Childhood trauma can harm health for life

Distressing youth environments may impact cardiovascular health, aging

University of Georgia

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Adverse experiences and environments in childhood may cause a chain reaction of mental and physical health problems later in life, according to new University of Georgia research.

The study suggests growing up with negative events and in dangerous communities in early adolescence can alter an entire lifetime, particularly for Black men and women.

“Things that happen to you in childhood — from how you’re raised as a child to the environment that you’re in — can lead to long-standing issues,” said Sierra Carter, co-author of the study and the new associate director of UGA’s Center for Family Research.

Unfavorable environments, treatment in childhoods influence substance use

The researchers relied on data from the UGA-led Family and Community Health Study. Beginning in 1996, the ongoing study follows more than 800 families, all of which had a fifth grader at the start of the study. The researchers reinterview participants every two to three years.

The present study found starting at age 10, children were already able to register when their environments and treatment around them were unsafe.

Unsafe community environments affected not only the way the children acted but also created a physical, inflammatory response in their central nervous system.

Later in young adulthood, these stressors on both body and mind translated to earlier and more frequent use of substances as a way of self-medicating.

“We found a lag with these background childhood experiences and drinking,” said Steven Beach, corresponding author of the study and director of the Center for Family Research.

“Once kids moved out of the protective environment of their homes, the delayed inflammatory responses had a chance to emerge and influence their behavior in a bigger way, setting the stage for elevated alcohol consumption.” 

Alcohol misuse causes lasting physical consequences

The consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol over time created measurable health complications in adulthood for participants in the study.

Those who reported drinking heavily as young adults were at higher risk of heart problems as they got older.

Additionally, those 29-year-olds had worse aging outcomes as a result of this drinking, meaning there was a possibly shorter life expectancy, and faster signs of aging across numerous body systems.

This effect of alcohol on aging was especially pronounced for women.

Dangerous childhoods have disproportionate effect on Black men, women

The repercussions of adverse childhoods were compounded for Black men and women, largely due to the added effects of discrimination in childhood.

“Being exposed to racial discrimination puts you at risk for early alcohol use, which then puts you at risk for later alcohol use and other diseases down the road,” Carter said. “That’s a well-established pathway that gets people on this difficult trajectory.”

Black participants who experienced racism in early life were more likely to binge drink and experience cardiac issues and faster aging in their appearance and body functionality.

“I firmly believe that we can do better than we currently are in terms of protecting children in a whole variety of ways,” Beach said. “It’s just really important for us to think about the delayed effects of childhood experiences that carry forward and have an impact on life.

“This study also underscores the likely payoff of investments in children and building strong, safe communities. If we can intervene early, if we can support kids, the payoffs are likely to not just be immediate. They’re likely to be very long lasting, all the way out through adulthood.”

This study was published in Development and Psychopathology and was funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded and National Institute on Aging. Co-authors include the late Ron Simons, Regents Professor in the UGA Department of Sociology, who passed away in March.

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Journal

Development and Psychopathology

DOI

10.1017/S0954579425000264 

Article Title

Childhood exposure to danger increases Black youths’ alcohol consumption, accelerated aging, and cardiac risk as young adults: A test of the incubation hypothesis

 

What makes debris flows dangerous

ETH Zuric

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The landslide that occurred in Blatten in the canton of Valais at the end of May 2025 and the one in the village of Brienz in Graubünden in June 2023 remind us of the potential for landslide hazards in the Alps. Debris flows are one such hazard. These flows of water, sediment and rock fragments typically occur after heavy rainfall in steep terrain, and rapidly travel down a channel, potentially destroying everything in their path. In the past year, major debris flows have attracted attention, particularly in Sorte (canton of Graubünden), Fontana (canton of Ticino) and the Saas Valley (canton of Valais). There was also a major landslide in Bondo (Graubünden) in August 2017 which sent a 100-metre-wide flow of mud and debris hurtling through the Bondasca Valley. Eight people lost their lives.

Such debris flows occur repeatedly at exposed locations, at intervals of months or years. Scientists take advantage of this fact for the live monitoring of natural phenomena in areas with frequent debris flows.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and WSL were therefore prepared when on 5 June 2022 a debris flow came loose in Illgraben above the village of Leuk in the Valais, transporting 25,000 cubic metres of debris four kilometres through the bed of the Illbach river, before flowing into the Rhône at Susten. The team of scientists monitored the natural phenomenon at several measuring stations. Up in the valley, the team monitored a two-metre high and rapidly-advancing front composed of large boulders of up to a cubic metre in size at the leading edge of the debris flows. Further down the valley, the debris flow was slower, but with frequent, fast-moving and powerful waves on the surface. During the half-hour event, the researchers recorded 70 such surge waves.

Surges occur spontaneously

“We’ve known for a long time that these surges play a key role in the destructive force of debris flows,” says Jordan Aaron, professor of engineering geology at ETH Zurich’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “This is because surges make the flow particularly thick and fast.” According to Aaron, up to now little was known about the physical processes that give rise to these surges. Thanks to the measurements of the debris flow in June 2022 and modelling based on that, the researchers now know more: “We were able to demonstrate that surges arise spontaneously on the surface of the flow. They stem from small irregularities, which grow over time, increasing in size and speed until they reach their maximum destructive force.”

This finding is at the centre of a study carried out by Aaron’s team together with researchers from the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the University of Manchester. The study has just been published in the journal ‘Communications Earth & Environment’. “Our analysis provides new insights into the dynamics of debris flows and will enable better hazard management in the medium term,” says Aaron. The destructive force of the surges is mainly what determines how dangerous a debris flow is. On the basis of this study, in future scientists will be able to estimate whether a debris flow is expected to contain surge waves and how destructive they may be. From this they can work out the forces that exterior house walls and bridge pillars need to withstand in a hazardous area. This information could also be used to design dams and safety nets in the right dimensions.

High-resolution measurements

Illgraben above Leuk is known for the fact that several debris flows occur there every year. Since 2000 the valley has been equipped with measuring instruments that record debris-flow properties in their natural environment. However, the insights from the new study were only possible after the event in the summer of 2022 was measured with greater precision than ever before.

This was done using highly-accurate 3D laser scanners, known as LiDARs. These devices measure distance and speed and were originally developed for self-driving cars. In June 2022, five LiDAR scanners and six high-speed video cameras were used to record the debris flow in Illgraben. At three measuring locations, the surface of the debris flow was detected with a spatial resolution of 2 cm and a temporal resolution of 0.1 seconds. This was then used to calculate the power and speed of the debris flows.

Thanks to the measurement data, the researchers were able to work up a hypothesis about the underlying physical processes and develop a numeric model. This mathematical model is used to realistically simulate the progression of the debris flow.

Boulders influence flow dynamics

The measurement data further enabled the researchers to infer that large rock fragments have a significant influence on local flow dynamics. “This phenomenon is not included in most previous predictions of debris flows,” says Aaron. “Being able to observe and measure these effects in the field has allowed us to more accurately describe and better understand these natural processes.”

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Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-025-02488-7 

Article Title

Detailed observations reveal the genesis and dynamics of destructive debris-flow surges

Article Publication Date

16-Jul-2025

 

The costs of fungicide resistance

University of Würzburg

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Fungicides are plant protection products that kill fungi or their spores. In agriculture, these products are used to combat fungal diseases and ensure crop yields. The disadvantage: if used excessively, resistant pathogens can develop and even infect neighbouring fields.

An international research team has developed a mathematical model that can be used to calculate the economic and often hidden costs of fungicide resistance. Chaitanya Gokhale, Professor of Theoretical Evolutionary Biology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), was one of the researchers involved. The results have been published in the journal PLOS Sustainability and Transformation.

For the calculations, the researchers used a model that can be used to calculate the spread of fungal diseases in several fields. The team combined this with analysis methods from economics.

Creating a mathematical framework

“Our results show that the economic costs of fungicide resistance are not so easy to determine,” says the JMU professor. The study showed that yields can increase or decrease depending on the context. The highest costs of resistance are generated by pathogens with a medium invasiveness - i.e. a medium ability to spread into new areas.

"We observed that while intuitively the total economic costs increase with more resistance and more yield loss, they actually decrease with expensive fungicides," says Gokhale. The team was also able to identify several biological factors that influence the costs. On the one hand, the degree of resistance within a pathogen population is important. Secondly, the basic reproduction number of a pathogen is also decisive. In addition, it depends on how much field yield is lost due to a fungal infection.

“Our study provides the mathematical framework with which political decision-makers and stakeholders from the agricultural sector can work,” says the evolutionary biologist. On this basis, effective measures for the sustainable use of fungicides can be designed. This in turn could help to secure crop yields, reduce the unnecessary use of chemicals and ensure long-term food security.

As this is a theoretical model, the appeal to researchers is clear: “Future data collection and empirical studies will help test our findings in the field,” says Gokhale.

An international cooperation

In addition to the JMU researcher, the following were involved in carrying out the study: Dr. Alexey Mikaberidze, University of Reading (England), Dr. Maria Bargués-Ribera, University of Cambridge (England), and Dr. Prateek Verma, University of Berkeley (California, USA).

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Journal

PLOS Sustainability and Transformation

DOI

10.1371/journal.pstr.0000178 

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

The cost of fungicide resistance evolution in multi-field plant epidemics

 

The magic of magnons

Is it wizardry? Physicists at the University of Konstanz have succeeded in changing the properties of a material in a non-thermal way with the help of light and magnons

University of Konstanz

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Imagine you could change the properties of a material so that it would almost magically turn into a different material. You need neither a magic wand nor a wonder potion. The process takes place just with the help of light, which excites the magnetic states of the material. In this way, collective magnetic vibrations in the material are induced, transmitting and storing information at terahertz rates. The recipe works at room temperature, without any significant heat development. No exotic materials such as rare earths are required either, as the process was observed in naturally grown crystals, which are widely available. And to top it all off: Now imagine that you could even use the same method to exploit quantum effects – those highly sensitive processes that have so far usually been researched at low temperatures of around -270 degrees Celsius. And you could do that at room temperature with no need for expensive cooling.

Sounds too good to be true? Yet this is exactly what a new experimental method developed by physicists at the University of Konstanz, led by Davide Bossini, makes possible. By coherently exciting magnon pairs using laser pulses, the research team has achieved astonishing effects with great potential not only for use in information technology, but potentially also for future quantum research. The surprising process was described in June 2025 in the journal Science Advances.

Technology based on magnons
But wait, let's take two steps back: What is the point of all that? It is all about technology, of course, not about magic. We live in a time in which artificial intelligence and the "Internet of Things" generate huge amounts of data. It is already apparent today that the current schemes of our information technology will soon no longer be able to cope with these volumes of data. A bottleneck threatens that will slow down technological advances.

As a solution to this problem, researchers have been proposing for some time to use electron spins as information carriers, or, more precisely, entire spin waves of sometimes hundreds of trillions of spins that oscillate together. Such collective spin excitations are called magnons and behave like a wave. With the help of lasers, they can be influenced and thus "controlled". This could enable information transmission and storage in the terahertz range in the future.

Of course, there is a catch: One limitation, for example, is that we have so far only been able to excite magnons in the state of their lowest frequencies using light. As a result, the process falls short of its potential. For the technological exploitation of magnons, being able to influence their frequency, amplitude and lifetime would be a decisive pre-requisite. The Konstanz research team led by Davide Bossini has now found a promising way to do just that. Surprisingly, the control is achieved by the direct optical excitation of magnon pairs, which are the highest frequency magnetic resonances in the material.

A huge surprise
"The result was a huge surprise for us. No theory has ever predicted it", says Davide Bossini. Not only does the process work – it also has spectacular effects. By driving high-frequency magnon pairs via laser pulses, the physicists succeeded in changing the frequencies and amplitudes of other magnons – and thus the magnetic properties of the material – in a non-thermal way. "Every solid has its own set of frequencies: electronic transitions, lattice vibrations, magnetic excitations. Every material resonates in its own way", explains Bossini. It is precisely this set of frequencies that can be influenced through the new process. "It changes the nature of the material, the 'magnetic DNA of the material', so to speak, its 'fingerprint'. It has practically become a different material with new properties for the time being", says Bossini.

"The effects are not caused by laser excitation. The cause is light, not temperature", confirms Bossini: "We can change the frequencies and properties of the material in a non-thermal way". The advantages are obvious: The method could be used for future data storage and for fast data transmission at terahertz rates without the systems being slowed down by the pileup of heat.

No spectacular high-tech materials or rare earths are required as the basis for the process, but rather naturally grown crystals – namely the iron ore haematite. "Haematite is widespread. Centuries ago, it was already used for compasses in seafaring," explains Bossini. It is perfectly possible that haematite will now also be used for quantum research in the future. The results of the Konstanz team suggest that, using the new method, researchers will be able to produce light-induced Bose-Einstein condensates of high-energy magnons at room temperature. This would pave the way to researching quantum effects without the need for extensive cooling. Sounds like magic, but it is just technology and cutting-edge research.

 

The project was carried out in the context of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1432 "Fluctuations and Nonlinearities in Classical and Quantum Matter beyond Equilibrium".

 

Key facts: Original publication: C. Schönfeld, L. Feuerer, J. Bär, L. Dörfelt, M. Kerstingskötter, T. Dannegger, D. Wuhrer, W. Belzig, U. Nowak, A. Leitenstorfer, D. Juraschek, and D. Bossini, Dynamical renormalization of the magnetic excitation spectrum via high-momentum nonlinear magnonics. Sci. Adv.11, eadv4207 (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv4207 Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv4207 A project of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1432 "Fluctuations and Nonlinearities in Classical and Quantum Matter beyond Equilibrium". The research was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

 

 

Note to editors:

You can download photos here:

 

https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2025/der_zauber_der_magnonen_01.jpg

https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2025/der_zauber_der_magnonen_02.jpg

https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2025/der_zauber_der_magnonen_03.jpg

https://www.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2025/der_zauber_der_magnonen_04.jpg

Caption: Setup for ultrafast nonlinear control of materials in the mid-infrared spectral range, research teams Leitenstorfer and Bossini, University of Konstanz.
Copyright: Gillian Kiliani

 

 

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Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adv4207 

 

Man’s best friend could be the spotted lanternfly’s worst enemy

Virginia Tech researchers discovered that everyday dogs can be trained to effectively sniff out destructive agricultural pests

Virginia Tech

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image: 

Fozzie, a labrador/golden retriever mix, and his owner, Scott Hurst of Salem, Virginia, search a park bench for evidence of the invasive spotted lanternfly.

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Credit: Photo by Clark DeHart for Virginia Tech.

Imagine if your dog’s favorite game — sniffing out treats or toys — could help protect America’s vineyards, orchards, and forests from a devastating invader. 

It turns out, it just might.

A new study led by Virginia Tech found that volunteer dog-handler teams — made up of everyday people and their pets — can effectively detect the elusive egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that's damaging farms and forests across the eastern and central United States.

It’s the first study to show that citizen dog-handler teams can achieve detection success rates comparable to professional conservation detection dogs.

“These teams demonstrated that citizen scientists and their dogs can play a meaningful role in protecting agriculture and the environment from invasive species,” said Sally Dickinson, the study’s lead author, who recently earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “With proper training, dog owners can turn their pets into powerful partners for conservation.” 

An invasive pest, a hidden target

The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, it's spread rapidly to 18 states, laying its eggs on trees, stone, lumber, and even cars and trailers, where it can hitch a ride to a new home. 

Catching the bug early is key — but finding its egg masses is no easy task.

“They often resemble mud smears or lichens and are tucked into bark crevices, cracks, or hidden undersides,” said Mizuho Nita, a plant pathologist at Virginia Tech’s Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center, who co-authored the study. “Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

That’s where the dogs come in.

With a sense of smell that’s tens of thousands of times more acute than humans’, dogs can be trained to sniff out spotted lanternfly egg masses without disturbing the environment. Previous research has shown that professional conservation detection dogs can do this with high accuracy. But professional dogs are expensive, and there aren’t nearly enough of them to cover the growing threat.

So the researchers asked: "What if we tapped into the tens of thousands of dog owners already doing scent detection as a hobby around the country?" Known as recreational scent work, this sport allows dogs to find hidden scents for fun in homes, parks, and training classes.

Dogs of all shapes, sizes, and snouts

Over 1,000 dog owners expressed interest in the study. More than 40 percent had prior experience in sport scent detection or related activities. Ultimately, 182 teams from across the U.S. were selected and given devitalized – or non-hatching – egg masses as training aids. Participants trained their dogs at home or in small groups, with oversight from a designated local trainer.

After several months of training, the dogs were put to the test in two environments – one indoor and one outdoor. In the controlled indoor environment, dogs had to complete an odor recognition test, identifying the box with the spotted lanternfly egg mass from among multiple boxes with other items and scents. Those that passed the odor recognition test advanced to a field test, where they had to find the scent in an outdoor environment with competing smells.

The results? Dogs correctly identified the egg masses 82 percent of the time in the controlled tests. In real-world field trials, accuracy dropped to 61 percent — still better than many human searches. Of the dogs that passed both tests, 92 percent were successful in finding live egg masses with minimal extra training.

Study participant Bill Wellborn of Roanoke said his 7-year-old Tibetan terrier, Pepe, enjoyed the challenge. Over the course of six months, they trained with devitalized spotted lanternfly egg masses two or three times a week for 15 to 30 minutes.

“Anytime you can stimulate your dog, it’s good for them,” Wellborn said. “Pepe obviously enjoys it. And it’s a way we can take dog skills and training to help our community.”

Katie Thomas of Radford and her pit bull mix, Finch, also volunteered for the study, hoping to put their seven years of recreational scent work to real-world use.

“Being able to do the same thing for the greater good — for citizen science — adds another layer we didn’t have before,” she said.

Agriculture’s new best friend? 

Erica Feuerbacher, an animal behaviorist and Dickinson’s graduate advisor and co-author, said the findings show the untapped power of community science.

“There are thousands of people out there doing scent work with their dogs just for fun,” said Feuerbacher, associate professor in the School of Animal Sciences. “What Sally’s study shows is that this can be more than a hobby — these citizen-scientists and their dogs can be a valuable resource for fighting the spread of an invasive pest.”

Sniffing out the spotted lanternfly may be just the beginning. A separate study co-authored by Nita, Dickinson, and Feuerbacher with researchers from Texas Tech University found that trained pet dogs could also detect powdery mildew, a major fungal disease of grapes and vineyards, with over 90 percent accuracy.

Together, these studies point to a growing role for dogs — and their owners — in safeguarding agriculture.

For Dickinson, a longtime firefighter and career search-and-rescue canine handler, the project reflects a personal mission: giving more dogs and their humans a chance to do meaningful work.

“This research is about more than detection,” she said. “It’s about empowering people to work alongside their dogs to protect the places and communities they care about.”

About the research

The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Tactical Sciences for Agricultural Biosecurity program. 

The research team included Dickinson, Feuerbacher, and Nita from Virginia Tech and Edgar Aviles-Rosa and Nathan Hall from Texas Tech University.

Original study: DOI 10.7717/peerj.19656

Original study: DOI 10.1016/j.jveb.2024.12.001

(At left) A spotted lanternfly egg mass hides in plain sight. Photo courtesy of Sally Dickinson. (At right) A mature spotted lanternfly.

Credit

Photo by Theresa Dellinger for Virginia Tech.

Dog-handler teams from the study included (from left) Scott Hurst and Fozzie, Katie Thomas and Finch, and Bill Wellborn and Pepe.

Credit

Photos by Clark DeHart for Virginia Tech.

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Journal

PeerJ

DOI

10.7717/peerj.19656 

Article Title

Evaluating the effectiveness of participatory science dog teams to detect devitalized Spotted Lanterfly (Lycorma delicatula) egg masses.

Article Publication Date

16-Jul-2025