New PFAs testing method created at UMass Amherst

The discovery is a promising step toward making water testing more affordable, portable and accessible

University of Massachusetts Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. — University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered a new way to detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. This marks an important step forward in creating testing devices that are simpler, more cost-effective, faster and generally more accessible than existing methods.

PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals, have been recognized as a concerning pollutant.

These chemicals persist in the environment because they resist breaking down and pose significant health threats. Exposure to these chemicals is linked to various cancers (including kidney, testicular, breast, ovarian, prostate, thyroid and childhood leukemia), liver and heart damage, and developmental damage to infants and children.

Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first-ever national safety standard for PFAS in drinking water at 4 ppt. “PPT – that means parts per trillion. That means in a trillion molecules in water, only 4 molecules are PFAS. And then we need to be able to detect even those few,” explains Chang Liu, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UMass Amherst and corresponding author of the paper published in the journal Science Advances that describes their new method.

The gold standard for testing PFAS is currently liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. However, this method requires million-dollar equipment and complicated extraction steps. And, it is not portable. “In addition, the stubborn persistence of PFAS residues can diminish the sensitivity of these instruments over time,” says Xiaojun Wei, first author of the paper and research assistant professor at UMass Amherst.

Their study demonstrates that a small, inexpensive device is feasible for identifying various PFAS families and detecting PFAS at levels as low as 400 ppt. While this proof-of-concept stage invention does not reach the same level of sensitivity or the breadth of PFAS types that can be detected compared to mass spectrometry, the researchers see high potential for its impact.

“We’re bringing the cost of the instrument from the scale of a million dollars to a few thousand,” says Liu. “We need better technology for detecting PFAS — more accessible, more affordable and easier to use. And more testing that’s on site. That’s the motivation.”

The researchers also see an application to use this method as a first-screening tool to identify the water that poses the greatest risks to human health.

Their testing device works by adding a molecule called cyclodextrin to a small device that is typically used for sequencing DNA, called a nanopore. The “host-guest” interaction between cyclodextrin and PFAS has been well documented, but Liu explains that no one had ever combined it with a nanopore for detection. “Now we’re using one of these molecules called HP-gamma-Cyclodextrin as an adapter in an alpha-Hemolysin nanopore,” he says, effectively creating a PFAS detector.

Liu hopes that their research will help raise awareness to the hazards of PFAS and eventually lead to a commercialized portable PFAS detector for water monitoring in the field.

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adp8134 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Single-Molecule Profiling of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances by Cyclodextrin Mediated Host-Guest Interactions within a Biological Nanopore

Article Publication Date

6-Nov-2024

 

$2.1M aids researchers in building chemical sensors to safeguard troops

AND MINERS, SEWER WORKERS, OIL WORKERS, 

University of Arizona College of Engineering

 

image: 

Associate professor of biomedical engineering and optical sciences, Judith Su (center), leads research on the FLOWER sensing device.

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Credit: University of Arizona College of Engineering

The U.S. Army has awarded a team of researchers led by Judith Su, University of Arizona associate professor of biomedical engineering and optical sciences, $2.1 million to build a handheld version of her record-breaking FLOWER sensing device for active military personnel.

The device picks up target compounds at zeptomolar (10 to the power of negative 21) concentrations, an astonishingly minuscule amount of 600 particles per liter. FLOWER is useful for drug testing and a wide variety of other applications, such as health diagnostics. 

The military expects it may also preserve the lives of active-duty service members. 

Unprecedented sensitivity

Su received $2.8 million from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency four years ago to conduct phase 1 research for her project, which is called FORWARD: FLOWER-Based Optical Resonators for Widely Applicable Reagent Detection. 

Phase 1 tested FLOWER's detection capabilities on tiny amounts of airborne chemical warfare agents. Su, principal investigator at the university's Little Sensor Lab and a Craig M. Berge Faculty Fellow, said FLOWER detected part-per-million concentrations of DIMP, a byproduct of sarin, a highly toxic nerve agent that is clear, odorless and tasteless. It is incredibly difficult to detect without advanced tools, making it a dangerous obstacle for the U.S. Army.

"We were also looking at things like nitric oxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, all these different chemicals," Su said. "We were able to demonstrate record levels of sensitivity."

Unlike other sensing devices, FLOWER doesn't require compound tagging, which is the addition of a fluorescent or radioactive tag to make a target compound stand out during testing. This advantage potentially makes FLOWER a cost-effective solution to identify gas particles on the go, Su said. 

Saving lives – in battle and at home

Advancing into phase 2, Su will develop a prototype that takes FLOWER sensors off the lab bench and into the general population. Anyone could be an operator.

"We're making it a translatable device from the laboratory to real-world chemical sensing solutions," Su said.

"We want to make it as accessible as possible," she said. "Military personnel who want to know if it's safe to enter a room can see a red or green light response."

Euan McLeod, associate professor of optical sciences and Su's collaborator, said the device allows for early detection and will be more sensitive than anything the Army is currently using.

"Being far away from a toxic gas, there might be a little bit of it in the air, but it's such a low concentration that a normal sensor couldn't sense it," McLeod said. "This will keep people safer by giving them an early warning at a longer distance from the source."

McLeod and Su will collaborate to miniaturize FLOWER's power over the next three years.

By bringing FLOWER into the hands of active military, Su sees far-reaching implications for a portable device.

"If you can make a portable sensor for the military, that can also be useful in hospitals or point-of-care applications at home if you want to monitor your health," she said. "With a handheld, you could just spit into this device, and it could interface with your cellphone to give a readout."

GREEN CAPITALI$M

The evolving climate change investing strategies of asset owners

Yale University

Asset owners who control substantial capital in the financial system through pension funds, endowments, foundations, and individual holdings can play a crucial role in driving investments in climate change mitigation, according to a new Yale School of the Environment study.

The study, led by Emil Moldovan ’24 MESc, found that owners of large asset portfolios are recognizing the need to consider the environmental impacts of  investment decisions and aligning portfolio goals with global efforts to limit climate change. However, perceived risk, lack of training in the climate investment sector, and aligning investments with portfolio goals are presenting challenges.

“There are a lot of bottlenecks to climate action right now. I don’t want to say any one bottleneck is any bigger deal than other bottlenecks, but the one I am focusing on is money and institutions that manage money. What are the underlying constructs that determine what happens in investing in climate action?” said Moldovan, who worked as a senior specialist at Deloitte Consulting.

To reach net zero goals by 2050, low-carbon investments must rise to more than $5 trillion annually by 2030, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Moldovan and his team conducted more than 60 interviews with asset owners and managers of more than $750 billion in assets and their stakeholders for the study, which was published in NPJ Climate Action. The team examined what influenced climate investment decisions, including legal constructs, fiduciary responsibilities, and climate expertise. They also reviewed influence from asset owners, legal beneficiaries, such as employees and pensioners, and stakeholders, such as environmental groups or advocacy organizations. The assets owners and portfolios included retail investors, high-net-worth family offices, foundations, corporations, pensions, endowments, and trusts.

Using a structured framework — the Four Stages of Organizational Change — the team examined how asset owners perceive and respond to climate change challenges. The stages include perception, evaluation, enactment, and feedback.

“The study is unique in that it tests asset owners as nuanced individuals interested in and beholden to a wide variety of factors that determine their position on climate-friendly investing,” said Todd Cort, study co-author and a lecturer in sustainability at YSE.

The researchers found that investors are responding to both hard and soft powers controlling the portfolio, including legal mandates that provide leeway to invest in climate solutions and demand from stakeholders who want to see more of these investments.

 

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“More often than not, there is a presumption that fiduciary duty translates to maximization of return at the expense of environmental impact, but the paper exposes this as untrue. Fiduciary duty is incredibly nuanced,” Cort said. “In fact, we should be treating the maximization of return as one consideration of a fiduciary that is consistent with other goals. The actual duty will always be a mix of priorities from asset owners. Moreover, the paper makes it evident that this flexibility in fiduciary duty allows for climate investing in a variety of circumstances.”

Among the study’s key findings is that while investors are starting small with low-risk allocations or carveouts, there is a growing trend of asset owners increasingly aligning financial returns with environmental goals.

To speed investment, the authors proposed several key interventions, including training financial advisors who may be struggling to operationalize climate investments; extending investment time horizons to support sustainable choices; and engaging beneficiaries and stakeholders on what actions are available to them to influence asset owners.

“We drew a map of how people who are interested in climate change can interface with asset owners. Different people will be able to see themselves in that map and understand the actions that are available to them, given their unique positioning,” Moldovan said.

The study was co-authored by YSE’s Jennifer Marlon, senior research scientist; Anthony Leiserowitz, JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication; and Matthew Goldberg, a research scientist at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

 

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Journal

npj Climate Action

DOI

10.1038/s44168-024-00168-4 

Article Title

The evolving climate change investing strategies of asset owners

 

Climate change parching the American West even without rainfall deficits

Higher temperatures are increasing evaporation enough to cause drought

University of California - Los Angeles

Key takeaways

• Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change turned an ordinary drought into an exceptional one that parched the American West from 2020–2022. 
• A study by UCLA and NOAA scientists has found that evaporation accounted for 61% of the drought’s severity, while reduced precipitation accounted for 39%. 
• The research found that since 2000, evaporative demand has played a bigger role than reduced precipitation in droughts, which may become more severe as the climate warms.

Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020–2022. A study by UCLA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate scientists has found that evaporation accounted for 61% of the drought’s severity, while reduced precipitation only accounted for 39%. The research found that evaporative demand has played a bigger role than reduced precipitation in droughts since 2000, which suggests droughts will become more severe as the climate warms. 

“Research has already shown that warmer temperatures contribute to drought, but this is, to our knowledge, the first study that actually shows that moisture loss due to demand is greater than the moisture loss due to lack of rainfall,” said Rong Fu, a UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and corresponding author of a study published in Science Advances.

Historically, drought in the West has been caused by lack of precipitation, and evaporative demand has played a small role. Climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels has resulted in higher average temperatures that complicate this picture. While drought-induced by natural fluctuations in rainfall still exist, there’s more heat to suck moisture from bodies of water, plants and soil.

“For generations, drought has been associated with drier-than-normal weather,” said Veva Deheza, executive director of NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System and study co-author. “This study further confirms we’ve entered a new paradigm where rising temperatures are leading to intense droughts, with precipitation as a secondary factor.”

A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor before the air mass becomes saturated, allowing water to condense and precipitation to form. In order to rain, water molecules in the atmosphere need to come together. Heat keeps water molecules moving and bouncing off each other, preventing them from condensing. This creates a cycle in which the warmer the planet gets, the more water will evaporate into the atmosphere — but the smaller fraction will return as rain. Therefore, droughts will last longer, cover wider areas and be even drier with every little bit that the planet warms.

To study the effects of higher temperatures on drought, the researchers have separated “natural” droughts due to changing weather patterns from those resulting from human-caused climate change in the observational data over a 70-year period. Previous studies have used climate models that incorporate increasing greenhouse gases to conclude that rising temperatures contribute to drought. But without observational data about real weather patterns, they could not pinpoint the role played by evaporative demand due to naturally varying weather patterns. 

When these natural weather patterns were included, the researchers were surprised to find that climate change has accounted for 80% of the increase in evaporative demand since 2000. During the drought periods, that figure increased to more than 90%, making climate change the single biggest driver increasing drought severity and expansion of drought area since 2000. 

Compared to the 1948–1999 period, the average drought area from 2000–2022 increased 17% over the American West due to an increase in evaporative demand. Since 2000, in 66% of the historical and emerging drought-prone regions, high evaporative demand alone can cause drought, meaning drought can occur even without precipitation deficit. Before 2000, that was only true for 26% of the area.

“During the drought of 2020–2022, moisture demand really spiked,” Fu said. “Though the drought began through a natural reduction in precipitation, I would say its severity was increased from the equivalent of ‘moderate’ to ‘exceptional on the drought severity scale due to climate change.”

Moderate means the 10–20% strongest drought, while “exceptional’ means the top 2% strongest drought on the severity scale, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Further climate model simulations corroborated these findings. That leads to projections that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels will turn droughts like the 2020–2022 from exceedingly rare events occurring every thousand years to events that happen every 60 years by the mid-21st century and every six years by the late 21st century.

“Even if precipitation looks normal, we can still have drought because moisture demand has increased so much and there simply isn’t enough water to keep up with that increased demand,” Fu said. “This is not something you could build bigger reservoirs or something to prevent because when the atmosphere warms, it will just suck up more moisture everywhere. The only way to prevent this is to stop temperatures from increasing, which means we have to stop emitting greenhouse gases.” 

The study was supported by NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System and Climate Program Office, and the National Science Foundation.

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Journal

Science Advances

 

Power grids supplied largely by renewable sources experience lower intensity blackouts

Trinity College Dublin

 

image: 

Professor Jin Zhao.

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Credit: Professor Jin Zhao, Trinity College Dublin

New research into the vulnerability of power grids served by weather-dependent renewable energy sources (WD-RESs) such as solar and wind paints a hopeful picture as various countries around the globe attempt to meet their climate emissions targets – with the research showing grids with high penetration of WD-RESs tend to have reduced blackout intensities in the US.

This research – just published in leading international journal Nature Energy – was conducted with US blackout data from 2001 to 2020, but the results are of great interest from the perspective of any country transitioning to power grids primarily supplied by WD-RESs.

For example, in Ireland, in 2023, 38.9% of electricity generated came from renewable energy sources and this figure is expected to grow to above 70% by 2030.

The impacts of fluctuant renewable energy generation have been frequently discussed in the worldwide energy transition process, yet the role of WD-RESs in blackouts has largely remained controversial. 

“Some have claimed that unstable RESs are responsible for increasing power grid unreliability under extreme climate conditions, whereas others have argued that wind and solar generation tend to be available even during extreme weather,” said Jin Zhao, Assistant Professor in Trinity College Dublin’s School of Engineering, who led the research. 

“The lack of understanding of the impacts of WD-RESs on power system blackouts has raised doubts about their use and, in some cases, driven a backlash against wind and solar integration. Considering the ambitious high-RES penetration and carbon emission goals that have been set for future power systems, it was high time we improved our understanding of the role RESs play in blackouts.”

The research revealed that power systems with higher WD-RES penetration did not exhibit more blackout vulnerability and when blackouts did occur they were likely to have reduced intensity (as indicated by the affected number of customers, demand loss, and duration) in high WD-RES penetration grids. 

Additionally, although analyses showed that extreme weather increases a power system’s vulnerability to blackouts, high WD-RES penetration does not worsen the weather vulnerability of power systems – even when solely considering weather-induced blackouts.

Prof. Zhao added: “The major take-home message here is that WD-RESs are not the main culprit for blackouts during extreme weather events and the higher penetration grids tend to experience lower blackout intensities when they do occur.

“This is promising from an Irish perspective, although we are a lower-inertia island system that could be more sensitive than the large interconnected systems like those seen in the US and in the power systems of continental Europe. All of this makes it super important to specifically focus on our Irish power system with similar research and that is the next step for us – we have recently secured funding to do just that.”

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Journal

Nature Energy

DOI

10.1038/s41560-024-01657-w 

Article Title

Weather-sensitive renewable energy sources do not subject power systems to blackouts

 

Mayo Clinic researchers recommend alternatives to hysterectomy for uterine fibroids, according to study

Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Uterine fibroids are a common condition that affects up to 80% of women in their lifetime. Nearly half of those women will experience symptoms that affect their quality of life and fertility, including severe pain and anemia. Uterine fibroids are the major reason for the removal of the uterus by hysterectomy. However, Mayo Clinic researchers recommend minimally invasive treatment alternatives to hysterectomy, in an invited clinical practice paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Less invasive treatments can help women recover faster and resume their normal activities more quickly. Additionally, many studies have now shown that there are health benefits to keeping the uterus and the ovaries," says Shannon Laughlin-Tommaso, M.D., Mayo Clinic OB-GYN and co-lead author of the paper.

Removing the uterus, even while sparing the ovaries, increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety and higher mortality. These risks are higher for people who get their uteruses removed at a young age.

"Women contemplating a hysterectomy deserve counseling about these risks since there are other less invasive options for many women with fibroids," Dr. Laughlin-Tommaso says.

A recent study found that nearly 60% of women undergoing hysterectomy for fibroids had not received a less invasive treatment first. Having alternative options to hysterectomy allow women to maintain their uteruses for longer.

These alternatives include medical therapies, hormone-releasing IUDs, radiofrequency ablation, focused ultrasound ablation and uterine artery embolization.

Early detection is key. When fibroids are found early, they tend to be smaller and less extensive. As a result, treating them early is medically less complicated.

The incidence of fibroids increases with age until menopause and is higher among Black women. In addition, this population often presents with more severe fibroids.

"Earlier diagnosis and treatment of uterine fibroids can help reduce this health disparity among Black women," says Ebbie Stewart, M.D., co-lead author and Mayo Clinic gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist. In survey-based studies, many Black patients preferred minimally invasive therapies over hysterectomies.

Diagnosing fibroids is straightforward with a pelvic ultrasound but determining who to screen is not, and screening usually occurs after the fibroids are large or the patients are symptomatic. Many women with symptomatic fibroids have reported psychological suffering, including depression, concern, anger and body image distress. 

The researchers suggest that future studies should include screening younger women, particularly young Black women, and people with a strong family health history of fibroids to determine if early treatment reduces long-term risks.

Why a hysterectomy?

Hysterectomies have been the most common treatment for uterine fibroids for several reasons.

"Hysterectomy makes decision-making easier for medical providers and patients. For providers, they don't have to determine which fibroids to treat or remove. Hysterectomy is also universally available in OB-GYN practices," explains Dr. Laughlin-Tommaso.

Additionally, concerns about inadvertently missing a rare cancer that grows in the smooth muscle of the uterus, known as leiomyosarcoma, has led to an increased rate of hysterectomies over less invasive approaches.

Lastly, a major reason for hysterectomy is that fibroids can recur about 50% of the time within five years after they are removed. However, the researchers note that not all new fibroids will become symptomatic, especially among women entering menopause.

Review the paper for a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding.

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About Mayo Clinic 
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Additional Resources:
NIH award supports new center at Mayo Clinic for health disparities in uterine fibroid treatment

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Journal

New England Journal of Medicine

Article Title

Uterine Fibroids

Article Publication Date

6-Nov-2024

 

Very early medication abortion is effective and safe

Karolinska Institutet

Clinics and hospitals currently defer medication abortion until ultrasound confirms a pregnancy inside the uterus. However, a large international study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet now indicates that treatment can be equally effective and safe even before the sixth week of pregnancy. The study is published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

35,550 abortions took place in Sweden in 2023, over 60 per cent of them before the end of the seventh week of pregnancy. Often, the procedure is held off until intrauterine pregnancy is confirmed by vaginal ultrasound to rule out the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy, in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tubes. An ectopic pregnancy is not terminated by a medication abortion and can be life-threatening for the woman. Ultrasound reveals a pregnancy in week five to six.  

“Women often find out very early if they’re pregnant, and a majority also know if they want a termination and if so, want it to take place as quickly as possible,” says the study’s first author Karin Brandell, gynaecologist at Karolinska University Hospital and doctoral student at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. “Observational studies have produced contradictory results as regards effectiveness, so we wanted to study if very early abortion is just as effective and safe as waiting.”

Women from nine countries

The VEMA (Very early medical abortion) study included over 1,500 women at 26 clinics in nine countries who requested an abortion before ultrasound was able to confirm intrauterine pregnancy. They were randomly assigned to either a delayed abortion once pregnancy could be confirmed in the uterus (in week 5 to 6) or to early abortion (in week 4 to 6). Both groups received two drugs – mifepristone and misoprostol.

At the start of the study, all participants were up to six weeks pregnant and presented no symptoms of ectopic pregnancy (e.g. abdominal pain or bleeding) or risk factors for such a pregnancy (e.g. pregnancy despite a coil or previous ectopic pregnancies). The outcome measure was terminated pregnancy (complete abortion).

“Very early medical abortion was just as effective and safe to perform, even in case of an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy,” says Kristina Gemzell-Danielsson, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the same department at Karolinska Institutet, senior physician at Karolinska University Hospital and project leader of the VEMA study.

A political issue

In both groups, over 95 per cent of the women had a complete abortion, but the few procedures that failed differed between the groups. On delayed treatment, the treatment was incomplete in 4.5 per cent of cases and required additional vacuum aspiration (surgery). In 0.1 per cent of cases, the pregnancy continued. In the early group, the pregnancy continued in 3 per cent of cases and 1.8 per cent required surgery for incomplete abortion. A total of 1 per cent of all participants had an ectopic pregnancy. 

The women in the early group reported less pain and bleeding. In both groups, the women also expressed a desire to have the abortion performed as quickly as possible.

“Abortion is a political as well as a medical issue,” says Dr Brandell. “In Sweden, a woman can repeat the procedure a week after a failed early abortion. But a woman in Texas, where abortion is banned after the sixth week, can’t. It was therefore important to show that early abortion is equivalent to current standard procedure at a later stage of pregnancy.”

Better abortions and contraceptives

The researchers now want to test if a new combination of drugs for early abortion is also effective for ectopic pregnancies. They are also developing new contraceptives based on one of the components of current medical abortions, mifepristone.

“It can be taken in a lower dose than for abortion to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the form of one tablet a week, or when needed,” says Professor Gemzell-Danielsson.

The study was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, research funds of the Hospital System of Helsinki and Uusimaa, the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health, the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Gothenburg Society of Medicine, and an ALF grant (Karolinska Institutet/Region Stockholm). The researchers’ conflicts of interests are reported in full in the study.

Publication: ”Randomized Trial of Very Early Medication Abortion”, Karin Brandell, Tagrid Jar-Allah, John Reynolds-Wright, Helena Kopp Kallner, Helena Hognert, Frida Gyllenberg, Janina Kaislasuo, Anand Tamang, Heera Tuladhar, Clare Boerma, Karen Schimanski, Gillian Gibson, Mette Løkeland, Pia Teleman, Marie Bixo, Mette Mandrup Kjaer, Ervin Kallfa, Johan Bring, Oskari Heikinheimo, Sharon Cameron, and Kristina Gemzell-Danielsson, New England Journal of Medicine, online 6 November 2024, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2401646.

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Journal

New England Journal of Medicine

DOI

10.1056/NEJMoa2401646 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Randomized Trial of Very Early Medication Abortion

Article Publication Date

6-Nov-2024

 

Washington coast avian flu outbreak devastated Caspian terns, jumped to seals

Washington State University

 

image: 

The avian flu killed 1,101 adult Caspian terns and 520 chicks in 2023 in a large breeding colony on Rat Island in Washington state. Researchers estimate that as much as 10-14% of terns in the entire Pacific flyway have been lost to the virus.

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Credit: Scott Pearson, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

PULLMAN, Wash. – An epidemiological study found that 56% of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state. Since then, no birds have successfully bred on the island, raising concerns that the outbreak may have had a significant impact on an already declining Pacific-coast population.

As part of the study, a team including Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) as well as Washington State University researchers also documented that the avian flu virus H5N1was transmitted to harbor seals for the first time in the northeastern Pacific.

While there has not been another large coastal wildlife outbreak of H5N1 since, researchers estimated that about 10-14% of the Caspian tern population in the Pacific flyway have been lost to H5N1 infections.

“This Caspian tern event was the first big marine environment avian flu outbreak for Washington. It caused a significant, punctuated mortality for the Caspian terns, which were already a species in decline throughout this flyway,” said Katherine Haman, a wildlife veterinarian for WDFW and lead author on the study in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Caspian terns are found across the country, and until a couple years ago, their largest breeding site was an island in the lower Columbia River, downstream from Portland. Because the birds were feasting on young, endangered salmon, they were discouraged from nesting on that island. It is likely that a portion of the extremely large Columbia River colony relocated to Rat Island near Fort Flagler Park in Jefferson County—then, came the avian flu in 2023.

Haman credited citizen volunteer docents from the Friends of Fort Flagler and local kayaking guides with noticing the first bird deaths on Rat Island early and alerting officials. This allowed researchers to respond early, collecting dead birds and euthanizing sick ones. A total of 1,101 adults and 520 chicks were killed by the outbreak.

The researchers also noted 15 dead harbor seals in the area which usually only sees 1 or 2 seal deaths a year. Through tissue samples, WSU researchers at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) were able to first identify H5N1 in the birds, but the tests in seals were harder to confirm.

“We tend to think of avian influenza as a respiratory disease, but the seal respiratory samples were initially negative for H5N1. That seemed odd because there was a relatively high mortality in the seals, and there were also birds that were sick at the same time,” said co-author Kevin Snekvik, a WSU veterinary pathologist and WADDL executive director.

Further testing in other organs revealed that avian flu had a different pathology in the harbor seals causing an inflammatory response in their brains. The team performed a whole genome sequencing of the virus confirming that the seals likely contracted the virus from the terns.

Avian influenza has been killing many seals and sea lions in other parts of the world, particularly in South America, but so far that same spread has not yet occurred in the Pacific Northwest. The consequences for the terns in the region, however, has been more dire. There is no vaccine or treatment yet available in the U.S. for animals impacted by the avian flu. It is difficult to control in wildlife given the rapid spread and the difficulty associated with capture and handling of wild animals, so at this stage, researchers are trying to gain insights on the spread of the disease in wild populations by tracking the spread and understanding the impact.

Human cases of avian flu in Washington and elsewhere in the U.S. have occurred primarily in agricultural workers who were in close contact with infected domestic animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers emphasized that people should not touch sick or dying wildlife, and instead report the animals on WDFW’s website.

This research received support from the Washington state legislature, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Washington Department of Health, WDFW and WADDL. The study was made possible by a large collaboration including additional researchers from WSU and WDFW as well as Center Valley Animal Rescue, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pennsylvania State University, Washington Department of Health and University of California, Davis.

“The success of this study and the ongoing investigation is a result of a large number of organizations working together seamlessly. For wildlife investigations, it is absolutely paramount that we work across lines,” said co-author Tom Waltzek, a researcher with WADDL and WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.   

The population of Caspian terns were already in decline throughout the Pacific flyway when they suffered a major avian flu outbreak at a large breeding site off the coast of Washington state.

Credit

Scott Pearson, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Researchers were able to respond early to the outbreak of avian flu among Caspian terns in 2023, thanks to the reports from local volunteers and kayaking guides. The event was the first major outbreak of H5N1 among marine wildlife in the region. An estimated 56% of the breeding colony was lost.

Credit

Katherine Haman, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

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Journal

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

DOI

10.3389/fvets.2024.1483922 

Article Title

A comprehensive epidemiological approach documenting an outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus clade 2.3.4.4b among gulls, terns, and harbor seals in the Northeastern Pacific

South Dakota, North Dakota vote down recreational marijuana

Nov. 6, 2024 

Horticulturist Justin Sheffield inspects cannabis plants in a grow room at the Beleaf Medical Growing Facility in Earth City, Mo., on Feb. 7, 2023. South Dakota and North Dakota voted down ballot measures that would have legalized recreational marijuana on Tuesday. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Voters in South Dakota and North Dakota rejected a ballot measure meant to legalize recreational marijuana.

As election results continued to come in on Wednesday morning, CNN, NBC News and South Dakota news station KELOLand News reported that South Dakota's Measure 29 and North Dakota's Initiated Measure 5 failed.

Measure 29 is a ballot measure to legalize the possession, growing and distribution of marijuana for recreational purposes.

"No" votes held a 56% edge as of 12:30 p.m. EST, according to South Dakota's official election results site. Of the 393,387 votes counted, 270,331 opposed the measure.

Voters passed an amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in 2020, but it was challenged by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem. The governor won her case in the state supreme court, overriding the decision by voters.

North Dakota's ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana use failed, making it the third time an attempt to legalize marijuana has failed in the state in the last six years.

The North Dakota Secretary of State's website reported that 52.55% of voters said "No" to the initiative. All 385 precincts have fully reported and 190,189 of 361,936 votes opposed the measure.

A ballot measure on recreational marijuana use also failed in Florida. Amendment Three would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces, or about 8.5 grams, of marijuana for recreational use.

Voters in Nebraska approved the legalization of medical marijuana, passing two initiatives on the subject.

Initiative 437 removes and prohibits penalties for possessing up to 5 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes. The initiative received 70.74% of votes in favor, tallying 614,236 votes out of 868,315, according to the state's official election results.

Initiative 438 will establish the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate medical marijuana in the state. That measure passed with 66.95% support, or 578,375 of 863,948 votes.