Friday, May 26, 2023

Effective as a collective: Researchers investigate the swarming behavior of microrobots

Research study reveals alternative route to realize programmable active matter

JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITAET MAINZ

simulated microrobots — IMAGE: SIMULATED MICROROBOTS SORTING THEMSELVES IN THE VICINITY OF A CONFINING WALL: MICROROBOTS WITH A LARGER TRAJECTORY RADIUS BECOME TRAPPED AGAINST THE WALL UPON WHICH THEY EXERT PRESSURE WHILE THOSE WITH SMALLER TRAJECTORY RADII ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO MOVE FREELY WITHIN THE ENCLOSED SPACE. view more
CREDIT: ILL./©: FRANK SIEBERS

Miniaturization is progressing rapidly in just any field and the trend towards the creation of ever smaller units is also prevalent in the world of robot technology. In the future, minuscule robots used in medical and pharmaceutical applications might be able to transport medication to targeted sites in the body. Statistical physics can contribute to the foundations for the development of such technologies. A team of researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now taken a new approach to the issue by analyzing a group of robots and how they behave as collectives of motile units based on the model of active Brownian particles. The team's findings demonstrating that there may be an alternative route to realize programmable active matter have been published in Science Advances.

Collectives of robotic units could solve tasks that a single machine can not solve on its own

Researchers are looking for new ways to perform tasks on the micro- and nanoscale that are otherwise difficult to realize, particularly as the miniaturization of devices and components is beginning to reach physical limits. One new option being considered is the use of collectives of robotic units in place of a single robot to complete a task. "The task-solving capabilities of one microrobot are limited due to its small size", said Professor Thomas Speck, who headed the study at Mainz University. "But a collective of such robots working together may well be able to carry out complex assignments with considerable success." Statistical physics becomes relevant here in that it analyzes models to describe how such collective behavior may emerge from interactions, comparable to bird behavior when they flock together.

The research team studied the collective behavior of a number of small, commercially available robots. These so-called walkers are propelled through internal vibrations transmitted to two rows of tiny legs. Because the length, shape, and stiffness of the legs differ slightly from robot to robot, they follow circular orbits with a radius that is specific to each individual walker. Looking and moving like little beetles, these robots have an elliptical form and are sent off in a new direction when they happen to collide with each other.

"Our aim was to examine and describe the collective behavior of these robots and determine whether it might be possible to derive potential uses from this," added Frank Siebers, lead author of the paper. "At the same time, we as physicists were also interested in the phenomena per se." The researchers were able to observe two effects when the collective of robots has variations in terms of their orbits, i.e., in a group showing greater diversity. Firstly, the walkers required less time to explore the space they were placed in. And secondly, when contained within an enclosed space, they began to undergo self-organized sorting. Depending on their orbital radius, the robots either accumulated at the confining wall or began to gather within the interior of the space.

Statistical physics provides insights into the behavior of collectives

"It would be possible to exploit this kind of activity to get robots to transport a load and to interact with that load, for example. The speed with which they would be able to traverse spaces would increase, meaning that the load would be delivered sooner", said Professor Thomas Speck, outlining one potential application. "Statistical physics can help to uncover new strategies that may be utilized by collectives of robots."

The field of active matter models and robotics covers many realms of the living and the nonliving world in which collective behavior or collective movement can be observed, one prominent example being the way that flocks of birds move in unison. "What we have done here is to apply the theory underlying our understanding of clustering and swarming to robotic systems", said Frank Siebers of JGU.

The research was funded under the aegis of the Collaborative Research Center/TRR 146 on Multiscale Simulation Methods for Soft Matter Systems, a cooperative project involving Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, TU Darmstadt, and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. The researchers based their conclusions on the outcome of their experiments as well as on model computations performed on JGU's supercomputer MOGON II. Principal investigator Professor Thomas Speck held a professorship at the JGU Institute of Physics from 2013 to 2022. He is now head of the Institute for Theoretical Physics IV of the University of Stuttgart.

JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adf5443

ARTICLE TITLE

Exploiting compositional disorder in collectives of light-driven circle walkers

Networks in the dog brain

The study provides a glimpse into the evolution of the human brain

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY (ELTE), FACULTY OF SCIENCE

Kamilla, one of the oldest dogs involved in the research, after an rs-fMRI measurement. — IMAGE: SZABÓ DÓRA (R), LEAD AUTHOR OF THE STUDY, AND BÁJI RITA (L) WITH KAMILLA, ONE OF THE OLDEST DOGS INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH, AFTER AN RS-FMRI MEASUREMENT. view more
CREDIT: PHOTO: ENIKO KUBINYI / EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY

A study on canine brain networks reveals that during mammalian brain evolution, the role of the cingulate cortex, a bilateral structure located deep in the cerebral cortex, was partly taken over by the lateral frontal lobes, which control problem-solving, task-switching, and goal-directed behavior. The study relies on a new canine resting state fMRI brain atlas, which can aid in the analysis of diseases characterized by dysfunctional integration and communication among brain areas.

Researchers interested in how dogs think can not only deduce it from their behavior, but they can also investigate their brain activity using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to identify and see which areas of the brain are active when the dog reacts to external stimuli. The method identifies the brain mechanisms that influence the dog's learning and memory, resulting in superior dog training methods as well as knowledge on the evolutionary steps that led to the development of human brain function.

The Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) has been at the forefront of developing the methodology for canine fMRI measurements since 2006. The training methodology for pet dogs was developed by Márta Gácsi, who has also made significant contributions to the introduction of assistance dog training in Hungary. She adopted many methods from there, complementing them with socially motivated training based on rival training principles discovered through ethological research.

“In this approach, the learner is strongly motivated to learn the task by observing the work of an already trained dog and desiring the praise received for it. As a result of fMRI training, the trained dog is capable of (and eager to!) lie motionless in the MRI scanner for eight minutes, in exchange for expected petting and treats.”

In recent years, canine fMRI has generally involved playing sounds to the animals and investigating which brain areas are activated during the brain processing of the sounds.

Brain activity signals are typically projected onto an anatomical atlas to establish which brain region is affected.

However, the problem is that functional activities are irregular, not necessarily following anatomically defined regular boundaries. Parts of the brain are generally involved in processing specific inputs together, i.e., they act in synchrony, forming a functional brain network. “We have decided to create a dog brain atlas that organizes anatomical regions into functional networks, illustrating which regions belong to a task type and showcasing their locations.” said Dora Szabo, first author of the study published in Brain Structure and Function.

New atlas for dog brain researchers

To create the functional brain atlas, 33 trained family dogs were included in the study. During the fMRI recording, the dogs were not given any task other than to lie still in the scanner. This is the so-called resting state fMRI, or rs-fMRI for short, which examines brain activity without the subject engaging in any specific task, without concentrating or thinking about anything in particular, in a "resting state". Data obtained this way can reveal which brain areas are functionally related to each other and which are most closely connected, enabling researchers to study brain networks and connections.

The original methodology was further enhanced by applying network theory with the help of Milan Janosov, a network and data scientist at Central European University. While previous research could only describe model-based networks regardless of anatomical boundaries, new canine MRI brain atlases reflecting the anatomical regions at the required resolution enabled researchers to study the strength of connections between network members or between networks, as well as compare species due to the large number of dogs measured.

Brains dominated by different areas in dogs and humans

According to the study, networks in the lateral frontal lobe (frontoparietal) that control problem-solving, task-switching, and goal-directed behavior have a smaller role in dogs than in humans. In their place, the cingulate cortex, a bilateral structure located deep in the cerebral cortex, plays a central role. It is involved in a number of vital processes as well as reward processing and emotion regulation. The cingulate cortex in dogs is proportionally larger than in humans.

The effects of ageing

The researchers measured dogs of various ages, the oldest being 14 years old. As mentioned earlier, the dogs must lie motionless to obtain valid measurements. “The data revealed that older dogs were slightly less capable of maintaining their initial position. This difference, however, was very small, as even in their case, the displacement of the head was less than 0.4 mm. In this aspect, they are similar to humans, as older people also find it more challenging to maintain stillness for extended periods of time compared to younger individuals.” said Eniko Kubinyi, a senior researcher studying cognitive aging in dogs.

The study provides a glimpse into the evolution of the human brain,

suggesting that during mammalian brain evolution, the role of the cingulate cortex was partly taken over by frontoparietal regions. In addition, the new rs-fMRI brain atlas can aid in the investigation of conditions in which integration and communication across brain areas are impaired, resulting in a dysfunctional division of tasks. Aging, anxiety, and psychiatric disorders are some examples of such conditions.

The cingulate cortex (highlighted in red) in the brain of Barney, a golden retriever trained for fMRI studies.

CREDIT

Photo: Kálmán Czeibert

Funding: The project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC, 680040), from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences via a grant to the MTA-ELTE ‘Lendület/Momentum’ Companion Animal Research Group (PH1404/21) and the National Brain Programme 3.0 (NAP2022-I-3/2022), as well as the ELKH-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group (01031).

Original paper: Szabó, D., Janosov, M., Czeibert, K., et al. Central nodes of canine functional brain networks are concentrated in the cingulate gyrus. Brain Struct Funct (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-023-02625-y

JOURNAL

Brain Structure and Function

DOI

10.1007/s00429-023-02625-y

ARTICLE TITLE

Central nodes of canine functional brain networks are concentrated in the cingulate gyrus

Defence lawyers face challenges accessing and reviewing digital evidence, study shows

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Defence lawyers face numerous challenges accessing and reviewing evidence from phones and computers, a new study shows.

Solicitors and barristers have reported their use of digital evidence can be restricted by limited or late access, large volumes of material, and tight turnaround times to secure legal aid funding and choose and instruct independent experts.

The research calls for more clarity and transparency around the collection and analysis of digital evidence and the streamlining of the format and presentation of information.

The current volume and diversity of digital evidence available escalates tensions, delays access to digital evidence and increases turnaround times for analysis.

Researchers surveyed 70 criminal law solicitors and barristers and carried out 22 interviews with 23 criminal law solicitors and barristers in early 2022.

Respondents noted how even 1GB of data produces unmanageable amounts of evidence to review. This means lawyers can feel unable to examine all the evidence presented by the prosecution and sometimes rely on the summaries provided by the prosecution. The inability to undertake independent checks can also result in omitting important details that can lead to miscarriages of justice.

The largest challenges identified were gaining access to data, the time taken to access and identify the relevant information, the ability to use the data in the format provided, and the difficulties processing and understanding data.

The research, by Dana Wilson-Kovacs and Rebecca Helm from the University of Exeter, Beth Growns from the University of Canterbury New Zealand and Lauren Redfern from King’s College London, is published open access in The International Journal of Evidence & Proof.

Professor Helm said: “There is a widespread need to raise the levels of understanding of digital evidence by all, including how it is gathered and when and how it may be challenged. Improving lawyers’ own digital literacy is key to ensuring they can adequately represent the interests of their clients.

“Respondents noted that “inaccessible” format and presentation of digital evidence presented by the prosecution could be “difficult to navigate and laborious to decipher”. Some described receiving “data dumps” which would slow down the progress of already overstretched defence teams. Respondents discussed the lack of timely access to data as another factor that could restrict both the legal aid funding stream and the capabilities of the defence.”

Professor Wilson-Kovacs said: “Some criminal defence lawyers may attempt to analyse data themselves because of the volume received from prosecution, the short time they have to prepare a response and secure legal aid funding, the limited amount of that funding and the independent expertise it pay for. This increases the risk of essential information being missed”.

“Those involved in the study said even when defence expert witnesses were secured, access to other relevant data held by the police depended largely on the goodwill of the prosecution and would typically occur too late to be able to undertake any meaningful analysis. The digital evidence made available to defence teams often lacked detail and context or was so heavily redacted that it was impossible to follow.”

JOURNAL

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

DOI

10.1177/13657127231171620

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Meta-analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Digital evidence in defence practice: Prevalence, challenges and expertise

U$A

State policies can boost use of anti-opioid medication

Requiring education for buprenorphine prescribers boosts use of treatment for opioid use disorder

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RAND CORPORATION

States that want to increase access to buprenorphine, a lifesaving medication used to treat opioid use disorder, should consider efforts to enhance professional education and clinician knowledge, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Examining six state-level policies aimed at boosting use of buprenorphine, researchers found that requiring buprenorphine prescribers to receive additional education beyond the initially required instruction, as well as continuing medical education related to substance misuse, were both associated with a significant increase in use of the treatment.

The findings are published in the latest edition of the journal JAMA Health Forum.

“Many studies suggest that physicians and other health providers are apprehensive about whether they have sufficient knowledge about using buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder,” said Bradley D. Stein, the study’s lead author and a physician scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “We found that requiring additional ongoing education seems to help address this worry, empowering them to make greater use of their training.”

The study analyzed the effects of six different state-level policies: rules requiring additional education for buprenorphine prescribers beyond the initial X-waiver training that had been required; continuing medical education related to substance misuse and addiction; extending Medicaid coverage to buprenorphine treatment; expanding Medicaid coverage generally; mandating prescriber use of prescription drug monitoring programs; and regulating pain management clinics.

The number of fatal opioid overdoses in the United States continues to soar and an estimated 5.6 million people in the nation have an opioid use disorder. Medication treatment for opioid use disorder is considered the standard of care, improving quality of life and decreasing fatal overdose rates.

The new study made use of records that capture 90% of prescriptions filled at U.S. retail pharmacies, identifying buprenorphine prescriptions filled between 2006 and 2018. Researchers used a variety of sources to identify when states implemented any of the six policies being reviewed.

Researchers analyzed the records to identify new episodes of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder, comparing trends in the use of the medication to when states adopted the various policies. The results were compiled at the county level, controlling for local characteristics that may influence buprenorphine prescribing.

During the study period, the national use of buprenorphine rose sharply, the researchers found. The number of months of buprenorphine treatment per 1,000 people increased from 1.5 in 2006 to 22.8 in 2018.

The data showed that during this time, requiring education for buprenorphine prescribers beyond the initial training needed for a waiver was associated with significant increases in the number of months of buprenorphine treatment per person in the year following implementation of such a policy.

Under such rules, use of buprenorphine increased by about 9 treatment months per 1,000 people during the first year, rising to more than 14 months of treatment per 1,000 population in the fifth year following implementation.

Requiring continuing medical education related to substance misuse or addiction for physician licensure also was associated with increases. Under such rules, use of buprenorphine increased by about 7 treatment months per 1,000 people during the first year, rising to more than 11 months of treatment per 1,000 population in the fifth year.

The study found that prescription drug monitoring programs, pain management clinic laws and Medicaid policies had no association with buprenorphine dispensing.

“Our findings suggest that requiring education for buprenorphine prescribers and training in substance use disorder treatment for medical providers are actionable proposals for increasing buprenorphine utilization and ultimately serving more patients,” said Stein, who is director of the RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools and Information Center. “The potential benefits of training on the treatment of patients with substance use disorders is particularly important given the requirement for such training for most prescribing clinicians in the recently passed federal Consolidated Appropriations Act.”

Support for the study was provided by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers P50DA046351, R01DA048500 and K01DA042139. The content presented in this release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Other authors of the study are Brendan K. Saloner of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Olivia K. Golan of the Georgia State University School of Public Health; Barbara Andraka-Christou of University of Central Florida; Christina Andrews of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health; Andrew W. Dick and Flora Sheng, both of the RAND Corporation; Corey S. Davis of the Network for Public Health Law; and Adam J. Gordon of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System.

RAND Health Care promotes healthier societies by improving health care systems in the United States and other countries.

JOURNAL

JAMA Health Forum

DOI

10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1102

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Association of Selected State Policies and Requirements for Buprenorphine Treatment With Per Capita Months of Treatment

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-May-2023

Association of healthy lifestyle factors and obesity-related diseases in adults in the UK

JAMA Network Open

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: In this study of 438,000 UK Biobank participants, adherence to a healthy lifestyle was associated with reduced risk of a wide range of obesity-related diseases, but this association was modest in adults with obesity. The findings suggest that although a healthy lifestyle seems to be beneficial, it does not entirely offset the health risks associated with obesity.

Authors: Sebastien Czernichow, M.D., Ph.D., of the Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou in Paris, is the corresponding author.

Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.14741)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

Effect of free medicine distribution on health care costs in Canada

JAMA Health Forum

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial of primary care patients in Ontario, Canada, eliminating out-of-pocket medication expenses for patients with cost-related nonadherence in primary care was associated with lower health care spending over three years. These findings suggest that eliminating out-of-pocket medication costs for patients could reduce overall costs of health care.

Question What is the effect of eliminating out-of-pocket medication costs on total health care costs?

Findings In this secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial of 786 primary care patients in Ontario, Canada, eliminating out-of-pocket medication costs was associated with lower reduced total health spending by a median of $1641 and a mean of $4465 over 3 years.

Meaning These findings suggest that eliminating out-of-pocket medication costs for patients could reduce overall costs of health care.

Authors: Nav Persaud, M.D., of the University of Toronto, is the corresponding author.

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(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1127)

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About JAMA Health Forum: JAMA Health Forum is an international, peer-reviewed, online, open access journal that addresses health policy and strategies affecting medicine, health and health care. The journal publishes original research, evidence-based reports and opinion about national and global health policy; innovative approaches to health care delivery; and health care economics, access, quality, safety, equity and reform. Its distribution will be solely digital and all content will be freely available for anyone to read.

JOURNAL

JAMA Health Forum

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Nearly 70% of private label avocado oil rancid or mixed with other oils

Researchers identify key markers to help professional retail buyers choose authentic products

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - DAVIS

Avocado oil has become a popular choice for many people in recent years because of its heart-healthy benefits and versatility in cooking. However, not all avocado oil products on store shelves are created equal. Some products are labeled as “pure” avocado oil when they contain other oils or additives. No enforceable standards defining the chemical and physical characteristics of avocado oil exist yet.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, analyzed samples of 36 private label avocado oil products and graded them based on quality and purity. Private label products are made by a third-party processor and sold under a grocery store or retailer brand label. Their findings, published in the journal Food Control, show that 31% of the samples tested were pure, and 36% were of advertised quality. Quality refers to whether the oil is fresh or has gone bad due to aging, heat or light exposure. For purity, researchers measured fatty acids, sterols and other components that differentiate avocado oil from other oils.

The study included oils purchased from 19 retailers in the U.S. and Canada with various price points. They found that lower-priced oils were more likely to be tainted with other oils.

“We found that low-cost products indicate a higher probability for adulteration, but high cost didn’t guarantee purity or quality,” said Selina Wang, associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the Department of Food Science and Technology. She and Hilary Green, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis, co-authored the paper.

Researchers also identified certain chemical markers in avocado oil that professional retail buyers can use to make more informed decisions when it comes to choosing suppliers. This way, consumers can feel confident about the products they buy.

This is the second comprehensive study conducted by UC Davis researchers on the quality of avocado oil sold in the U.S. The first study released in 2020 found that many of the test samples were of poor quality, mislabeled or adulterated with other oils.

“This study demonstrates that although progress is being made in standard development since our first market study in 2020, there are still issues with purity in avocado oil and these issues extend significantly into private label oils,” Wang said.

Avocado oil standards

Since the release of the first UC Davis study, Wang said there’s been a coordinated effort by researchers, industry leaders and government agencies to establish enforceable standards. The Avocado Oil Expert Group was formed in collaboration with the American Oil Chemists’ Society to discuss potential standards and future research projects.

Wang’s research group has been studying how natural factors like different types of avocados, harvest times, geographic origins and processing methods could affect the chemical composition of avocado oil. They want to create standards that will accommodate natural variations while detecting any adulterations.

Wang hopes that the study’s findings will contribute to the establishment of standards that benefit both consumers and avocado oil producers who want to compete in a fair market.

“I’m very optimistic for the future of the avocado oil industry,” Wang said. “It’s a high-value product with high consumer demand, similar to what I saw with olive oil 10 years ago. Olive oil quality and purity have improved significantly, which is where I see avocado oil going, if we can establish fair standards and eliminate fraudulent products.”

JOURNAL

Food Control

DOI

10.1016/j.foodcont.2023.109837

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Purity and quality of private labelled avocado oil

Weevils, long-nosed beetles, are unsung heroes of pollination

A special kind of intertwined plant-pollinator relationship, thought to be rare, is present in hundreds of weevil species

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FIELD MUSEUM

Anchylorhynchus trapezicollis — IMAGE: THE WEEVIL ANCHYLORHYNCHUS TRAPEZICOLLIS IS THE MAIN POLLINATOR OF SOUTH AMERICAN PALM SYAGRUS CORONATA. HERE THE WEEVIL IS SEEN ON A FEMALE FLOWER, TOUCHING THE RECEPTIVE PARTS AND LEAVING POLLEN GRAINS IN THE PROCESS. view more
CREDIT: CREDIT: BRUNO DE MEDEIROS

Butterflies, bees, and even bats are celebrated as pollinators: creatures that travel from flower to flower to feed, and in the process, help fertilize the plants by spreading pollen. But some of nature’s most diverse pollinators often go unnoticed, even by scientists: long-snouted beetles called weevils. A new study in the journal Peer Community Journal provides a deep dive into the more than 300 species of weevils, including ones whose entire life cycles are interwoven with a specific plant that they help pollinate.

“Even people who work on pollination don't usually consider weevils as one of the main pollinators, and people who work on weevils don't usually consider pollination as something relevant to the group,” says Bruno de Medeiros, an assistant curator of insects at Chicago’s Field Museum and the senior author of the study. “There are lots of important things that people are missing because of preconceptions.”

There are about 400,000 species of beetles that scientists have identified, making them the largest group of animals in the world. And the largest group of beetles are the weevils. “There are 60,000 species of weevils that we know about, which is about the same as the number of all vertebrate animals put together,” says de Medeiros. The new study, which de Medeiros co-authored with Julien Haran and Gael Kergoat at France’s Université de Montpellier, is a review of hundreds of previously published descriptions of interactions between weevils and plants, to better understand their role as pollinators.

Weevils are sometimes considered pests; they can sometimes be found in pantries eating pasta and grains, and around the turn of the 20th century, boll weevils disrupted the American South’s cotton economy by feeding on cotton buds. However, many species are beneficial to plants, especially as pollinators.

“In this study, we focused on brood-site pollinators-- insects that use the same plants they pollinate as breeding sites for their larvae,” says de Medeiros. “It is a special kind of pollination interaction because it is usually associated with high specialization: because the insects spend their whole life cycle in the plant, they often only pollinate that plant. And because the plants have very reliable pollinators, they mostly use those pollinators.”

Brood-site pollination is a little like a more extreme version of the relationship between Monarch butterflies and milkweed, which is the only plant that Monarch caterpillars eat and the site where the butterflies lay their eggs. But brood-site pollinators, unlike Monarchs, take the relationship a step further: adult Monarchs feed on the nectar of many different flowers, but brood-site pollinators, including many species of weevils, rely only on their one plant partner as a source of food and a site for egg-laying.

“This kind of pollination interaction is generally thought to be rare or unusual,” says de Medeiros. “In this study, we show that there are hundreds of weevil species and plants for which this has been documented already, and many, many more yet to be discovered.”

These closely-linked relationships mean that the plants and weevils need each other to flourish. “Oil palm, which is used to make peanut butter and Nutella, was not a viable industry until someone figured out that the weevils found with them were their pollinators,” says de Medeiros. “And because people had an incorrect preconception that weevils were not pollinators, it took much, much longer than it could have taken.”

He says that these sorts of misconceptions are one of the motivations for the new study. “We are highlighting a group of insects that most people want to see killed, and we're showing that they can actually be pretty important for maintaining ecosystems and products that we care about,” he says. “We hope that by summarizing what we know and providing some pointers on what we should be paying attention to, we can help other researchers and the public to better appreciate the role of weevils as pollinators, especially in the tropics.”

Weevil Anchylorhynchus bicarinatus, the main pollinator of the palm Oenocarpus mapora, found in Amazonia and Central America. Here we see an adult weevil covered in pollen among male flowers.

Credit: Bruno de Medeiros

Bruno de Medeiros climbing the palm tree Oenocarpus mapora in Panama to study their pollinators.

Bruno de Medeiros covering insect pollinators with a fluorescent power to track their movements in Brazil.

CREDIT

Credit: Tauana Cunha

JOURNAL

Peer Community In Ecology

ARTICLE TITLE

Pollination-herbivory by weevils claiming for recognition: the Cinderella among pollinators

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-May-2023

The metaverse can lead to better science

One Notre Dame researcher says we should look beyond the hype to see how virtual reality can make scientists more effective. But to realize the benefits, researchers must also plan well and avoid potential pitfalls.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

The metaverse can lead to better science — IMAGE: FOR DIEGO GÓMEZ-ZARÁ, AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME’S DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, THE METAVERSE IS SOMETHING ELSE: A TOOL FOR BETTER SCIENCE. view more
CREDIT: DIEGO GÓMEZ-ZARÁ / UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

In 2021, Facebook made “metaverse” the buzziest word on the web, rebranding itself as Meta and announcing a plan to build “a set of interconnected digital spaces that lets you do things you can’t do in the physical world.” Since then, the metaverse has been called many different things. Some say it is the “future of the internet.” Others call it “an amorphous concept that no one really wants.”

For Diego Gómez-Zará, an assistant professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the metaverse is something else: a tool for better science.

In “The Promise and Pitfalls of the Metaverse for Science,” published in Nature Human Behavior, Gómez-Zará argues that scientists should take advantage of the metaverse for research while also guarding against the potential hazards that come with working in virtual reality.

Virtual environments, real benefits

Along with co-authors Peter Schiffer (Department of Applied Physics and Department of Physics, Yale University) and Dashun Wang (McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University), Gómez-Zará defines the metaverse as a virtual space where users can interact in a three-dimensional environment and take actions that affect the world outside.

The researchers say the metaverse stands to benefit science in four main ways.

First, it could remove barriers and make science more accessible. To understand these opportunities, Gómez-Zará says, we need not speculate about the distant future. Instead, we can point to ways researchers have already begun using virtual environments in their work.

At the University College London School of Pharmacy, for example, scientists have made a digital replica of their lab that can be visited in virtual reality. This digital replica allows scientists at various points around the world to meet, collaborate and make decisions together about how to move a research project forward.

Similarly, a virtual laboratory training developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teaches young scientists in many different locations to identify the parts of a lab and even conduct emergency procedures.

This example shows a second benefit: improving teaching and learning.

Gómez-Zará explains, “For someone training to become a surgeon, it is very hard to perform a procedure for the first time without any mistakes. And if you are working with a real patient, a mistake can be very harmful. Experiential learning in a virtual environment can help you try something and make mistakes along the way without harmful consequences, and the freedom from harmful consequences can improve research in other fields as well.”

Gómez-Zará is also working with a team at Notre Dame’s Virtual Reality Lab to understand a third potential benefit, one related to the social side of science. The research team studies the effects of online environments on a team’s work processes. They find that virtual environments can help teams collaborate more effectively than videoconferencing.

“Since the pandemic, we have all become comfortable videoconferencing,” says Gómez-Zará. “But that doesn’t mean getting on a video call is the most effective tool for every task. Especially for intense social activities like team building and innovation, virtual reality is a much closer replica of what we would have offline and could prove much more effective.”

Gómez-Zará says the metaverse could also be used to create wholly new experimental environments.

“If you can get data and images from somewhere, you can create a virtual replica of that place in virtual reality,” Gómez-Zará explains. For example, he says, we have images of Mars captured by satellites and robots. “These could be used to create a virtual reality version of the environment where scientists can experience what it is like there. Eventually they could even interact with the environment from a distance.”

Potential pitfalls

Gómez-Zará emphasizes that realizing the full benefits of the metaverse will also require us to avoid several pitfalls associated with it.

There are still barriers to using virtual reality. Virtual reality goggles and related equipment, while becoming more affordable, still require a significant investment.

This issue relates to a larger one: Who owns the metaverse? Currently, a few technology companies control the metaverse, but Gómez-Zará notes that there have been calls for agencies and others who support research to invest in building an open, public metaverse. In the meantime, he says, it is important for researchers to think through questions of ownership and privacy any time they work in the metaverse.

His overall message, though, is a hopeful one. “We still tend to associate the metaverse with entertainment and casual socialization. This makes it all too easy to dismiss,” he says. “But look at how quickly we have all adapted to technologies we used rarely before the pandemic. It could be the same way with the metaverse. We need the research community exploring it. That is the best way to plan for the risks while also recognizing all of the possibilities.”

Contact: Jessica Sieff, assistant director, media relations, 574-631-3933, jsieff@nd.edu

JOURNAL

Nature Human Behaviour

DOI

10.1038/s41562-023-01599-5

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The promise and pitfalls of the metaverse for science

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-May-2023