CLIMATE CRISIS IS FEMICIDE

Severe climate change may increase violence against women

Peer-reviewed | Observational study | People

University College London

Countries affected by severe climate change may also have a higher prevalence of violence against women, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

The research, published in PLOS Climate, examined how climate shocks – such as storms, landslides and floods – might be linked to higher rates of intimate partner violence in the two years following the event.

The researchers gathered data on intimate partner violence from 363 surveys conducted in 156 countries between 1993 and 2019, focusing on women who currently had a partner. Intimate partner violence was defined as any physical and/or sexual violence in the past year.

The team also gathered data on climate shocks from 1920 to 2022 in 190 countries. They then analysed the relationship between climate shocks and intimate partner violence, while also considering the country’s economic status.

They found that there was a significant link between intimate partner violence and certain climate shocks (including storms, landslides and floods). Meanwhile, other types of climate shocks (such as earthquakes and wildfires) didn’t show a clear connection to intimate partner violence.

Countries with higher GDP had lower rates of intimate partner violence.

Lead author, Professor Jenevieve Mannell (UCL Institute for Global Health), said: “Existing evidence has found that when a woman experiences a climate-related event, she is more likely to experience violence in some countries and for some types of violence, but not others.

“We set out to explore what was happening at a national level to help inform international climate change policy.”

The researchers were unable to assess why different climate shocks have more of an impact on intimate partner violence. However, they believe that different shocks may take different amounts of time to have an effect on violence and this may not have been captured in the two-year window studied, due to data availability.

As a result, they are calling for more regular data collection by countries on measures of violence against women.

Professor Mannell added: “A small body of evidence shows that heat and humidity increases aggressive behaviours, including violence. Climate-related disasters increase stress and food insecurity in families in ways that can lead to increases in violence. They also reduce the social services often available for dealing with partner violence, such as police and civil society who are more focused on the disaster.

“At the same time, governments may put in place shelters for disaster relief which are often overcrowded and unsafe, without thinking about the risks of sexual violence.

“All of this happens more often and with increased severity in countries that have patriarchal gender norms and where the use of violence against women is widely accepted as normal behaviour.”

Importantly, the researchers believe that climate mitigation and adaptation efforts can and should play an important role in reducing violence against women.

This could include mentioning “violence against women” in Nationally Determined Contributions (the climate change commitments countries make) and allocating finances to address it, or developing Climate Change Gender Action Plans. Samoa and Fiji are two countries which have already done this.

The researchers also advise that violence against women needs to be a consideration in countries’ disaster planning processes.

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and was carried out in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter, the South African Medical Research Council and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Journal

PLOS Climate

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The impact of environmental shocks due to climate change on intimate partner violence: A structural equation model of data from 156 countries

Article Publication Date

2-Oct-2024

 

Methane emissions from dairy farms higher than thought - but conversion could reduce emissions

Conversion to biogas could reduce emissions and save more than £400 million a year in fuel costs

University of East Anglia

New research has found methane emissions from slurry stores on dairy farms may be up to five times greater than official statistics suggest - and highlights the huge potential for turning them into a renewable energy source. 

The study shows that if captured and turned into biogas, emitted methane could be worth more than £400m a year to the dairy sector in saved fuel costs, or around £52,500 for an average-sized dairy farm.  

Capture technology already exists, and if rolled out across the EU dairy herd, the conversion of methane to biofuel could reduce emissions equivalent to an estimated 5.8% of the remaining global temperature rise budget, if the temperature were to be kept to 1.5 ◦C of warming. 

Conducted by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the International Fugitive Emissions Abatement Association (IFEAA), the research is based on measurements from two dairy farms in Cornwall, England. Together with a growing body of international field research, it suggests that the ‘Tier 2’ calculations used by countries to report their emissions annually to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may not be robust.   

Current National Inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report that enteric emissions - those coming directly from animals’ digestive systems - are three to nine times greater than those from manure management, including the storing and spreading of slurry and manure.  

However the findings, reported in the journal Environmental Research: Food Systems and an IFEAA Net Zero Methane Hub white paper published today, suggest the balance between enteric emissions and those from manure management could be much closer to 50:50. The authors also call for greater focus from researchers and political leaders on emissions from manure management.   

Prof Neil Ward, of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at UEA, said: “The standard international methodology looks to be underestimating methane emissions from slurry storage.   

“Fortunately, we have the technology to turn this problem into a business opportunity for farmers who can reduce energy bills and become energy independent if they capture and make use of methane as a fuel. 

“If emissions from manure management are being significantly under-estimated, this not only means that official estimates are inaccurate, but also that priorities around mitigation options might be being distorted.  

“This research therefore represents an urgent call for action and further work to better understand methane emissions from manure management.” 

The researchers analysed measurements of slurry lagoon emissions from the two farms during 2022-23. The lagoons were covered with airtight covers and the methane captured.  

They found slurry lagoons produce far more methane than suggested by official estimates, such as those based on methods developed by the IPCC. Actual emissions from the farms were 145kgs per cow per year and 198kgs kgs per cow per year respectively. This is four to five times higher than the existing official figure of 38kgs per cow reported in the UK’s National Inventory. 

The resulting recommendations for government include research and development priorities, increasing grants for slurry covers and extending such financial support to associated gas processing equipment. 

Prof Penny Atkins, IFEAA CEO, said: “The technology exists for capturing, processing and utilising the methane that is currently lost to the atmosphere and contributing to GHG accumulation, and looks economically promising particularly if an incentives framework for capital investment on farms, coupled with regulatory support, can be implemented.  

“The cumulative contribution of methane from dairy farm manure management is significant and this data shows we must act now to curb emissions.” 

The researchers also suggest simplifying planning and permitting processes, and tax breaks for supply chain investment in methane recovery and use, such as investments by milk processors in supplier farms.  

George Eustice, former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and chair of IFEAA, added: “Methane is a potent but short-lived Green House Gas and reducing emissions is critical to the pathway to Net Zero and limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.  

“The bad news is that emissions from agriculture are higher than previously thought but the good news is that this methane is easily captured and used as an alternative to fossil fuels creating an additional income stream for farms.” 

The study ‘Estimating methane emissions from manure: a suitable case for treatment?’ is published in Environmental Research, Food Systems. The white paper is supported by the Net Zero Methane Hub, which has received £285,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

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Journal

Environmental Research

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Estimating methane emissions from manure: a suitable case for treatment?’

Article Publication Date

3-Oct-2024

 

LNG

Liquefied natural gas carbon footprint is worse than coal

Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. – Liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new Cornell University study.

“Natural gas and shale gas are all bad for the climate. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is worse,” said Robert Howarth, author of the study and a professor of ecology and environmental biology. “LNG is made from shale gas, and to make it you must supercool it to liquid form and then transport it to market in large tankers. That takes energy.”

The research, “The Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exported from the United States,” published Oct. 3 in Energy Science & Engineering.

The emissions of methane and carbon dioxide released during LNG’s extraction, processing, transportation and storage account for approximately half of its total greenhouse gas footprint, Howarth said.

Over 20 years, the carbon footprint for LNG is one-third larger than coal, when analyzed using the measurement of global warming potential, which compares the atmospheric impact for different greenhouse gases. Even on a 100-year time scale – a more-forgiving scale than 20 years – the liquefied natural gas carbon footprint equals or still exceeds coal, Howarth said.

The findings have implications for LNG production in the U.S., which is the world’s largest exporter after it lifted an export ban in 2016, according to the paper. Almost all of the increase in natural gas production since 2005 has been from shale gas. Howarth said the exported LNG is produced from shale in Texas and Louisiana.

The liquefication process – where the extracted natural gas is cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit – makes LNG easier to transport on tanker ships.

But that mode of transportation comes at an environmental cost. The ships with two- or four-stroke engines that transport LNG have lower carbon dioxide emissions than steam-powered ships. But as those stroke-engine vessels burn LNG during storage and transportation, methane slips through as emitted exhaust gas, putting more into the atmosphere.

Methane is more than 80 times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so even small emissions can have a large climate impact, Howarth said.

That’s why, he said, the modern LNG tankers with two- and four-stroke engines have more greenhouse gas emissions than those tankers powered by steam. Regardless of better fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions, methane still escapes in the tanker’s exhaust.

Significant methane emissions occur in the natural gas liquefication process, a figure close to 8.8% of total when using the global warming potential. Methane emissions from tankers vary from 3.9% to 8.1%, depending on the ship.

“Almost all the methane emissions occur upstream when you’re extracting the shale gas and liquefying it,” Howarth said. “This is all magnified just to get the liquefied natural gas to market.

“So liquefied natural gas will always have a bigger climate footprint than the natural gas, no matter what the assumptions of being a bridge fuel are,” Howarth said. “It still ends up substantially worse than coal.”

The research was supported by a grant from the Park Foundation.

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

-30-

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Journal

Energy Science & Engineering

DOI

10.1002/ese3.1934 

Article Title

The greenhouse gas footprint of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the United States

Article Publication Date

3-Oct-2024

 

Bridging the gap: how pragmatic trials can better serve healthcare systems

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute

Boston, MA – A new thought piece led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute with collaborators from Duke University and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute highlights the challenges facing healthcare researchers and decision makers in the quest to improve population health in a constantly evolving healthcare landscape. The authors offer strategies to enhance the effectiveness of pragmatic clinical trials and increase their impact on real-world healthcare settings.

The Viewpoint appears October 2 in JAMA.

Pragmatic clinical trials, designed to inform health care decision-makers about the comparative benefits, burdens, and risks of health interventions, have seen a significant increase in interest over the past decade. Since 2012, the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory has supported 32 such trials, addressing critical issues like suicide prevention, opioid prescribing, and infection control.

Pragmatic clinical trials compare treatments in everyday clinical settings, rather than under ideal conditions. However, the authors note that the adoption of trial findings by healthcare systems has been inconsistent.

“Our goal is to ensure that the findings from these trials are not only scientifically sound but also readily implementable in diverse healthcare settings,” says lead author Richard Platt, Harvard Medical School distinguished professor of population medicine at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. “Pragmatic clinical trials are designed to bridge the gap between research and care, and we believe this bridge can be built even more efficiently.”

The authors identify key challenges and propose solutions to align trial goals with healthcare system needs, including:

• Identifying relevant outcomes: Collaborate with healthcare leaders to determine the clinical or cost-saving outcomes that would motivate adoption.
• Shortening trial duration: Designing trials to span 2-3 years to match the decision-making timelines of healthcare systems.
• Conducting interim assessments: Utilizing interim analyses to provide timely information and potentially stop or modify trials early.
• Considering costs: Understanding and planning for associated costs to ensuring interventions are sustainable post-trial.

“By accommodating the priorities of healthcare leaders and introducing adaptive trial designs, we can generate actionable evidence that truly improves patient care,” adds Dr. Platt.

 

 

About the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute’s Department of Population Medicine
The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute's Department of Population Medicine is a unique collaboration between Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School. Created in 1992, it is the first appointing medical school department in the United States based in a health plan. The Institute focuses on improving health care delivery and population health through innovative research and education, in partnership with health plans, delivery systems, and public health agencies. Point32Health is the parent company of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan. Follow us on X and LinkedIn.

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Journal

JAMA

Article Title

Making Pragmatic Clinical Trials More Pragmatic

Article Publication Date

2-Oct-2024

 HOMOPHOBIC TRANSPHOBIA KILLS

Mental disorders and suicidality in transgender and gender-diverse people

JAMA Network

About The Study: 

This study found a higher prevalence of mental disorders and suicidal behavior in transgender and gender diverse people compared with the cisgender population. This finding aligns with other studies, which have found significantly higher rates of mental health–related health service use among transgender people compared with the general population.  

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ian Colman, PhD, email icolman@uottawa.ca.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.36883)

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

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.36883?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=100224

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

Sexual and gender minorities more likely to experience life dissatisfaction, isolation, stress

A new study found that sexual and gender minority adults in the US were more likely to report multiple social risk factors than heterosexual and cisgender adults, highlighting the need for policies that advance the health and well-being of these groups.

Boston University School of Public Health

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

A new study found that sexual and gender minority adults in the US were more likely to report multiple social risk factors than heterosexual and cisgender adults, highlighting the need for policies that advance the health and socioeconomic well-being of these groups.

Until last year, few national surveys collected information about the prevalence of social risk factors—individual-level adverse experiences such as food insecurity or housing instability—and whether certain populations in the US experience these challenges more than others. 

A new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher closes this knowledge gap, shedding light on how social conditions disproportionately affect sexual and gender minority populations (SGM). 

Published in JAMA Health Forum, the study found that SGM adults were significantly more likely to experience a variety of social risk factors, compared to heterosexual and cisgender adults. On almost all measures, the largest magnitude of inequity was between gender minority and cisgender adults. 

Since ample data also show that SGM adults experience poorer health outcomes and cost-related delays in care compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, it is important to understand the nonclinical factors that may be contributing to these inequitable health outcomes. Utilizing health data from 2022 and 2023, the study also provides new insight into the longer-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which took a disproportionate toll on SGM adults in terms of job loss, COVID exposure, isolation, and access to care, among other factors. 

“There is substantial evidence that sexual and gender minority adults often report limited access to care and worse health outcomes compared to heterosexual and cisgender adults, respectively,” says study lead and corresponding author Dr. Kevin Nguyen, assistant professor of health law, policy & management at BUSPH. “We know less, however, about how often they report social risk factors—dissatisfaction with life, social isolation, employment loss, insufficient food, and stress—which are linked to poor health outcomes.”

For the study, Dr. Nguyen and colleagues from BUSPH, Columbia University School of Social Work, and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine utilized data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual survey administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor US adults’ health status, health behaviors, and access to care. The study focused on health data for 178,803 US adults living in 22 states from January 2022 to February 2023. 

The team assessed a variety of social factors that can affect one’s health and well-being, including dissatisfaction with life, lack of emotional support, social isolation, job loss within the past year, stress, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation within the past year, insufficient amount of food, inability to pay bills or utilities, and lack of transportation.

About 58 percent of sexual minority women reported that they experienced at least one of these risk factors compared to about 37 percent of heterosexual women, and they were more likely to experience social isolation and stress. About 51 percent of sexual minority men experienced at least one risk factor, compared to 34 percent of heterosexual men, and they were more likely to experience stress and feel dissatisfied with life. Of gender minority adults, about 64 percent experienced at least one risk factor compared to 37 percent of cisgender adults, and they were significantly more likely to report social isolation and stress. 

These inequities in social risk factors are consequences of structural discrimination and stigmatization of marginalized populations, the researchers say. Biased attitudes and discriminatory policies—such as the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that target SGM populations across the country—often result in a loss of resources and support for the affected groups, which contributes to stress, isolation, and economic hardship.

“Public policies that codify equality by sexual orientation and gender identity may have long-term effects on financial security, socioeconomic mobility, and mental well-being for sexual and gender minorities,” Dr. Nguyen says. “Collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data may also help us better measure, identify, and address disparities in social risk factors experienced by sexual and gender minority adults.”

The study's senior author is Dr. Gilbert Gonzales, associate professor at the Department of Medicine, Health & Society, the Program for Public Policy Studies, and the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University. 

**

About Boston University School of Public Health

Founded in 1976, Boston University School of Public Health is one of the top ten ranked schools of public health in the world. It offers master's- and doctoral-level education in public health. The faculty in six departments conduct policy-changing public health research around the world, with the mission of improving the health of populations—especially the disadvantaged, underserved, and vulnerable—locally and globally.

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Journal

JAMA Health Forum

DOI

10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.3176 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Inequities in Self-Reported Social Risk Factors by Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Article Publication Date

27-Sep-2024

COI Statement

Dr Gonzales reported consulting for Merck outside the submitted work.

 

Bright light therapy for non-seasonal depressive disorders

JAMA Network

About The Study: 

The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis reveal that bright light therapy was an effective adjunctive treatment for non-seasonal depressive disorders. Additionally, results suggest that bright light therapy may improve the response time to the initial treatment. 

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Artur Menegaz de Almeida, MS, email arturomenegaz@gmail.com.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.2871)

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

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.2871?guestAccessKey=0edae100-1cdb-476a-9964-2f7483e7d3c5&utm_source=for_the_media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=100224

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Journal

JAMA Psychiatry

 

Researchers observe hidden deformations in complex light fields

Tampere University

 

image: 

Illustration of the reflection of a twisted light field from an object, showing the topological aberration effect.

view more 

Credit: Rafael Barros, Tampere University

Everyday experience tells us that light reflected from a perfectly flat mirror will give us the correct image without any deformation. Interestingly, this is not the case when the light field itself is structured in a complex way. Tiny deformations appear. These have now been observed for the first time in the laboratory by researchers at Tampere University. The results confirm the prediction of this fundamental optical effect made more than a decade ago. They also show how it can be used, for example, as a method for determining material properties.

Light is a wave. Although this simple statement has been known to scientists for over a century, new properties and applications of light waves are routinely discovered and explored by researchers in optics and photonics. At Tampere University, the Experimental Quantum Optics Group (EQO) studies the nuances of the shape – or structure, as it is often called – of light. The structure of light has become an important topic in modern optics, with advances ranging from the fundamentals of quantum physics to information science and optical communications.

In their latest work, the researchers have shown that the shape of a light beam is slightly distorted when it is reflected from a perfectly flat object such as a mirror. Although the deformation is very small, it carries significant information about the object itself, such as the material it is made of. This so-called topological aberration effect, predicted over a decade ago by researchers in the UK, has now been observed for the first time.

“Although the general idea of observing a deformation seems rather simple, it took us more than a year to perfect our experiment and adjust the original theory to distinguish the effect from all the other beam deformations that are natural to experimental research,” explains Associate Professor Robert Fickler, group leader of the EQO team.  

Whirlpools of light and darkness

With the recent technological advances in the shaping of light waves, the field of structured light has boomed in recent decades. Much of the interest in the field is due to so-called twisted light waves, which not only travel at the speed of light, but also spin as they travel.

“What is curious in these twisted light fields is that they have points in them that are completely dark, optical vortices as we call them, like whirlpools in water that are themselves waterless. What we have done is to observe how these vortices thread and move around when the beam interacts with a flat object, and what we can learn from these movements”, adds Academy Postdoctoral Researcher Rafael Barros, leading author of the study.

The dynamics of vortices in optical fields has been the subject of long-standing research and is usually regarded as a complicated mathematical problem. In their work, the authors have investigated how the vortices of a twisted light field move when it is reflected from an object. They have shown that although each optical vortex moves in a complicated way, their collective movement is determined by the properties of the object in a simple and predictable way.  The researchers point out that their work will inspire new ways of measuring the properties of materials with structured waves. This will bring a new twist to optical technologies.   

The first observation of this fundamental optical effect is now featured in the article “Observation of the topological aberrations of twisted light” published in Nature Communications on 17 September 2024.

Further information

Rafael Barros
rafael.barros@tuni.fi

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-52529-6 

Article Title

Observation of the topological aberrations of twisted light

 

A leap in behavioral modelling: Scientists replicate animal movements with unprecedented accuracy

A new prediction tool has potential applications from robotics to Parkinson's disease

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University

 

video: 

Computer-modeled body movements of a simulated worm (top) and a real worm (bottom). The graphs show body movement patterns over time for both worms (left). On the right, moving images show how closely the simulated worm matches the actual worm's motion. 

view more 

Credit: Costa et al., 2024

Scientists have developed a new method to simulate the complex movements of animals with exceptional accuracy. The research team set out to solve a long-standing challenge in biology—how to accurately model the intricate and seemingly unpredictable movements of living organisms. They focused on the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, a model organism widely used in biological research. The findings, published in PNAS, help predict and understand animal behavior, with potential applications ranging from robotics to medical research. 

"Unlike simple physical systems like a pendulum or a bead on a spring, animal behavior exists in a space between regular and random actions. Capturing that delicate balance is very tricky and that’s what makes our model unique—no one has ever presented a model of an animal this lifelike before,” explained Prof. Greg Stephens, leader of the Biological Physics Theory Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST).

Accurately mimicking real worm movements 

“An animal's actions are influenced by many factors, including its internal state, environmental experiences, developmental history, and genetic inheritance. Expressing these influences in a simple, predictive model is remarkable and somewhat counterintuitive. This complexity, and our ability to model it effectively, is noteworthy," explained Dr. Antonio Costa, lead author at the Paris Brain Institute at Sorbonne University. 

Creating the model was a complex process involving several steps. The team started by recording high-resolution videos of worm movements. They used machine learning techniques to identify the worm's shape in every video frame. They then analyzed how these shapes changed over time, to obtain a deeper understanding of worm behavior. Finally, they determined how much past data was needed to make reliable predictions.  

"We compared statistical properties of real animal behavior, such as movement speed and frequency of behavioral changes, with those generated by our simulations,” Dr. Costa added. “The close match between these data sets demonstrates the high accuracy of our model." 

Implications for medicine and robotics 

The implications of this research extend far beyond the study of worms. The team is already communicating with companies who use this nematode worm to test the effect of chemical compounds on behavior. They are also applying the model to other species, including zebrafish larvae, which are frequently used in drug discovery research. Additionally, the researchers are exploring applications in human medicine, particularly in the study of movement disorders like Parkinson's disease. 

The potential impact on medical research is significant. Current diagnostic methods for movement disorders often rely on subjective observations made during brief clinical visits. These changes might be too subtle for direct observation, which is part of what makes diagnosing these medical conditions challenging. This new approach could provide more continuous, objective measurements of patient movements, even in home settings, leading to more precise diagnoses and personalized treatment strategies. 

Beyond medicine, the model could have applications in fields such as robotics, where achieving natural-looking movement has been a persistent challenge. By better understanding how animals navigate their environments, engineers may be able to design more adaptable and efficient robotic systems. 

As the team continues to refine and expand their modeling techniques, they anticipate that this approach will open new avenues for understanding the intricate relationships between environmental factors, genetics, and behavior across a wide range of species. 

The new model turns computer-g [VIDEO] | 

The new model turns computer-generated worm poses into lifelike motion 

The researchers used their mathematical model to create a series of worm body shapes over time. They then applied principles of how objects move in fluids to calculate how these changing shapes would propel the worm forward. The result is a realistic simulation of worm movement through its environment.

Credit

Costa et al., 2024

Animal behavioral model header image OIST

Credit

Kaori Serakaki, OIST

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Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2318805121 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

A Markovian dynamics for Caenorhabditis elegans behavior across scales