VAT data could help countries prepare better for crises

Detailed supply chain data may provide a more accurate estimate of economic impact in times of crises, according to a study conducted by CSH

COMPLEXITY SCIENCE HUB

[Vienna, 27.03.2024] – How would an armed conflict, an epidemic, or a flood affect the economy? "Being able to assess -- perhaps even predict – the economic impact of such crises is essential when it comes to mitigating and counteracting the damage," says Christian Diem from the Complexity Science Hub (CSH). 

According to a recent study published in PNAS Nexus, countries seeking to prepare better for crises may benefit from a unique dataset of granular supply chain data. CSH researchers report, for the first time, that widely used sector-level economic data can underestimate the economic impact of crises by up to 37% compared with company-level highly detailed data. 

VAT data

"We had access to a unique dataset of value-added tax (VAT) information – a general tax that, in principle, is applied to all goods and services – from Hungary for this study. It contains 243,399 companies and allows to reconstruct 1,104,141 supply relationships, virtually representing the entire national economy," explains Stefan Thurner from the CSH. 

This allowed the researchers to systematically analyze and compare how the effects of crises are assessed differently when either only data on the 88 economic sectors defined by the European Union is available, or when detailed supply chain data is available at the company level, which includes all companies and their customer-supplier relationships.

A total of 1,000 hypothetical crisis scenarios were simulated for this purpose. In order to ensure that the scenarios replicated real crises, the hypothetical crises were based on actual empirical data on the economic consequences of the Covid-19 crisis at the beginning of 2020.

Underestimated impact

"We were very surprised to find that the economic impact of each of the 1,000 simulated crises was systematically underestimated -- by up to 37% – if we only used the data for entire sectors, as has always been the case," explains Diem. 

In addition, the results at the company level were much closer to those of the actual recession in the second quarter of 2020. In this way, a crisis' consequences are always estimated as smaller at the sectoral level than they actually are at the company level.

Atoms of the economy

"Up to now, the economy of a country has mainly been described at the level of entire economic sectors," explains Thurner. "In other words, we talk about how badly the entire automotive industry is affected by supply bottlenecks. The new data on the entire supply chain at the company level allows us to see the atoms of the economy -- the companies -- and how they interact with each other. This is a new scientific territory and it is extremely fascinating," says the scientist.

"Now we can calculate how individually affected companies within economic sectors are by a crisis rather than just describing the average for an entire sector." 

"There is a great deal of difference between simply stating that an economic sector is going to suffer 20% losses, for example, and whether a simulation can reveal which companies are likely to be actually affected by the crisis, and which are not. Perhaps even more important is to show how this spreads through the supply network – how it affects their direct and indirect trading partners," adds Diem.

Globally

More than 160 countries have a VAT system and could in principle use it to reconstruct their supply networks -- one notable exception is the United States. As of now, only a dozen countries collect the data that can be used to reconstruct supply links. The list includes EU member states like Spain, Belgium, and Hungary, as well as countries like India, China, and some African and Latin American nations.

Read more about this topic in CSH Policy Brief

For countries that don’t collect their VAT data in the right way – for instance, Germany and Austria -- a small tweak in the VAT reporting of firms would do the trick while creating minimal additional bureaucratic work for companies. "This could be automated through firm accounting software," explains Diem. It could also reduce forms of VAT fraud.

Accurate

"With this study, we wanted to show how much estimates based on aggregated sector data can differ from estimates based on granular data and the actual economic impact, and how important it is to collect detailed data at the company level," says Diem. No matter what the threat is, whether it is a flood disaster, CO2 emissions, or the consequences of political interventions, an accurate assessment can help anticipate the consequences and, above all, react quickly and accurately.

About the study

The study "Estimating the loss of economic predictability from aggregating firm-level production networks" by Christian Diem, András Borsos, Tobias Reisch, János Kertész, and Stefan Thurner was recently published in PNAS Nexus (https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae064).

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Infobox: A simplified example

Here's a simplified example to illustrate the difference between the quality of data at the company and sector levels:

Let's assume there are only two companies in the metals sector. Company A sells most of its products to the automotive industry, while company B sells most of its products to the construction industry. If company A were to experience a halt in production -- due to a natural disaster, for example -- this would have a major impact on the automotive industry, but hardly any on the construction industry. At the sector level, however, it would appear that the outage would affect the automotive and construction industries equally.

In the event of an earthquake hitting company B, the effects would be reversed. The data on entire economic sectors, however, cannot distinguish between the two companies, this almost always leads to a misjudgment of the real impact.

"By grouping all companies into one economic sector, so much information about the structure of the supply network is lost that it is simply no longer possible to determine who will really be affected by an outage and to what extent," says Diem.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About CSH 

The Complexity Science Hub (CSH) is Europe’s research center for the study of complex systems. We derive meaning from data from a range of disciplines – economics, medicine, ecology, and the social sciences – as a basis for actionable solutions for a better world. Established in 2015, we have grown to over 70 researchers, driven by the increasing demand to gain a genuine understanding of the networks that underlie society, from healthcare to supply chains. Through our complexity science approaches linking physics, mathematics, and computational modeling with data and network science, we develop the capacity to address today's and future challenges.

CSH members are AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, BOKU, Central European University CEU, Graz University of Technology, Medical University of Vienna, TU Wien, University of Continuing Education Krems, VetMedUni Vienna, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and WKO Austrian Economic Chambers. 

https://www.csh.ac.at/

---

JOURNAL

PNAS Nexus

DOI

10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae064 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Estimating the loss of economic predictability from aggregating firm-level production networks

 

The more, the better? Why market share often has little impact on profits

KÜHNE LOGISTICS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

view more 

CREDIT: KLU

How are profitability, market share and the digitalization of a company connected? To get to the bottom of this question, the researchers developed a new profitability model based on over 6,000 cases from around 800 US companies from the last 25 years. In order to measure the degree of digitalization, the companies' annual financial statements were combed for certain keywords that indicate digitalization. "Overall, it was clear that the importance of digitalization is increasing for almost all companies," says Felix Sklenarz, co-author of the study, "but there are also very clear differences in the degree of digitalization of individual companies."

Significance of market share for profitability declines sharply

When examining the various cases in the new profitability model, it became clear that the influence of market share on profitability is decreasing significantly, especially for highly digitalized companies. There are various reasons for this. "One example: the digital transformation with its opportunities for automation is replacing learning effects that were previously generated by sheer size - i.e. market share," says Alexander Himme. Market share was also a signal of quality and a barrier to market entry. "However, digitalization is diminishing the power of the market leaders; customers can compare prices quickly and easily online, for example." This makes it more difficult for the "big players" to operate more profitably than their "small" competitors - who can also compete on a global level thanks to e-commerce platforms and fulfillment service providers and pursue multichannel sales strategies.  

Internal vs. external digitalization 

Various factors influence the extent to which the declining influence of market share affects the profitability of digital companies. These include whether companies focus their digital transformation on internal or external processes, where their general strategic focus lies (value creation for customers through innovation versus monetization of value delivered to customers) and whether they are active in the B2B or B2C sector. 

What managers need to pay attention to now

"The bottom line is that endless growth is by no means the right path for all companies," says Alexander Himme. "It also shows that companies benefit from digitalization to varying degrees depending on their size. Small companies with a smaller market share often have more to gain." Managers of highly digital companies in particular should therefore take a close look at the KPIs they use to measure their company's success. 

---

JOURNAL

International Journal of Research in Marketing

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

 

The combination of the climate crisis and continued deforestation may result in significant damage to the animal world

A joint study by Tel Aviv University and the University of Colorado has found

TEL-AVIV UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

DR. OFIR LEVY & DOCTORAL STUDENT OMER ZLOTNICK, THE SCHOOL OF ZOOLOGY, THE WISE FACULTY OF LIFE SCIENCES AND THE STEINHARDT MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.

view more 

CREDIT: TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY

A new study by Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the University of Colorado (CU) states that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, especially those that know how to climb trees. As part of the study, the researchers focused on lizards and showed that following the effects of climate change, they will seek refuge from the hot ground by spending a lot of time on trees. However, due to human-related activities, such as deforestation, urbanization and the expansion of agricultural lands at the expense of natural lands, the availability of trees in the areas where the lizards live will decrease, and this may lead to the collapse of many populations.

 

The research was conducted under the leadership of doctoral student Omer Zlotnick from the laboratory of Dr. Ofir Levy at the School of Zoology, the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU and in collaboration with Dr. Keith Musselman from CU. The study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

 

The researchers explain that the climate crisis and global warming force animals to look for more comfortable places to stay in order to escape the extreme heat, just as we look for a shady area on a hot day. For animals that know how to climb, trees can serve as a comfortable and pleasant refuge. One of the reasons for this is that the farther you get from the ground, the lower the air temperature gets and the stronger the wind. Therefore, on hot days for example, animals can climb up the tree to escape from the hot ground. The importance of trees, then, is expected to increase as the climate warms. The problem is that in many places in the world the density of trees is actually decreasing, mainly due to phenomena such as deforestation and the expansion of the use of trees for various purposes such as construction, etc. This creates a situation where, on the one hand, due to climate change, the animals will depend more on trees for their survival, while on the other hand, the destruction of habitats will lead to a decrease in the availability of trees.

Doctoral student Omer Zlotnik: “As part of the research, we wanted to examine what the combined effect of these two processes would be on animals. Specifically, we focused on lizards, because they are very dependent on their environment to maintain a normal body temperature and a lack of comfortable places to stay can affect them dramatically. In the study, we used a computer simulation to simulate where the lizard should be, in the sun, in the shade or on the tree, every minute, for 20 years, under the climate conditions that existed in the past and under those that are expected in the future. Using the simulation, we examined how populations of lizards would be affected by climate change when trees are available, and how their situation would change following the felling of trees in their habitat.”

 

The results of the study showed that, in general terms, climate change is actually going to benefit many lizard populations. In most places, the expected warming will allow lizards to be active longer throughout the day and throughout the year, as there will be fewer times when it is too cold for them to come out of their burrows. However, when climate change occurs at the same time as the felling of trees, the trend is likely to reverse, so that many lizard populations may collapse. In areas with a warm climate, climate change, even if no trees are cut down, is expected to harm lizard populations, and cutting down trees will make the situation even worse.

 

“What's really interesting about lizards is that they just need to be able to move a short distance around the tree trunk to get to a very different climate and habitat environment,” said Keith Musselman, an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and CU Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. “These microhabitats are particularly important when we think about how we modify our natural environment and make conservation decisions.”

 

Dr. Ofir Levy concludes: “Our research focused on lizards, but it actually demonstrates a broader problem that is relevant to many species of animals. Our results demonstrate that trees are crucially important to the ability of animals to cope with climate change, and in many cases their availability can be, for the animals, the difference between crawling and collapsing. Our research proves how important it is to preserve forested areas and trees in general, especially in light of the changing climate. As part of the research, we also provide more practical tools for decision makers, such as the height or density of trees required in different areas. We hope that this research will be used to build more effective programs for the conservation and restoration of natural areas, so that we can provide the animals with what they need to survive.”

 

Link to the article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01939-x

---

DOI

10.1038/s41558-024-01939-x 

 

Avatar will not lie... or will it? Scientists investigate how often we change our minds in virtual environments

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SWPS UNIVERSITY

How confident are you in your judgments and how well can you defend your opinions? Chances are that they will change under the influence of a group of avatars in a virtual environment. Scientists from SWPS University investigated the human tendency to be influenced by the opinions of others, including virtual characters. 

We usually conform to the views of others for two reasons. First, we succumb to group pressure and want to gain social acceptance. Second, we lack sufficient knowledge and perceive the group as a source of a better interpretation of the current situation, describes Dr. Konrad Bocian from the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University. 

So far, only a few studies have investigated whether moral judgments, or evaluations of another person's behaviour in a given situation, are subject to group pressure. This issue was examined by scientists from SWPS University in collaboration with researchers from the University of Sussex and the University of Kent. The scientists also investigated how views about the behaviour of others changed under the influence of avatar pressure in a virtual environment. A paper on this topic was published in PLOS ONE.

Today, social influence is increasingly as potent in the digital world as in the real world. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how our judgments are shaped in the digital reality, where interactions take place online and some participants are avatars, not real humans, points out Dr. Bocian.

Others know better?   

In the first study, the researchers tested the extent to which participants - a total of 103 people - would change their private moral judgments to conform with the judgments of others. First, participants independently judged specific behaviour, such as a woman punishing her child for getting bad grades in school or a man answering the phone and talking loudly in a cinema. Then, participants judged the same behaviours in groups with three other people who responded in a completely different way than the participant did in the first part of the study. 

Participants adjusted their opinions to conform with others in 43% cases. However, they did it less often when the judgments concerned situations in which other people were harmed, describes Dr. Konrad Bocian. 

Under pressure of avatars  

The second study repeated the experiment with 138 participants in a virtual environment. Each participant first judged the behaviour of other people in a given situation, and then - after putting on a VR headset - did it again in the presence of three avatars in a virtual environment.

Some of the avatars were allegedly controlled by humans, the remaining avatars were AI-controlled. In the latter case, participants were told the Kent School of Engineering and Digital Arts wanted to run tests on their new three algorithms, which were implemented in the virtual avatars. 

It turned out that participants changed their judgments to align them with judgments of human-controlled avatars in 30% cases, and in 26 percent cases when avatars were controlled by AI. The results suggest that judgments about moral behaviour, like other judgments we make, are subject to pressure from both real and virtual groups, comments Dr. Bocian. 

Researchers emphasise that further research is needed to determine the extent to which groups can influence the judgments of others in a digital setting, and in particular the social consequences of such influence in the era of rapid growth of digital communication, which may soon move to different metaverses. 

Group pressure to influence private moral judgments of individuals in a virtual world can be used for both good and malicious purposes. This is why understanding the mechanisms of this influence is so important. Only with in-depth knowledge can we increase the awareness of virtual world participants about the influence that others can have on them, the researcher concludes.

 

---

JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0298293 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Moral conformity in a digital world: Human and nonhuman agents as a source of social pressure for judgments of moral character

 

A method has been developed to protect and manage personal data on the internet

A URV research team has created a system that allows users to keep track of who has their information and what it is used for at all times by means of a smart contract

UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI

 

IMAGE: 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, ALEXANDRE VIEJO, JORDI CASTELLÀ AND CRISTÒFOL DAUDEN, RESEARCHERS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY.

view more 

CREDIT: URV

Entering a website and accepting cookies is a very common and oft-repeated gesture when navigating the Internet. But this small action, which is often done automatically and without thought, entails security risks: by consenting to cookies, you lose control over your sensitive information, as you cannot review the conditions you have just accepted. In order to avoid this vulnerability, a research team from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili has developed an innovative environment based on blockchain technology that allows users to control what happens to their personal data and what it is used for at all times.

Accepting cookies gives permission for sensitive information to be shared, which puts at risk the privacy of users, who are uncertain how it will be used and for what purposes. To mitigate these risks, the European Union proposed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), whereby service providers need to obtain explicit consent from data subjects to collect and process their personal data. The response of many web providers to this requirement has been to present users with a form when they access a service: the cookie acceptance form. But the law does not define how these providers should transparently demonstrate that they have this consent and most users do not know what rights they have over their personal data or have efficient methods to be on the lookout for what third parties do with their data.

The study led by the URV has consisted of creating a personal data management platform based on blockchain technology. It generates smart contracts which are published for life on the block chain and cannot be interfered with; that is to say, the terms agreed cannot be modified and the binding nature of the contract cannot be denied.

In order to use this smart contract, the user must install a programme in the browser that intercepts the request for consent and responds in accordance with their preferences. “Taking this small step makes browsing more agile and secure and complies with the main requirements of the European data protection law,” says Jordi Castellà, a researcher at the URV’s Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, who took part in the research.

In addition, all the consents accepted can be controlled and managed from a mobile application to keep track of who has them, when they were granted, what they are being used for and how to modify the details at any time.

For web service providers, this environment enables them to demonstrate, in the event of an audit, that they have obtained consent from users. Information is accessed through a secure access control system.

This research makes the management of personal data more secure and gives users more and better control over their information.

---

JOURNAL

Computer Communications

DOI

10.1016/j.comcom.2023.11.017 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

 

Keeping in touch: Why businesses are cultivating relationships with former employees

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

For many people, leaving a job can be like leaving a family — and because of the personal and professional bonds they’ve forged, many naturally stay in touch with their former coworkers and keep apprised of what’s happening in the organization.

But what happens when companies make a concerted effort to bolster those bonds, help former employees in their careers and keep them in the loop? According to new research from the UBC Sauder School of Business, it can have big benefits for both employees and employers.

For the paper, researchers studied a wide range of businesses — from top law firms to Starbucks — to understand why organizations are putting time and resources into solidifying ties with ex-employees, also known as alumni.

The researchers propose that alumni-organization relationships (AORs) are particularly important to companies because alumni have a unique mix of insider knowledge and outside-world information and contacts. This can be valuable if employees return as contractors, or move on to companies that might do business with their former employer. Companies can also gain a boost to branding and reputation because maintaining these relationships shows they support employees even after they move on.

“Traditionally, AORs were most common in professional service firms. But as it becomes more common for workers to job hop over the course of their career, we are seeing more organizations investing in relationships with alumni,” said UBC Sauder assistant professor Dr. Rebecca Paluch.

For some organizations, AORs help generate new business. Many law firms support AORs because junior lawyers move on and end up in general counsel roles new organizations. If they need to hire outside counsel, the continuing relationship with their former employer may encourage them to hire that firm.

Companies like Starbucks appreciate the fact that AORs boost their brand image in the community. “They call all of their stores ‘third communities’ because they want to make people feel welcome and like they’re part of something when they visit the stores,” said Dr. Paluch, who co-authored the study with Dr. Christopher Zatzick of Simon Fraser University and Dr. Lisa Nishii of Cornell University. “AORs are in line with the overall branding of building community and keeping people connected.”

Programs that support AORs can offer a variety of benefits to alumni, including newsletters and updates about alumni and the company, career resources, job boards, training and development opportunities and in-person networking.

One of the primary challenges in forming AORs is there is no set playbook, said Dr. Paluch. There are established norms for employee management when it comes to practices like hiring, compensation and benefits, but standard practices don’t exist for managing relationships with alumni after they move on.

In order to develop successful AORs, organizations need to think about their outreach to alumni through broad communication with a wide-range of alumni as well as strategically target alumni who can bring back the most value to the company. It’s also important to encourage current employees to stay in contact with alumni so they can help bring knowledge and resources back into the organization.

The most successful programs, she adds, involve input from former workers. “It’s important to make sure the organization is getting alumni feedback so they're meeting their needs and not just offering things because some other company is doing it,” advised Dr. Paluch.

One of the biggest mistakes employers make is not supporting workers on their way out, and then turning around and saying they want to stay in touch. “If employees are having terrible exit experiences, then it shouldn’t be surprising if they don't want to stay in touch after they leave.”

The idea of cultivating relationships between alumni and organizations might seem counterintuitive because it can make leaving more palatable, said Dr. Paluch. But savvy companies realize today’s workers are highly mobile, so it makes sense to keep a positive relationship even after they’re gone.

“We’ve been seeing tenure decline over the past few decades, and most employees move on to a new company after four or five years,” said Dr. Paluch. “Strategically, organizations might as well consider, ‘If we can't keep them in the organization, how can we at least keep them connected to the organization?’”

---

JOURNAL

Academy of Management Review

DOI

10.5465/amr.2021.0523 

ARTICLE TITLE

A Cross-Level Theory of Alumni–Organization Relationships

 

Backyard insect inspires invisibility devices, next gen tech

PENN STATE

 

IMAGE: 

PICTURED IS A LEAFHOPPER G. SERPENTA. LIN WANG ET AL. STUDIED THE GEOMETRIC DESIGNS OF THE SURFACE COATINGS ON LEAFHOPPER BODIES. LEAFHOPPERS PRODUCE BROCHOSOMES TO COAT THEIR BODY SURFACES, WHICH ARE HOLLOW, NANOSCOPIC, BUCKYBALL-SHAPED SPHEROIDS WITH THROUGH-HOLES DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THEIR SURFACES. THE AUTHORS FOUND THAT THE THROUGH-HOLES OF THESE HOLLOW BUCKYBALLS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN REDUCING THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT. THIS IS THE FIRST BIOLOGICAL EXAMPLE SHOWING SHORT WAVELENGTH, LOW-PASS ANTIREFLECTION FUNCTIONALITY ENABLED BY THROUGH-HOLES AND HOLLOW STRUCTURES. 

view more 

CREDIT: LIN WANG AND TAK-SING WONG/PENN STATE

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. In a first, the team precisely replicated the complex geometry of these particles, called brochosomes, and elucidated a better understanding of how they absorb both visible and ultraviolet light. 

This could allow the development of bioinspired optical materials with possible applications ranging from invisible cloaking devices to coatings to more efficiently harvest solar energy, said Tak-Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering. Wong led the study, which was published today (March 18) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). 

The unique, tiny particles have an unusual soccer ball-like geometry with cavities, and their exact purpose for the insects has been something of a mystery to scientists since the 1950s. In 2017, Wong led the Penn State research team that was the first to create a basic, synthetic version of brochosomes in an effort to better understand their function.

“This discovery could be very useful for technological innovation,” said Lin Wang, postdoctoral scholar in mechanical engineering and the lead author of the study. “With a new strategy to regulate light reflection on a surface, we might be able to hide the thermal signatures of humans or machines. Perhaps someday people could develop a thermal invisibility cloak based on the tricks used by leafhoppers. Our work shows how understanding nature can help us develop modern technologies.”

Wang went on to explain that even though scientists have known about brochosome particles for three-quarters of a century, making them in a lab has been a challenge due to the complexity of the particle’s geometry. 

“It has been unclear why the leafhoppers produce particles with such complex structures,” Wang said, “We managed to make these brochosomes using a high-tech 3D-printing method in the lab. We found that these lab-made particles can reduce light reflection by up to 94%. This is a big discovery because it's the first time we've seen nature do something like this, where it controls light in such a specific way using hollow particles.”

Theories on why leafhoppers coat themselves with a brochosome armor have ranged from keeping them free of contaminants and water to a superhero-like invisibility cloak. However, a new understanding of their geometry raises a strong possibility that its main purpose could be the cloak to avoid predators, according to Tak-Sing Wong, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering and corresponding author of the study.

The researchers have found that the size of the holes in the brochosome that give it a hollow, soccer ball-like appearance is extremely important. The size is consistent across leafhopper species, no matter the size of the insect’s body. The brochosomes are roughly 600 nanometers in diameter — about half the size of a single bacterium — and the brochosome pores are around 200 nanometers. 

 

“That makes us ask a question,” Wong said. “Why this consistency? What is the secret of having brochosomes of about 600 nanometers with about 200-nanometer pores? Does that serve some purpose?”

The researchers found the unique design of brochosomes serves a dual purpose — absorbing ultraviolet (UV) light, which reduces visibility to predators with UV vision, such as birds and reptiles, and scattering visible light, creating an anti-reflective shield against potential threats. The size of the holes is perfect for absorbing light at the ultraviolet frequency. 

This potentially could lead to a variety of applications for humans using synthetic brochosomes, such as more efficient solar energy harvesting systems, coatings that protect pharmaceuticals from light-induced damage, advanced sunscreens for better skin protection against sun damage and even cloaking devices, researchers said. To test this, the team first had to make synthetic brochosomes, a major challenge in and of itself. 

In their 2017 study, the researchers mimicked some features of brochosomes, particularly the dimples and their distribution, using synthetic materials. This allowed them to begin understanding the optical properties. However, they were only able to make something that looked like brochosomes, not an exact replica. 

"This is the first time we are able to make the exact geometry of the natural brochosome,” Wong said, explaining that the researchers were able to create scaled synthetic replicas of the brochosome structures by using advanced 3D-printing technology.

They printed a scaled-up version that was 20,000 nanometers in size, or roughly one-fifth the diameter of a human hair. The researchers precisely replicated the shape and morphology, as well as the number and placement of pores using 3D printing, to produce still-small faux brochosomes that were large enough to characterize optically. 

They used a Micro-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to examine how the brochosomes interacted with infrared light of different wavelengths, helping the researchers understand how the structures manipulate the light.

Next, the researchers said they plan to improve the synthetic brochosome fabrication to enable production at a scale closer to the size of natural brochosomes. They will also explore additional applications for synthetic brochosomes, such as information encryption, where brochosome-like structures could be used as part of an encryption system where data is only visible under certain light wavelengths.

Wang noted that their brochosome work demonstrates the value of a biomimetic research approach, where scientists looks to nature for inspiration.

“Nature has been a good teacher for scientists to develop novel advanced materials,” Wang said. “In this study, we have just focused on one insect species, but there are many more amazing insects out there that are waiting for material scientists to study, and they may be able to help us solve various engineering problems. They are not just bugs; they are inspirations.”

Along with Wong and Wang from Penn State, other researchers on the study include Sheng Shen, professor of mechanical engineering, and Zhuo Li, doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, both at Carnegie Mellon University, who contributed to the simulations in this study. Wang and Li contributed equally to this work, for which the researchers have filed a U.S. provisional patent. The Office of Naval Research supported this research.

Pictured is an array of 3D printed microscale synthetic brochosome. In nature, leafhoppers produce brochosomes to coat their body surfaces, which are hollow, nanoscopic, buckyball-shaped spheroids with through-holes distributed across their surfaces. Lin Wang et al. studied the relationship between the optical properties and the geometric designs of the brochosomes utilizing 3D printed synthetic brochosomes. The authors found that the through-holes of these hollow buckyballs play an important role in reducing the reflection of light. This is the first biological example showing short wavelength, low-pass antireflection functionality enabled by through-holes and hollow structures.

Pictured are brochosomes produced by leafhopper G. serpenta. Brochosomes are hollow, nanoscopic, buckyball-shaped spheroids with through-holes distributed across leafhoppers’ body surfaces. Lin Wang et al. studied the relationship between the optical properties and the geometric designs of the brochosomes. The authors found that the through-holes of these hollow buckyballs play an important role in reducing the reflection of light. This is the first biological example showing short wavelength, low-pass antireflection functionality enabled by through-holes and hollow structures.

CREDIT

Lin Wang and Tak-Sing Wong/Penn State

---

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2312700121 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Geometric design of antireflective leafhopper brochosomes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Mar-2024

 

Eyes open and toes out of water: how a giant water bug reached the island of Cyprus

PENSOFT PUBLISHERS

 

IMAGE: 

A COMBINATION PHOTO SHOWS GIANT WATER BUGS.

view more 

CREDIT: HADJICONSTANTIS ET AL.

The island of Cyprus, although considered a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean, is more famous for its beautiful sunny coasts than for its insect fauna. Nevertheless, some visitors of its highly populated beaches, with their observations and curiosity, have provided important information for a species never recorded before on the island: a the giant water bug, also known as a toe biter.

Scientists Michael Hadjiconstantis from the Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity of Cyprus, Iakovos Tziortzis from the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus, and Kadir Boğaç Kunt from the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute collected information and specimens from an increasing number of records of the giant water bug on the east coastline of the island in late spring and summer of 2020 and 2021. The species, known for inhabiting ponds and slowly moving freshwaters, had never been recorded on the island before, although established populations are known in adjacent Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Turkey, and Israel.

Also referred to as Electric light bug, this giant water bug is described as a vicious hunter, praying on invertebrates, fish, turtles, and even birds. What is even scarier, as the largest European true bug and the largest European water insect and measuring up to 12 cm, it has a reputation of inflicting very painful bites when handled carelessly.

Its appearance, mainly on the eastern coastal front of the island, was initially recorded by swimmers, who were surprised by the fearsome looks and size of the bug. They either directly contacted the experts or published photos and videos online, mainly on Facebook groups related to biodiversity. The authors collected some of the specimens for further study. They also proceeded with an extensive online search on relevant online observation platforms (i.e. iNaturalist) in order to track any other reports of the species on the island. In addition, they sampled nearby wetlands, but did not spot the bug. End to end, a total of seven sightings were eventually recorded: five from social media and two after direct communication with the author team. Two specimens were obtained and examined morphologically to verify the species. The observations were recorded in a research article in the open-access journal Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa”.

Having in mind that the toe biter is an iconic species accompanied by creepy stories concerning its encounters with humans, the authors assume that it is unlikely that it had gone unnoticed for too long. They consider it possible that several migration events might have been triggered in a short period of time by nearby countries hosting the species, such as Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The specimens could have been transferred by wind or sea currents, as assumed by other researchers, or could have been driven by a decrease in food resources in their initial area of distribution.

Despite the number of recordings in a short timeframe, no conclusions can be drawn for the moment on the establishment of a population of the species on the island. This is further to be investigated, and as the initial recording of the species, citizen science can have an important role in this. The authors urge the public to be alert: “Naturalists looking for alien-like critters can provide valuable information on the presence and a possible establishment of the species through citizen science.” Until then, they warn: “Cypriots should keep their eyes open and their toes out of the water”.

Original source:

Hadjiconstantis M., Tziortzis I., Kunt KB (2023). On the importance of citizen-science: first records of the Giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) in Cyprus. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 66 (2): 291–299. https://travaux.pensoft.net/article/94457/

---

JOURNAL

Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa”

DOI

10.3897/travaux.66.e94457 

ARTICLE TITLE

On the importance of citizen-science: first records of the Giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) in Cyprus