with the U.S., the European Union, China and Japan are also investing billions of dollars in the race for developing hydrogen combustion turbine technologies.

UCF’s project will focus on better understanding how to implement hydrogen in modern, electricity-generating turbines, including exploring the best fuel blends and their combustion characteristics.

“The high reactiveness of hydrogen poses challenges to use hydrogen blended fuels on existing infrastructure and also increases the probability of nitrogen oxide formation in the exhaust,” says the project’s principal investigator, Subith Vasu, a professor in UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “Thus, our team is investigating vital, fundamental characteristics of hydrogen fuel combustion using our unique experimental facilities and will develop high-fidelity computer models that support the design and development of next-generation hydrogen combustors to make a carbon-free society a reality.”

The project co-investigator is Artem Masunov, an associate professor in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center and Department of Chemistry. Raghu Kancherla, a postdoctoral researcher in Vasu’s lab, will also play an integral role in this project.

The other universities selected for the DOE awards were Purdue University, Ohio State University, Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama, San Diego State University and the University of California, Irvine.

“We feel very good that we were chosen by DOE to lead this research, as we have a track record of working very closely with the industry to develop advanced gas turbine technologies,” Vasu says.

UCF’s growing work into hydrogen research was also evident earlier in the year when Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research Director and Pegasus Professor Jayanta Kapat was selected by the DOE to study hydrogen storage as part of a $500,000 award. The award will fund research to prove the feasibility of a novel hydrogen storage concept, called a Cryogenic Flux Capacitor.

“Hydrogen is key in global decarbonization efforts, and despite intense competition from other universities, these two awards from DOE show that CATER researchers at UCF are well-placed in leading hydrogen to decarbonization to all sectors, including power generation, aviation, industry and space,” Kapat says.

Vasu received his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and joined UCF’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, part of UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, in 2012. He is a member of UCF’s Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Energy Agency’s Task Team on Energy. Vasu is a recipient of DARPA’s Director’s Fellowship, DARPA Young Faculty award, the Young Investigator grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, American Chemical Society’s Doctoral New Investigator, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Dilip Ballal Early Career award, and the Society of Automotive Engineers SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational award. He has received many of the highest honors at UCF including the UCF Luminary and Reach for the Stars awards.

CONTACT: Robert H. Wells, Office of Research, robert.wells@ucf.edu