Social networks may help combat global spread of diseases - study

University of Birmingham

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People’s social connections play a critical role in determining whether they adopt preventative health measures that could help to reduce the spread of diseases such as malaria, a new study reveals.

Researchers focused on malaria prevention in 10 villages in rural India - looking at how different factors influence people's use of preventative measures like bed nets, insect repellent and protective clothing.

The scientists discovered that exposure to similar behaviours within a person’s social network is the most significant factor in predicting individual prevention behaviours. Furthermore, their study highlighted the indirect influence of households as crucial contexts for social ties.

Publishing their findings in Scientific Reports, researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester, the Indian Institute of Public Health Shillong, New York University, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health outline a novel framework to understand how social factors influence disease prevention.

Co-author Dr. András Vörös, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Social networks can either help or hinder disease prevention efforts that rely on a combination of behaviours. For example, if your friends and family use insect repellents, you are much more likely to use them yourself.

“This suggests that health behaviours are heavily influenced by our social connections and are not just the outcome of individual choices. By understanding how social networks influence behaviour, we can develop more effective public health interventions.”

The study involved detailed interviews with over 1,500 adults in the Meghalaya state of Northeast India, gathering information about their health practices and social networks to help develop a new assessment framework that combines social network analysis with research on multiple health behaviour change.

While the research focused on malaria in India, the implications extend to various diseases and populations globally – the approach provides a valuable framework for developing more effective public health strategies around the world to help prevent infectious and non-communicable diseases.

Households are critical for shaping health-related discussions – the researchers note that people tend to discuss health matters with those within their own household, which means that the information and practices shared at home have a large impact.

Individual characteristics like age, gender or education - as well as advice from health experts - appear to have a much smaller direct influence on whether people adopted preventative measures.

“We found that people do not necessarily adopt prevention behaviours in bundles, but rather tend to simply adopt ones which are common among the people they talk to,” explained Dr Vörös. “Exposure to preventative behaviours within someone’s social network is the main factor influencing whether they adopt those same behaviours.

“In other words, if your friends and family use insect repellents, you are much more likely to use them yourself. This suggests that health behaviours are heavily influenced by our social connections and are not just the outcome of individual choices.”

The researchers say that instead of focusing solely on individuals, public health programmes should recognise and utilise the power of group influence - for instance, public health campaigns could focus on educating and supporting community leaders and influential people who can then act as a channel to promote health behaviours among their social circles.

They also highlight the importance of household level interventions - this means targeting entire families, rather than individuals, which could result in more effective prevention strategies.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)121 414 2772: email: pressoffice@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Notes to editor:

• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.
• ‘A multilevel social network approach to studying multiple disease-prevention behaviors’ -  András Vörös, Elisa Bellotti, Carinthia Balabet Nengnong, Mattimi Passah, Quinnie Doreen Nongrum, Charishma Khongwir, Anna Maria van Eijk, Anne Kessler, Rajiv Sarkar, Jane M. Carlton and  Sandra Albert is published in Scientific Reports.

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Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-025-85240-7 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A multilevel social network approach to studying multiple disease-prevention behaviors

 

US bird populations continue alarming decline, new report finds

2025 State of the Birds Report calls for urgent conservation action

Cornell University

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Long-term population trends for America's birds

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Credit: State of the Birds long-term population trends, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

ITHACA, NY.—The release of the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report was announced today at the 90th annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The report, produced by a coalition of leading science and conservation organizations, reveals continued widespread declines in American bird populations across all mainland and marine habitats, with 229 species requiring urgent conservation action. The report comes five years after the landmark 2019 study that documented the loss of 3 billion birds in North America over 50 years.

Key findings from the new report show that more than one-third of U.S. bird species are of high or moderate conservation concern, including 112 Tipping Point species that have lost more than 50% of their populations in the last 50 years. That includes 42 red-alert species facing perilously low populations, such as Allen’s Hummingbird, Tricolored Blackbird, and Saltmarsh Sparrow—birds that are at risk without immediate intervention. 

Proactively working to protect America’s birds is not just about the birds. According to the report, supporting bird conservation can boost the U.S. economy. With nearly 100 million Americans engaged in birding activities, their contributions to local and state economies are substantial. The report highlights findings from the 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, noting that the total economic output related to bird watching activities is $279 billion, and birding related activities support 1.4 million jobs.

“Birds tell us that we have a full-on emergency across all habitats,” said Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer at the National Audubon Society. 

According to the report, bird populations in almost every habitat are declining. Most notably, duck populations, which have been a bright spot in past State of the Birds reports, have trended downward in recent years.

“The rapid declines in birds signal the intensifying stressors that wildlife and people alike are experiencing around the world because of habitat loss, environmental degradation, and extreme weather events,” said Dr. Amanda Rodewald, faculty director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Avian Population Studies. “When we see declines like those outlined in the report, we need to remember that if conditions are not healthy for birds, they’re unlikely to be healthy for us.” 

“There is no doubt that the 2025 State of the Birds report is cause for alarm,” said Jeff Walters, the conservation committee co-chair at the American Ornithological Society,  “but it is also cause for hope. Public interest in birds and the economic benefits from birding are at unprecedented levels, as is the information available about the status of each and every one of our bird species.” 

The report highlights the economic significance and well-being benefits of bird watching as additional reasons to support conservation efforts. It notes that birds and nature are vital for Americans’ mental health, citing research indicating that encounters with birds have proven beneficial for human well-being, including reducing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. 

Despite the concerning trends, the report emphasizes that conservation efforts can succeed when adequately supported. “Many bird populations are struggling. But a proven blueprint for success is science-based planning and collaborative investment in habitat conservation,” said Dr. Steve Adair, Ducks Unlimited chief scientist. 

Private lands programs and conservation partnerships such as conservation ranching, coastal restoration, forest renewal, and seabird translocation show how concerted efforts and strategic investments can recover bird populations. “Decades of strategic and aggressive wetland habitat conservation from hunters, landowners, state and federal agencies, and corporations has boosted numerous waterfowl and waterbird species when weather conditions are favorable. We’ve shown it works. And we must do more,” said Adair. 

“Fortunately, many of the actions that are good for birds are good for us. When we protect the habitats that birds rely upon, we also protect the ecosystem services that sustain us,” said Rodewald.  

“We have clear evidence that conservation works in halting declines,” said Michael J. Parr, President of American Bird Conservancy. “What we now need more than ever are programs and funding that match the scale of the greatest challenges birds face today. The science is solid on how to reverse the damage done, but to succeed, these issues need to be taken seriously.” 

“Birds unite us across the hemisphere and across the political spectrum—there should be no hesitation as we move to protect them today and in the future,” said Johnson.

The 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report was produced by a consortium of scientific and conservation organizations and entities led by North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).

Media kit includes the 2025 State of the Birds Report (PDF) and multimedia. Use of provided graphics, bird photos, sounds, and videos is protected by copyright and permitted only within stories about the content of the 2025 State of the Birds report. Redistribution or any other use is prohibited without express written permission of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or the copyright owner.

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Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

 

Co-authored USF study identifies ‘surprising’ cause of sargassum blooms in Caribbean

'Tipping point’ that caused sargassum inundations occurred in 2009-2010

University of South Florida

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A time lapsed model depicting interannual Sargassum blooms in the North Atlantic. The alga was pushed southward and injected into the tropics, where it proliferates today, through a series of currents.  Video from Jouanno et al. (2025).

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Credit: Jouanno et al. (2025)

TAMPA, Fla. (March 13, 2025) – The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has puzzled researchers since 2011. A recent study published in Nature Communications may have identified what drove a tipping point that established the phenomenon in the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Using computer modeling, a team of international researchers demonstrated that sargassum blooms were brought to the tropics by strong ocean currents and wind and thrived in ideal growing conditions.

Specifically, two consecutive years of a strong negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a shift in atmospheric pressure over the Atlantic that changes circulation and wind patterns, pushed sargassum into the tropics starting in 2009. There it found warm, nutrient-rich waters and lots of sunlight all year-round.

“At first, we saw just a few patches of sargassum being pushed south by the NAO,” said co-author Frank Muller-Karger, Distinguished University Professor and biological oceanographer at the USF College of Marine Science. “But these algae patches were met with the right conditions to grow and perpetuate blooms.”

Sargassum is floating macroalgae that has inundated beaches in the Caribbean since 2011, impacting tourism, harming the health of humans and marine life, and costing local governments millions of dollars per year to clean up. Scientists have been divided on the causes of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.

Authors of the recent paper used a computer model that built on a prior study, which identified the influence of the NAO on sargassum. In both papers, researchers used models to simulate the transport of sargassum from the northern to the southern part of the North Atlantic, testing whether the NAO was the root cause of the first bloom that occurred in the tropical Atlantic in 2011.

“Both models showed that some patches of the sargassum were swept up by the wind and currents from the Sargasso Sea toward Europe, then moved southward, and from there were injected into the tropical Atlantic. There, this population of algae, now separated from the Sargasso Sea, forms new blooms every year thanks to having enough light, nutrients and warmer temperatures,” said Muller-Karger, who contributed to both studies.

Still, the question remained: What provided the nutrients to promote the growth of sargassum in the tropical Atlantic?

To determine nutrient sources, the group again turned to computer models to analyze decades-worth of wind, currents and three-dimensional nutrient measurements collected in the Atlantic Ocean. These models successfully reproduced the annual blooms.

The models showed that nutrients were supplied via an ocean process known as vertical mixing, in which water masses mix on a seasonal basis due to shifting winds. This brings deeper water that has higher nutrient concentrations to the surface. In this sunlit surface layer, photosynthesis occurs and sargassum grows, thus fueling the massive blooms that eventually end up on the beaches of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf Coast.

“This was a surprising result,” Muller-Karger said. “We had posed the hypothesis before that it is not the rivers that feed the formation of the sargassum blooms in the tropical Atlantic. This model supports the idea that nutrients from slightly deeper layers in the ocean feed the blooms.”

The publication was an international collaboration between University of Toulouse, the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education, Sorbonne University and the University of South Florida.

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MODIS satellite imagery showing Sargassum coverage and chlorophyll distribution. Sargassum was moved from the Sargasso Sea to the tropics via currents depicted by arrows.

Credit

Figure from Jouanno et al. (2025).

The catalyst for the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that has inundated the Caribbean since 2011 is being attributed to changes in currents and suitable growing conditions.

Credit

Jean-Philippe Maréchal

About the University of South Florida

The University of South Florida, a high-impact research university dedicated to student success and committed to community engagement, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. Across campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health, USF serves approximately 50,000 students who represent nearly 150 different countries. U.S. News & World Report has ranked USF as one of the nation’s top 50 public universities for six consecutive years and, for the second straight year, as the best value university in Florida. In 2023, USF became the first public university in Florida in nearly 40 years to be invited to join the Association of American Universities, a group of the leading 3% of universities in the United States and Canada. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and a ranking as a top 15 public university for producing new U.S. patents, USF is a leader in solving global problems and improving lives. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu.

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Journal

Nature Communications

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

An extreme North Atlantic Oscillation event drove the pelagic Sargassum tipping point

 

Breaking free from dependence on rare resources! A domestic high-performance permanent magnet emerges!

KIMS successfully developed a high-performance permanent magnet without expensive heavy rare earth elements

National Research Council of Science & Technology

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Schematic Diagram of the Grain Boundary Diffusion Process Technology and Actual Analysis Data.

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Credit: Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)

The Nano Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by Dr. Tae-Hoon Kim and Dr. Jung-Goo Lee, has successfully developed a groundbreaking grain boundary diffusion process that enables the fabrication of high-performance permanent magnets without the use of expensive heavy rare earth elements. This pioneering technology, marks the world’s first achievement in this field.

Permanent magnets are key components in various high-value-added products, including electric vehicle (EV) motors and robots. However, conventional permanent magnet manufacturing processes have been heavily dependent on heavy rare earth elements, which are exclusively produced by China, leading to high resource dependency and production costs. To overcome these limitations, the research team successfully developed a high-end, high-performance permanent magnet without the use of expensive heavy rare earth elements. The core of this breakthrough technology lies in its two-step grain boundary diffusion process.

The grain boundary diffusion process is a key technology designed to enhance the performance of permanent magnets. In this process, the heavy rare-earth materials is coated to the surface of the magnet, followed by high-temperature heat treatment. During the heat-treatment, the heavy rare-earths diffuse into the magnet’s interior along the grain boundaries, improving the coercivity—the ability of the magnet to retain its magnetization.

The two-step grain boundary diffusion process developed by the research team involves first thermally infiltrating a new high-melting-point metal-containing material into the magnet at high temperatures, followed by room-temperature cooling. In the second step, a low-cost light rare earth (Praseodymium, Pr)-containing material is re-infiltrated into the magnets at high-temperature. A key innovation of this technology is its ability to suppress abnormal grain coarsening, an unique phenomenon occurred during the grain boundary diffusion process. Such undesirable grain growth degrades the diffusion efficiency and magnetic performance. The research team successfully controlled this issue, which had been a major limiting factor in conventional GBDP, thereby enhancing diffusion efficiency. As a result, the diffusion material is rapidly infiltrated into the magnet, significantly improving coercivity. This advancement enables the magnet to achieve performance grades of 45SH to 40UH, equivalent to commercial magnets that contain heavy rare earth elements (HREs), despite using only light rare earth elements.

If this technology is commercialized, it is expected to reduce manufacturing costs while enhancing performance in high-value industries that require high-efficiency motors, such as electric vehicles (EVs), drones, and flying cars.

Dr. Tae-Hoon Kim, the principal investigator of the study, stated,“Currently, the use of expensive heavy rare earth elements in magnets for electric vehicle motors and high-end home appliances is inevitable. However, due to the concentration of heavy rare earth resources in specific regions and their high costs, researchers worldwide have been striving for years to develop technologies that can reduce or replace heavy rare earths in magnets—yet progress has remained stagnant.”He further explained, “By introducing a novel concept, this technology demonstrates the potential to break free from heavy rare earth dependency in high-performance magnet manufacturing. Moreover, it presents a new direction for research on grain boundary diffusion processes, a core technique in the permanent magnet industry.”Additionally, he emphasized, “If commercialized, this technology will mark the first instance of South Korea securing a dominant position in the most critical aspect of permanent magnet technology.”

This research was conducted with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) under the Nano and Materials Technology Development Program. The findings were published online on December 24 in the internationally renowned journal Acta Materialia (First Author: Seolmi Lee, Student Researcher).

 

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About Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS)

KIMS is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea. As the only institute specializing in comprehensive materials technologies in Korea, KIMS has contributed to Korean industry by carrying out a wide range of activities related to materials science including R&D, inspection, testing&evaluation, and technology support.

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Journal

Acta Materialia

DOI

10.1016/j.actamat.2024.120660 

Article Title

A novel two-step grain boundary diffusion process using TaF5 and Pr70Cu15Al10Ga5 for realizing high-coercivity in Nd-Fe-B-sintered magnets without use of heavy rare-earth

 

Pacific island water security requires new approach

Flinders University

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Hydrology experts at Flinders University are calling for urgent investigations into the operation of bore-fields that access fresh groundwater on Pacific islands, including Kiribati, where rising sea levels are already putting local water supplies at risk.

“These atoll islands have the most threatened fresh groundwater on earth, and are relied upon by some of the most remote communities,” says Flinders University’s Professor Adrian Werner.

Modelling of a specialised form of fresh groundwater extraction, featuring horizontal wells, has the potential to reduce the risk of aquifer reserves being overused, and to provide drinking water of lower salinity.

Such wells, also known as infiltration galleries or skimming wells, play a crucial role in extracting fresh groundwater on atoll islands. They typically comprise horizontal or slightly inclined slotted pipes, surrounded by a gravel pack and connected to an extraction well or sump.

These infiltration galleries skim fresh groundwater from shallow depths while minimising the risk of saltwater intrusion beneath thin subterranean freshwater lenses, which typically range 3 to 21 metres in thickness. The design, construction and operation of these galleries need to be precise to avoid drawing seawater into the island’s water supply.

Such galleries are currently in operation across several atoll islands, and Flinders researchers have focused on nine small islands in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati Atoll and Bonriki Island in Kiribati, Lifuka Island in Tonga, and the Cocos Islands.

While these systems provide crucial freshwater supplies, information is lacking about the optimal layout of infiltration galleries, pipe characteristics and pumping rates. There is also limited data on the performance of these galleries – specifically pumping rates and salinity levels – on small atoll islands.

A research team from the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) at Flinders University, led by Professor Werner and Dr Amir Jazayeri, was commissioned by the Pacific Community (SPC), under the management of Mr Peter Sinclair, to address these research gaps and evaluate the performance of infiltration galleries across Pacific islands.

They also performed modelling to assess how infiltration galleries on atolls will be affected by rising sea levels in the future.

This comprehensive study involved collecting extensive data on the hydraulic properties of atoll island aquifers and analysing the design of infiltration galleries across the region.

Valuable insights were gathered from infiltration gallery operators during Flinders University's participation in the Pacific Groundwater Gallery Knowledge Exchange (PGGKE) workshop, held on Kiritimati Atoll (Kiribati) in November 2023.

The research also incorporated computer modelling simulations and physical laboratory experiments conducted at Flinders University’s Sand Tank Laboratory, to gain a deeper understanding of infiltration gallery performance.

The findings of this study have been published as a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) scientific technical report, providing critical guidance for sustainable groundwater management in the Pacific.

“While many studies have examined horizontal wells in other contexts, the specific conditions of small islands, especially atolls, places unique demands on infiltration galleries,” says Professor Werner.

Dr Jazayeri says the research team continues to focus on solutions to protect freshwater resources and serve the demands of isolated communities across the Pacific, using a wide range of research techniques.

“We believe that expanding the use of infiltration gallery systems in other coastal aquifers can significantly contribute to managing crucial coastal freshwater resources, both in Australia and globally,” says Dr Jazayeri.

The review article – ‘Construction and performance of infiltration galleries (skimming wells): A review of applications to Pacific atoll islands’ (2025) by Amir Jazayeri and Adrian Werner – has been published in the Journal of Hydrology. DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132581 

Professor Werner is confident the findings will have wider applications across many countries.

“The insights gained from applying infiltration galleries to Pacific atolls offers opportunities for more widespread applications within continental aquifers, especially to capture submarine fresh groundwater discharge that is otherwise lost through mixing with seawater and to mitigate seawater intrusion,” he says.

“This all contributes to global groundwater management strategies.”

Professor Werner says further research is now needed into optimal designs and wider application in continental aquifers.

With graphics and sand pit photos available at this link

• This study was funded by the Pacific Community (SPC) under the Managing Coastal Aquifers in Selected Pacific SIDS project (Contract No. 23–5419).

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Journal

Journal of Hydrology

TWO

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.132581 

Method of Research

Literature review

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Construction and performance of infiltration galleries (skimming wells): A review of applications to Pacific atoll islands’