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)
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Overview of an EU project’s wild pollinator conservation efforts: Safeguard’s open-access collection
The EU Horizon 2020 project Safeguard has opened an outcomes collection in the Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO) journal.
For the past decade, the European Union has been actively investing in innovative projects, addressing major social concerns, such as climate change, renewable energy, and biodiversity loss. Although these projects give valuable results, some of the outcomes remain unseen and undiscovered by many. To avoid this knowledge oblivion, Safeguard has recently released an open-access collection in the Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO) journal.
Safeguarding European wild pollinators (Safeguard) is a four-year EU Horizon 2020 funded project (2021-2025) that brings together world-leading researchers, NGOs, and industry and policy experts to substantially contribute to Europe’s capacity to reverse the losses of wild pollinators. Safeguard aims to significantly expand current assessments of the status and trends of European wild pollinators including bees, butterflies, flies, and other pollinating insects.
The open-access collection of the project in the RIO journal will not only increase the discoverability, visibility, and recognition of the research outcomes, but also set a comfortable digital environment for knowledge exchange, collaboration, sharing, and re-use of research. The collection in RIO will ensure that Safeguard outputs remain findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable beyond the project’s lifetime.
Currently, the collection hosts 14 project papers, published in different journals and linked through their metadata. The collection will further expand to a one-stop knowledge hub, hosting a range of outputs, reports, protocols, methodologies, and research papers.
This project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101003476.
Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the EU nor the EC can be held responsible for them.
FOREVER CHEMICALS
Tracking down environmental toxins
Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by interrupted energy transfer
PFAS, a family of highly fluorinated substances, represent a danger for humans and the environment. Particularly problematic members of this family, such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) appear to cause organ damage and cancer, as well as disrupting the endocrine system. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers have now introduced a new method for an economical, easy-to-use fluorescence sensor for sensitive on-site testing for PFAS in water samples.
The term per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) refers to a group of organic compounds in which most or all the hydrogen atoms bound to the carbon atoms have been replaced with fluorine atoms. They are used to provide water-, oil-, and dirt-resistance to a variety of products, such as nonstick pans, outdoor clothing, and packaging. They may also be found in fire-suppressing foam, paint, and car polish. These compounds are highly useful—and highly dangerous when they find their way into the environment: they do not break down and thus become concentrated in plants, animals, and people.
Limits of 100 ng/l for individual specific PFAS substances and 500 ng/l for the total of all PFAS were set for drinking water in the EU. In Germany, water providers must begin testing drinking water for PFAS in 2026. The US Environmental Protection Agency has set stricter limits: for the most widespread PFAS (PFOS and PFOA), the upper limit is set at 4nm/l for each substance.
The usual method used to detect such trace amounts involves chromatography and mass spectrometry, is time-consuming and expensive, and requires complex equipment and experienced personnel. Timothy M. Swager and Alberto Concellón at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, have now introduced a technique for making a portable, inexpensive test that uses fluorescence measurements to easily and selectively detect PFAS in water samples.
The test is based on a polymer—in the form of a thin film or nanoparticles—with fluorinated sidechains that have fluorinated dye molecules (squaraine derivatives) embedded in them. The special polymer backbone (poly-phenylene ethynylene) absorbs violet light and transfers the light energy to the dye by an electron exchange (Dexter mechanism). The dye then fluoresces red. If PFAS are present in the sample, they enter the polymer and displace the dye molecules by a fraction of a nanometer. This is enough to stop the electron exchange and thus the energy transfer. The dye’s red fluorescence is “switched off”, while the blue fluorescence of the polymer is “switched on”. The degree of fluorescence change is proportional to the concentration of PFAS.
This new technique, which has a detection limit in the µg/l range for PFOA and PFOS is suitable for on-site detection in highly contaminated regions. Detection of trace amounts of these contaminants in drinking water can be achieved with sufficient precision after pre-concentration of the samples by solid-phase extraction.
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About the Author
Dr. Timothy M. Swager is a Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research is at the chemistry/materials interface and he has pioneered the use of novel materials in the creation of chemical sensors with ultra-trace detection capabilities. Dr. Alberto Concellón was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, and is presently at Ramón y Cajal Researcher at the University of Zaragoza, Spain working on functional self-assembled materials.
SARS-COV-2 BINDS TO ACE2 PROTEIN. THE PROTEASE TMPRSS2 THEN CLEAVES THE SPIKE TO ENABLE VIRAL FUSION AND ENTRY INTO THE TARGET CELL. HKU1 BINDS DIRECTLY TO TMPRSS2 IN ORDER TO ENTER THE CELL WITHOUT USING ACE2.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19 can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome, contrasting with other coronaviruses that were known to cause mild seasonal colds prior to its emergence in 2019. This raises the question of why one coronavirus affects humans more severely than another. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité and the VRI have now provided part of the answer by identifying a gateway used by the seasonal coronavirus HKU1 to enter human cells. HKU1 binds to a different receptor than SARS-CoV-2, which may partly explain the difference in severity between these two coronaviruses. Receptors provide a useful means of elucidating coronavirus transmissibility and pathology as part of surveillance work on viral evolution. These results are published in the October 25, 2023 issue of Nature.
Seven coronaviruses are known for their ability to infect humans. Four of these are generally mild: HKU1, 229E, NL63 and OC43, while the other three are more pathogenic: SARS-CoV-1, Mers-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.
The HKU1 virus was first identified in an elderly patient with severe pneumonia in Hong Kong in 2005. Like SARS-CoV-2, HKU1 mainly infects upper respiratory tract cells. However, it rarely affects the bronchi and alveoli in the lungs. The HKU1 virus causes colds and other mild respiratory symptoms. Complications may also occur, including severe respiratory tract infections, particularly in young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. It is estimated that 70% of children are infected before the age of 6. In total, 75 to 95% of the global population has been exposed to HKU1, which is comparable to other seasonal human coronaviruses.
At cellular level, coronavirus spike proteins are cleaved, or split in two, after binding to their receptors. This cleavage phenomenon is vital for viral fusion, entry and multiplication. Some coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2 and NL63) use the ACE2 receptor as a gateway for entering cells. Until now, HKU1 and OC43 were the only coronaviruses with unknown receptors.
Through collaboration between scientists at eight Institut Pasteur units, it was possible to identify the TMPRSS2 enzyme as the receptor to which HKU1 binds to enter cells. Once binding has occurred, TMPRSS2 triggers fusion of HKU1 with the cell, leading to viral infection. Through a combination of techniques performed in vitro and in cell culture, the scientists demonstrated that the TMPRSS2 receptor has high affinity with the HKU1 spike, which is not the case for SARS-CoV-2.
"Once a receptor has been identified for a virus, it is possible to characterize target cells more accurately, while also gaining insights on viral entry and multiplication mechanisms and infection pathophysiology," comments, Olivier Schwartz, co-last author of the study and Head of the Institut Pasteur's Virus and Immunity unit.
"Our findings also shed light on the various evolution strategies employed by coronaviruses, which use TMPRSS2 either to bind to target cells or trigger fusion and viral entry," adds Julian Buchrieser, co-last author of the study and scientist in the Institut Pasteur's Virus and Immunity unit.
These human-pathogenic viruses' use of different receptors probably affects their degree of severity. Receptor levels vary among respiratory tract cells, thus influencing the sensitivity of cells to infection and viral spread. Once the route of viral entry into cells is known, it should also be possible to fight infection more effectively by developing targeted therapies and assess the risk of virulence posed by any future emerging coronaviruses.
In parallel with this work, Institut Pasteur teams led by Pierre Lafaye and Felix Rey have developed and characterized nano-antibodies (very small antibodies) that inhibit HKU1 infection by binding to the TMPRSS2 receptor. These reagents have been patented for potential therapeutic activities.
This work was funded by the above-mentioned research bodies with additional support from the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM), ANRS-Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Institute, the European HERA DURABLE project, the Labex IBEID and the ANR/FRM Flash Covid project.
Human respiratory tissue with ciliated cells stained green (anti-TMPRSS2 antibodies), nuclei in dark blue and cell membranes in light blue.
HOW FAST DOES A DROPLET FLOW ALONG A FIBRE? IT DEPENDS ON THE DIAMETER OF THE FIBRE... AND ALSO ON ITS SUBSTRUCTURE! THESE ARE THE FINDINGS OF A STUDY CONDUCTED BY RESEARCHERS FROM THE GRASP MABPRATORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LIÈGE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN MICROFLUIDICS, ESPECIALLY WATER HARVESTING IN ARID/SEMI-ARID REGIONS OF OUR PLANET.
How fast does a droplet flow along a fiber? It depends on the diameter of the fiber... and also on its substructure! These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Liège who are interested in microfluidics, especially water harvesting in arid/semi-arid regions of our planet. These results are the subject of a publication highlighted by the editors in the journal Physical Review Fluids.
Similar to moisture farms imagined in science-fiction worlds like that of "Star Wars," many plant species from arid or semi-arid regions of Earth have developed ingenious strategies to capture water from the air, ensuring their survival. Recently, researchers have focused on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of water transport, intending to reproduce and improve them, especially for facilitating the collection of atmospheric moisture in deserts. A recent study led by the GRASP at the University of Liège (ULiège) has sought to better grasp the factors influencing these precious droplets' movement. To do this, scientists have tracked in real-time the characteristics and dynamics of these droplets as they slid along individual fibres or bundles of fibres.
"Following a droplet as it descends along a vertical fibre under the influence of gravity presents a complex experimental challenge: how to track a droplet over several meters of thread? Explains Matteo Léonard, a researcher at GRASP and the study's lead author. To address this problem, researchers devised a clever device in their laboratory. "Instead of following the fall of a droplet, we set the fibre in motion so that its speed is exactly equal and opposite to that of the droplet. This way, the droplet remains 'stationary' in front of the camera." With this challenge overcome, they first used fibres of different diameters. They observed that droplets had a lower speed at a given volume when the fibres were thicker, as predicted by theory. Subsequently, researchers created bundles of fibres by tying the ends of two or more fibres together and applying slight torsion to ensure contact between all the fibres. "This configuration created a bundle of fibres with grooves, similar to the braiding of strands in a rope, which resulted in grooves appearing on the cord," explains Matteo Leonard. In this configuration, researchers observed the same behaviours as with single fibres: as the number of fibres in the bundle increased, the overall diameter of the bundle increased, resulting in lower speed at a given volume. This predictable behaviour, however, concealed a more complex phenomenon...
Indeed, what about the behaviour of the droplet in the case where both configurations (single and bundle) have the same diameter (i.e., a fibre with a diameter of 0.28mm versus two fibres with a diameter of 0.14mm)? Since the hindrance of the phenomenon is dissipation (i.e., friction within the liquid and between the liquid and the fibre), one might expect that both cases would yield identical results because the contact surface between the liquid and the fibre is the same. "Not at all. We observed that over the same distance travelled, the droplet on the bundle of fibres was faster. It also lost the most volume." Researchers believe that in this configuration, the droplet loses volume because it tends to "fill" the grooves with its own volume, thereby creating a liquid rail on which it slides more efficiently and thus faster.
The results of this study make a significant contribution to the field of designing structures for atmospheric water collection. Notably, it can potentially improve the efficiency of cloud nets, which consist of a network of fibres, at a low cost. Furthermore, this research highlights the growing importance of substructures regularly observed on organisms living in desert environments. These substructures, such as micro-grooves or micro-hairs, demonstrate nature's ingenuity in capturing and transporting water, inspiring future technological innovations.
How fast does aTIONdroplet flow along a fibre? It depends on the diameter of the fibre... and also on its substructure!
CREDIT
@University of Liège/GRASP/M.Leonard
*A moisture farm is an area of land devoted to the production of water by extracting moisture from dry air.
Researchers have discovered a protein that seals plant roots to regulate the uptake of nutrients and water from the soil, the discovery could help develop climate proof crops that require less water and chemical fertilizers.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham identified new components of the lignin barrier in plant roots and the specific function of dirigent proteins (DPs), located in the root endodermis that control water and nutrient uptake. Their findings have been published today in Science Direct.
Plant roots function by absorbing mineral nutrients and water from the soil and also controlling their proper balance in the plant. This control is exerted by a specialised layer of root tissue called the endodermis.
The endodermis contains a barrier to the movement of solutes and water that is made of lignin, the same material present in wood. This impermeable barrier blocks the uncontrolled movement of material into the root, by forming a tight seal between cells. This seal ensures the only pathway for nutrients and water to be taken up by roots is through the cells of the endodermis. This allows full cellular control over what enters and leaves the plant via the roots.
This research has identified new components of the lignin deposition machinery that focus on the function of dirigent proteins (DPs), located in the root endodermis. These proteins act in coordination with other described root regulatory components to direct and organize the correct deposition of lignin in the endodermis allowing the plant to ensure it receives the optimum balance of nutrients from the soil.
Dr Gabriel Castrillo from the University of Nottingham’s School of Biosciences one of the leaders of the research, said: “With record temperatures being reached in parts of the world this year and erratic rainfall it is ever more important to understand the mechanisms of plants so we can future proof them to secure future food supplies. This research shows how plant roots regulate their uptake of water and nutrients through the deposition of lignin, which is regulated by DPs. Without these proteins, proper root sealing is not completed and the nutrient balance in the plant is compromised. We can use this knowledge to engineer plants to be able to grow with less water and chemical fertilizers.”
From the Greek island of Santorini, the eruption had been visible for several weeks. In the late summer of 1650, people reported that the colour of the water had changed and the water was boiling. About seven kilometres north-east of Santorini, an underwater volcano had risen from the sea and began ejecting glowing rocks. Fire and lightning could be seen, and plumes of smoke darkened the sky. Then the water suddenly receded, only to surge towards the coastline moments later, battering it with waves up to 20 metres high. A huge bang was heard more than 100 kilometres away, pumice and ash fell on the surrounding islands, and a deadly cloud of poisonous gas claimed several lives.
"We know these details of the historic eruption of Kolumbo because there are contemporary reports that were compiled and published by a French volcanologist in the 19th century," says Dr Jens Karstens, marine geophysicist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. But how did these devastating events come about? To find out, he and his German and Greek colleagues went to the Greek Aegean Sea in 2019 to study the volcanic crater with special technology. Karstens: "We wanted to understand how the tsunami came about at that time and why the volcano exploded so violently."
On board the now decommissioned research vessel POSEIDON, the team used 3D seismic methods to create a three-dimensional image of the crater, which is now 18 metres below the water's surface. Dr Gareth Crutchley, co-author of the study: "This allows us to look inside the volcano." Not only did the 3D imaging show that the crater was 2.5 kilometres in diameter and 500 metres deep, suggesting a truly massive explosion, the seismic profiles also revealed that one flank of the cone had been severely deformed. Crutchley: "This part of the volcano has certainly slipped." The researchers then took a detective’s approach, comparing the various mechanisms that could have caused the tsunami with the historical eyewitness accounts. They concluded that only a combination of a landslide followed by a volcanic explosion could explain the tsunami. Their findings are published today in the journal Nature Communications.
By combining 3D seismics with computer simulations, the researchers were able to reconstruct how high the waves would have been if they had been generated by the explosion alone. Karstens: "According to this, waves of six metres would have been expected at one particular location, but we know from the reports of eyewitnesses that they were 20 metres high there". Furthermore, the sea is said to have first receded at another point, but in the computer simulation a wave crest reaches the coast first. Thus, the explosion alone cannot explain the tsunami event. However, when the landslide was included in the simulations, the data agreed with historical observations.
Jens Karstens explains: "Kolumbo consists partly of pumice with very steep slopes. It is not very stable. During the eruption, which had been going on for several weeks, lava was continuously ejected. Underneath, in the magma chamber, which contained a lot of gas, there was enormous pressure. When one of the volcano's flanks slipped, the effect was like uncorking a bottle of champagne: the sudden release of pressure allowed the gas in the magma system to expand, resulting in a huge explosion". Something similar could have happened during the 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga undersea volcano, whose volcanic crater has a similar shape to Kolumbo's.
The study thus provides valuable information for the development of monitoring programmes for active submarine volcanic activity, such as SANTORY, which is led by co-author Prof. Dr Paraskevi Nomikou of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). "We hope to be able to use our results to develop new approaches to monitor volcanic unrest," says Jens Karstens, "maybe even an early warning system, collecting data in real time. That would be my dream”.
About 3D Marine Reflection Seismics
3D seismics is a geophysical technique that exploits the fact that sound waves are partially reflected at the boundaries of layers. This makes it possible to create cross-sectional profiles of geological structures beneath the seabed. Unlike 2D reflection seismics, marine 3D reflection seismics uses multiple measuring cables (housing receivers) towed in parallel behind the research vessel. The result is a three-dimensional image, known as a seismic volume, which allows us to look beneath the seafloor and analyse the geology in detail.
PROFESSOR DR KAYVAN BOZORGMEHR FROM BIELEFELD UNIVERSITY IS ONE OF THE TWO RESEARCHERS LEADING THE STUDY, WHICH PROPOSES HOW THE DATA SITUATION ON MIGRATION AND HEALTH IN HEALTH SYSTEMS CAN BE IMPROVED.
Despite rising global mobility, the state of migrant and refugee health data in European health systems is a concern, a new study shows. The analysis by an international coalition of universities, UN organizations, government representatives, and European institutions published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health Europe reveals that coverage of migrant and refugee data remains inconsistent and of suboptimal quality. According to the study this issue is not due to a lack of knowledge or technological resources but rather arises from multiple political and structural factors at local, national, and European levels that hinder the effective implementation of existing guidelines. The coalition, led by Bielefeld University in Germany and Uppsala University in Sweden, proposes a roadmap for policy makers and European health systems to improve the situation.
‘Migrant and refugee health data is more than just statistics. It's about human lives and well-being, but also of unnoticed inequalities if health needs go unmeasured,’ says Professor Dr Kayvan Bozorgmehr. In his view health systems committed to inclusive and equitable healthcare need to ensure that migrants and refugees are not systematically excluded from data collection systems. Bozorgmehr and his colleague Dr Soorej Puthoopparambil from Uppsala University led the international coalition of authors including ten European universities, three national public health agencies, three Collaborating Centres of the World Health Organization, as well as several institutions and United Nations (UN) agencies such as the World Health Organization Regional Office Europe, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The article was produced in the scope of the Lancet Migration European Hub’s activities and published in the medical journal The Lancet Regional Health. The study reveals glaring gaps in including migrants and refugees in national data collection systems, which, according to the authors, hinder these groups from exercising their basic human rights and prevents the governments in creating inclusive and healthy societies. One of the study’s main conclusions is that the existing disparity in data collection reflects the low political priority given to this topic and the intricate governance challenges tied to migration and displacement.
In response to the identified shortcomings in current health information systems, the authors propose a roadmap to bridge the divide between knowledge and action. They propose four critical approaches for European health systems:
Systematic data collection: Implement strategies that ensure migrant and refugee health data is collected, analyzed, and disseminated in a systematic manner, filling the existing gaps and informing evidence-based policy decisions.
Privacy safeguards and data integration: Capitalise on methods that protect privacy while facilitating the linkage of data from various sources to generate comprehensive data at relatively low cost. This requires ensuring that the highest standards of data protection are upheld.
Inclusive survey methods: Adopt methods that consider the diverse needs and backgrounds of migrant and refugee populations when conducting surveys.
Empowerment through engagement: Engage migrants and refugees in decision-making about their health and health data. Their voices should shape the policies and practices that directly impact their lives.
The WHO European Region hosts approximately, 36 per cent of the global international migrant population. The study stresses that health of migrants and refugees is a question that cannot be ignored.
‘Countries need to move from ad-hoc to systematic approaches to pro-actively include migrants and refugees in health information systems, thereby promoting equity in health,’ says Soorej Puthoopparambil. This includes capitalizing on existing data sources while tapping new ones. The report proposes a change management approach to narrow the gap between knowledge and action, building a bridge towards healthcare policies and practices that are genuinely inclusive of migrants and refugees. ‘In doing so, societies will not only promote the well-being of migrants and refugees, but will also better serve public health needs of their societies and promote equity in European health systems,’ says Kayvan Bozorgmehr.
Original publication: Kayvan Bozorgmehr, Martin McKee, Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Jozef Bartovic, Ines Campos-Matos, Tsvetelina-Ivanova Gerganova, Ailish Hannigan, Jelena Janković, Daniela Kállayová, Josiah Kaplan, Ilker Kayi, Elias Kondilis, Lene Lundberg, Isabel de la Mata, Aleksandar Medarević, Jozef Suvada, Kolitha Wickramage, Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil: Integration of migrant and refugee data in health information systems in Europe: advancing evidence, policy and practice. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100744, published on 27th October 2023.
Research on the trillions of microorganisms that make up a person’s microbiome can lead to medical breakthroughs to treat diseases like inflammatory bowel syndrome and diabetes. According to Alyssa Bader, a Tsimshian Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University, microbiome samples from Indigenous communities have the potential to further Western medicine, but those same communities often have been excluded from the research process and may miss out on the benefits that result from their contributions to science. There is also a history of this research exploiting and harming Indigenous peoples.
“Microbes associated with Indigenous peoples have been framed as valuable resources to restore lost microbial diversity and treat chronic disease in industrialized populations, but these research directions often do not center the research needs or interests of the Indigenous communities that researchers rely on for microbiome data,” said Bader.
Two perspectives pieces published recently in Nature Microbiology by an international team, including Bader, of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from institutions, including University of Adelaide, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania State University and others, look to rectify the issue.
The articles lay out a framework for ethical microbiome research practices that include Indigenous communities and ensure that these communities reap the benefits from their contributions. The researchers discuss the Indigenous principle of relationality, in which people are interconnected to each other and the world around them, as a framework to guide human microbiome researchers to work in partnership with Indigenous people.
Research with Indigenous communities should be deeply collaborative and uphold Indigenous sovereignty throughout the research process, added Bader. “This includes ensuring Indigenous community partners have a central role in developing research questions, establishing protocols for research consent and data management, and interpreting and communicating results,” she said.
Research on the trillions of microorganisms that make up a person’s microbiome can lead to medical breakthroughs to treat diseases like inflammatory bowel syndrome and diabetes. According to Alyssa Bader, a Tsimshian Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University, microbiome samples from Indigenous communities have the potential to further Western medicine, but those same communities often have been excluded from the research process and may miss out on the benefits that result from their contributions to science. There is also a history of this research exploiting and harming Indigenous peoples.
“Microbes associated with Indigenous peoples have been framed as valuable resources to restore lost microbial diversity and treat chronic disease in industrialized populations, but these research directions often do not center the research needs or interests of the Indigenous communities that researchers rely on for microbiome data,” said Bader.
Two perspectives pieces published recently in Nature Microbiology by an international team, including Bader, of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers from institutions, including University of Adelaide, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania State University and others, look to rectify the issue.
The articles lay out a framework for ethical microbiome research practices that include Indigenous communities and ensure that these communities reap the benefits from their contributions. The researchers discuss the Indigenous principle of relationality, in which people are interconnected to each other and the world around them, as a framework to guide human microbiome researchers to work in partnership with Indigenous people.
Research with Indigenous communities should be deeply collaborative and uphold Indigenous sovereignty throughout the research process, added Bader. “This includes ensuring Indigenous community partners have a central role in developing research questions, establishing protocols for research consent and data management, and interpreting and communicating results,” she said.
