FOREVER CHEMICALS

PFAS in blood are ubiquitous – and they are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases

Findings from the Bonn “Rhineland Study” and the Netherlands

DZNE - GERMAN CENTER FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES

Researchers at DZNE provide evidence that traces of the widely used PFAS chemicals in human blood are associated with unfavorable lipid profiles and thus with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. The findings are based on data from more than 2,500 adults from Bonn and the Dutch municipality of Leiderdorp. PFAS were detectable in the blood of nearly all study participants. The study results have been published in the renowned scientific journal Exposure and Health.

Since their invention in the 1950s, more than 10,000 different substances from the category of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS) have been developed, according to estimates. Due to their water, fat and dirt-repellent properties, they are used in thousands of products such as cosmetics, dental floss, but also in pan coatings and fire-extinguishing foam. In addition to their basic chemical structure, PFAS have another thing in common: they are nearly non-degradable. Particularly via groundwater that they enter the human food chain.

Younger people are particularly affected

The findings of the Bonn researchers are the latest contribution to the current debate on the effect of PFAS on human health. “We see clear signs of a harmful effect of PFAS on health. And we have found that at the same PFAS concentration in the blood, the negative effects are more pronounced in younger subjects than in older ones,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. Monique Breteler, Director of Population Health Sciences at DZNE. The results of the current study also suggest that even relatively low PFAS concentrations in the blood are associated with unfavorable blood lipid profiles.

“Our data shows a statistically significant correlation between PFAS in the blood and harmful blood lipids linked to cardiovascular risk. The higher the PFAS level, the higher the concentration of these lipids. Taken strictly, this is not yet a proof that PFAS chemicals cause the unfavorable blood lipid profiles. However, the close correlation supports this suspicion. It is a strong argument for stricter regulation of PFAS in order to protect health,” says the Bonn researcher. Strikingly, PFAS could be detected in the blood of almost all test subjects. Which means you cannot escape these chemicals. “Even if we don’t see an immediate health threat for the study participants we examined, the situation is still worrying. In the long term, the increased risk may very well have a negative impact on the heart and cardiovascular system,” says Breteler.

Blood samples from Bonn and the Netherlands

The current study was based on DZNE’s “Rhineland Study” – a population-based health study in the Bonn urban area – and the so-called NEO study from the Netherlands (“Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study”). In this framework, researchers from DZNE collaborated with experts from the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Blood samples from a total of more than 2,500 women and men aged between 30 and 89 were included in the analyses. For this, state-of-the-art technology was used. “The technology to analyze blood samples with the accuracy required for our research has only become available in recent years,” says DZNE scientist Elvire Landstra. She is the first author of the current publication together with a colleague from Leiden.

Most detailed study so far

The blood samples were analyzed in detail using a sophisticated method known as mass spectrometry. In their analysis, the researchers focused on three of the most widespread types of PFAS – PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS – and also determined the concentration of 224 blood lipids, metabolites and amino acids. “With this ‘untargeted approach’ – an intentionally broad approach without a preconceived target – we were able to prove the connection between the PFAS concentration and a problematic profile of fatty substances, so-called lipids. These include the well-known cholesterol and various other blood lipids that are known to be risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” says Elvire Landstra. No significant differences were found between the samples from Bonn and Leiderdorp. “Our study is the most detailed on this topic to date and the one with the largest database. Previous studies had already suggested a correlation between PFAS and unhealthy blood lipids, but this link had never been as clear as in our study.”

Future studies could focus on specific areas of the body, the Bonn researchers suggest. “We looked at the blood levels. In a next step, it would make sense to investigate the occurrence of PFAS in individual organs,” Monique Breteler says.

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About the “Rhineland Study”: Since 2016, DZNE has been researching factors that influence human health into old age as part of the “Rhineland Study” - a population-based study in the Bonn area that is designed to last for decades. The focus is on the brain. Study participants are invited every few years to take stock of their physical and mental fitness, and the development of their health is recorded. The entire examination program takes about seven hours each time. It includes the collection of biomaterials such as blood and urine, lifestyle surveys, cardiovascular examinations, tests of cognitive abilities and physical fitness, and a variety of other examinations using state-of-the-art medical technology - including brain scans in magnetic resonance imaging.

The Rhineland Study has gathered widespread support from already over 10,000 study participants, each making a valuable contribution to health research through their participation. As of this spring, the study centers are once again welcoming new and interested participants. www.rheinland-studie.de/en

About the Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases): DZNE is a research institute for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, which are associated with dementia, movement disorders and other serious health impairments. To date, there are no cures for these diseases, which represent an enormous burden for countless affected individuals, their families, and the healthcare system. The aim of DZNE is to develop novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis, care, as well as treatment, and to transfer them into practice. DZNE comprises ten sites across Germany, it cooperates with universities, university hospitals, research centers and other institutions in Germany and abroad. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association and of the German Centers for Health Research. www.dzne.de/en

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JOURNAL

Exposure and Health

DOI

10.1007/s12403-023-00622-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Concentrations are Associated with an Unfavorable Cardio-Metabolic Risk Profile

 

Study: Adding folic acid to table salt could prevent life-threatening birth defects

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EMORY HEALTH SCIENCES

 

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THE PARTICIPANTS OF AN INTERNATIONAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ADDING FOLIC ACID TO IODIZED TABLE SALT IN THE PREVENTION OF SERIOUS BIRTH DEFECTS HOLD CONTAINERS OF THE FORTIFIED SALT THEY RECEIVED AS PART OF THE STUDY.

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

A team of international researchers—including experts from the University of Central Florida and Emory University—has proven, for the first time in a field study, that using folic acid-fortified iodized table salt can prevent multiple severe birth defects.

The importance of women having enough folic acid in their bodies before and during pregnancy to prevent permanent and life-threatening birth defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, has been known for decades. The World Health Organization recommends that all women should take supplement pills with 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, from the moment they begin attempting to conceive through the first three months of pregnancy.

Mandatory staple food fortification with folic acid is a cost-effective, safe, and an equitable way to address the issue. In May 2023, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution promoting food fortification with folic acid to accelerate the slow pace of prevention of spina bifida and other birth defects associated with low maternal folate levels at the time of early pregnancy.

Yet approximately 260,000 births worldwide—about 20 per every 10,000 births—are still affected by spina bifida and anencephaly, contributing to a high number of stillbirths, elective pregnancy terminations, and deaths of infants and young children.

The problem

While folic acid has been added through mandatory staple grain food fortification in about 65 countries, including the United States, more than 100 countries have yet to implement fortification due to challenges that include limited capacity for large-scale fortification of staple grains in these regions or lack of political will.

A solution

A new study published Friday by JAMA Network Open showed that a solution is not only possible, many people already have it on their kitchen tables.

The clinical trial showed that mixing folic acid to commercially available iodized table salt, based on the existing average daily consumption of salt, increased serum folate levels among participants to levels needed for prevention of spina bifida and anencephaly. The increase was significant, a 3.7-fold improvement before and after a four-month period of using the study salt with iodine and folic acid.

“We proved that folic acid can get into the blood through salt. Hopefully countries that have not already implemented fortification programs can now look at their infrastructures and realize that salt fortification is cheap and it’s really easy to add in the amount of folic acid needed to save lives,” says Jogi Pattisapu, MD, the study’s lead author and a neurosurgeon from UCF’s College of Medicine. “It might just turn the salt a little yellow, but the participants did not mind and we know it works. What we need now is action.”

Why it matters

Pattisapu credits the study’s successful outcome to the collaborative nature of the research team, specifically the efforts and expertise of researchers from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and the colleagues from multiple institutions in India, who co-led the study and recruited and monitored the 83 non-pregnant women—who were between the ages of 18-45, from four different villages in southern India—who consumed the folic acid-fortified salt as part of their regular diet during a four-month period in 2022. India has a high prevalence of spina bifida and anencephaly.

“Work was done there, by the Indian team, for their cause,” Pattisapu says. “That was very important, and it is a powerful message.”

Even though food fortification is mandatory in the United States, the researchers say the impact of this new study could be felt globally in countries with successful salt iodization programs.

“This is a global goodwill involving the health of mothers and babies. We are making sure we apply the knowledge we have,” says Vijaya Kancherla, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Rollins. “These are preventable birth defects and once it happens, you cannot cure it. Surgeries and clinical care are expensive and largely not available in low- and middle-income countries. Due to that, most babies with spina bifida die globally. So, it is a human rights issue that everyone should be worried about and should strive to find alternate solutions that prevent these conditions from occurring in the first place, no matter where one is born. We show that salt has the potential to close the prevention gap now.”

The researchers also made it clear the study does not promote salt intake, but rather adding the necessary amount of folic acid to the table salt that residents of these regions are already consuming. If the average daily salt consumption is reduced in these regions, the concentration of folic acid would simply be increased, to meet the need. This approach is already used in grain fortification program.

The researchers said at least 50 percent of the current global spina bifida cases would be prevented if the major, already existing iodized salt programs took the simple step of adding folic acid.

“We now know folic acid fortification of iodized salt can prevent folate deficiency that causes spina bifida,” says Godfrey Oakley Jr., MD, director of the Center for Spina Bifida Prevention at Rollins. “The stage is now set for a rapid acceleration of prevention of these birth defects in many countries”

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

ARTICLE TITLE

Folic Acid–Fortified Iodized Salt and Serum Folate Levels in Reproductive-AgedWomen of Rural India A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial

 

Turns out—male roundworms are picky when choosing a mate, new research finds

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER

 

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DOUGLAS PORTMAN, PHD, PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL GENETICS AT THE DEL MONTE INSTITUTE FOR NEUROSCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

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CREDIT: JOHN SCHLIA PHOTOGRAPHY

A piece of rotting fruit is likely covered in hundreds if not thousands of microscopic roundworms, including C. elegans—a popular experimental model system for studying neurogenetics. With a lifespan of only a few weeks, C. elegans must reproduce quickly and often. The species is made up of hermaphrodites and males. The hermaphrodites have female bodies, can self-fertilize, and can mate with males. Recent research from of the Portman Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester, found the males do not mate indiscriminately—they are selective about things like age, mating history, and nutrition.

“We have been aware of many of the mating cues this species uses, but this is the first time we have been able to look at them together to learn more about what they tell a male about a potential mate,” Doug Portman, PhD, professor of Biomedical Genetics said. “Assessing a mate’s characteristics seems to be something that only the male does. Understanding sex differences in C. elegans gives us important insight into how genes influence the function of neurons and circuits to guide innate behaviors—like choosing a mate.”

C. elegans is an invaluable tool to neuroscience research. Scientists have identified all of the roundworm’s neurons—there are only a few hundred of them—and the connections between its neurons have also been mapped, providing a model for understanding how neuronal circuits work in humans. It is well understood that mating is a priority for male C. elegans. Previous research out of the Portman lab found male C. elegans will suppress the ability to locate food in order to find a mate.

In a study out today in Current Biology, the Portman lab conducted experiments to observe how roundworms in petri dishes choose between potential mates. They discovered that the male worms used diverse chemical (pheromones) and physical (touch) signals to determine the sex, age, nutritional health, and mating history of the hermaphrodites. Researchers found male worms can determine a hermaphrodite’s nutritional status—whether it is healthy or food-deprived—and whether it has previously mated. When given a choice, the males showed preference toward hermaphrodites that have not previously mated with another male and are nutritionally healthy. However, once a hermaphrodite is a few days old—approaching middle age for a worm—it puts out a powerful sex pheromone that attracts males over long distances. That is because it starts to run out of its own sperm, so finding a mate becomes a more important.

“Each time we learn more about the role genetic sex plays in neural circuits to generate different behavioral outcomes, and the neuronal mechanisms that underlie them, we come closer to understanding the role that genes play in sculpting innate behavior,” Portman said. “We now aim to better understand how the male’s neural circuits integrate different mating cues and arrive at a decision about what to do.”

Additional authors include first author Jintao Luo, PhD, of Xiamen University, Chance Bainbridge and Renee Miller of the University of Rochester, and Arantza Barrios of the University College London. This research was supported by the National Institute of Health, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, and the Leverhulme Trust.

C. elegans under microscope in Portman lab at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

CREDIT

John Schlia Photography

JOURNAL

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.036 

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Mar-2024

 

Anemonefish are better taxonomists than humans

Scientists reveal new lineages of giant sea anemones in Japan and their surprising associations with anemonefish.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

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MAP SHOWING THE LOCATIONS OF SEA ANEMONE SAMPLE COLLECTION SITES IN JAPAN. CREDIT: KASHIMOTO ET AL., 2023

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CREDIT: KASHIMOTO ET AL., 2023

Anemonefish form mutualistic relationships with the sea anemones they live in and these associations are not random: some species such as the yellow-tail anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) are generalists and can live in almost any sea anemone, others like the tomato clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus) are specialists, living in only one sea anemone species, the bubble-tip sea anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). Reasons for these preferences are unclear because we know very little about the genetic diversity of giant sea anemones.  

Researchers at the Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit and Marine Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and Academia Sinica in Taiwan have studied the evolutionary history of giant sea anemones in Japan. Rio Kashimoto, Dr. Manon Mercader, Jann Zwahlen, Dr. Saori Miura, Prof. Konstantin Khalturin and Prof. Vincent Laudet published their findings in the journal Current Biology. Their study provides a detailed analysis of the genetic diversity of the bubble-tip giant sea anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) found in Japan.  

The scientists discovered that anemonefish are better at distinguishing different populations of giant sea anemones than humans. Through one or more sensory organs, these fish identify a particular species of giant sea anemone to make their home and avoid other species. Humans, on the other hand, need to obtain samples from sea anemones and do a thorough examination of their molecular data to identify individual sea anemone species. This is precisely what the scientists at OIST did to better understand the genetic variation among these soft-bodied marine invertebrates.

Giant sea anemones have evolved into 3 very different genera:  Entacmaea (bubble-tip sea anemones), Stichodactyla (carpet sea anemones), and Heteractis (magnificent sea anemones). There are currently 10 known species of giant sea anemones worldwide and 7 of these live in Okinawa. The researchers collected pieces of tentacles from all 7 species. In total, 55 samples were collected in Japan at study sites ranging from southern Okinawa to north of Tokyo.

All the genes in each sample were sequenced — a technique that enabled the researchers to determine the specific genetic information contained within RNA molecules. Using this information, they were able to construct a phylogenetic tree, a diagram showing the evolutionary relationships among species and how they evolved from a series of common ancestors.  

The scientists discovered remarkable genetic variety within the bubble-tip sea anemone specimens, identifying 4 unique genetic lineages — a sequence of species considered to have evolved from its predecessor.  

“Within the bubble-tip giant sea anemone species (Entacmaea) our phylogenetic tree reveals the presence of two main groups with a common ancestor in Okinawa. The first group consists of three categories of descendants, A, B, and C, which are associated with the yellow-tail anemonefish as the host species. The second group, category D, is associated with the tomato anemonefish as the host species,” Rio Kashimoto, lead author of the paper, explained.

The researchers observed this association in the wild and wanted to know if the fish can also distinguish between the two sea anemone groups in captivity. They conducted a choice experiment using a large tank at the OIST Marine Science Station, putting one sea anemone from group A at one end of the tank and one from group D at the other end. They placed either a yellow-tail or tomato juvenile anemonefish in the middle of the tank and recorded if the fish chose to stay in a sea anemone or not, and if it did, which sea anemone group the species chose. 

The yellow-tail anemonefish always selected group A when they chose to stay in a sea anemone, but some fish did not select a sea anemone. Most tomato anemonefish chose the lineage D sea anemone, very few individuals chose lineage A, and some did not select a sea anemone. 

“In lab experiments we observed that in most cases each anemonefish species can recognize the sea anemone lineage it is associated with in the wild, despite the fact the clades look the same. We also observed that these lineages do not express the same genes, especially genes for toxicity and color — sea anemones use venom for prey capture, digestion and defense, and they probably do not have the same odor, which may be a key part in how anemonefish recognize different lineages,” Prof. Laudet, leader of the Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit, stated.

“Therefore, anemonefish are able to identify distinct lineages of sea anemones that we humans can’t distinguish. We believe that these two main groups represent two cryptic species — species that we cannot identify by looking at them, but they are genetically distinct.”   

This discovery means that the bubble-tip sea anemone could in fact be two different species hiding in plain sight, and that Okinawa and Japan are home to more marine biological diversity than previously thought. 

A schematic phylogenetic tree showing the main lineages of giant sea anemones (A) and the four groups of the Entacmaea lineage with their anemonefish associations (B). Credit: Kashimoto et al., 2023

Schematic diagram showing the choice experiment for lineage A and D of the bubble-tip sea anemone (Entacmaea) in yellow-tail and tomato clownfish. Credit: Kashimoto et al., 2023

Histogram showing the results of the choice experiments for lineage A and D of the bubble-tip sea anemone (Entacmaea) by yellow-tail and tomato clownfish. Credit: Kashimoto et al., 2023

CREDIT

Kashimoto et al., 2023

A tomato anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus) (L) and yellow-tail anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii) (R) in bubble-tip sea anemones in the wild. Credit: Camille Sautereau (L) and Natacha Roux (R) 

CREDIT

Camille Sautereau (left image) and Natacha Roux (right image

Video recording of a choice ex [VIDEO] | 

JOURNAL

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.051 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Anemonefish are better taxonomists than humans

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Mar-2024

 

Preventing magnet meltdowns before they can start

Berkeley Lab researchers are developing an approach to avoid sudden, potentially destructive energy releases in a new generation of superconducting magnets

Peer-Reviewed Publication

DOE/LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY

 

IMAGE: 

MAXIM MARCHEVSKY (LEFT) AND SOREN PRESTEMON DISCUSSING AN EXPERIMENTAL SETUP TO TEST THE SENSITIVITY OF A TEMPERATURE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR A HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET.

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CREDIT: MARILYN SARGENT/BERKELEY LAB

The particle accelerators that enable high-energy physics and serve many fields of science, such as materials, medical, and fusion research, are driven by superconducting magnets that are, to put it simply, quite finicky. 

Superconductors are a special class of materials which, when cooled below a certain temperature, carry large electrical currents without resistance. If you arrange the material in coils, the current passing through will produce strong magnetic fields, effectively storing the potential energy of the moving electrons in the form of magnetic field. But if they get too hot – and by hot, we mean only a few degrees above -452 Fahrenheit (4.2 Kelvin), or the temperature of liquid helium – they can suddenly regain their electrical resistance and dissipate the energy of the magnetic field in a rapid burst of heat.

A newer type of superconductor, known as high temperature superconductors (HTS), is poised to usher in another revolution for science and technology. These superconductors have the potential to produce even higher magnetic fields while operating at easier to maintain temperatures than traditional superconducting magnets.

In the new HTS materials, these unwanted heating events, known as “quenches,” are particularly costly, as they can destroy the magnet, damage nearby components, and deplete significant volumes of the precious liquid coolants used to chill the magnet. Due to their powerful properties, these magnets are a hot topic of research and development currently, but protecting them from destructive events is a major hurdle to their broad application. The best solution would be to design HTS magnets that do not quench in the first place. 

That’s what researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are working on. 

Maxim Marchevsky and Soren Prestemon of the Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division have developed a strategy to identify conditions under which HTS magnets can safely operate without the risk of a sudden heat build-up causing the magnet to fail. 

“This is somewhat akin to designing a plane to enable safe landing in the case of engine failure, as opposed to designing the plane to survive a crash,” said Prestemon, who is Deputy Director of Technology for the ATAP Division. Their work was published recently in Superconductor Science and Technology.

Because HTS magnets can tolerate higher density of the electric current and a wider range of temperatures while still acting as a superconductor, they are less prone to quenching than their low-temperature counterparts. However, detecting an oncoming quench is harder in HTS magnets because the superconducting properties switch off in very small pockets of the material. This means that the enormous magnetic energy of the coil is converted to heat across a small area, causing the temperature to rapidly rise to extremes in that location. 

Such a loss in superconductivity is typically caused by the current surpassing the capacity of the superconductor, for example due to imperfections in the material’s structure, or by increased heat caused by either a cooling system malfunction or an impact to the magnet by errant fast-moving particles from the accelerator or fusion reactor. Either way, the resulting quench is harder to monitor and may reach the point of no return faster than existing mitigation systems can be activated. 

Fortunately, several decades of HTS research and development has revealed that these materials can tolerate minor build-up of heat but stay in superconductor mode. Using this knowledge, Marchevsky and Prestemon realized they could calculate a window of operational parameters in which the HTS conductor will work without ever spiraling out of control into a quench. 

“Because of that, we can actually address the problem differently. We can look for a sign of heat somewhere in the magnet, and if we detect it early enough, we can safely run down the current without actually quenching the magnet,” said Marchevsky, a staff physicist in ATAP.

The scientists’ theoretical work was validated with experiments using tape-shaped samples of Bi-2223 HTS material (a compound of bismuth, strontium, calcium, copper, and oxygen) that were supplied with high current in an environment where minute temperature fluctuations could be detected and compared to the numerical predictions. The next step will be to test their approach on actual coils wound with HTS conductor material to replicate the form they would take inside particle accelerators and devices like MRI machines. 

To successfully detect the pre-quench state in these coils, the scientists plan to use highly sensitive temperature monitoring systems developed by themselves and their colleagues in ATAP, a group with deep expertise in fundamental and applied accelerator magnet science. “There will be some challenges because we need to have distributed measurement of temperature, but that's something we've been working on quite a lot in the past several years,” said Marchevsky. He noted that traditional quench-detecting systems for low-temperature magnets monitor resistance across the magnet, which doesn’t work well for HTS magnets. “Various new techniques are being investigated and embedded in our real prototype magnets.” 

Their techniques include ultrasonic-based, radiofrequency-based, and fiber optic-based sensor systems. The latter approach is the primary candidate for use in experimental plasma fusion energy reactors, which are one of the first real-world applications of HTS magnets on the horizon. Plasma fusion reactors need powerful magnets to confine mixtures of super-heated charged particles in a small space, and HTS magnets look promising to enable a breakthrough in this field.

Marchevsky and Prestemon hope that distributed temperature systems monitoring the entire magnet will be able to alert operators if any region is approaching the upper end of the safe temperature window. Then, the current delivered to the magnet can be reduced and quenching avoided.

If successful, the approach could enable widespread adoption of HTS magnets, ultimately leading to much higher magnetic fields and magnet systems that are cheaper to maintain than their low-temperature counterparts. These savings would help lower the costs of all accelerator-driven research and aid the moonshot goal of fusion energy. 

"The fundamental science and precision diagnostics combined in this work exemplify the unparalleled set of ‘mesoscale to magnet’ capabilities the Lab brings to the drive for high temperature superconductors as transformative technologies across accelerators, fusion and applications," said Cameron Geddes, ATAP Division Director. 

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of High Energy Physics Magnet Development Program.

An experimental board containing a superconducting tape-shaped HTS material called Bi-2223 and a controlled heater is used to test the thermal runaway-based concept of magnet protection.

Soren Prestemon (left) and Maxim Marchevsky in the superconducting magnet test facility, where a wide variety of research experiments are performed in support of the development of next-generation magnet technology.

CREDIT

Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to delivering solutions for humankind through research in clean energy, a healthy planet, and discovery science. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 16 Nobel Prizes. Researchers from around the world rely on the Lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.

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JOURNAL

Superconductor Science and Technology

DOI

10.1088/1361-6668/ad20fe 

 

Nutritional value of meat should be considered when comparing carbon footprints

The nutritional value of meat must be considered when comparing carbon footprints – that is the key message from a recent study undertaken by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), Bangor University, Queen’s University, and AFBI

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BANGOR UNIVERSITY

The nutritional value of meat must be considered when comparing carbon footprints – that is the key message from a recent study undertaken by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), Bangor University, Queen’s University, and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

The scientific paper, published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems using data from the Welsh Lamb Meat Quality project, focuses on different lamb production systems, specifically the ‘finishing’ period – at the end of which lambs have reached the required weight, meat and fat cover for the market, and ultimately, the consumer.

Welsh farms have various different lamb production systems, from low-input systems, where lambs receive little to no inputs and their diets are overwhelmingly grass-based, to higher-input systems where lambs may receive concentrate feed alongside grass or other forage. For the first time, this study specifically explores the effect of the finishing diet on the carbon footprint of lamb meat on a nutritional basis.

Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales’s Future Policy and Project Development Executive Dr. Eleri Thomas, co-author on the paper, said,

 “The results published in this paper are great news for the farming sector. We know that lamb production systems are under increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint, particularly emissions of greenhouse gases. However, current metrics used to express the carbon footprint of lamb seldom consider its nutritional density and the contribution it can make to balanced diets in humans.”

The new research explains that lamb can be a valuable source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which play an important part in human health. Data were collected from 33 farms that finished lambs on one of four distinct diets: forage crops, grass, concentrates, or grass and concentrates.  The team at Bangor University then used this data to estimate the carbon footprint of lamb produced from each system. This involved looking at the amount of each input used on the farm and calculating the carbon costs of those inputs, the number of livestock on the farm, and the amount of output (in this case, kg of lamb produced). This meant the carbon equivalent emissions per unit of product (the carbon footprint) could be calculated.

The level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in two important cuts of lamb were then measured, to determine the carbon footprint per unit of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. When a conventional mass-based functional unit was employed, lambs finished on grass diets had on average the highest carbon footprint. However, when omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids content was accounted for, the grass diet had the lowest carbon footprint for cuts from the loin.

Market intelligence, Research and Development Senior Officer for Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales, Elizabeth Swancott, said,

 “Typically, carbon footprint assessment of foods use mass-based units, where the carbon emissions are simply considered per kg of the food product. This can be useful for comparing the environmental efficiencies of different farming systems; however, they do not reflect how different farming systems impact the nutritional differences of the final product. This study demonstrates the importance of considering nutrition when expressing and comparing the carbon footprints of nutrient-dense foods such as lamb.”

Dr Prysor Williams, part of the team from Bangor University’s School of Environmental and Natural Sciences who led on the carbon footprinting work said,

 “Research into the environmental footprint of farm production systems is absolutely necessary for us to move the farming industry forward in an informed evidence-based manner. Whilst lamb production systems are under increasing pressure to reduce their environmental footprint and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases, this research will certainly help inform discussions around the optimal diets for lamb production systems from both a human nutrition and environmental sustainability perspective”. 

The full paper can be accessed here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1321288/full

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JOURNAL

Frontiers

DOI

10.3389/fsufs.2024.1321288 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

The nutritional value of meat should be considered when comparing the carbon footprint of lambs produced on different finishing diets