Scientists determine how mysterious acids give bacteria their shape

New study of wall teichoic acids may lead to a better understanding of primordial life on Earth and antibiotic resistance

New York University

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

The rod-shaped bacterium B. subtilis under the microscope

view more 

Credit: Felix Barber, NYU/OSU and Jason Yin, NYU Langone Microscopy

Researchers have discovered how acids on the surface of bacteria give these microscopic organisms their characteristic “rod” shape—by keeping an enzyme at bay that would otherwise turn the cylindrical cells into shape-shifting blobs.

The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, provide a new understanding of how bacteria control their growth and offer insights into the nature of Earth’s earliest life forms. The study also points to a strategy for overcoming antibiotic resistance by targeting wall teichoic acids, the enigmatic molecules that coat the surface of certain bacteria.

Bacteria occur in a range of shapes, with rod-shaped bacteria being by far the most common. The shape of bacteria is important medically since the cell wall—bacteria’s rigid exoskeleton—determines cell shape and is the target of frontline antibiotics. 

“A bacterium’s shape dictates how it grows, how it divides, and how it interacts with its environment,” said Felix Barber, who led this research as a postdoc in NYU’s Department of Biology and is now an assistant professor at The Ohio State University. “Understanding the factors that give rise to the shape of bacteria are important because those same factors are also what we want to inhibit with antibiotics.”

Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) is a rod-shaped bacterium that is naturally found in soil and in the gut. Considered a probiotic, or “good” bacterium, B. subtilis is used to manufacture a range of foods and useful products, including the Japanese delicacy natto, antibiotics, hyaluronic acid used in skincare, and agricultural products to spur plant growth and fight crop diseases.

The cell wall of B. subtilis and other Gram-positive bacteria is made up of two components: peptidoglycan, a layer of sugars and amino acids that is primarily synthesized by clusters of proteins called Rod complexes, and long polymeric molecules called wall teichoic acids. Studies show that when teichoic acids are removed from B. subtilis cells, they lose their rod shape and turn into amorphous blobs. But instead of dying, they grow slowly and stably in this alternate state.

“For decades, we’ve known that if you get rid of teichoic acids in rod-shaped bacteria, the cells turn into blobs, but we didn't know why,” said Enrique Rojas, associate professor of biology at NYU and the study’s senior author. “Our study resolves the longstanding question of how teichoic acids promote the rod shape of these bacteria.”

To study the role of teichoic acids in the cell wall of bacteria, the researchers used a microscope equipped with a special laser that can track individual molecules. They also used a microscopic plumbing system called microfluidics to trap bacterial cells and remove their teichoic acids while monitoring the motion of the proteins that build the cell wall.

“We developed a way to perform chemistry on the surface of living cells while watching subcellular biology at the same time, a technique we call ‘in situ biochemistry,’” said Rojas. 

The researchers found that eliminating wall teichoic acids in B. subtilis rapidly arrested Rod complexes and simultaneously unleashed the activity of an enzyme called PBP1, which usually plays a minor role in cell wall synthesis by fixing mistakes made by the Rod complexes. This explained why cells turned into blobs—since Rod complexes reinforce the cell wall along its circumference, essentially girdling the cell into a rod shape, whereas PBP1 synthesizes peptidoglycan in random directions, leading to a blob shape.

The next big question was how teichoic acids controlled the proteins. Since PBP1 was thought to mend holes in the cell wall, the scientists wondered if it was taking over from Rod complexes when teichoic acid depletion exposed pores in the cell wall. To test this, they collaborated with Zarina Akbary, a PhD student in Rojas's lab and study coauthor, who developed a new method to measure the cell wall’s porosity with nanoscopic resolution. The team found that nanometer-sized holes appeared within minutes of teichoic acid depletion.

“Our study gets at a fundamental function of teichoic acids: they pave the cell surface of the cell so that Rod complexes don’t fall into cell wall potholes and PBP1 doesn’t overreact to small defects left by Rod complexes,” said Rojas.

Amorphous growth was not only driven by PBP1—it also required the enzyme. In bacteria lacking it, depleting teichoic acids led to cell wall thinning, a dramatic increase in cell wall pores, and a complete arrest of cell growth—all while retaining the bacterium’s rod shape. In addition to PBP1, the researchers found that cell growth without teichoic acids also required a second enzyme, LytE, that chops up the cell wall and is needed for rod-shaped growth.

“Our findings reveal that growth without wall teichoic acids is driven by a combination of PBP1 and LytE, meaning that teichoic acids regulate both cell wall synthesis and degradation in B. subtilis. The cells possess a completely different mode of growth driven by these auxiliary enzymes, like a backup plan for when they are treated with drugs that inhibit teichoic acid synthesis,” said Barber.

The research provides clues about how the first bacteria on Earth, which probably lacked any well-defined shape, thrived.

“For Bacillus subtilis, amorphous growth requires far fewer proteins than rod-shaped growth. Cells without teichoic acids could therefore represent a model for simpler, primordial cells. The same basic principles that underlie proliferation of teichoic acid-less cells may have been responsible for the proliferation of early blob-like life on Earth,” said Barber.

The findings may have implications for many other bacteria besides B. subtilis. For example, Listeria monocytogenes, another rod-shaped Gram-positive bacteria and common culprit in food-borne illness, also loses its shape when teichoic acids are depleted. Studies also show that blocking the synthesis of teichoic acids in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)—the most notorious antibiotic resistant bacterium—using an FDA-approved antiplatelet drug can re-sensitize it to antibiotics.

This research, co-authored by Zhe Yuan, Jacob Biboy, and Waldemar Vollmer, was supported by the National Science Foundation (2047404) and the National Institutes of Health (R35GM143057).

 

B. subtilis loses its rod shape when wall teichoic acids are depleted.

Credit

Felix Barber, NYU/OSU and Jason Yin, NYU Langone Microscopy

B. subtilis growing under the microscope on a microfluidic chip. The cells are losing their characteristic rod shape because they are being treated with a drug that blocks teichoic acid synthesis. 

Credit

Felix Barber, NYU/OSU

Journal

Nature Microbiology

DOI

10.1038/s41564-026-02368-6 

Article Title

Wall teichoic acids regulate peptidoglycan synthesis to maintain rod shape in Bacillus subtilis.

Article Publication Date

26-May-2026

 

New report questions insect farming’s green credentials

Stockholm Environment Institute

Facebook

WeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

A new report from Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) finds that industrial insect farming in temperate, high-income countries may not be the climate solution it is often portrayed to be. Its environmental performance varies widely depending on production systems, energy use, feed inputs and whether insect products actually replace conventional meat.

After years of strong investor and government backing, the sector is now facing financial headwinds, and the new research suggests that its environmental credentials are also far from guaranteed.

The report, “Rethinking insects as alternative protein: emerging environmental and animal welfare considerations”, was produced by researchers from SEI, Leiden University and the European Institute for Animal Law & Policy. Drawing on a review of life cycle analyses with an emphasis on Europe and North America, it finds that insect farming may not live up to claims as a sustainable alternative to conventional animal protein. The report also documents a wave of recent restructurings and shutdowns across the sector.

“Insect farming is often framed as a sustainability solution,” said Camilo Garzón, Research Associate at SEI. “But the benefits depend on how insects are produced and what they replace in our diets. On current evidence, the environmental case is far less clear-cut than often assumed.”

Mixed environmental performance

The environmental footprint of insect farming is uneven. Land use is generally low, though comparable to, or in some cases exceeding, soymeal when insects are not raised on organic waste. Evidence on water use remains limited, with available studies suggesting variability between insect species.

Greenhouse gas emissions can vary substantially. In temperate regions, emissions from insect production range from around 3 to 35.5 kgCO₂eq per kilogram of protein, with a median of around 13.5. For comparison, chicken is estimated at 18–36 and pork at 21–53 kgCO₂eq/kg protein. While worst-case insect figures remain well below beef (75–170), they approach the upper range reported for chicken and the middle of the range for pork. Moreover, the proteins most likely to be displaced by insect meal in practice — soymeal (0.9–2.2 kgCO₂eq/kg protein) and fishmeal (0.2–9.3) — tend to have lower emissions. These findings challenge the common assumption that insects are categorically lower-impact than the products they seek to replace.

Insect farming does have the potential for very low environmental impacts, but this typically depends on specific conditions that are often not met in practice. For example, facilities in cooler regions such as Europe and North America may require substantial heating, increasing energy demand and associated emissions. The use of renewable energy in the sector remains limited. Insect farming can upcycle organic waste as feed, but regulatory and practical barriers limit this practice at scale.

Limited impact on meat consumption and wider concerns

Most farmed insects never reach human plates. Consumer uptake has been limited, and where insect ingredients do appear — in products such as pasta, cookies and bread — they often supplement rather than replace meat. A substantial share of production goes to farmed land animal and aquaculture feed, potentially reinforcing the very industries it is meant to displace.

"If insect production mainly feeds other animals without reducing meat consumption, policymakers should ask whether these investments are transforming our food system or simply reinforcing it," said Cleo Verkuijl, Senior Scientist at SEI.

The report also flags ecological risks from accidental insect releases, and it warns that investment in the sector may come at the expense of more promising alternatives such as plant-based and cultivated proteins. It notes that growing evidence of insect sentience raises ethical questions about farming them at industrial scale.

The researchers argue that policy and investment decisions on alternative proteins should be guided by robust evidence of environmental performance and clear potential to reduce reliance on conventional meat. While insect farming may face fewer barriers in tropical and lower-income countries, where energy demand could be lower and the availability of organic residues higher, the evidence base there remains limited. In high-income countries, the promise of insect farming now faces two critical tests — environmental performance and economic viability — both of which are increasingly in question.

For more information, please contact:

Ulrika Lamberth, Senior Press Officer, SEI, ulrika.lamberth@sei.org, +46 73 801 7053  (Stockholm, Sweden)

Cleo Verkuijl, Senior Scientist, SEI, cleo.verkuijl@sei.org (Oxford, UK)

About SEI

Stockholm Environment Institute is an international non-profit research institute that tackles climate, environment and sustainable development challenges. We empower partners to meet these challenges through cutting-edge research, knowledge, tools and capacity building. Through SEI’s HQ and seven centres around the world, we engage with policy, practice and development action for a sustainable, prosperous future for all. www.sei.org

 

Turning ocean water into drinking water, without waste

A new energy-efficient system produces fresh water without chemical additives and transforms leftover salts into useful materials

University of Rochester

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Vials of seawater, Great Salt Lake water, nickel sulfate, copper chloride wastewater, and desalinated water, along with recovered salts show how a new approach developed by URochester researchers turns natural and industrial waters into fresh water and reusable minerals.

view more 

Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

The United Nations estimates that 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, and communities from California to the Middle East rely on desalination plants to convert ocean water to fresh water. Common desalination techniques such as reverse osmosis and thermal distillation are energy-intensive, require pre- and post-water treatment, and leave behind a concentrated saltwater byproduct called brine that wreaks havoc on sea life when it’s deposited back into the ocean by raising the salt level and lowering oxygen in the water.

But a novel approach developed at the University of Rochester offers a way to overcome these drawbacks. Researchers at URochester’s Institute of Optics developed a new solar-thermal desalination process to produce fresh water in an energy-efficient way that does not leave behind brine and requires no chemical additives to pre-treat the water. A team led by Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and of physics and a senior scientist at URochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics, describes their method in a paper published in Light: Science & Applications.

The technology uses solar panels made of black metal etched with femtosecond lasers to make the surface super light absorbing  and superwicking—or extremely attractive to water. The panels have a laser-treated active region that pulls a thin layer of water across the surface, absorbs nearly all solar radiation, distills the water, and deposits the leftover salts and minerals into the panel’s untreated sides or “passive” region so that the salt does not clog the active region and disrupt continuous desalination.

Leveraging the ‘coffee ring’ effect

Guo says other researchers have developed solar-thermal desalination techniques that work well in lab experiments using simulated seawater made of only water and sodium chloride. As the water evaporates, the sodium chloride crystalizes in a grainy and porous fashion allowing water to pass through to dissolve the salt and the solar panels can be easily cleaned.

But real ocean has a much more complex composition, and these systems tend to encounter issues when tested in the field. Unlike sodium chloride, many other components in seawater such as magnesium- and calcium-based materials crystallize in a crusty and non-porous fashion on the solar panel’s surface, clog it, and eventually water can no longer seep through. This is the same phenomenon as your shower head clogging up over time or your tea pot lined with scales, except that seawater contains hundreds of times more salts than your tap water.

To keep their solar panel surface from gumming up in a similar way, Guo’s team precisely etched the black metal’s grooves so the various salts and minerals in ocean water would simply slough off. They also leveraged a physical phenomenon that has plagued clumsy javaphiles for centuries: the coffee ring effect. 

“If you drop coffee on a surface, eventually the water evaporates and there’s a ring left at the outer edge that is the concentrated coffee particles ,” says Guo. “We use that same principle to advance the salts to the passive region.”

Testing their solar-thermal desalination technique using samples of water from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, Guo and his team were able to make the surface self-cleaning so that it extracted freshwater and directed the remaining salts to the passive region where they could be later collected without reducing the panel’s efficiency.

Turning waste into resources

One of the new method’s distinct advantages is that instead of leaving behind brine that must be disposed of or processed, it extracts nearly 100 percent of the salts in solid form. This could not only produce an abundant supply of table salt, but it could also be used to extract more precious minerals, including lithium, which is used in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and other electronics.

In a related paper in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Guo and his colleagues show how they can use the same superwicking solar panels to separate lithium from the rest of other salts in desalination. Embedding nanoparticles made of hydrogen titanate in the tiny grooves of the black metal surface isolates the lithium from other salts and minerals.

“Mining lithium from the earth has proven to be very taxing from an energy and environmental standpoint, so pulling lithium directly from saltwater could be a very important future route,” says Guo.

Using water samples from Great Salt Lake, the researchers were able to extract about 50 percent of the lithium from the salts left behind by the desalination process.

Guo says now that the superwicking desalination technology has been demonstrated in proofs of concept on small-scale devices, he sees the technology inherently scalable, capable of improving global access to drinking water and building more sustainable supply chains for precious minerals.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Worldwide Universities Network. Guo’s colleagues from the Institute of Optics who contributed to the research include Senior Scientist Subash Singh, alumnus Ran Wei ’24 (PhD), PhD students Luheng Tang and Tainshu Xu, and Mingjiang Ma.

---

Journal

Light Science & Applications

DOI

10.1038/s41377-026-02315-4 

Article Title

Additive-free and brine-discharge-free solar-thermal desalination with simultaneous complete mineral mining from ocean water

Article Publication Date

27-May-2026

In Professor Chunlei Guo’s lab at the University of Rorchester, researchers developed a solar desalination device featuring laser-etched superwicking black metal, a technology that produces fresh water from seawater while capturing salts and minerals instead of generating harmful brine waste. 

Credit

University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster

 

Throwing smarter, not softer: How baseball pitchers can protect their elbows

University of Waterloo researchers find arm slot and torso tilt play key roles in UCL strain

University of Waterloo

Facebook

WeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

A digital skeleton developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo shows the stages in a typical baseball pitching delivery (University of Waterloo).

view more 

Credit: University of Waterloo

As professional baseball sees another high-profile elbow injury with Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos having undergone ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery, new research from the University of Waterloo suggests many pitchers may be able to reduce stress on their elbows without sacrificing velocity. 

Computer modelling at the University of Waterloo shows that professional baseball pitchers could make mechanical changes to avoid a common, career-threatening elbow injury without necessarily sacrificing competitive velocity. 

"Our simulation found solutions that suggest there's untapped efficiency out there,” said Cedric Attias, who led the study as a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Waterloo. “Our goal isn't to tell pitchers to throw softer. It's to help them throw smarter." 

Researchers built a detailed digital skeleton with muscles, ligaments and joints to examine the extreme twisting forces exerted during the throwing motion on the UCL, a small band of tissue on the inside of the elbow that helps hold it together. 

Their study, the first of its kind, revealed two main factors — a high arm slot, or angle and tilting the torso away from the pitching arm during delivery of the ball — that put the most demand on the UCL. 

With repeated explosive motions required to pitch at professional speeds, the UCL often breaks down and tears, resulting in Tommy John surgery to replace it and a long rehabilitation process to return to the field. Some pitchers never recover enough to play at elite levels. 

“This ligament is especially vulnerable because it’s small, has a poor blood supply and wasn’t designed for movement this extreme or repetitive,” said Attias, who was supervised by Dr. John McPhee in the Motion Research Group (MoRG) at Waterloo. 

Although strain on the UCL is inevitable, the study results point to mechanical changes, particularly to arm slot and torso tilt, as well as lower body movements, that could help pitchers reduce injury risk while still throwing at high speeds. 

Researchers hope insights from their new modelling tool can be used to predict and avoid costly injuries at elite levels of the sport, as well as to teach safer pitching deliveries to children to prevent problems as they rise through the ranks. 

“We confirmed that mechanics matters tremendously,” said Attias, who now works as a biomechanist for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball with fellow Waterloo Engineering and MoRG alumnus Dr. Keaton Inkol. 

“We showed that one pitcher throwing 93 miles an hour with controlled, upright mechanics puts meaningfully less stress on the UCL than someone using a more extreme technique to reach the same speed.” 

Attias was fascinated when the simulation showed that the pitching delivery that best minimizes elbow stress and produces the lowest speeds, is nearly identical to the mechanics of Tyler Rogers, a Toronto Blue Jays pitcher known for an extreme submarine style.

At the other end of the spectrum, the model showed that an imaginary player capable of throwing 110 mph – much faster than anybody has – would likely look more like a cricket bowler, with a huge trunk tilt and almost vertical arm angle, than a baseball pitcher. 

A paper on the study, Musculoskeletal modelling and predictive simulation of baseball pitching to improve performance and mitigate injury using forward dynamics and optimal control, appeared in the journal Multibody System Dynamics.

Digital skeleton complete with arm muscles and ligaments [VIDEO] 

Researchers created a digital skeleton, complete with arm muscles and ligaments, to examine the forces at work when a professional player pitches a baseball at 93 mph, the MLB average (University of Waterloo).

Digital skeleton complete with arm muscles and ligaments [VIDEO] | 

---

Journal

Multibody System Dynamics

 

Moscow has closed the Ukraine ceasefire dialogue with the US - Ryabkov

The Kremlin says it has given up on engaging with the US over Ukraine ceasefire talks as the last of the Cold War missile security deals falls away. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

TwitterLinkedInTelegramFlipboardFeedly

By Ben Aris in Berlin May 28, 2026

Russia has suspended dialogue with the US on strategic stability and nuclear arms control, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, signalling a further deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

In comments published by Izvestia on May 28, Ryabkov said talks with Washington would not resume unless the US “significantly changes” its approach to nuclear limitations and broader security policy.

“Dialogue with the United States on strategic stability is closed,” Ryabkov said. “Its resumption is possible only if Washington significantly changes its position.”

The remarks come as the last remaining major nuclear arms control framework between the two countries, the New START treaty, moves closer to expiration in 2026. The treaty limits deployed strategic nuclear warheads and delivery systems, and had been regarded for years as a cornerstone of global nuclear stability.

Russia suspended participation in New START in 2023, although President Vladimir Putin said at the time that Moscow would continue observing the treaty’s numerical limits unless the US resumed nuclear testing. Since then, formal inspections and most channels for arms control discussions have remained frozen.

As IntelliNews reported, with the end of the New START treaty, the last of the Cold War missile security deals fell away, moving the world a step closer to a possible nuclear exchange. Ironically, both the US and Russia were keen to rebuild the Cold War missile security infrastructure, but as relations decayed in recent years that has become impossible. The end of the deals has started a new low level nuclear arms race as China, Russia and the US all start to invest into a new generation of high powered missiles such as the new class of hypersonic missiles, being developed by China and Russia.

The collapse of strategic stability talks marks another escalation in tensions that have deepened since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US has continued military and financial support for Kyiv while imposing sweeping sanctions on Moscow, leading the Kremlin to frame relations with Washington as entering a period of “long-term confrontation."

Ryabkov, who oversees arms control and relations with the US at Russia’s foreign ministry, has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking military superiority rather than strategic parity. US officials, meanwhile, have warned that the absence of dialogue increases the risk of “miscalculation” between the nuclear powers.

The Biden administration had previously sought to separate arms control discussions from disputes over Ukraine, arguing that maintaining communication on nuclear risks remained in both countries’ interests. Moscow rejected that approach, saying broader bilateral relations could not be compartmentalised.

The US State Department has said in recent months that Washington remains prepared to engage Russia on nuclear risk reduction and future arms control arrangements despite the broader breakdown in diplomatic relations.

 

Israel widens Lebanon combat zone despite ceasefire, orders evacuations

Israel is ignoring a ceasefire deal and has extended its combat zone in Lebanon, ordering residents to evacuate. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

TwitterLinkedInTelegramFlipboardFeedly

By Ben Aris in Berlin May 28, 2026

Israel has declared a new swathe of southern Lebanon a combat zone and ordered civilians to move north, ignoring the ceasefire deal announced in mid-April as it continues to target Hezbollah.

In a statement posted on X, the Israeli military warned it would act “with great force” against the Lebanese armed group in the designated area. “We advise residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered a combat zone,” a military spokesperson said, Reuters reports.

The order marks a significant expansion of Israel’s operational footprint. The Zahrani River runs roughly 40km north of the Israeli border, placing about 2,000 sq km of Lebanese territory within the newly designated zone. It is the first time Israel has instructed the evacuation of the entire area south of the river, having previously focused on areas below the Litani River and issuing targeted evacuation orders in towns between the two.

The move follows an intensification of Israeli strikes earlier in the week, with more than 120 attacks reported across southern and eastern Lebanon on May 26 alone. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country needed to take further action to protect communities in northern Israel from Hezbollah fire.

The conflict has persisted despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16. The World Health Organization says at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce, while Lebanon’s health ministry puts the broader death toll from Israeli strikes since early March at more than 3,200.

The Israeli military said 10 of its soldiers had been killed since the ceasefire, including six in attacks involving Hezbollah’s explosive drones, highlighting the continued lethality of cross-border hostilities.

On the ground, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly. Lebanese security sources said civilians were fleeing north towards the port city of Sidon, which is already hosting thousands displaced from earlier fighting. The latest evacuation order came as Muslims across Lebanon were marking Eid al-Adha, compounding the disruption to civilian life.

More than 1.2mn Lebanese have been displaced since March 2, when Hezbollah began firing on Israel in support of Iran, according to official figures. Since then, Israeli strikes have extended beyond the south to hit eastern regions and the capital Beirut, though the city has largely been spared in recent days.

Israeli officials say that restraint in Beirut is deliberate. Three senior officials told Reuters that while Israel believes it has freedom of action in southern Lebanon, it is more constrained in the capital. The calculus appears partly geopolitical: Israel does not want to be seen as undermining potential diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.

The officials said Israel was mindful of not derailing US President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a deal with Iran, suggesting that the conflict’s trajectory remains closely tied to broader regional negotiations.

Even so, military operations on the ground are expanding. Israeli forces have pushed beyond a long-established security buffer known as the “Yellow Line”, though the army has provided no details on the extent of its advance. Surveillance drones continue to operate over Beirut, and low-flying warplanes have been reported over the city, signalling that escalation risks remain acute.

The widening of the combat zone and the scale of recent strikes point to a conflict that is drifting further from containment, even as diplomatic efforts seek to prevent it from spiralling into a wider regional war.