21ST CENTURY HERBAL ALCHEMY

A new study: Inonotus obliquus conks growing on Alnus incana has remarkable properties

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ESTONIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL

 

IMAGE: BLACK FUNGUS (INONOTUS OBLIQUUS) PARASITIZING ON ALDER TREE. view more 

CREDIT: AHTO TÄPSI

A study led by researchers of the Estonian University of Life Sciences demonstrated that Inonotus obliquus, parasitizing on Alnus species, has comparable properties to the fungus growing on Betula species.

Inonotus obliquus is the fungus known to parasitize on Betula. I. obliquus grows in the Northern Hemisphere and belongs to the family of Hymenochaetaceae in the order Hymenochaetales and causes stem rot on several broadleaved tree species.
In Estonia, the fungus grows primarily on Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Alnus incana and Alnus glutinosa. Sterile conks of I. obliquus contain bioactive compounds known to have anti-cancer effects, e.g. against proliferation of cells of leukemia and lung and colon adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver, oral epidermoid carcinoma and prostate cell carcinoma.

The bioactive compounds extracted from the I. obliquus, especially betulin, betulinic acid and inotodinol inhibit the development of cancer cells. Previous studies have concentrated on the I. obliquus on birch trees, but it is not known whether the conks parasitizing on other tree species can offer equivalent properties.

As known, the current study is the first to determine the bioactive compounds of the I. obliquus parasitizing on alder species. The results demonstrate convincingly that conks of I. obliquus parasitizing on A. incana, which is growing well in Estonia, contain betulin, inotodiol and lanosterol to a similar extent as I. obliquus on B. pendula.

Surprisingly, the A. incana conks contained even up to 30 times higher betulinic acid than the conks parasitizing on B. pendula, 474–635 µg/g and 20–132 µg/g, respectively. The conks parasitizing on grey alder contained more beta-glucans, polyphenols and flavonols compared to the conks on silver birch. However, betulinic acid, betulin and inotodiol are more important in terms of anti-cancer effect.

Therefore, there is no substantive difference whether I. obliquus grows on a grey alder or a silver birch. However, further research is still needed to establish the potential effect of I. obliquus conks on alder on various cancer cell lines. Preliminary research also suggests the possibility that I. obliquus may have other valuable properties, such as effects on the immune system.

So what is the importance of the research for forestry and landowners? Alder is growing well in Estonia, for example, A. incana dominated the stands cover by approximately 9%, and of the private forest area, A. incana covers 14.1%. It would increase the still comparatively low economic value of grey alder generally considered suitable mostly for firewood by cultivating this host I. obliquus and would offer landowners, especially small landowners, an opportunity to earn.

The article is not calling for mass inoculation of trees with a pathogenic fungus, the risks and best practices for inoculating trees need to be researched before a tree inoculation campaign, and only then one can proceed to cultivation. The study shows that grey alder is not a worthless tree species, but rather an important resource that can be valued in many ways.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Institute of Pharmacy at the University of Tartu.

Article: Comparative Analyses of Bioactive Compounds in Inonotus obliquus Conks Growing on Alnus and Betula. R. Drenkhan, H. Kaldmäe, M. Silm, K. Adamson, U. Bleive, A. Aluvee, M. Erik, A. Raal.

---

JOURNAL

Biomolecules

DOI

10.3390/biom12091178 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Comparative Analyses of Bioactive Compounds in Inonotus obliquus Conks Growing on Alnus and Betula

21 CENTURY HERBALISM/SPAGYRICS

Antiviral substances discovered within native plants in South Korea

Two saponins were identified to be highly effective in blocking the ability of SARS-CoV-2 variants including Omicron to enter the cells

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE

 

IMAGE: TOP) ASTER KORAIENSIS AND BOTTOM) CODONOPSIS LANCEOLATA, WHICH ARE NATIVE PLANTS IN SOUTH KOREA. view more 

CREDIT: INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE

Codonopsis lanceolata, more commonly referred to as “deodeok”, is  used as a medicinal herb  in South Korea. It is cultivated in large quantities and has been an integral part of Korean cuisine across history. Aster koraiensis, or Korean starwort, is a common flower that resembles a daisy, which is only found in the Korean peninsula. What can these two different types of plants have in common?

A team of researchers led by Director C. Justin LEE from the Life Science Institute (Center for Cognition and Sociality) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea, recently announced the discovery of new antiviral compounds derived from these two Korean native plants. The researchers discovered that the saponins found within these plants were particularly effective at inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking membrane fusion, which allows the viruses to invade the host cells. These findings were published in Antiviral Research in October 2022 and Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in November 2022.

Coronaviruses are known to enter human cells via endosomes or fusion at the plasma membranes. In both of these two pathways, a process known as “membrane fusion” must occur between the coronavirus envelope and the cell membrane. The research team revealed that two saponins (astersaponin I and lansemaside A) found within the two beforementioned plants are capable of blocking this fusion of the membrane between the coronavirus and human cells, thereby effectively blocking all the ways that the virus can infect its host.

The research team first made a SARS-CoV-2 infection model using human lung cells overexpressing ACE2 receptor protein and a pseudovirus that expresses the viral spike protein on its surface, which can be used in the relatively less restrictive biosafety level 2 research facility. The cells were treated with astersaponin I and lansemaside A to test the compounds’ inhibitory effect on virus infection. Both saponins were found to have an IC50 value (half maximal inhibitory concentration) of 2 μM, indicating that they were highly effective at stopping the coronavirus from entering the cell. The same results were confirmed in subsequent experiments using actual authentic coronaviruses, and infection was suppressed with almost the same efficiency. More importantly, the inhibitory effect was identical for all SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as the Omicron.

Astersaponin I and lansemaside A are triterpenoid saponins. They both have central ringed hydrocarbon (or core) structures very similar to that of cholesterol, which is the main component of cell membranes. in addition to a polysaccharide chain attached to one side. The central part of these saponins readily binds to the cell membrane thanks to their similarity to cholesterol. When the molecule penetrates into the cell membrane, the long sugar chain on protrudes out of the cell membrane. It is believed that this protruding sugar is what blocks the cell membrane from fusing with the coronavirus envelope.

SARS-CoV-2 variants such as Omicron are more infectious than original onedue to the mutations in the spike protein, which enhances their binding affinity with the ACE2 cell receptor. However, no matter how much the SARS-CoV-2 variants to increase its affinity, it will be unable to enter the cell if the whole membrane fusion process, which occurs after viral binding to the receptor, is blocked. That is, the membrane fusion inhibitor can effectively prevent the infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants regardless of the their affinity to human cell receptor.

In the past, the IBS team worked jointly with Dr. KIM Seungtaek from Korea Pasteur Institute and discovered another natural triterpenoid saponin called platycotin D from the balloon flower. This saponin was also found to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection. This research was published in the journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine in May 2021.

Armed with this knowledge, the IBS researchers in collaboration with Prof. HAN Sunkyu’s team from Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (KAIST) explored the creation of synthetic saponins with potentially even more powerful effects. The joint team made and tested a dozen synthetic saponins possessing different polysaccharide chains with varying lengths and types of sugars. One of these saponins was found to have up to twice higher activity as that of platycodin D. This research was published in the 2022 October issue of the journal Bioorganic Chemistry.

Director C. Justin LEE stated, “Natural saponins contained in these plants are major constituents in many foods and herbal medicines that are readily accessible in everyday life. When ingested, it can be delivered at high concentrations to the epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract, which means it can be effective in an asymptomatic or early stage of COVID-19 infection.” He added, “While their effects have been confirmed only in vitro at the moment, clinical trials may be possible in the future if positive results are obtained in animal tests.”

Senior Researcher KIM Taeyoung from the IBS said, “Historically, many important drugs such as penicillin, aspirin, or the antimalarial drug artemisinin have been derived from natural organisms. As these saponins’ mechanism of action relies on inhibiting membrane fusion, it may even be possible to develop broad-spectrum antiviral drugs based on this principle.” 

Astersaponin I prevents COVID-19 infection in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 value of 2 μM. The saponin worked equally as well against all variants of SARS-CoV-2, due to its ability to block membrane fusion.

Coronaviruses enter cells through membrane fusion between the virus envelope and cell membrane. When cells expressing coronavirus spike protein (green) are cultivated with human lung cells (red), membrane fusion followed by fusion between the two cells can be observed. Lansemaside A inhibits this membrane fusion, thereby confirming that its mechanism is based on blocking membrane fusion.

Astersaponin I, lancemaside A, and platycodin D are triterpenoid saponins with central ringed hydrocarbon structures similar to that of cholesterol. This allows one side of the saponin to become readily embedded within the cell membrane. It is believed that the polysaccharide chain protruding from the cell membrane is what prevents membrane fusion from occurring.

Left) 12 different synthetic saponins were synthesized using Platycodin D as the base. Right) One of the synthetic saponins showed twice higher ability to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection.

CREDIT

Institute for Basic Science

JOURNAL

Antiviral Research

DOI

10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105428 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Astersaponin I from Aster koraiensis is a natural viral fusion blocker that inhibits the infection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and syncytium formation

8TH CENTURY ALCHEMY

Tracing the origin of Kampo, Japan’s traditional medicine

The origin, surprisingly, could be in 8th century, suggests new study by researchers in Japan and China

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: KAMPO CAN TRACE ITS ORIGINS TO AN 8TH CENTURY CHINESE MONK, JIANZHEN, WHO BROUGHT TO JAPAN WISDOM ON BUDDHISM AS WELL AS TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE. view more 

CREDIT: TOSHIHIKO MATSUO FROM OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been around for centuries. With a history of almost 3000 years dating back to the early Zhou Dynasty, it has been incorporated into China’s present medical system. The traditional practice involves the use of plants, animals, and minerals. It works on the principle of maintaining the delicate balance between ‘yin’ and ‘yang’—the opposite but interconnected forces said to be at the core of all creation—to prevent diseases and maintain health. Originating in China, TCM is practiced widely today, including in Japan.

 

It has long been considered that TCM was introduced in Japan by the monk, Jianzhen or Ganjin, who visited Japan in the 8th century to promote the teachings of Buddhism on the invitation of two Japanese clerics. Born in Yangzhou, the monk Jianzhen was well-versed in TCM and was proficient in Buddhism. When he arrived in Japan in 753 CE, it is said that he had with him 36 kinds of herbal medicines, each with different pharmacological effects and recipes for different combinations to treat a variety of diseases. Along with his Buddhist teachings, whether Jianzhen imparted his pharmacological and medical knowledge, thereby influencing existing traditional Japanese medicine, remains debated.

 

Now, researchers from Japan and China, led by Professor Toshihiko Matsuo of the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, have conducted an extensive review of available Chinese, Japanese, and English literature to shed light on this longstanding mystery. The team comprised of Shihui Liu, former assistant professor in Okayama University, visiting research fellow Chie Matsuo, and senior assistant professor Takumi Abe, both from Okayama University. Their article, published on 18 October 2022 in the  journal Compounds, offers interesting insights on the life of Jianzhen as seen through the lens of his ethnopharmacological knowledge.

 

On his trip to Japan, Jianzhen gathered and brought with him things he found on his way, things as insignificant as stalactites and Zixue (a TCM component), while also bringing traditional ingredients from China, including musk, agarwood, snail, rosin, dipterocarp, fragrant gall, benzoin, incense, dutchman’s pipe root, Pistacia lentiscus, Piper longum, Terminalia chebula/haritaki, asafetida, sugar, sucrose, 10 bushels of honey, and 80 bunches of sugar cane. In their article, the researchers have reviewed the 36 herbal medicines and their therapeutic effects that were brought to Japan. Local lore suggests Jianzhen also had with him a book called Jianshangren (Holy Priest Jianzhen)’s Secret Prescription, which has been lost for centuries. The team also reports being successful in tracking down a copy of another book that holds the same prescriptions.

Most interestingly, their findings show that the prescriptions by Jianzhen form the basis of herbal medicinal practice in Japan, popular under the name of Kampo. The herbal medicinal practice is very much integrated into the fabric of Japan’s current healthcare system. Kampo medicines are prescribed alongside Western medicine and modern drugs and is covered by the reimbursement of the national health insurance.
 

“People in Japan can buy Kampo medicines as over-the-counter drugs at pharmacies. This unique system in Japan has derived from a long history of systematic prescription of Kampo medicines and would have an origin in Jianzhen’s prescription in the 8th century,” observes Prof. Matsuo with much excitement.

 

He hopes for the spread of the use of Kampo medicine beyond Japan. “People in other countries also have a chance to use Kampo medicines in combination with Western medicines.” His inspiration in saying so is possibly, Jianzhen, again. “Jianzhen is one of the first people to bring Chinese traditional medicine to Japan. He is considered an ancestor of Kampo medicine, who molded Chinese traditional medicine to suit the needs of Japanese people,” reflects Prof. Matsuo. In the age of globalization, the journey of traditional medical knowledge that took 11 years to reach Japan from China may be accomplished in less than 11 seconds with the click of a button.

 

We live in that hope.

 

About Okayama University, Japan

As one of the leading universities in Japan, Okayama University aims to create and establish a new paradigm for the sustainable development of the world. Okayama University offers a wide range of academic fields, which become the basis of the integrated graduate schools. This not only allows us to conduct the most advanced and up-to-date research, but also provides an enriching educational experience.

Website: https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.html

 

About Professor Toshihiko Matsuo from Okayama University, Japan

Professor Toshihiko Matsuo is a professor at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health System, Okayama University, Japan. His areas of interest include Ophthalmology, Uveitis, Oncology, and Vitrectomy.

---

JOURNAL

Compounds

DOI

10.3390/compounds2040022 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Traditional Chinese Medicines and Prescriptions Brought from China to Japan by a Monk (Jianzhen, Japanese: Ganjin): A Historical Review

21ST CENTURY MINERAL ALCHEMY

Copper a clue in the fight against cancer

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: THE RED CANCER CELL USES THE WHITE PROTEIN MEMO1 TO BIND THE GREEN COPPER IONS. view more 

CREDIT: YEN STRANDQVIST, CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

For cancer cells to grow and spread around the human body, they need proteins that bind copper ions. New research about how cancer-related proteins bind the metal and how they interact with other proteins, opens up potential new drug targets in the fight against cancer.

Human cells need small amounts of the metal copper to be able to carry out vital biological processes. Studies have shown that the level of copper in tumour cells and blood serum from cancer patients is elevated, and the conclusion is that cancer cells need more copper than healthy cells. Higher levels of copper also mean more active copper-binding proteins.

"Therefore, these proteins are highly important to study when it comes to understanding the development of cancer and deeper knowledge about them can lead to new targets for treatment of the disease," says Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Professor of Chemical Biology at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.

Most cancer-related deaths are due to the fact that metastases - secondary tumors - form in several places in the body, for example, in the liver or lungs. A protein called Memo1 is part of the signaling systems that cancer cells use to grow and spread around the body. Previous research has shown that when the gene for Memo1 is inactivated in breast cancer cells, their ability to form metastases decreases.

A research group from Chalmers wanted to take a closer look at the connection between Memo1 and copper. In a new study published in the scientific journal PNAS, the researchers examined the Memo1 protein's ability to bind copper ions through a series of test tube experiments. They discovered that the protein binds copper, but only the reduced form of copper. It is this form of copper ions that is most common in living cells. It's an important discovery because reduced copper, while it is needed in the body, also contributes to redox-reactions that damage – or even kill – the cells. The researchers found that when Memo1 interacted with copper, the metal's toxic redox reactions were blocked.

"This poses a risk for the tumor to be dependent on a lot of copper because it can provoke chemical reactions that are harmful to the cancer cells. We believe that Memo1, by binding copper when needed, protects the cancer cells so that they can continue to live and spread," says Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, who is one of the study's lead authors.

The researchers also saw that Memo1 can form a complex with another copper-binding protein found in our cells – Atox1. It is a copper transporter inside human cells and the research team has previously shown that Atox1, with the help of copper, contributes to breast cancer cells being able to move and form metastases. Overall, the findings in the new study mean that copper and copper-binding proteins could be targets for future cancer treatment.

"We saw how copper ions could transfer between the proteins Memo1 and Atox1 in test tubes, and when we looked in breast cancer cells, we found that the two proteins were close to each other in space.  Based on this, we conclude that the exchange of copper between these proteins can take place in cancer cells as well as in test tubes and thus be of biological relevance," says Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede.

The researchers now want to move forward with determining the copper ion binding sites in Memo1, and how the presence of copper affects Memo1’s activities in cancer development.

"When we expand our basic knowledge of the role of copper-binding proteins in cancer cells, we also open the door to new treatments," says Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede.

 

Read the scientific publication in PNAS: Memo1 binds reduced copper ions, interacts with copper chaperone Atox1, and protects against copper-mediated redox activity in vitro

 

The article is written by Xiaolu Zhang, Gulshan R. Walke, Istvan Horvath, Ranjeet Kumar, Stéphanie Blockhuys, Stellan Hplgersson, Paul H. Walton and Pernilla Wittung Stafshede.

The researchers are active at Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg and the University of York.

The study was funded by Cancerfonden, the Swedish Research Council and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

 

For more information, please contact: Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Professor, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, pernilla.wittung@chalmers.se

 

See also: Cancer cells spread using copper-binding protein

Images:

The red cancer cell uses the white protein Memo1 to bind the green copper ions. Credit: Yen Strandqvist, Chalmers University of Technology

Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Professor, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology. Credit: Anna-Lena Lundqvist/Chalmers

  

Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Professor, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology.

CREDIT

Credit: Anna-Lena Lundqvist/Chalmers

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2206905119 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Memo1 binds reduced copper ions, interacts with copper chaperone Atox1, and protects against copper-mediated redox activity in vitro

Climate change attribution of the 2021 Henan extreme precipitation: Impacts of convective organization

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

IMAGE: THE BLUE TRIANGLES AND FILLED CIRCLES IN (A) DENOTE THE SIMULATIONS OF WEAK SHEAR AND REVERSED SHEAR (SHEARHALF AND SHEARREV, 301 K AND 303 K RUNS). (C) SHOWS THE DYNAMIC (SOLID LINES) AND THERMODYNAMIC (DASHED LINES) COMPONENTS OF THE SENSITIVITY. THE DOTTED LINES IN (C) INDICATE THE RESIDUAL TERM (WHICH ALSO MAY BE INTERPRETED AS THE PRECIPITATION EFFICIENCY TERM). IN (A)–(C), THE BLACK, RED, AND BLUE COLORS DENOTE THE EXPERIMENTS IN THE HOMOSST, HETESST, AND SHEAR GROUPS, RESPECTIVELY. view more 

CREDIT: ©SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

This study is led by Dr. Ji Nie (assistant professor at Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Peking University). The research group collaborates with other researchers in using a conditional storyline attribution method based on a column quasi-geostrophic modeling framework. The results show that warming over the past century has significantly intensified the extreme precipitation event. As to the role of convective organization, shear-organized convection contributed greatly to the extreme precipitation on both regional and station scale.

Since climate change arouses wide concern, people ask how does climate change affect this kind of extreme event? The storyline attribution method is used here to avoid dealing with the uncertain nature of large-scale dynamics associated with extremes events under climate change. It is more desirable to regard the circulation regime related to the event as unchanged with climate warming, and see how do the changes in thermodynamic states (such as sea surface temperature and water vapor) affect the particular event.

A column quasi-geostrophic (CQG) framework based on the quasi-geostrophic omega equation is introduced to interactively simulate the large-scale dynamics. This framework allows researchers to prescribe the large-scale forcing associated with the synoptic regime and simulate the interaction between convective and large-scale dynamics.

Three groups of experiments are designed to investigate the impacts of different convective organization. Driven by uniform surface temperature, heterogeneous surface temperature and background low-level wind shear, the three groups of experiments show unorganized convection, clustered convection and squall-line convection respectively. For each group, the large-scale forcing (temperature and vorticity advection) is prescribed and surface temperature is increased to represent climate warming.

The result shows that global warming contributed significantly to the intensification of “21·7” Henan extreme precipitation event. The cloud-resolving simulations coupled to CQG method capture the extreme event quite well. It is shown that warming and moistening of the atmosphere led to strengthened regional-scale (10–14% K-1, depending on the convective organization, Figure 1) and station-scale precipitation extremes (7–9% K-1, Figure 2). When considering regional-scale precipitation, the shear-organized convection is much more sensitive to large-scale forcing and causes much higher precipitation compared with other two groups. The shear-organized convection also has a larger sensitivity to warming due to its stronger diabatic heating feedback. When considering station-scale precipitation, the shear-organized convection also generates much larger probabilities in extreme precipitation. No systematic dependence on convective organization is observed for the climate sensitivity of station-scale extreme precipitation.

The innovative CQG method allows researchers to manipulate the large-scale forcing and convective organizations with flexibility. This work clearly indicates the importance of mesoscale convective organization in coupling large-scale and convective-scale dynamics. Also, this study takes a step forward in addressing the station-scale precipitation extremes in a real extreme weather event.

(a) Precipitation extremes for the 301 K cases (solid lines) and 303 K cases (dashed lines) in the three groups; (b) the fractional increases in precipitation for each percentile; (c) the fractional increases in probabilities for each precipitation intensity.

CREDIT

©Science China Press

For more information, see the article:

Qin H, Yuan W, Wang J, Chen Y, Dai P, Sobel A H, Meng Z, Nie J. 2022. Climate change attribution of the 2021 Henan extreme precipitation: Impacts of convective organization. Science China Earth Sciences, 65(10): 1837–1846, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-022-9953-0

---

JOURNAL

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-022-9953-0 

Climate change strikes: lightning patterns change with global warming

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY

New research has shown climate change could alter lightning patterns across Europe.

This could lead to more lightning over mountains and in Northern Europe and less lightning over central Europe.

The Newcastle University and Met Office-led study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, finds there could be a picture of changing weather patterns including:

• More frequent storms with more energy, but locally less lightning mainly due to less cloud ice and frozen particles in storm clouds, with warming
• More lightning at high altitude – including over the Alps
• Less lightning on lower terrain in central Europe and over the sea– subject to circulation changes, which are less certain

The researchers found these changes could lead to an increased risk of wildfires over the mountains and in Northern Europe but as the authors explain it’s not all bad news.

Study lead author, Dr Abdullah Kahraman, Senior Researcher in Severe Weather and Climate Change, School of Engineering, Newcastle University and Visiting Scientist - Understanding Regional Climate Change (URCC), Met Office Hadley Centre, said: “While more frequent lightning strikes over mountains and in Northern Europe might trigger more wildfires in higher level forests, we are going to see relatively fewer lightning hazards over more populated areas of Central Europe.”

This is from the latest Met Office climate simulations with the highest local details in meteorological and topographical features down to 2km, which, unlike previous studies, allows individual thunderstorms and their crucial processes resulting in lightning to be simulated across Europe. This is one possible realisation of an unmitigated future climate (RCP8.5 scenario), and uncertainties exist especially in terms of circulation changes. 

Professor Lizzie Kendon, Met Office Science Fellow and co-author on the paper, said that “These new very high-resolution climate projections, which have a resolution on a par with weather forecast models, are providing new insights into future changes in convective storms and their associated hazards - such as heavy downpours, lightning, hail and wind gusts. Changes in lightning in this study are in contrast with previous studies. This shows us that representing the fundamental physical processes within storms themselves is important and can lead to future changes that are even of the opposite sign.”

The researchers say these findings highlight the need to re-evaluate lightning risk to wildfires, properties, and human life across Europe.

Study co-author, Professor Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts, Newcastle University School of Engineering, added: “This is just more bad news for critical national infrastructure in northern Europe, after the damning report ‘Readiness for storms ahead? Critical national infrastructure in an age of climate change’ by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy last week. Our paper has highlighted new risks from increases in lightning, previously unknown, which will require increased investment in climate adaptation measures. Further analysis is needed of the potential impact of these increases in lightning on energy and other critical infrastructure systems to enable policies and measures to be produced that are locally- and sector-relevant for adaptation planning.”  

Reference: Kahraman, A., Kendon, E. J., Fowler, H. J., & Wilkinson, J. M. (2022). Contrasting future lightning stories across Europe. Environmental Research Letters, 17(11), 114023. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac9b78

ENDS

---

JOURNAL

Environmental Research Letters

DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/ac9b78 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Contrasting future lightning stories across Europe

GAIA LIVES

Magma floods erupt from deeper sources than earlier believed

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

 

IMAGE: THE FLOOD BASALTS IN DRONNING MAUD LAND, ANTARCTICA, ORIGINATE FROM EXCEPTIONALLY DEEP MANTLE SOURCE. view more 

CREDIT: ARTO LUTTINEN

Large magma eruptions have produced great floods of basalt lava on the continents during Earth’s history. Conventionally, the largest flood basalt eruptions are thought to be possible only in regions where the continental tectonic plates are unusually thin, so that deep mantle material is able to rise close to the Earth’s surface. In such low-pressure environments, melting of hot mantle can generate very large amounts of magma.

A new study by researchers from the University of Helsinki and Aarhus University challenges this widely held view.

"The idea that flood basalt eruptions generally require melting of mantle under low-pressure conditions is largely based on the trace element compositions of the erupted magmas", explains Dr Jussi Heinonen, University of Helsinki, the lead author of the recent Journal of Petrology article describing this study.

He specifies further that the relative amounts of rare earth elements in many flood basalts point to magma formation in the presence of low-pressure mantle minerals.

Support from computer simulation

The new study was carried out as part of a research project focusing on the origin of flood basalts that erupted in southern Africa and Antarctica when these continents were attached to each other as parts of Pangaea some 180 million years ago.

"We became curious about the occurrence of most flood basalts in regions where the African and Antarctic tectonic plates are thick rather than thin", describes Dr Arto Luttinen, leader of the University of Helsinki team. "Moreover, we found that many flood basalts that have rare earth element compositions, suggesting high-pressure formation conditions, are actually located in thin regions of the tectonic plates."

The idea of an alternative hypothesis started forming after the team’s discovery of a type of flood basalt in Mozambique that shows compositional evidence for exceptionally high eruption temperatures.

"These flood basalts made us consider the possibility that melting of exceptionally hot mantle could lead to the formation of high-pressure magmas with trace element features similar to those of low-pressure magmas", adds PhD student Sanni Turunen from the University of Helsinki.

The researchers decided to test their hypothesis using the geochemical modelling tool REEBOX PRO, which enables realistic simulation of the behaviour of minerals, melts and their trace element contents during mantle melting.

"We were thrilled to find out that the simulations supported our hypothesis by predicting total consumption of garnet, a diagnostic mineral of high-pressure conditions, when mantle melting occurred at the high temperatures indicated by the flood basalts", says Dr Eric Brown, Aarhus University, a co-author of the article and one of the developers of the REEBOX PRO tool.

Magmas formed at high pressure can thus chemically resemble low-pressure magmas when the mantle source is very hot. Furthermore, the results indicated survival of garnet at relatively low pressures when a different kind of mantle source was selected for the modelling.

"Our results help us to understand the apparent controversy between the occurrences of southern African and Antarctic flood basalts and their trace element characteristics. Most importantly, we show that voluminous flood basalts can form in regions of thick tectonic plates and that the trace element compositions of flood basalts are unreliable messengers of magma generation depths, unless the influences of mantle temperature and composition are accounted for", the authors conclude.

---

JOURNAL

Journal of Petrology

DOI

10.1093/petrology/egac098 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Heavy Rare Earth Elements and the Sources of Continental Flood Basalts

Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed before symptoms emerge

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LUND UNIVERSITY

A large study led by Lund University in Sweden has shown that people with Alzheimer's disease can now be identified before they experience any symptoms. It is now also possible to predict who will deteriorate within the next few years. The study is published in Nature Medicine, and is very timely in light of the recent development of new drugs for Alzheimer's disease.

It has long been known that there are two proteins linked to Alzheimer’s – beta-amyloid, which forms plaques in the brain, and tau, which at a later stage accumulates inside brain cells. Elevated levels of these proteins in combination with cognitive impairment have previously formed the basis for diagnosing Alzheimer's.

“Changes occur in the brain between ten and twenty years before the patient experiences any clear symptoms, and it is only when tau begins to spread that the nerve cells die and the person in question experiences the first cognitive problems. This is why Alzheimer's is so difficult to diagnose in its early stages”, explains Oskar Hansson, senior physician in neurology at Skåne University Hospital and professor at Lund University.

He has now led a large international research study that was carried out with 1,325 participants from Sweden, the US, the Netherlands and Australia. The participants did not have any cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study. By using PET scans, the presence of tau and amyloid in the participants' brains could be visualized. The people in whom the two proteins were discovered were found to be at a 20-40 times higher risk of developing the disease at follow-up a few years later, compared to the participants who had no biological changes.

“When both beta-amyloid and tau are present in the brain, it can no longer be considered a risk factor, but rather a diagnosis. A pathologist who examines samples from a brain like this, would immediately diagnose the patient with Alzheimer's”, says Rik Ossenkoppele, who is the first author of the study and is a senior researcher at Lund University and Amsterdam University Medical Center.

He explains that Alzheimer’s researchers belong to two schools of thought – on one hand, those who believe that Alzheimer's disease cannot be diagnosed until cognitive impairment begins. There is also the group that he himself and his colleagues belong to – ​​who say that a diagnosis can be based purely on biology and what you can see in the brain.

“You can, for example, compare our results to prostate cancer. If you perform a biopsy and find cancer cells, the diagnosis will be cancer, even if the person in question has not yet developed symptoms”, says Rik Ossenkoppele.

Recently, positive results have emerged in clinical trials of a new drug against Alzheimer's, Lecanemab, which has been evaluated in Alzheimer's patients. Based on this, the study from Lund University is particularly interesting, say the researchers:

“If we can diagnose the disease before cognitive challenges appear, we may eventually be able to use the drug to slow down the disease at a very early stage. In combination with physical activity and good nutrition, one would then have a greater chance of preventing or slowing future cognitive impairment. However, more research is needed before treatment can be recommended for people who have not yet developed memory loss”, concludes Oskar Hansson.

---

JOURNAL

Nature Medicine

DOI

10.1101/2022.05.23.22275241v1 

ARTICLE TITLE

Amyloid and tau PET-positive cognitively unimpaired individuals are at high risk for future cognitive decline

WAIT, WHAT?!

Synthetic black holes radiate like real ones

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM

 

IMAGE: TO MAKE A SYNTHETIC BLACK HOLE, JUST TAKE A CHAIN OF ATOMS (GREEN), AND CHANGE HOW EASY IT IS FOR AN ELECTRON TO JUMP BETWEEN EACH ATOMIC SITE, REPRESENTED HERE BY THE COLOUR AND WIDTH OF THE BLUE INTERATOMIC BONDS. THE VARIED BOND STRENGTH IN THE LOWER CHAIN MIMICS THE WARPING OF SPACETIME IN THE PRESENCE OF A BLACK HOLE. THIS WAY, THE INCREDIBLE PHYSICS OF BLACK HOLES CAN BE EXPLORED IN A LAB ON EARTH. view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM, INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS

Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, packing so much mass into so little space that nothing – not even light – can escape their gravitational pull once it gets close enough. Understanding black holes is key to unravelling the most fundamental laws governing the cosmos, because they represent the limits of two of the best-tested theories of physics: the theory of general relativity, which describes gravity as resulting from the (large-scale) warping of spacetime by massive objects, and the theory of quantum mechanics, which describes physics at the smallest length scales. To fully describe black holes, we would need to stitch these two theories together and form a theory of quantum gravity.

Radiating black holes

To achieve this goal, we might want to look at what manages to escape from black holes, rather than what gets swallowed. The event horizon is an intangible boundary around each black hole, beyond which there is no way of getting out. However, Stephen Hawking famously discovered that every black hole must emit a small amount of thermal radiation due to small quantum fluctuations around its horizon.

Unfortunately, this radiation has never been directly detected. The amount of Hawking radiation coming from each black hole is predicted to be so small, it is impossible to detect (with current technology) among the radiation coming from all other cosmic objects.

Alternatively, could we study the mechanism underlying the emergence of Hawking radiation right here on Earth? This is what researchers from the University of Amsterdam and IFW Dresden set out to investigate. And the answer is an exciting “yes”.

Black holes in the lab

“We wanted to use the powerful tools of condensed matter physics to probe the unattainable physics of these incredible objects: black holes,” says author Lotte Mertens.

To do so, the researchers studied a model based on a one-dimensional chain of atoms, in which electrons can “hop” from one atomic site to the next. The warping of spacetime due to the presence of a black hole is mimicked by tuning how easily electrons can hop between each site.

With the right variation of hopping probability along the chain, an electron moving from one end of the chain to the other will behave exactly like a piece of matter approaching the horizon of a black hole. And, analogous to Hawking radiation, the model system has measurable thermal excitations in the presence of a synthetic horizon.

Learning by analogy

Despite the lack of actual gravity in the model system, considering this synthetic horizon gives important insight into the physics of black holes. For instance, the fact that the simulated Hawking radiation is thermal (meaning the system appears to have a fixed temperature) only for a specific choice of spatial variation of the hopping probability, suggests that real Hawking radiation may also only be purely thermal in certain situations.

Additionally, the Hawking radiation only occurs when the model system starts out without any spatial variation of hopping probabilities, mimicking flat spacetime without any horizon, before being changed into one hosting a synthetic black hole. The emergence of Hawking radiation therefore requires a change in the warping of spacetime, or a change in how an observer looking for the radiation is perceiving this warping.

Finally, Hawking radiation requires some part of the chain to exist beyond the synthetic horizon. This means that the existence of the thermal radiation is intricately connected to the quantum-mechanical property of entanglement between objects on either side of the horizon.

Because the model is so simple, it can be implemented in a range of experimental setups. This could include tuneable electronic systems, spin chains, ultracold atoms or optical experiments. Bringing black holes to the lab can bring us one step closer to understanding the interplay between gravity and quantum mechanics, and on our way to a theory of quantum gravity.

---

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.043084 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Thermalization by a synthetic horizon

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Nov-2022

CANADA

Environmental group takes federal government to court over piping plover habitat

Environmental advocates are taking the federal government to court over new rules to protect the habitat of an endangered shorebird species known as the piping plover.


 piping plover 

Ecojustice Canada, representing the Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists and the East Coast Environmental Law Association, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 31 seeking a judicial review of a habitat protection strategy mapped out by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.

The suit argues Ottawa previously tabled a recovery strategy to protect the plover, which it describes as being in accordance with the federal Species At Risk Act. According to the statement of claim, that strategy identified 212 entire beaches across Atlantic Canada and Quebec as critical habitat for the small, sand-coloured birds.

But an amended strategy released in September changes the way the critical habitat is identified, the suit alleges.

"The minister has adopted a 'bounding box' approach to critical habitat identification that fails to clearly describe the location or boundaries of plover critical habitat," the statement reads. "Instead, the amended recovery strategy maps out locations containing critical habitat using grid squares and identifies critical habitat, not as the entirety of each square, but as any areas within those squares that possess certain vaguely described 'biophysical attributes.'"

Environment and Climate Change Canada said in an email they are "diligently working on a response" to a question about the lawsuit and "in the process of consulting with our subject-matter experts."

Ecojustice lawyer Sarah MacDonald said the 2012 plover recovery strategy did a "really good job" of identifying critical habitats and was "very clear" that entire beaches had to be protected. The strategy identified beaches by name and through global positioning system co-ordinates, she said.

But the amended version, she argued, made changes that weaken its effectiveness.

"Instead of saying that an entire beach is critical habitat, what they now do is they set out these what they call grid squares, these one-by-one kilometre squares that cover these beaches," MacDonald said.

Related video: Environmental groups concerned with splitting of Alberta ministries
Duration 1:58  View on Watch

"It leaves huge sections of the beach vulnerable to the activities that we know are harmful to plovers and their habitat, like residential development and pollution and that sort of thing."

The lawsuit calls the ministry’s decision neither justified nor intelligible."

"The amended Recovery Strategy does not identify critical habitat to the greatest extent possible, or with any degree of geographic precision," the statement of claim reads. "Further, the description of critical habitat in the amended Recovery Strategy is too vague to support the Minister's duties to protect critical habitat or to support enforceable legal protections for that habitat. This undermines SARA 's ability to provide meaningful protection."

Macdonald said the groups are hoping the court strikes down portions of the new recovery strategy and reverts to the original version.

Piping plovers are tiny birds found only in North America with two subspecies — one that breeds on the Canadian prairies and another along the Atlantic coast.

They were listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act in 2003, according to the lawsuit. Between 2006 and 2016, the Canadian plover population declined another 30 per cent to 174 breeding pairs.

The lawsuit argues human activities like housing and urban development, pollution from industrial activities, mining and quarrying pose serious, ongoing threats to plover habitat.

Bob Bancroft, president of Nature Nova Scotia, says plovers are drawn to naturally caused disturbances on the beaches where they live.

"The plovers like to nest in the disturbed areas where they have pebbles and gravel and sand," he said. "An event like (recent post-tropical storm) Fiona happens after the breeding season, and next spring depending on how the particular beach is oriented and how much of it has been disturbed, they will pick one of the areas that has been disturbed."

MacDonald agreed, noting plover habitats change with disruptions and saying entire beaches should be protected in order to allow the birds to safely follow their natural nesting instincts.

"It absolutely doesn't make any sense (to have certain protected spots)," she said. "And so we really hope that this lawsuit will help the government see that."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2022.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press