It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Colin Powell School psychologist Eric Fertuck and colleagues identify neural signature for Borderline Personality Disorder
A new study of a brain region called the rostro-medial prefrontal could potentially advance diagnosis and therapies for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Entitled “Rejection Distress Suppresses Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Borderline Personality Disorder,” the research appears in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.
Researchers from The City College of New York, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute led by CCNY psychologist Eric A. Fertuck discovered that the rostro-medial prefrontal specifically becomes more active when people are rejected by others at greater rates. However, individuals with BPD -- characterized by interpersonal sensitivity to rejection and emotional instability -- do not display rostro-medial prefrontal cortex activity when rejected.
The brain reacts with rostro-medial prefrontal activity to rejection as if there is something “wrong” in the environment. This brain activity may activate an attempt to try to restore and maintain close social ties to survive and thrive. This region of the brain also is activated when humans try to understand other peoples’ behavior in light of their mental and emotional state.
“Inactivity in the rostro-medial prefrontal cortex during rejection may explain why those with BPD are more sensitive and more distressed by rejection. Understanding why individuals with this debilitating and high risk disorder experience emotional distress to rejection goes awry will help us develop more targeted therapies for BPD,” said Fertuck, associate professor in CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, and the Graduate School, CUNY.
On the significance of the study, Fertuck noted that while previous findings in this area have been mixed, “what we’ve done is improve the specificity and resolution of our rejection assessment, which improves on prior studies.”
Research continues with several investigations underway examining the role of social rejection in different mental health problems including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and social anxiety.
Fertuck heads the Social Neuroscience and Psychopathology (SNAP) lab in the Colin Powell School. The lab advances a collaborative program of research at the interface of the clinical understanding of Borderline Personality Disorder and related psychopathology, psychotherapy research, experimental psychopathology, and social neuroscience.
JOURNAL
Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Randomized controlled/clinical trial
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Rejection Distress Suppresses Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Borderline Personality Disorder,
UNC Gillings School plays lead role in new Lancet Commission on Evidence-Based Implementation in Global Health
A new Lancet Commission on Evidence-Based Implementation in Global Health, to be chaired by Dr. Herbert Peterson of the UNC Gillings School, aims to improve how health care interventions are put into practice around the world.
The Lancet has announced a new Commissio on Evidence-Based Implementation in Global Health that aims to improve how life-saving and life-enhancing interventions are put into practice around the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is playing a leading role in the Commission, serving as its Secretariat.
Advancements in science and technology have led to innovative health solutions that could help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the goal of health and well-being for all. But putting these interventions into practice equitably, sustainably and at scale is a huge challenge – one the new Commission strives to overcome through establishing the vision for evidence-based implementation in global health and developing a blueprint for achieving it.
In so doing, the Commission will strive to improve both the generation and the full and effective use of evidence for implementation. One approach the Commission will use is including the perspective of the implementers for whom the evidence is intended, including policymakers, program managers, front-line providers and funders. The Commission will work to assure that these implementers are involved in the generation and use of the evidence.
The new Commission will be chaired by Herbert Peterson, MD, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of maternal and child health and obstetrics and gynecology at UNC-Chapel Hill and director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Research Evidence for Sexual and Reproductive Health. His co-chairs are Joy E. Lawn, MBBS, PhD, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Dube, MBBS, PhD, from the Ministry of Health of Malawi. Joumana Haidar, DBA, deputy director of the WHO Collaborating Center at the Gillings School, will serve as the lead for the Secretariat. The Commission will be supported by an advisory group of experts in global health implementation that will provide input from the perspectives of key stakeholders on the needs for evidence-based implementation, including how best to build and sustain a global movement to meet those needs.
“We have made great progress in using our best science to create life-saving and life-enhancing interventions and it is now time to do likewise for putting them into practice,” Peterson said.
The Commission’s priorities will include determining the current state of implementation evidence, the evidence that will be most helpful for improved implementation going forward, and how best to generate this evidence and support its full and effective use in practice.
“With this Commission, we have a wonderful opportunity to work toward achieving justice in implementation in global health. We will create a roadmap for building and applying the science needed to assure that our most promising health innovations reach all those they are intended to serve,” Peterson said.
The Commissioners of the Lancet Commission on Evidence-Based Implementation In Global Health are Hanan F. Abdul Rahim, Niveen M. E. Abu-Rmeileh, Richard M. K. Adanu, Ross C. Brownson, David A. Chambers, Peter Cherutich, Elwyn Chomba, Komatra Chuengsatiansup, Queen Dube, Cyril M Engmann, Dean L. Fixsen, Patricia J. Garcia, Lisa R. Hirschhorn, Joy E. Lawn, Susan Michie, Joanna C. Moullin, Per Nilsen, Sania Nishtar, Obinna Onwujekwe, David Peiris, David H. Peters, Herbert B. Peterson, Stefan S. Peterson, Shankar Prinja, Helen Rees, Barbara K. Rimer, Jo Rycroft-Malone, Peter Waiswa, Judith N. Wasserheit, and Dong Roman Xu.
Commentpieces are written by experts in the field and represent their own views, rather than necessarily the views of The Lancet or any Lancet specialty journal. Unlike Articles containing original research, not all Comments are externally peer reviewed.
Contact the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health communications team at sphcomm@unc.edu.
IMAGE: THE SPINY LOBSTER IS AN ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT AND COMMERCIALLY LUCRATIVE SPECIES IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO. A WORM DISCOVERED BY A CLEMSON UNIVERSITY SCIENTIST IS AFFECTING ITS REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE.view more
CREDIT: CLEMSON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
A species of nemertean worm discovered by a Clemson University marine biologist five years ago affects the reproductive performance of Caribbean spiny lobsters, a critical species in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Antonio Baeza, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, discovered the new wormwhile researching parental behaviors of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus in the Florida Keys. Baeza good-naturedly named the worm Carcinonemertes conanobrieni after comedian Conan O’Brien because of its physical characteristics — long-bodied and pale with a slight tint of orange.
The worm has been found off the coast of the Colombian and West Indies.
Caribbean spiny lobsters, which get their name from the forward-pointing spines that cover their bodies, live in the Atlantic Ocean’s tropical and subtropical waters as far north as North Carolina, as well as the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. They are one of the Caribbean’s most ecologically significant and commercially lucrative species.
Caribbean spiny lobster landings have decreased over the past decade. Scientists don’t know why, although they have identified several possibilities – overfishing, declining water quality, global climate change and environmental degradation.
A new study published in the journal BMC Zoology shows the worm discovered by Baeza is likely a contributor, too.
Artisan fishers caught 90 egg-bearing spiny lobsters near Pueblo Viejo, Magdalena, Colombia, to determine whether C. conanobrieni affected embryo mortality, fecundity and reproductive output in brooding females.
Of the 90 lobsters, nearly 88% had either nemertean worms or worm cysts and egg masses.
Embryo mortality, indicated by empty capsules and dead embryos, ranged between 0% and 43.81% in infected gravid females. Embryo mortality was absent in non-infected gravid female lobsters.
Researchers also confirmed that the presence of the worm impacted reproductive output.
“The effect of the parasite varies from female to female. Some may be heavily affected; others may not. We don’t know why yet,” Baeza said. “We know the egg predator is affecting the population level, but we cannot say for how much of an effect yet, whether it will be bad or devastating because we don’t have that data yet.”
Carcinonemertes worms have been responsible for the collapse of crustacean fisheries on the west coast of North America.
Caribbean spiny lobsters are vital for the marine ecosystem because they are prey for many predators, including sharks, large fish such as grouper and snapper, turtles and octopuses. They are predators, too, and eat snails, crabs and clams. The clams are part of a different tropic chain, so when lobsters eat them, they link tropic networks and energy flow through the entire ecosystem.
“A whole industry and coastal communities along the entire Caribbean basin rely on this species,” Baeza said.
Baeza said if researchers can understand the prevalence of the egg predator and its effects, a modeling approach might predict future landings and inform those managing the fishery to minimize adverse effects.
The effect of the egg-predator Carcinonemertes conanobrieni on the reproductive performance of the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
26-Jun-2023
Virginia Tech leads multi-institution research on polymeric solid fuel combustion
University partners will conduct experiments and develop computational models that detail how a variety of solid fuels will burn in various flow conditions.
IMAGE: MASTER’S STUDENT ETHAN SCHLUSSEL PREPARES A 2D OPTICALLY ACCESSIBLE CHAMBER ON A SOLID FUEL RAMJET RIG FOR EXPERIMENTAL TESTING AT THE ADVANCED PROPULSION AND POWER LABORATORY. THIS PARTICULAR EXPERIMENT IS LOOKING TO IMPROVE FLAME HOLDING CAPABILITIES OF A NUMBER OF SOLID FUEL SOURCES.view more
CREDIT: PHOTO BY JAMA GREEN FOR VIRGINIA TECH.
Fascination surrounding spaceflight and rockets is at an all-time high. Sites near launchpads draw crowds of spectators, eager to witness the flash of fire and feel the vibrations as the rumble of the motor becomes a roar. People, squinting and craning their necks to watch the rocket hurtle out of sight, aren’t likely thinking about the science behind the propulsion that makes it all possible.
What are the key elements that influence the combustion process? Are there advantages to utilizing solid propellants versus liquid? Simplicity, lower cost, and ease of storage and handling make solid fuel sources ideal for military and space applications.
To advance the fundamental knowledge of how polymeric solid fuels combust, the Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded $7.5 million to a multi-university partnership as part of the agency’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives program.
The project, led by Virginia Tech over the next three years, will bring together leading researchers and engineers from Penn State, Georgia Tech, Iowa State University, Stanford University, University of California Riverside, and North Carolina State University to conduct experiments and develop computational models that detail how a variety of solid fuels will burn in various flow conditions.
Research on the combustion of polymeric solid fuels has a long history, but high-level studies have revealed fundamental gaps in the chemistry and physics needed to predict results for new polymeric solids and combustors. This research is being sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, as the data gathered is relevant to the U.S. Navy and can be applied to developing high speed and hypersonic vehicles.
“Our goal is to develop a unified understanding of solid fuel combustion for different fuels under a diverse set of flow conditions,” said Virginia Tech’s Gregory Young, the primary investigator leading the multi-institutional research effort. “Through detailed measurements and computations, we will have a better understanding of the fundamental processes. This knowledge will allow for the future development of revolutionary solid fuels that may operate in extreme conditions such as high speeds and altitudes.”
Young, associate professor in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, is a leading expert in energetic materials, combustion, and propulsion. His research over the past decade has focused on the development, characterization, and optimization of energetic materials and propellants, specifically for applications in pyrotechnics, rocket propulsion, and high speed air breathing systems such as ramjets and scramjets.
Solid fuel combustion is crucial to hypersonic and space-propulsion systems. Fuel types and flowfields influence the combustion process – specifically heat transfer, pyrolysis, condensed phase chemistry, mixing, and gas phase chemistry.
Using a coordinated multidisciplinary approach involving novel experimental, theoretical, and numerical techniques, the research team aims to unravel complex, highly coupled combustion behavior of solid fuels over a wide range of conditions. Researchers will then integrate the obtained knowledge into a unified and reliable model for solid fuel combustion.
Large scale experimentation will be conducted at research facilities at Virginia Tech and Penn State. At Virginia Tech, Young and his graduate students will investigate aspects of solid fuel combustion in both subsonic and supersonic flows at the Advanced Propulsion and Power Laboratory. The interdisciplinary research facility is equipped with several state-of-the-art experimental rigs and diagnostic instrumentation systems.
Data derived from this study will enable scientists and engineers to better understand the characteristics and behavior of physicochemical processes in solid fuel combustion. With the comprehensive knowledge on how specific fuels burn at higher altitudes and accelerated speeds, researchers will be able to utilize the model to make predictions for revolutionary solid fuel sources as they are developed.
“These are complex issues, and we’ll be one of the first groups to tackle this problem in this level of detail,” said Young.
A community of subject matter experts
To expand the educational impact for students across institutions, the team will actively cross-train students among the various laboratories. For instance, Virginia Tech students will have the opportunity to travel to partner universities for hands-on experience with advanced diagnostics approaches, while students from other institutions will be able to participate in the large-scale experiments in Blacksburg.
Similarly, students will interact and cross-train on continuum modeling efforts and multiscale modeling improvements.
“This cross-training will be key in demonstrating the power of multidisciplinary research,” said Young. “We hope this experience will foster a collaborative relationship that the students can build upon as they enter the workforce together.”
The research will also involve collaborators from government labs, such as the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division; U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake; and the Air Force Research Laboratory. With a goal of training the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead the aerodynamics, combustion, and energetics communities, the project will introduce students to internship opportunities at DOD laboratories and facilities.
The model developed and knowledge gained will enable the DOD to develop revolutionary solid fuels to operate under extreme conditions of altitude and combustor residence times. The modeling and diagnostic tools developed will improve future studies on fundamental and applied combustion, and the resulting kinetic models for solid fuels represent the initial framework for binder chemistry necessary to develop composite solid-propellant models.
Tiny bubbles bursting in a drinker’s face and the bite of carbonation are all part of the experience when sipping champagne and sparkling wines. But how long can these drinks be stored in sealed bottles before they go flat? According to researchers reporting in ACS Omega, the answer depends on the container’s size. They estimate a 40-year shelf-life for 750-milliliter (25-ounce) bottles, and 82 and 132 years for 1.5-liter (50-ounce) and 3-liter (101-ounce) bottles, respectively.
The researchers measured the carbon dioxide in different champagne vintages aged for multiple decades, and estimated the original amount of yeast-produced carbon dioxide. They found that the amount of gas inside the vessels, which were sealed with metal caps, decreased the longer the bottles aged. For example, the oldest vintage from 1974 lost the most carbonation, nearly 80%. Additionally, the team observed a correlation between the volume of a bottle and the carbon dioxide level, such that larger bottles retained gas substantially better than smaller ones.
In the end, the researchers developed a formula to calculate a bottle’s shelf life, or how long aged champagne would still spontaneously produce bubbles when poured in a glass. They predicted a shelf life of 40 years for standard 750-milliliter bottles, 82 years for 1.5-liter bottles and 132 years for 3-liter bottles, after which point the champagne would be flat. From their large selection of aged champagne, going back nearly 50 years, the researchers say they’ve shown how the drink’s bubbliness over time depends on the bottle’s size.
The authors acknowledge the contributions of samples from Champagne Castelnau. Some authors are employees at Champagne Castelnau and Pe-di, a manufacturer of stoppers for the wine industry.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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In a time of income inequality and ruthless politics, people with outsized power or an unrelenting willingness to browbeat others often seem to come out ahead.
New research from Dartmouth, however, shows that being uncooperative can help people on the weaker side of the power dynamic achieve a more equal outcome—and even inflict some loss on their abusive counterpart.
The findings provide a tool based in game theory—the field of mathematics focused on optimizing competitive strategies—that could be applied to help equalize the balance of power in labor negotiations or international relations and could even be used to integrate cooperation into interconnected artificial intelligence systems such as driverless cars.
Published in the latest issue of the journal PNAS Nexus, the study takes a fresh look at what are known in game theory as "zero-determinant strategies" developed by renowned scientists William Press, now at the University of Texas at Austin, and the late Freeman Dyson at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Zero-determinant strategies dictate that "extortionists" control situations to their advantage by becoming less and less cooperative—though just cooperative enough to keep the other party engaged—and by never being the first to concede when there's a stalemate. Theoretically, they will always outperform their opponent by demanding and receiving a larger share of what's at stake.
But the Dartmouth paper uses mathematical models of interactions to uncover an "Achilles heel" to these seemingly uncrackable scenarios, said senior author Feng Fu, an associate professor of mathematics. Fu and first author Xingru Chen, who received her Ph.D. in mathematics from Dartmouth in 2021, discovered an "unbending strategy" in which resistance to being steamrolled not only causes an extortionist to ultimately lose more than their opponent but can result in a more equal outcome as the overbearing party compromises in a scramble to get the best payoff.
"Unbending players who choose not to be extorted can resist by refusing to fully cooperate. They also give up part of their own payoff, but the extortioner loses even more," said Chen, who is now an assistant professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
"Our work shows that when an extortioner is faced with an unbending player, their best response is to offer a fair split, thereby guaranteeing an equal payoff for both parties," she said. "In other words, fairness and cooperation can be cultivated and enforced by unbending players."
These scenarios frequently play out in the real world, Fu said. Labor relations provide a poignant model. A large corporation can strong-arm suppliers and producers such as farmworkers to accept lower prices for their effort by threatening to replace them and cut them off from a lucrative market. But a strike or protest can turn the balance of power back toward the workers' favor and result in more fairness and cooperation, such as when a labor union wins some concessions from an employer.
While the power dynamic in these scenarios is never equal, Fu said, his and Chen's work shows that unbending players can reap benefits by defecting from time to time and sabotaging what extortioners are truly after—the highest payoff for themselves.
"The practical insight from our work is for weaker parties to be unbending and resist being the first to compromise, thereby transforming the interaction into an ultimatum game in which extortioners are incentivized to be fairer and more cooperative to avoid 'lose-lose' situations," Fu said.
"Consider the dynamics of power between dominant entities such as Donald Trump and the lack of unbending from the Republican Party, or, on the other hand, the military and political resistance to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has helped counteract incredible asymmetry," he said. "These results can be applied to real-world situations, from social equity and fair pay to developing systems that promote cooperation among AI agents, such as autonomous driving."
Chen and Fu's paper expands the theoretical understanding of zero-determinant interactions while also outlining how the outsized power of extortioners can be checked, said mathematician Christian Hilbe, leader of the Dynamics of Social Behavior research group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany
"Among the technical contributions, they stress that even extortioners can be outperformed in some games. I don't think that has been fully appreciated by the community before," said Hilbe, who was not involved in the study but is familiar with it. "Among the conceptual insights, I like the idea of unbending strategies, behaviors that encourage an extortionate player to eventually settle at a fairer outcome."
Behavioral research involving human participants has shown that extortioners may constitute a significant portion of our everyday interactions, said Hilbe, who published a 2016 paper in the journal PLOS ONE reporting just that. He also co-authored a 2014 study in Nature Communications that found people playing against a computerized opponent strongly resisted when the computer engaged in threatening conduct, even when it reduced their own payout.
"The empirical evidence to date suggests that people do engage in these extortionate behaviors, especially in asymmetric situations, and that the extorted party often tries to resist it, which is then costly to both parties," Hilbe said.
The paper, "Outlearning extortioners: Unbending strategies can foster reciprocal fairness and cooperation," is published in the June 2023 issue of PNAS Nexus. The work was supported by the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications; theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1217336); the National Institutes of Health's Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Program (1P20GM130454); a CompX Faculty Grant from the Neukom Institute for Computational Science at Dartmouth; the Dartmouth Faculty Startup Fund; and a Walter and Constance Burke Research Initiation Award from Dartmouth.
An industrial designer has suggested that old technologies could make a comeback for a more sustainable future – such as wind-up shavers, pedal-powered tools and manual lawn mowers.
In his new book, Re-Imagining Alternative Technology, Brook S Kennedy envisions an innovative revival of underused and abandoned ideas, alongside new creative ones, to tackle global challenges such as climate change, natural resource management and pollution.
“With the global challenge of climate change, managing finite natural resources and pollution, everyone is focused on the biggest and most energy-hungry technologies. I’m suggesting that smaller, cumulative changes in our everyday lives could make a huge difference,” Kennedy explains.
“Rather than starting from scratch and face looking at an impossible task, I am suggesting design could focus on ‘modernizing’ technology we already know works. With some updating and refinement to aesthetics, performance and usability, these technologies could easily be brought back into re-use.”
Re-imagining nostalgic technologies
Kennedy is an award-winning industrial designer and Associate Professor in the School of Architecture, Arts and Design at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), US.
There his research focuses on topics in sustainable design and materials, appropriate technology, and biodesign.
Some of the nostalgic technologies he believes could make a valuable comeback include passive wind-harnessing cooling systems and human-assisted powered tools and appliances, and reusable, repairable durable goods that have become disposable in today’s context.
He also makes the case for ‘reimagining’ other domestic appliances including examples like manual carpet-sweepers and water collectors, as well as advocating for a return to reusable, durable products such as razors you can sharpen and shoe soles you can re-sole and repair.
As well as looking to the past for inspiration, Kennedy also looks at warmer climates to see if we can learn from other cultures.
He explains: “If many of these so-called forgotten alternative technologies are still common and in use mainly outside the United States, why can’t we make some changes and apply them here?”
He suggests Persian wind catchers could be used as a passive and low-energy house-cooling technique, and fog-catchers like those used in Chile and Morocco could be adapted for large-scale water-harvesting.
For public transport, Kennedy suggests the popular bicycle highways of the 1900s, as seen in Pasadena, could make a comeback, as well as water-powered funicular trains and ferries.
“There are so many more examples in transportation, architecture, and product design. Designers could help bring contemporary relevance to passive and ecological technologies, from awnings, manual carpet sweepers and more, which would have a cumulative effect on energy consumption and waste across the built environment.”
IMAGE: WEIGHTY ADDITION: THE TRUE-TO-ORIGINAL, APPROX. 260 KG CAST OF LAOCOÖN AND HIS SONS, PICTURED AFTER ITS ARRIVAL AT GOETHE UNIVERSITY’S SCULPTURE HALL. PICTURED HERE ARE ARTIST HANS EFFENBERGER (SECOND FROM LEFT), THE CURATOR OF THE COLLECTION OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES AND THE SCULPTURE HALL MATTHIAS RECKE (RIGHT), AND RESEARCHERS FROM GOETHE UNIVERSITY’S ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, ALL OF WHOM WORKED TOGETHER TO ASSEMBLE THE STATUE FROM TWELVE INDIVIDUAL PARTS. (PHOTOS: OLIVER DZIEMBA/GOETHE UNIVERSITY)view more
CREDIT: OLIVER DZIEMBA/GOETHE UNIVERSITY
Goethe University’s Sculpture Hall has received a prominent addition: a true-to-original copy of the monumental statue of Laocoön and his sons recently became part of the Collection of Classical Antiquities, bringing to Frankfurt one of the most important masterpieces of the Vatican Museums and certainly one of the most famous and influential ancient sculptures ever. The cast of the original artwork, kept in the Vatican, was custom-made for the Frankfurt collection. Making this unique project possible is a donation from York Thiel and Anni Heyrodt, a donor couple with close ties to classical archaeology in Frankfurt, who have generously supported the collection for years.
The sculpture will be handed over during a ceremony held on June 25, as part of one of the regular guided tours offered at the Sculpture Hall on Sundays. The event will also feature a lecture by Prof. Dr. Anja Klöckner and Dr. Matthias Recke (of Goethe University’s Institute for Archaeological Sciences), which will focus on the complexity of the work, its mass appeal and its reception up to the present day. The theme of the multi-figure group is taken from the popular myths surrounding the Trojan War: Apollo priest Laocoön warns the Trojans not to drag the wooden horse into the city – suspecting that doing so will seal the city's downfall. Roman poet Vergil describes how Laocoön and his sons are later attacked and killed by two enormous serpents sent by the goddess Athena.
Discovered in Rome as early as 1506, the three-figure original sculpture dating back to Roman times was completed in Michelangelo's workshop. The marble statue has had an immense influence on Renaissance art. To this day, the depiction of Laocoön, who, despite being entangled in the throes of death, also conveys tremendous dynamism, is considered one of antiquity’s greatest artistic creations.
With the Laocoön statue, the Frankfurt collection has received not only its first monumental figural group, the new acquisition also adds a new work from the period between the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D., benefiting students of archaeology and art studies, among others.
Created by professional art shapers from the German city of Leipzig, the statue consists of twelve individual parts crafted from a mold taken directly from the marble original: It is made of plaster, partly mixed with glass fiber and jute, weighs about 260 kg and is 2.42 meters high (taking into account its 35 cm pedestal, its total height comes to 2.77 meters).
Weighty addition: The true-to-original, approx. 260 kg cast of Laocoön and His Sons, pictured after its arrival at Goethe University’s Sculpture Hall. Pictured here are artist Hans Effenberger (second from left), the curator of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and the Sculpture Hall Matthias Recke (right), and researchers from Goethe University’s Archaeological Institute, all of whom worked together to assemble the statue from twelve individual parts. (Photos: Oliver Dziemba/Goethe University)
Laocoön 3 (IMAGE)
GOETHE UNIVERSITY FRANKFURT
Weighty addition: The true-to-original, approx. 260 kg cast of Laocoön and His Sons, pictured after its arrival at Goethe University’s Sculpture Hall. Pictured here are artist Hans Effenberger (second from left), the curator of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and the Sculpture Hall Matthias Recke (right), and researchers from Goethe University’s Archaeological Institute, all of whom worked together to assemble the statue from twelve individual parts. (Photos: Oliver Dziemba/Goethe University)
Weighty addition: The true-to-original, approx. 260 kg cast of Laocoön and His Sons, pictured after its arrival at Goethe University’s Sculpture Hall. Pictured here are artist Hans Effenberger (second from left), the curator of the Collection of Classical Antiquities and the Sculpture Hall Matthias Recke (right), and researchers from Goethe University’s Archaeological Institute, all of whom worked together to assemble the statue from twelve individual parts. (Photos: Oliver Dziemba/Goethe University)
