New USDA grant to support climate resilience planning in Indian Country

“Native Climate” project will build relationships and narrow the climate justice gap in Native American communities of the Intermountain West

Grant and Award Announcement

DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE

 

IMAGE: THE NEW NATIVE CLIMATE PROJECT WILL WORK TO SUPPORT CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLANNING IN INDIAN COUNTRY. GREENHOUSES AT SALISH KOOTENAI COLLEGE (UPPER LEFT), GREY FARRELL NEAR TUBA CITY ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION (UPPER RIGHT), PYRAMID LAKE (LOWER RIGHT), A SCHOOL BUS ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION NEAR TUBA CITY (LOWER LEFT) view more 

CREDIT: MAUREEN MCCARTHY/DRI

Reno, Nev. (Jan 13, 2022) – A collaborative team of researchers led by Maureen McCarthy, Ph.D., of DRI has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) to support and strengthen the role of USDA Climate Hubs in Indian Country. 

The USDA Climate Hubs work across ten regions of the U.S. to support agricultural producers and professionals by providing science-based, region-specific information about climate change and climate adaptation strategies. The new DRI-led project, titled “Native Climate: Strengthening the role of Climate Hubs in Indian Country,” will support the Climate Hubs by expanding the reach of their services and outreach to Tribal Extension agents, agricultural producers, and youth educators in the Southwest and Northern Plains regions. 

“From heatwaves to extreme winds, droughts, wildfires, and floods, the climate crisis poses huge adaptation challenges to Native American communities in the Intermountain West – and there are huge inequities across the U.S. in providing climate services and resources to Tribes,” said McCarthy, Native Climate program director from DRI. “Many of these communities are incredibly resilient and forward-thinking in terms of finding ways to adapt to this rapidly warming world, and their knowledge of the landscape pre-dates modern science. This project is an amazing opportunity to build connections and sustainable, trusted relationships that support information sharing between Tribal communities, Climate Hubs, Tribal Extension partners, researchers, and educators.”

Native Climate will address long-standing issues related to climate injustice in Indian Country through culturally-appropriate information sharing and by increasing the representation of Native American Tribal members in climate-related research and outreach positions. The project team includes researchers, Tribal Extension educators, and Climate Hub leaders from DRI, the University of Nevada, Reno Extension, the University of Arizona, the University of Montana (UM), and the Southwest and Northern Plains Climate Hubs. 

The project supports the hiring of several Native Climate Fellows, who will work directly with the Southwest and Northern Plains Climate Hubs in coordinating climate data needs, extending outreach to agricultural producers, and sharing youth climate education materials. One Native Climate Data Fellow will be stationed in the Montana Climate Office (MCO) at UM. A second Native Climate Agricultural Producer Fellow will work through UNR-Extension, and a third Native Climate Youth Education Fellow will be hired by DRI. 

DRI’s Native Climate Youth Education Fellow will work with mentor Meghan Collins, M.S., to continue growing an existing Teaching Native Waters Community of Practice, which fosters communication between educators, FRTEP agents, and scientists. This Fellow will also work with the Climate Hubs and other NIFA project teams to adapt climate education resources to be place-based and culturally relevant.

“Educators, scientists, decision-makers, and leaders all have important knowledge to bring to the table," said Collins, assistant research scientist at DRI. “This community of practice creates spaces for us to listen, respond, and innovate. Together, we are seeking solutions that engage youth in closing the gap in climate justice.”

The project will also create a new student internship program for Native Climate Reporters at DRI, which will support three or more Native students a year studying communications, journalism, agriculture, or STEM. The interns will report on stories about climate impacts and adaptation by tribes in their regions, and gain experience developing and producing multi-media communications, with mentorship from Native Climate Communications Coordinator Kelsey Fitzgerald, M.A. 

“Only a very small percentage of journalists at U.S. news organizations are Native people, which has a huge impact on the news coverage we see or don’t see about climate change and other challenges being addressed by Tribal communities,” said Fitzgerald, senior communications official at DRI. “We are so excited to be able to provide this opportunity for Native students interested in climate reporting to develop their communications experience and skills so that they can play an active role in providing more accurate news coverage and telling the stories that are important to their regions.”

Other components of the project include a “Native Climate Toolkit” – a web-based interactive resource clearinghouse, and impact reporting and alert tools. A Native Climate Advisory Group will help the team engage tribes in the region, leverage resources from partner organizations, and conduct culturally-respectful project evaluation.

Native Climate builds on partnerships established under previous USDA-funded projects Native Waters on Arid Lands, the COVID CARE Toolkit Project, All Climate is Local virtual conference, and Teaching Native Waters. Native Climate will begin in March 2022 and run through March 2027. 

More information: 

To view the award announcement from USDA, please visit: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/01/12/usda-invests-9m-expand-reach-and-increase-adoption-climate-smart

 

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About DRI

The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a recognized world leader in basic and applied environmental research. Committed to scientific excellence and integrity, DRI faculty, students who work alongside them, and staff have developed scientific knowledge and innovative technologies in research projects around the globe. Since 1959, DRI’s research has advanced scientific knowledge on topics ranging from humans’ impact on the environment to the environment’s impact on humans. DRI’s impactful science and inspiring solutions support Nevada’s diverse economy, provide science-based educational opportunities, and inform policymakers, business leaders, and community members. With campuses in Las Vegas and Reno, DRI serves as the non-profit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education. For more information, please visit www.dri.edu.

Compost is a major source of pathogenic aspergillus spores

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY

Washington, D.C. – January 13. 2022 – Fourteen percent of Aspergillus fumigatus isolates cultured from garden soils were resistant to an agricultural triazole antifungal drug, tebuconazole. Tebuconazole resistance confers resistance to medical triazoles that are used to treat aspergillosis, a lung infection that can be serious, which results from inhalation of A. fumigatus spores. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.  

In the study, which was lead author Jennifer Shelton’s Ph.D. thesis, she and her collaborators found that compost and compost-enriched soils contain high concentrations of A. fumigatus spores.  

“The research suggests that handling compost presents a public health risk when individuals are exposed to large numbers of aerosolized spores and raises questions of whether compost bags should carry additional health warnings, whether compost should be sterilized before shipping, and whether individuals should be advised to wear face masks when handling compost,” said Shelton.  

 A novel aspect of this study is that the soil samples—509 of them—were collected from their gardens by 249 citizen scientists whom Shelton enlisted in this effort via social media and through the Aspergillosis Trust, a charity raising awareness of the problem. The samples were all collected on the same day, June 21, 2019. From these, the investigators cultured 5,174 isolates of A. fumigatus. Many of these A. fumigatus isolates contained polymorphisms in the cyp51A gene, which is frequently associated with triazole-resistance. Soil samples containing compost were significantly more likely to grow tebuconazole-resistant A. fumigatus strains than those that did not, and compost samples grew significantly higher numbers of A. fumigatus than other soil samples.  

The study was motivated by a growing number of cases caused by triazole resistant A. fumigatus spores in the UK, said Shelton, who conducted the research at Imperial College London and UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. “An estimated 185,000-plus people in the UK live with aspergillosis, with conditions ranging from severe hypersensitization, “fungal asthma,” and chronic colonization or invasion of the lungs that can disseminate to other organs including the brain,” said Shelton. “Chronic forms of aspergillosis are life-limiting and difficult to treat, and invasive infections have mortality rates of between 40 and 70 percent, and higher if infected with triazole resistant A. fumigatus.” 

People normally inhale spores from the environment, including those of A. fumigatus. Those with weak immunity, due to immune-suppressing drugs, conditions such as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, or lung damage from infection by tuberculosis, COVID-19, severe influenza or smoking, are especially vulnerable, but even those without predisposing conditions can develop aspergillosis if they inhale sufficient numbers of spores.  

“Our research suggests that handling compost and compost-enriched soils exposes individuals to large numbers of spores and that behavioral changes on their part, and action taken by the composting industry could reduce these exposures,” said Shelton.  

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The American Society for Microbiology is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of 30,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences.

ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences.

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JOURNAL

Applied and Environmental Microbiology

DOI

10.1128/AEM.02061-21 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Citizen-science surveillance of triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in UK residential garden soils

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

5-Jan-2022

Disclaimer: AAAS and

$10M project aims for more pest-resilient food options in Asia

Grant and Award Announcement

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: A FARMER HARVESTS BT EGGPLANT IN BANGLADESH IN 2018. view more 

CREDIT: ARIF HOSSAIN

ITHACA, N.Y. – A new Cornell University-led project will accelerate the application of a proven biotechnology to enhance food and nutritional security in Bangladesh and the Philippines while protecting the health of farmers and the environment.

The Feed the Future Insect-Resistant Eggplant Partnership is funded by a five-year, $10 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative. The new award will continue efforts to introduce genetically engineered (GE) eggplant varieties that are resistant to devastating insect infestations and can reduce or eliminate the need for harmful pesticides.

The multifaceted project takes up the complex challenge of science and policy. The work will empower scientists in Bangladesh and the Philippines to develop new, locally adapted varieties of eggplant while engaging with policymakers on clear regulatory pathways for their release.

The goal, according to project director Maricelis Acevedo, research professor of global development, is a more prosperous, food-secure and gender-equitable future for Bangladesh and the Philippines.

“Crop pests and pathogens are a threat to food security and the environmental sustainability of food systems globally,” Acevedo said. “Sustainable agricultural practices are essential to food production, and scientists and local regulatory agencies must work in tandem to produce food crops that are better and safer for the environment and people.”

Based in Cornell’s Department of Global Development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), the Feed the Future Insect-Resistant Eggplant Partnership combines expertise in agricultural and social sciences to achieve equitable socioeconomic results. As part of the project, the Alliance for Science – based at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) – and Farming Future Bangladesh will address misconceptions about safety, and build a scientifically rigorous link between biotech crops and nutritional security.

Additionally, Hale Ann Tufan, research professor of global development, will study whether biotechnology products equitably benefit women, men and young people within households that adopt them in Bangladesh. Looking beyond household-level income benefits, the study will examine how gender norms and intrahousehold dynamics specifically shape positive or negative outcomes for women and youth.

Eggplant is rich in fiber and antioxidants and is one of the most popular vegetables in Bangladesh. Farmers growing eggplant must contend with continuous threats from insects, the most damaging of which is the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). Larvae feed on young and maturing fruit, rendering infested eggplant inedible.

Bt eggplant contains genes from the common soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is also widely used in organic agriculture. Studies show Bt is harmless to mammals, soil organisms and beneficial insects, but toxic to harmful insect pests. Rigorous safety trials have proven Bt eggplant to be an effective means for controlling EFSB without the need for pesticides.

The first genetically engineered food crop approved in South Asia, Bt eggplant has grown dramatically in popularity by farmers since it was introduced in 2014. Studies have shown that farmers in Bangladesh who switched to Bt eggplant increased yields 51% and net revenues 128%, while reducing pesticide costs 38% and reported pesticide poisonings 12%.

Despite these successes, biotechnology development and adoption remain a contentious issue. Local partnerships in the private and public sectors will help achieve sustainability of the technologies and engage directly with farmers and policymakers in Bangladesh and the Philippines.

“Farmers are demanding more resilient crops that are higher yielding and safer for them to farm and consume,” Acevedo said. “Bt eggplant delivers on all these fronts.”

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

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Report analyzes record-high fertilizer prices

Texas A&M Agricultural and Food Policy Center projects 80% increase in 2022

Written by Blair Fannin

Farmers and economists are wringing their hands on how to get a handle on record-high fertilizer prices heading into the 2022 crop year, and a new report compiled by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University suggests prices may not be done going up due to several factors.

Fertilizer prices have reached record highs and a new report by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University indicates they may go much higher in 2022. (Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications photo by Blair Fannin)

Joe Outlaw, Ph.D., co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist, told farmers at the Blackland Income Growth Conference in Waco that fertilizer prices could escalate as much as 80% this year as supply and demand gyrate at never-before-seen levels.

A recently completed AFPC report, which analyzed the economic impacts of higher fertilizer prices on 64 representative farms, was compiled from a study initially requested by U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La. Outlaw said producers are not only experiencing sticker shock, but may see product shortages.

“Coupled with current COVID supply chain issues, this will further stress the production environment for agriculture across the country,” Outlaw said.

The fertilizer report is the most recent in a series of analyses by AFPC, which has previously released impact reports on supply disruptions to the U.S. cattle market and proposed estate tax legislation.

Rocketing fertilizer prices

The AFPC report found that as the nation continues to maneuver through supply chain disruptions and agricultural input availability, there are impacts on both fertilizer availability and costs. Last August, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute in Missouri projected only a 10% increase in fertilizer prices in its forecast model, but recent spot prices have forecasts reaching as high as 80% more for the 2022 planting season.

Anhydrous ammonia increased by as much as $688 per ton or $86,000 per 1,000-acre AFPC representative farm through October 2021. The AFPC representative farms are from across the country and are used to calculate and project potential implications on future production.

Joe Outlaw, Ph.D., co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist, visits with Kaitlynn Hughes, a scholarship recipient from Royse City High School and her family at the Blackland Income Growth Conference in Waco. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Blair Fannin)

“The current farm safety net is not designed to address these types of rapid production cost increases, which will continue to be a growing concern for farmers across the country, creating an emerging need for assistance,” Outlaw said.

The report found that the largest whole-farm impact would fall on AFPC’s feed-grain farms at an average of $128,000 per farm and the largest per acre impact would hit AFPC’s rice farms at $62.04 per acre.

AFPC economists went back to the 1980s, finding that fertilizer prices typically tend to rise as corn revenues increase.

Grain market, production implications

Jason Johnson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist, Stephenville, said during the Blacklands Income Growth conference that grain farmers really need to do some crop budget forecasting for 2022.

Grain farmers will not only have to cope with record-high fertilizer prices, but also price support pressure from carryover supplies of grain coupled with drought in some of the major wheat production areas.

“If fertilizer prices are way up, how can you (as a farmer) reduce costs?” Johnson said. “Make sure you are not wasting fertilizer and that you are being very strategic in your crop management planning.”

With higher fertilizer prices, Johnson said farmers are going to have to be increasingly mindful of their crop production budgets. He also suggested that to cope with inflation, grain farmers should consider putting some of their cash to work such as buying input needs ahead of time.

“Also, when was the last time you we had an increasing interest-rate environment?” Johnson said. “What about experiencing four interest rate hikes within a year? Do you have anything financed with a variable interest rate? 2022 is going to be an increasing rate environment. How is that going to impact your operation and net revenue?”

He said farmers can counter with locking in future contracts by selling a portion of their crop throughout the year.

“Pencil out your cost exposure,” Johnson said. “Look at what your costs are going to be in relation to relative profit. Crop budget forecasting can be used to your advantage.”

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Georgia Tech to launch collaborative effort to advance indoor air quality research and development

New global consortium, including charter member Global Plasma Solutions, will accelerate the development of stronger industry standards, promoting research, scholarship, and responsible innovation

Business Announcement

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has announced a new collaborative effort to advance the science of electronic indoor air cleaning technology.

Georgia Tech will lead the new global Consortium for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) which will provide an academic platform to drive responsible innovation in advanced air cleaning technology, accelerate the development and promotion of national testing standards, and drive further research and scholarship in the field.

Georgia Tech will name a senior interdisciplinary faculty member to serve as a termed professor for the consortium and its related activities. This faculty member will bring together the necessary expertise from relevant fields across Georgia Tech.

To help promote scholarship in the area of IAQ, indoor air quality leader Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) – a charter member of the consortium – will create and fund the GPS Fellowship program for IAQ to support academic opportunities for graduate students that will include two student research scholarships and the GPS Termed Professorship.

Additionally, and separately, GPS will support and fund the GPS Ionization Initiative, a significant, multi-year sponsored research program that will be managed through the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC). 

“The pandemic has rightfully trained a spotlight on the vital importance of indoor air quality. It is a complex challenge that must be met with scientific facts and a clear look at the many factors that are necessary to address this multi-layered challenge, said Chaouki Adballah, Georgia Tech’s executive vice president for research. “Georgia Tech is delighted to lead the charge with our Consortium partner, and we are grateful for Global Plasma Solutions’ support in this collaborative effort.”

About Georgia Tech

The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning.

As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.

About Global Plasma Solutions

Founded in 2008, Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) is a leader in indoor air quality, with over 30 patents and 250,000 installations worldwide since its founding.  More information about GPS can be found at www.globalplasmasolutions.com.

One in 10 people may still be infectious for COVID after 10 days, new research indicates

One in 10 people may have clinically relevant levels of potentially infectious SARS-CoV-2 past the 10 day quarantine period, according to new research.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

One in 10 people may have clinically relevant levels of potentially infectious SARS-CoV-2 past the 10 day quarantine period, according to new research.

The study, led by the University of Exeter and funded by Animal Free Research UK, used a newly adapted test which can detect whether the virus was potentially still active. It was applied to samples from 176 people in Exeter who had tested positive on standard PCR tests.

The study, published in the  international Journal of Infectious Diseases found that 13 per cent of people still exhibited clinically-relevant levels of virus after 10 days, meaning they could potentially still be infectious. Some people retained these levels for up to 68 days. The authors believe this new test should be applied in settings where people are vulnerable, to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Professor Lorna Harries, of the University of Exeter Medical School, oversaw the study. She said: “While this is a relatively small study, our results suggest that potentially active virus may sometimes persist beyond a 10 day period, and could pose a potential risk of onward transmission. Furthermore, there was nothing clinically remarkable about these people, which means we wouldn’t be able to predict who they are”.

Conventional PCR tests work by testing for the presence of viral fragments. While they can tell if someone has recently had the virus, they cannot detect whether it is still active, and the person is infectious. The test used in the latest study however gives a positive result only when the virus is active and potentially capable of onward transmission.

Lead author Merlin Davies, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “In some settings, such as people returning to care homes after illness, People continuing to be infectious after ten days could pose a serious public health risk. We may need to ensure people in those setting have a negative active virus test to ensure people are no longer infectious. We now want to conduct larger trials to investigate this further.”

Animal Free Research UK CEO, Carla Owen, said:  “The University of Exeter team’s discovery is exciting and potentially very important. Once more, it shows how focusing exclusively on human biology during medical research can produce results that are more reliable and more likely to benefit humans and animals.   

“Pioneering animal free work is providing the best chance of not only defeating Covid 19 but also finding better treatments for all human diseases.

 “The results also send a loud and clear message to the Government to better fund modern medical research and make the UK a world leader in cutting edge, kinder science.”  

The research is a collaboration between the University of Exeter Medical School, the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, and the NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility.

The paper is entitled ‘Persistence of clinically-relevant levels of SARS-CoV2 envelope gene subgenomic RNAs in non-immunocompromised individuals’, and is published in the international Journal of Infectious Diseases.

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Persistence of clinically-relevant levels of SARS-CoV2 envelope gene subgenomic RNAs in non-immunocompromised individuals

Load up the hydrogen but hold the carbon

KyotoU-led collaboration yields clean hydrogen from solar power and wood chips

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KYOTO UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PROPOSED FACILITY DESIGN view more 

CREDIT: KYOTOU/SHUTARO TAKEDA

Kyoto, Japan -- In the global race to curb climate change and reduce carbon emissions, hydrogen is considered a serious contender to replace fossil fuels. Although hydrogen 'burns' cleanly, with only water as a by-product, the current way of making hydrogen a reliable fuel alternative is energy- and carbon-intensive. 
Whether water is split with electricity or hydrogen is released from fossil fuels or other hydrocarbon sources, every step forward in making hydrogen is accompanied by at least two steps back in terms of associated CO2 emissions. In some processes, every kilogram of hydrogen is accompanied by almost 30 kilograms of CO2 output. 
Now, a Kyoto University-led team of international researchers has developed a novel hydrogen plant design that draws on fully renewable resources to produce the lowest amount of associated CO2 reported to date. They have published their proposal in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 
"Solar energy is the obvious candidate for driving any hydrogen production, but the problem has often been that sunlight is too intermittent," says author Shutaro Takeda.
The team's novel approach of using solar heating to gasify biomass looks to be the most effective and practical way of making hydrogen with a low carbon footprint. They are working on combining two different systems to create a new type of hydrogen facility called the solar-driven advanced biomass indirect-gasification hydrogen production plant, or SABI-Hydrogen plant.
First, to effectively capture sunlight, they chose an arrangement of special mirrors, called heliostats, that focus light onto a receiver at the top of a tower structure. Under these conditions, a heat-transfer material in the receiver can reach temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Next, this heat is transferred from the receiver to the gasifier part of the system, where a vessel containing wood chips as biomass is intensely heated in the absence of oxygen. Rather than burning by combustion, the wood chips are converted to a mixture of gases containing a large proportion of hydrogen.
Alternatively, in the absence of solar heating, this gasifier could also be heated conventionally by burning fuel to deliver heat to the system. 
Finally, the team assessed the overall environmental impact of the design, based on an international standard impact assessment method, ReCiPe2016. The result showed that the SABI-Hydrogen system would only emit 1.04 kg of CO2 per kg of hydrogen produced: the smallest value among all existing hydrogen production methods.
Takeda sees nature as our greatest resource and gives us everything we need to combat global warming. "Our modeling shows that using solar power and biomass resources from managed forests could allow us to make hydrogen sustainably and with a low environmental impact," he concludes.

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The paper "Low-carbon energy transition with the sun and forest: Solar-driven hydrogen production from biomass" appeared 22 December 2021 in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, with doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.11.203

About Kyoto University
Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. A broad curriculum across the arts and sciences at both undergraduate and graduate levels is complemented by numerous research centers, as well as facilities and offices around Japan and the world. For more information please see: http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en

 
 

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DOI

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.11.203 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

UTSA researcher part of team protecting EV charging stations from cyberattacks

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

As the number of electric cars on the road grows, so does the need for their electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and the Internet-based managing systems within those stations. However, these managing systems face their own issues: cybersecurity attacks.

Elias Bou-Harb, director of the UTSA Cyber Center for Security and Analytics, and his colleagues—Claud Fachkha of the University of Dubai and Tony Nasr, Sadegh Torabi and Chadi Assim of Concordia University in Montreal—are shedding light on the vulnerabilities of these cyber systems. The researchers are also recommending measures that would protect them from harm.

The systems built into electric cars perform critical duties over the Internet, including remote monitoring and customer billing, as do a growing number of internet-enabled EV charging stations.

Bou-Harb and his fellow researchers wanted to explore the real-life implications of cyber-attacks against EV charging systems and how to utilize cybersecurity countermeasures to mitigate them. His team also assessed how exploited systems can attack critical infrastructure such as the power grid.

“Electrical vehicles are the norm nowadays. However, their management stations are susceptible to security exploitations,” said Bou-Harb, who is an associate professor in the Carlos Alvarez College of Business’ Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security. “In this work, we endeavored to uncover their related security weaknesses and understand their consequences on electrical vehicles and the smart grid while providing recommendations and sharing our findings with relevant industry for proactive security remediation.”

The team identified 16 electrical vehicle charging managing systems, which they divided into separate categories such as firmware, mobile, and web apps. They performed an in-depth security analysis on each one.

“We devised a system lookup and collection approach to identify a large number of electrical vehicle charging systems, then leveraged reverse engineering and white-/black-box web application penetration testing techniques to perform a thorough vulnerability analysis,” Bou-Harb said.

The team discovered a range of vulnerabilities amongst the 16 systems and highlighted the 13 most severe vulnerabilities such as missing authentication and cross-site scripting. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, attackers can cause several issues, including manipulating the firmware or disguising themselves as actual users and accessing user data.

According to a recent white paper by the researchers, “While it is possible to conduct different attacks on various entities within the electrical vehicle ecosystem, in this work, we focus on investigating large-scale attacks that have severe impact on the compromised charging station, its user and the connected power grid.”

During this project, the team developed several security measures, guidelines and best practices for developers to mitigate cyber-attacks. They also created countermeasures to patch each individual vulnerability they found.

To prevent a mass attack on the power grid, the researchers are recommending that the developers patch existing vulnerabilities but also incorporate initial security measures during the manufacturing of the charging stations.

“Many industry members have already acknowledged the vulnerabilities that we uncovered,” Bou-Harb said. “This information will help immunize these charging stations to protect the public and provide recommendations for future security solutions in the context of EVs and the smart grid.”

The researchers plan to continue analyzing more charging stations to further understand their security posture. They are also working with several industry partners to help shape new security products from the design phase and to develop security resiliency measures that protect vulnerable charging stations from exploitation.

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DOI

10.1016/j.cose.2021.102511 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Power jacking your station: In-depth security analysis of electric vehicle charging station management systems

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Jan-2022

Meet a colorful but colorblind spider

One jumping spider can’t appreciate its own brilliant reds, researchers say

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

 

IMAGE: COLOR CONTRASTS THAT MAY BE VISIBLE TO THE MALE JUMPING SPIDER SAITIS BARBIPES, LEFT, COMPARED TO BIRDS AND PEOPLE, RIGHT. INSTEAD OF THE VIVID RED WE SEE ON ITS FACE AND LEGS, THE JUMPING SPIDER SEES A BRILLIANT "SPIDER GREEN." view more 

CREDIT: MATEUSZ GLENSZCZYK AND CYNTHIA TEDORE

Jumping spiders, the flamboyant dandies of the eight-legged set, have names inspired by peacocks, cardinals and other colorful icons.

But University of Cincinnati associate professor Nathan Morehouse and an international team of researchers led by Cynthia Tedore at the University of Hamburg found that one jumping spider might have little appreciation for its own vivid splendor.

Morehouse examined Saitis barbipes, a common jumping spider found in Europe and North Africa. Males have a furry red crown and legs. Their coloration seems to complement their elaborate courtship dances to woo discerning females.

“We assumed they were using color for communication. But we didn’t know if their visual system even allowed them to see those colors,” said David Outomuro, a UC postdoctoral researcher now at the University of Pittsburgh.

Outomuro was first co-author of the study with Mateusz Glenszczyk, a researcher from the University of Hamburg.

Biologists collected spiders in Slovenia for lab study in Germany and used microspectrophotometry at UC to identify photoreceptors sensitive to various light wavelengths or colors. Unexpectedly, they found no evidence of a red photoreceptor. Likewise, they looked for colored filters within the eye that might shift green sensitivity to red, but found none.

Instead, they identified patches on the spider that strongly absorb ultraviolet wavelengths to appear as bright “spider green” to other jumping spiders. The red colors that are so vivid to us likely appear no different than black markings to jumping spiders.

“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher what’s going on here,” professor Morehouse said. “We haven’t solved the mystery of what the red is doing.”

The study was published in the journal The Science of Nature.

CAPTION

University of Cincinnati associate professor Nathan Morehouse and postdoctoral researcher David Outomuro used microspectrophotometry to examine the color vision of jumping spiders.

CREDIT

ay Yocis/UC Creative

Animals use color in all sorts of ways, including camouflage, warning potential predators of their toxicity, showing off to potential mates or intimidating rivals. But it’s not always apparent what bright colors might signify, Morehouse said.

“We spent a lot of time talking about it as a group. What else could it be? I feel there’s an interesting story behind the mystery,” he said.

The results were surprising, said senior author Tedore, a research associate at the University of Hamburg.

“Males have bold red and black coloration on their forward-facing body surfaces which they display during their courtship dances; whereas, females lack red coloration altogether,” she said. “This initially suggested to us that the red color must play some role in mate attraction.

“Instead, we found that red and black are perceived equivalently, or nearly so, by these spiders and that if red is perceived as different from black, it is perceived as a dark ‘spider green’ rather than red,” Tedore said.

The spider’s red and black colors might improve defensive camouflage, the study suggested.

“For predators with red vision, at natural viewing distances, the spider's red and black color patches should blur together to become an intermediate orangish-brownish color, which would help the spider blend in with its leaf litter habitat better than all-black coloration would,” Tedore said.

Many colorful jumping spiders see red perfectly well. And paradoxically, some drab-colored spiders also have excellent color vision.

“We thought it would be a tidy project. Colorful spiders can see many colors,” researcher Outomuro said.

CAPTION

University of Cincinnati associate professor Nathan Morehouse worked with a team of international partners to examine the color vision of a jumping spider.

CREDIT

Jay Yocis/UC Creative

But this discovery, Morehouse said, is a reminder of how animals can sometimes perceive the world in ways far different from us. For example, sunscreen absorbs ultraviolet light extremely well, but we never notice because we can’t see that spectrum.

“If aliens were to study us, they might ask, ‘Why did they paint their bodies with strongly UV absorbing colors when they went on the beach?’ We have no perception of ultraviolet light, so we have no idea we’re creating these strong ultraviolet colors when we put sunscreen on,” Morehouse said.

Morehouse is director of UC’s new Institute for Research in Sensing, which examines the way we and other animals perceive the world.

“What does a wind turbine or a car window or a high-rise look like to a bird that might run into it?” he asked.

“We need to consider their perceptual worlds to coexist. But I also think it’s inherently fascinating to imagine our ways into the lives of animals that experience the world in a way that is completely alien to us.”

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JOURNAL

The Science of Nature

DOI

10.1007/s00114-021-01774-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

The jumping spider Saitis barbipes lacks a red photoreceptor to see its own sexually dimorphic red coloration