Is the global industrial race being measured wrong?

University of Surrey

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For decades, the world has ranked nations by how competitive their industries are, but the measure used may be flawed. A new research project led by the University of Surrey suggests that the standard United Nations index used to judge countries’ manufacturing power can produce misleading results, with its simplistic weighting system masking true performance and unfairly favouring some economies over others. 

The study, published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society, introduces a new model that redefines how countries’ industrial competitiveness is assessed. Rather than relying on subjective weightings, which can skew rankings, the team’s approach uses advanced data analysis to benchmark countries against realistic and comparable standards, providing a clearer picture of who is truly leading global manufacturing. 

The researchers applied their new model to data from 153 countries for 2016 and 2021, focusing on key indicators such as manufacturing value, technological sophistication and share of world exports. The model captures differences that existing methods overlook, spotlighting which nations have made genuine industrial progress and which have benefited from outdated or overly generous scoring systems. 

Professor Ali Emrouznejad,  Director of the Centre for Business Analytics in Practice at the University of Surrey, who led this study, said: 

“Our model challenges the way industrial competitiveness has been ranked for years. The current global index can reward countries for the wrong reasons. We’ve developed a way to measure industrial strength that reflects reality– accounting for technology, trade, and productivity in a balanced way.  This allows governments to see their true performance and make well-informed policy decisions.” 

The research also provides policymakers a new benchmarking tool that identifies where to target investment and innovation. The model balances optimism with realism, showing both how far countries have come and what is achievable next.  

Prof Emrouznejad continued: 

“By making competitiveness assessments fairer and more transparent, our study could reshape the way global institutions, including the UN and OECD, compare and support industrial growth.” 

 

[ENDS] 

Note to editors: 

• For interviews with Professor Ali Emrouznejad or for further information, please contact: mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk  

• The full study has been published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society 

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Journal

Journal of the Operational Research Society

DOI

10.1080/01605682.2025.2554746 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Redefining competitive industrial performance indicator: a multiplicative data envelopment analysis approach

 

Iron’s irony

Hydrothermal plumes as invisible transport pathways for iron

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

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image: 

Temperature measurement at a hydrothermal vent on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Hot, mineral-rich fluids are distributed throughout the ocean via the dispersion cloud, known as the plume. The photo was taken during the M190 research expedition with the MARUM-QUEST4000 remotely operated vehicle. The arm of the robot holds a temperature lance into the plume to measure the temperature there.

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Credit: MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

The study synthesizes existing research and reinterprets it to explain how iron released from hydrothermal systems can be transported across entire ocean basins. “Although much of the iron emitted with the hot fluids reacts immediately with oxygen and sulfur compounds and precipitates as minerals, a small fraction remains dissolved for surprisingly long periods – bound to tiny organic molecules or influenced by microbes – and can thus be transported far beyond the vent sites,” explains Dr. Solveig I. Bühring, lead author of the study and geomicrobiologist at MARUM.

Beyond compiling the current state of knowledge, the authors contribute new analyses from the MARHYS hydrothermal vent database and model the solubility of iron minerals to illustrate how environmental parameters and plume chemistry affect iron transport. These findings emphasize how hydrothermal plumes act as long-distance supply systems for bioavailable iron – a process with far-reaching consequences for ocean productivity and the global carbon cycle.

The publication is the result of a collaboration among twelve scientists from major German marine research institutions, including GEOMAR, AWI, and the ICBM in Oldenburg. The study was led by Solveig I. Bühring from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen – together with her MARUM colleagues Alexander Diehl and Charlotte Kleint, as well as Andrea Koschinsky from Constructor University Bremen, who is also affiliated with the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface” based at MARUM. “Our results show how closely physical, chemical, and biological processes at the seafloor are intertwined – exactly what lies at the heart of the Cluster of Excellence. Studies like this help us understand how the ocean floor functions as an active link within the Earth system,” explains Dr. Charlotte Kleint.

By combining geochemical, microbiological, and modeling perspectives, the team provides an integrated view of how hydrothermal systems are connected to global nutrient cycles – and how substances are dispersed along the invisible pathways of hydrothermal plumes, stimulating ocean productivity even in distant regions.

 

MARUM produces fundamental scientific knowledge about the role of the ocean and the seafloor in the total Earth system. The dynamics of the oceans and the seabed significantly impact the entire Earth system through the interaction of geological, physical, biological and chemical processes. These influence both the climate and the global carbon cycle, resulting in the creation of unique biological systems. MARUM is committed to fundamental and unbiased research in the interests of society, the marine environment, and in accordance with the sustainability goals of the United Nations. It publishes its quality-assured scientific data to make it publicly available. MARUM informs the public about new discoveries in the marine environment and provides practical knowledge through its dialogue with society. MARUM cooperation with companies and industrial partners is carried out in accordance with its goal of protecting the marine environment.

 

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Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-025-02839-4 

Article Title

Iron’s irony: speciation, complexation & microbial processing of Fe in hydrothermal plumes

Article Publication Date

17-Oct-2025

 

Effects of fish oil supplements vary, potentially reducing cardiovascular disease risk also in healthy people

University of Helsinki

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A recently completed study indicates that the positive effects of a fatty acid called eicosapentaenoic acid vary significantly between individuals. The study emphasises the importance of metabolism in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Finnish researchers investigated how eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an omega-3 fatty acid obtained from fish oil, affects healthy people’s blood lipid levels and metabolism. 

EPA is known to reduce cardiovascular disease in individuals with elevated blood lipid levels or heart diseases. However, information on EPA’s effects on healthy people has been scarce, as has that on EPA accumulation in lipoproteins, which carry lipids, or fatty molecules, in circulation. 

In the study, 38 participants were given exceptionally high doses of EPA supplements, with samples collected before, during and after the supplementation. The findings demonstrate great individual variation in EPA’s effects. 

“The samples taken during supplementation clearly show the effect of EPA on all participants. Having said that, all samples were different among the group. In other words, each individual has a unique lipoprotein lipidome in their circulation, a ‘lipid fingerprint’, if you will, that persisted despite EPA supplementation,” says Professor Katariina Öörni, one of the two lead authors of the article, from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, and the Wihuri Research Institute.

EPA effectively absorbed, but blood levels fall rapidly

The study also demonstrated that EPA is effectively absorbed, multiplying its concentration in the blood. However, the levels fall rapidly after supplementation ends. The strongest responses were seen in participants with low baseline EPA levels. 

In addition, EPA improves the blood lipid profile and reduces lipoprotein attachment to components of the arterial walls. This reduction is important, as it is precisely such accumulation that leads to atherosclerosis.

Because of the short-term nature of the study, long-term effects remain unknown. The results nevertheless demonstrate how EPA modifies blood lipid composition and the risk mechanisms associated with atherosclerosis also in healthy individuals. 

“The findings highlight the importance of metabolism in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. EPA’s effects varied more between individuals than we expected. We also demonstrated that these effects dissipate quickly, which is good to know in case EPA were to have adverse effects,” Doctoral Researcher Lauri Äikäs sums up. 

Next, the researchers will conduct cellular tests to determine how EPA supplementation affects the functioning of inflammatory cells and especially the amount of lipid mediators that suppress inflammation. 

“It’s interesting to see how, for instance, dietary changes affect lipoprotein quality, or the individual lipid fingerprint,” Öörni muses. 

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Journal

JCI Insight

DOI

10.1172/jci.insight.193637 

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Icosapent ethyl–induced lipoprotein remodeling and its impact on cardiovascular disease risk markers in normolipidemic individuals

Article Publication Date

18-Oct-2025

 

Neighborhood trust benefits some more than others

Karolinska Institutet

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Living in a neighbourhood where people feel safe and supported is linked to a reduced risk of psychosis among Stockholm residents – but only for people of Swedish or European origin. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet and UCL published in the journal Nature Mental Health. For people of North African or Middle Eastern origin, an increased risk of psychosis was seen in the same neighbourhoods.

“Our results indicate that high personal trust in the residential area does not automatically benefit everyone. To promote mental health among the entire population, we need to create inclusive environments for everyone,” says Anna-Clara Hollander, associate professor at the Department of Global Public Health and co-author from Karolinska Institutet, together with Cecilia Magnusson and Christina Dalman, professors at the same department.

The explanation may lie in who experiences trust in the neighbourhood.

“The levels of personal trust measured in the study were based primarily on responses from people with Swedish-born parents. This means that people from different backgrounds may not have the same experiences or access to social networks that foster safety and trust,” says the study’s last author and lead investigator, James B. Kirkbride, professor of psychiatric and social epidemiology at UCL (University College London).

1.4 million people living in Stockholm

In a comprehensive population study, the researchers investigated how different forms of social capital in residential areas affect the risk of developing serious mental illnesses, such as psychosis and bipolar disorder. The study is based on data from over 1.4 million people born in Sweden and living in Stockholm County, who were followed for up to 15 years.

The researchers focused on three types of social capital: political trust, welfare trust and personal trust, i.e. the experience of being able to get help when needed and feeling safe in one’s neighbourhood.

The results show that higher levels of personal trust in the neighbourhood were associated with either a reduced or increased risk of developing psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder without psychosis, depending on the person’s origin. Among residents with parents from Sweden or Europe, high personal trust had a protective effect, while the opposite effect was seen among residents with parents from North Africa and the Middle East.

Provides important clues

The researchers emphasise that the results cannot be interpreted as a causal relationship, but that they provide important clues as to how social factors affect mental health.

The study also shows that political and welfare-related trust had no clear link to mental illness.

Previous research has shown that foreign-born people living in Sweden and other high-income countries have an increased risk of developing psychosis, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. There is also evidence suggesting that the risk is lower among people living in areas with a high proportion of individuals from the same country of origin.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Region Stockholm. It was funded by the Swedish Research Council, Forte, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society, among others. James B. Kirkbride has received consultancy fees from Roche and the Health Services Executive, Ireland. No other conflicts of interest have been reported.

Publication: “Longitudinal association between neighborhood-level social capital and incidence of major psychiatric disorders in a cohort of 1.4 million people in Sweden”, Angela Song-Chase, Jennifer Dykxhoorn, Anna-Clara Hollander, Cecilia Magnusson, Christina Dalman, James B. Kirkbride, Nature Mental Health, online 20 October 2025, doi: 10.1038/s44220-025-00518-z.

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Journal

Nature Mental Health

DOI

10.1038/s44220-025-00518-z 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Longitudinal association between neighborhood-level social capital and incidence of major psychiatric disorders in a cohort of 1.4 million people in Sweden

Article Publication Date

20-Oct-2025