Ancient wolf pup mummy uncovered in Yukon permafrost

CELL PRESS

Research News

 

IMAGE: THIS PHOTO SHOWS AN X-RAY VIEW OF THE WOLF PUP. view more 

CREDIT: GOVERNMENT OF YUKON

While water blasting at a wall of frozen mud in Yukon, Canada, a gold miner made an extraordinary discovery: a perfectly preserved wolf pup that had been locked in permafrost for 57,000 years. The remarkable condition of the pup, named Zhùr by the local Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in people, gave researchers a wealth of insights about her age, lifestyle, and relationship to modern wolves. The findings appear December 21 in the journal Current Biology.

"She's the most complete wolf mummy that's ever been found. She's basically 100% intact--all that's missing are her eyes," says first author Julie Meachen, an associate professor of anatomy at Des Moines University. "And the fact that she's so complete allowed us to do so many lines of inquiry on her to basically reconstruct her life."

One of the most important questions about Zhùr that the researchers sought to answer was how she ended up preserved in permafrost to begin with. It takes a unique combination of circumstances to produce a permafrost mummy.

"It's rare to find these mummies in the Yukon. The animal has to die in a permafrost location, where the ground is frozen all the time, and they have to get buried very quickly, like any other fossilization process," says Meachen. "If it lays out on the frozen tundra too long it'll decompose or get eaten."

Another important factor is how the wolf died. Animals that die slowly or are hunted by predators are less likely to be found in pristine condition. "We think she was in her den and died instantaneously by den collapse," says Meachen. "Our data showed that she didn't starve and was about 7 weeks old when she died, so we feel a bit better knowing the poor little girl didn't suffer for too long."

In addition to learning how Zhùr died, the team were also able to analyze her diet. As it turns out, her diet was heavily influenced by how close she lived to water. "Normally when you think of wolves in the Ice Age, you think of them eating bison or musk oxen or other large animals on land. One thing that surprised us was that she was eating aquatic resources, particularly salmon."

CAPTION

This photo shows the wolf pup as she was found.

Analyzing Zhùr's genome also confirmed that she is descended from ancient wolves from Russia, Siberia, and Alaska, who are the ancestors of modern wolves as well. Although analyzing Zhùr gave the researchers many answers about wolves of the past, there remain some outstanding questions about Zhùr and her family.

"We've been asked why she was the only wolf found in the den, and what happened to her mom or siblings," says Meachen. "It could be that she was an only pup. Or the other wolves weren't in the den during the collapse. Unfortunately, we'll never know."

The specimen holds special significance for the local Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in people, who have agreed to place Zhùr on display at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse. She is cleaned and conserved so she will stay intact for years to come, allowing her to travel to other Yukon locations as well. And the research team predicts there may be more and more permafrost mummies found in the coming years.

"One small upside of climate change is that we're going to find more of these mummies as permafrost melts," says Meachen. "That's a good way for science to reconstruct that time better, but it also shows us how much our planet is actually warming. We really need to be careful."

CAPTION

This photo shows a closeup of the wolf pup's head, showing her teeth

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This work was supported by the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust awarded to Dr. Matthew Wooller at UAF.

Current Biology, Meachen et al.: "A mummified Pleistocene gray wolf pup (Canis lupus) from Yukon Territory, Canada" https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)31686-9

Current Biology (@CurrentBiology), published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology. Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists.

Visit: http://www.cell.com/current-biology.
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How to be happier in 2021

Toss out your usual list of New Year's resolutions and do things that make the world a better place

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

Research News

 

So you want to look trimmer, be smarter, and successful next year? You strive to exercise and call your friends more, and spend less?

You are not alone. New Year's resolutions are as ubiquitous as they are difficult to keep. Does it even make sense to set such lofty goals for the new year, hoping anew each January first that this time really is the charm?

Any motivational researcher would have "ambivalent feelings" about New Year's resolutions, says Richard Ryan, an international expert on motivational research and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Rochester. "The evidence shows that most of the time people aren't successful at them."

But don't throw in the towel quite yet. Ryan, who is also a clinical psychologist, says that any occasion that gives us an opportunity to reflect on our lives is ultimately a good thing. It doesn't have to be on New Year's. "Whenever that happens, if it's really a reflective change--something that you put your heart behind--that can be good for people."

And he has another tip: what proves most satisfying, and may also be what's most needed as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, are goals that involve giving to others.

"Think of how you can help," says Ryan. "There's a lot of distress out there: If we can set goals that aim to help others, those kinds of goals will, in turn, also add to our own well-being."

His advice is grounded in decades of research. Together with Edward Deci (also a University of Rochester professor emeritus of psychology) Ryan is the cofounder of self-determination theory (SDT), a broad framework for the study of human motivation and personality. Developed by the duo over nearly 40 years, the theory has become one of the most widely accepted frameworks of human motivation in contemporary behavioral science. Its starting point is the idea that all humans have the natural--or intrinsic--tendency to behave in effective and healthful ways.

According to Ryan, who is also a professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University, acts of willingly helping others satisfy all three of the basic psychological needs identified in SDT research: the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy in this context means that you can engage in activities in which you feel true volition and find personal value. Competence means feeling effective and having a sense of accomplishment. Finally, relatedness means working with and feeling connected to others.

"If you want to make a New Year's resolution that really makes you happy, think about the ways in which you can contribute to the world," says Ryan. "All three of these basic needs are fulfilled. The research shows it's not just good for the world but also really good for you."

Q&A: Why New Year's resolutions (often) don't work

What's the problem with most New Year's resolutions?

The saddest part is that most people don't succeed at their January 1 resolutions. But that is because most of these midnight resolutions look more like pressure coming from the outside--an attempt to look better, relieve guilt, or meet the standards of others. Losing weight, for example, is one of the most common New Year's goals and one that people tend to do poorly at. Part of the reason for that is where it's coming from: it's often coming from internal or external pressure--as opposed to a goal that's something that you might intrinsically value such as having more health or vitality. If the goal is one that is not "authentic" and not really coming from your own values or interests, the energy for it fades fast.

Are any resolutions particularly toxic?

There are many goals that even when achieved will not bring people more happiness. A goal of making more money, for example, may get a person working harder, but may actually leave them less connected to others, or feeling less autonomy on a day-to-day basis. It could make the person less happy. Goals that work are ones where we can find real satisfaction in achieving them.

It's intuitive that giving to others is satisfying. But how does that work on a psychological level?

We found that when people are focused on giving to others they experience deeper satisfactions than when their goals are more self-oriented. For example, experiments show that doing something benevolent for others, even when you will never meet the beneficiary, increases your positive mood and energy. Most recently, we published a study [in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology] about what we call people's "integrative span." We discovered that your happiness increases as your focus of concern and care gets wider. If your main concerns and cares are narrow and selfish--just about "me and the people very close to me," versus about "my family and my community," versus about "the larger world and everything in it"-- the less happy you are prone to be. A broader scope of caring and concern for others, in contrast, predicts a higher well-being.

How do we make any resolution more likely to stick?

Beyond the focus of your goals, there are some key elements to success at any resolution you might make. First, make sure your goal is one you truly embrace--that you are fully behind and care about. An achievable goal is also one that is not abstract, like "improve my health" but concrete--such as "increase my daily step count" or "drink sparkling water rather than sugared soda at lunch." These latter goals are clear and achievable in a way that a vague global resolution can never be. Once having a clear aim, the next step is making a realistic plan on how and when it will be implemented.

Just as important, research shows that the more you can make achieving your resolution fun and "intrinsically motivated" the more you'll persist. For example, a plan to increase your step count might include a walk each day with a good friend--which will both achieve your step goal and satisfy relatedness needs. By finding an activity that both gets you to your goal and that you actually enjoy--or at least don't find aversive--you'll be more likely to carry on.

Finally, successful resolutions are usually built upon optimal challenges. Setting the bar too high will feel discouraging and lead to disengagement. Keep in mind that with almost any long-term goal the best strategy is to set small incremental goals--not "I'm going to climb Everest" but rather "I'm going to take these first few steps toward base camp."

Any special advice for 2021?

The past year has been tough; you can make the new one kinder. Any new goals you set that involve changing habits or lifestyles will inevitably involve some setbacks, lapses, and failures. So when failures happen, remember to be a compassionate self-coach. Forget the harsh judgments and instead take interest in what you can learn from the setback and where you got stuck. And then restart with that much more wisdom in hand.

How do I find the goal I ultimately most care about?

For most of us, if we give ourselves occasional moments of reflection-taking the time to really think about what's going well in our lives and what really matters-we can usually identify some things we could change. Often that means listening to that little nagging feeling about the things that we know would improve our lives. It means allowing ourselves to tune into that inner signal in an open, non-defensive way and to consider the possibilities and the choices that you really have. In truth, there are always ways to make life better, but the road upward need not be a painful one--if you are going in the right direction.

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Prevalence of Self-Managed Abortion Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States

Original Investigation
Public Health
December 18, 2020

Prevalence of Self-Managed Abortion Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States
Lauren Ralph, PhD1; Diana G. Foster, PhD1; Sarah Raifman, MS1; et alM. Antonia Biggs, PhD1; Goleen Samari, PhD2; Ushma Upadhyay, PhD1; Caitlin Gerdts, PhD2,3; Daniel Grossman, MD1
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(12):e2029245. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.29245

Key Points

Question What is the prevalence of self-managed abortion (SMA) among US women of reproductive age?

Findings In this cross-sectional survey of 7022 women aged 18 to 49, 1.4% reported ever having attempted SMA. Using age at SMA attempt and adjusting for underreporting of abortion, it is estimated that 7.0% of US women will attempt SMA at some point in their lives.

Meaning These findings suggest that SMA is occurring in the US, highlighting the need for innovative models to ensure people have access to the safest and most effective methods of SMA, particularly where facility-based care is inaccessible.
Abstract

Importance Increasing evidence indicates that people are attempting their own abortions outside the formal health care system. However, population-based estimates of experience with self-managed abortion (SMA) are lacking.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of SMA attempts among the general US population.

Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional survey study was fielded August 2 to 17, 2017 among English- and Spanish- speaking, self-identified female panel members from the GfK web-based KnowledgePanel. Women ages 18 to 49 years were approached to complete a 1-time survey. Data were analyzed from September 22, 2017, to March 26, 2020.

Main Outcomes and Measures SMA was defined as “some women may do something on their own to try to end a pregnancy without medical assistance. For example, they may get information from the internet, a friend, or family member about pills, medicine, or herbs they can take on their own, or they may do something else to try to end the pregnancy.” SMA was assessed using the question, “Have you ever taken or used something on your own, without medical assistance, to try to end an unwanted pregnancy?” Participants reporting SMA were asked about methods used, reasons, and outcomes. Factors associated with SMA experience, including age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nativity, reproductive health history, and geography, were assessed. Projected lifetime SMA prevalence was estimated using discrete-time event history models, adjusting for abortion underreporting

Prevalence of Self-Managed Abortion Among Women of Reproductive Age in the United States | Health Disparities | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Nobel Prize reflects perseverance in scientific research

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC./GENETIC ENGINEERING NEWS

Research News

IMAGE: TOPICS COVER BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL VIRAL IMMUNOLOGY, EXPLORING VIRAL-BASED IMMUNOLOGICAL DISEASES, PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS, AND VIRUS-ASSOCIATED TUMOR AND CANCER IMMUNOLOGY. THE JOURNAL INCLUDES ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS, REVIEW ARTICLES, AND COMMENTARIES... view more 

CREDIT: MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC., PUBLISHERS

New Rochelle, NY, December 21, 2020--The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to three researchers for their discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The undying perseverance that it took to find and cure this elusive virus is eloquently detailed in the peer-reviewed journal Viral Immunology. Click here to read the article now.

Rodney S. Russell, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Viral Immunology, from Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, recounts his own research experience with HCV and tells the story of how the virus was discovered.

"The strongest theme I see in the field of HCV research is perseverance," says Dr. Russell. "Finding HCV was not easy, working with HCV was not easy, curing HCV was not easy, and even now, making an effective vaccine against HCV is proving not to be easy. What impresses me most about the thousands of scientists around the world who contributed to the study of this virus, even before it was discovered, was, and still is, their absolute unwillingness to quit."

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About the Journal

Viral Immunology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published ten times a year in print and online. Topics cover both human and animal viral immunology, exploring viral-based immunological diseases, pathogenic mechanisms, and virus-associated tumor and cancer immunology. The Journal includes original research papers, review articles, and commentaries covering the spectrum of laboratory and clinical research and exploring developments in vaccines and diagnostics targeting viral infections. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Viral Immunology website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers) is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 90 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

Volcanic eruptions directly triggered ocean acidification during Early Cretaceous

First study to use stable calcium and strontium isotopes to examine oceanic anoxic event

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

IMAGE: CALCIUM CARBONATE SAMPLES FROM A SEDIMENT CORE DRILLED FROM THE MID-PACIFIC MOUNTAINS SHOW EVIDENCE OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION 127 TO 100 MILLION YEARS AGO. view more 

CREDIT: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Around 120 million years ago, the earth experienced an extreme environmental disruption that choked oxygen from its oceans.

Known as oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a, the oxygen-deprived water led to a minor -- but significant -- mass extinction that affected the entire globe. During this age in the Early Cretaceous Period, an entire family of sea-dwelling nannoplankton virtually disappeared.

By measuring calcium and strontium isotope abundances in nannoplankton fossils, Northwestern earth scientists have concluded the eruption of the Ontong Java Plateau large igneous province (LIP) directly triggered OAE1a. Roughly the size of Alaska, the Ontong Java LIP erupted for seven million years, making it one of the largest known LIP events ever. During this time, it spewed tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, pushing Earth into a greenhouse period that acidified seawater and suffocated the oceans.

"We go back in time to study greenhouse periods because Earth is headed toward another greenhouse period now," said Jiuyuan Wang, a Northwestern Ph.D. student and first author of the study. "The only way to look into the future is to understand the past."

The study was published online last week (Dec. 16) in the journal Geology. It is the first study to apply stable strontium isotope measurements to the study of ancient ocean anoxic events.

Andrew Jacobson, Bradley Sageman and Matthew Hurtgen -- all professors of earth and planetary sciences at Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences -- coauthored the paper. Wang is co-advised by all three professors.

Clues inside cores

Nannoplankton shells and many other marine organisms build their shells out of calcium carbonate, which is the same mineral found in chalk, limestone and some antacid tablets. When atmospheric CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms a weak acid that can inhibit calcium carbonate formation and may even dissolve preexisting carbonate.

To study the earth's climate during the Early Cretaceous, the Northwestern researchers examined a 1,600-meter-long sediment core taken from the mid-Pacific Mountains. The carbonates in the core formed in a shallow-water, tropical environment approximately 127 to 100 million years ago and are presently found in the deep ocean.

"When you consider the Earth's carbon cycle, carbonate is one of the biggest reservoirs for carbon," Sageman said. "When the ocean acidifies, it basically melts the carbonate. We can see this process impacting the biomineralization process of organisms that use carbonate to build their shells and skeletons right now, and it is a consequence of the observed increase in atmospheric CO2 due to human activities."

Strontium as corroborating evidence

Several previous studies have analyzed the calcium isotope composition of marine carbonate from the geologic past. The data can be interpreted in a variety of ways, however, and calcium carbonate can change throughout time, obscuring signals acquired during its formation. In this study, the Northwestern researchers also analyzed stable isotopes of strontium -- a trace element found in carbonate fossils -- to gain a fuller picture.

"Calcium isotope data can be interpreted in a variety of ways," Jacobson said. "Our study exploits observations that calcium and strontium isotopes behave similarly during calcium carbonate formation, but not during alteration that occurs upon burial. In this study, the calcium-strontium isotope 'multi-proxy' provides strong evidence that the signals are 'primary' and relate to the chemistry of seawater during OAE1a."

"Stable strontium isotopes are less likely to undergo physical or chemical alteration over time," Wang added. "Calcium isotopes, on the other hand, can be easily altered under certain conditions."

The team analyzed calcium and strontium isotopes using high-precision techniques in Jacobson's clean laboratory at Northwestern. The methods involve dissolving carbonate samples and separating the elements, followed by analysis with a thermal ionization mass spectrometer. Researchers have long suspected that LIP eruptions cause ocean acidification. "There is a direct link between ocean acidification and atmospheric CO2 levels," Jacobson said. "Our study provides key evidence linking eruption of the Ontong Java Plateau LIP to ocean acidification. This is something people expected should be the case based on clues from the fossil record, but geochemical data were lacking."

Modeling future warming

By understanding how oceans responded to extreme warming and increased atmospheric CO2, researchers can better understand how earth is responding to current, human-caused climate change. Humans are currently pushing the earth into a new climate, which is acidifying the oceans and likely causing another mass extinction.

"The difference between past greenhouse periods and current human-caused warming is in the timescale," Sageman said. "Past events have unfolded over tens of thousands to millions of years. We're making the same level of warming (or more) happen in less than 200 years."

"The best way we can understand the future is through computer modeling," Jacobson added. "We need climate data from the past to help shape more accurate models of the future."

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The study, "Stable Ca and Sr isotopes support volcanically-triggered biocalcification crisis during Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a," was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (award number 2007-31757) and the National Science Foundation (award number EAR-0723151). This work was jump-started with supported from the Ubben Program for Climate and Carbon Science at Northwestern University, which funded previous, related work on the topic.

Invasive in the U.S., lifesaver Down Under

New study uncovers the ecological engineering capabilities of the monitor lizard

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA (USF INNOVATION)

Research News

 

IMAGE: SEAN DOODY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AND GRADUATE DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY AT THE USF ST. PETERSBURG CAMPUS, STUDIES THE NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE MONITOR LIZARD. view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Ten years of research led by the University of South Florida has revealed that a monitor lizard should be regarded as an "ecosystem engineer," a rarity for reptiles. Tortoises and sea turtles are the only reptiles considered to be ecosystem engineers, a term used to describe organisms that have a great impact on their environment based on their ability to create, modify, maintain or destroy a habitat. Sean Doody, assistant professor and graduate director of integrative biology at the USF St. Petersburg campus, discovered that while a related species is considered invasive in the United States, in Australia, small animal communities rely on the monitor lizards' burrow system, called a warren, using it as a habitat, a place to forage for food and nesting.

In his study published in Ecology, Doody and his Australian collaborators investigated the nesting biology of the Yellow-Spotted monitor lizard, which can measure nearly five feet, and its smaller, sister species, the Gould's monitor lizard. The team had recently discovered that the lizards are unique in that they lay their eggs as deep as 13 feet, easily the deepest vertebrate nests on earth. They loosen the soil, creating warm, moist conditions, which are ideal for laying eggs and trapping viable seeds and fruits. But now, the researchers have discovered that the burrows hosted a wide range of animals, including reptiles, frogs, insects and even marsupial mammals. The team found 747 individual species of 28 types of vertebrates.

The timing of the research revealed clues as to why certain species utilized the warrens. For example, throughout the winter dry season, the researchers found hibernating frogs using the burrows to maintain their body moisture. During one excavation, Doody and his team discovered 418 individual frogs in a single warren.

"The finding is significant as it shows that nesting warrens provide critical shelter and other resources for the small animal community," Doody said. "The invasive cane toad is decimating the monitor lizards in some areas, meaning that these nesting warrens, which are re-used year after year, will disappear. This can impact the relative number of predators and prey, which can have unexpected consequences for the ecosystem, such as an overabundance of one species at the cost of another, which in other systems has threatened species with local extinction.

The arrival of the toxic cane toad emphasized the extent of the monitor lizard's impact on the food web. In studies conducted between 2009 and 2017, Doody's research team uncovered abandoned burrows and an increase in the lizard's prey, including smaller lizards, snakes, turtles and birds. Australian researchers and natural resource managers have been unable to successfully control cane toads.

Doody is now expanding his research to include the perentie, another large monitoring lizard that likely nests at great depths in the Australian desert, to see if it too should be deemed an ecological engineer. His team is also looking at how climate warming will impact the facilitation of these animal communities.

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Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

How can you declutter your mind? New study offers clues

Brain imaging offers insight on how we purge thoughts to make room for new ones

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

Research News

 

IMAGE: PROFESSOR MARIE BANICH STANDS IN FRONT OF AN FMRI MACHINE AT THE INTERMOUNTAIN NEUROIMAGING CONSORTIUM IN BOULDER, COLORADO. view more 

CREDIT: CU BOULDER

"Let it go." "Think about something else." "Clear your head."

In our attempts to de-clutter our busy minds and make room for new, often more productive thoughts, people tap an array of different approaches. Which works best, and how does each strategy distinctly impact the brain?

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Texas have taken a first stab at answering this question, combining novel brain imaging with machine learning techniques to offer an unprecedented window into what happens in the brain when we try to stop thinking about something.

The findings, published this month in the journal Nature Communications, lend new insight into the basic building blocks of cognition and could inform new therapies for issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. They also provide clues on how to form better study habits or innovate at work.

"We found that if you really want a new idea to come into your mind, you need to deliberately force yourself to stop thinking about the old one," said co-author Marie Banich, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder.

For the study, Banich teamed up with Jarrod Lewis-Peacock, a cognitive neuroscience at UT-Austin, to examine brain activity in 60 volunteers as they tried to flush a thought from their working memory.

As Lewis-Peacock describes it, working memory is the "scratch pad" of the mind where we store thoughts temporarily to help us carry out tasks. But we can only keep three or four thoughts in working memory at a time. Like a sink full of dirty dishes, it must be cleaned out to make new ideas possible.

"Once we're done using that information to answer an email or address some problem, we need to let it go so it doesn't clog up our mental resources to do the next thing," he said.

When we ruminate over something - perhaps the fight we had with a friend or an offending text -- that can color new thoughts in a negative light. Such rumination is at the root of many mental health disorders, said Banich.

"In obsessive compulsive disorder it could be the thought of as, 'If I don't wash my hands again I will get sick.' In anxiety, it might be, 'This plane is going to crash.'" To determine if people can truly purge a thought, and how, the team asked each volunteer to lay down inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine (fMRI) at the Intermountain Neuroimaging Center on the Boulder campus.

They were shown pictures of faces, fruits and scenes and asked to maintain the thought of them for 4 seconds. Meanwhile, researchers created individualized 'brain signatures' showing precisely what each person's brain looked like when they thought of each picture.

Afterward, participants were told to: replace the thought ("replace apple with mountain"); clear all thoughts (akin to mindfulness meditation); or suppress the thought (focus on it and then deliberately try to stop thinking about it). In each case, the brain signature associated with the image visibly faded.

"We were thrilled," said Banich. "This is the first study to move beyond just asking someone, 'Did you stop thinking about that?' Rather, you can actually look at a person's brain activity, see the pattern of the thought and then watch it fade as they remove it."

The researchers also found that "replace," "clear" and "suppress" had very different impacts.

While 'replace' and 'clear' prompted the brain signature of the image to fade faster, it didn't fade completely, leaving a shadow in the background as new thoughts were introduced. 'Suppress,' on the other hand, took longer to prompt forgetting but was more complete in making room for a new thought.

Behavioral studies outside the scanner yielded similar results.

"The bottom line is: If you want to get something out of your mind quickly use 'clear' or 'replace,'" said Banich. "But if you want to get something out of your mind so you can put in new information, 'suppress' works best."

More research is necessary, but the findings suggest that students may want to pack up their algebra notes, take a break and deliberately try not to think about quadratic equations before moving on to study for physics.

Hit a wall on that report at work? Let it go for a while.

"People often think, 'If I think about this harder I am going to solve this problem.' But work by clinicians suggests it can actually give you tunnel vision and keep you in a loop that is hard to get out of," said Banich.

In a counseling setting, the findings suggest that to fully purge a problematic memory that keeps bubbling up, one might need to deliberately focus on it and then push it away.

Someday, the brain imaging technique could potentially be used during sessions as a sort of cognitive mirror to help people learn how to put destructive thoughts out of their minds.

Banich and Lewis-Peacock intend to study that next.

"If we can get a sense of what their brain should look like if they are successfully suppressing a thought, then we can navigate them to a more effective strategy for doing that," said Lewis-Peacock. "It's an exciting next step."

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Study finds growing numbers of critically endangered sawfish in Miami waters

The findings have important implications to better protect this endangered species

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ROSENSTIEL SCHOOL OF MARINE & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE

Research News

 

IMAGE: FIGURE 3 FROM THE PAPER: (A) PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN BY W. A. FISHBAUGH IN THE 1920S, RECORDED AS TAKEN IN MIAMI (COURTESY OF STATE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES OF FLORIDA, FLORIDA: HTTPS://WWW.FLORIDAMEMORY.COM/ITEMS/SHOW/165364).... view more 

CREDIT: SEE ABOVE

MIAMI--A new collaborative study lead by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found evidence of growing numbers of critically endangered smalltooth sawfish within coastal waters off Miami, Florida, an area where the regular presence of this rare species had gone largely undocumented, until now. The new findings are part of a NOAA initiative to support and enhance the recovery of smalltooth sawfish in and around Biscayne Bay, a coastal lagoon off Miami, that was designated a Habitat Focus Area by NOAA in 2015.

A shark-like ray, smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) are unique for their long flat rostra with roughly 22-29 teeth on either side that is used to detect and catch prey. The species can reach 16-feet in length. NOAA estimates that smalltooth sawfish populations in U.S. waters have declined by as much as 95 percent from a combination of overfishing, bycatch in fishing gear, and habitat loss from increasing coastal development.

The research team compiled sighting records dating as far back as 1895 and recent encounters of sawfish in the Biscayne Bay Habitat Focus Area.

"Our analysis showed sightings have increased exponentially in recent decades, with some individuals even appearing to be making returning annual visits," said Laura McDonnell, the study's lead author and a PhD student at UM Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy and researcher at the UM Rosenstiel School. "These findings demonstrate that smalltooth sawfish have been using these waters with some regularity, largely unnoticed prior to the compilation of these records.

"However, the extent to which sawfish use Biscayne Bay and reason for their occurrence remains unknown," said Joan Browder, a fisheries biologist at NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center and senior author of the study. "Understanding this would be a valuable next research step."

Many of the smalltooth sawfish documented in this study were found in waters very close to Miami, where they were exposed to high levels of pollution, boat traffic, and fishing.

"These results highlight a need to understand the effects of coastal urbanization on smalltooth sawfish and the conservation implications for this and other endangered species using the area," said Neil Hammerschlag, research associate professor at the UM Rosenstiel School and UM Abess Center for Ecosystem Science & Policy and co-author of the study.

"Given the documented use of smalltooth sawfish in and around Biscayne Bay, we hope the area will receive informative signage to help inform the public about their endangered status, the importance of reporting encounters, and the dangers of harming sawfish," said McDonnell.

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The researchers urge citizens to report smalltooth sawfish sighting in South Florida waters to 1-844-4-SAWFISH (1-844-472-9347).

The study, titled "Saws and the city: smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) encounters, recovery potential and research priorities in urbanized coastal waters off Miami, Florida," was published on December 17, 2020 in the journal Endangered Species Research

The study's authors include: Neil Hammerschlag and Laura McDonnell at the UM Rosenstiel School, George H. Burgess at the University of Florida; Lindsay Phenix at Northeastern University and Austin J. Gallagher at Beneath the Waves Inc; Thomas Jackson, Helen Albertson and Joan Browder at NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami. The collaborative study was conducted as part of the NOAA Cooperative Biscayne Bay Habitat Focus Area project.

Support for this project was provided by the Save Our Seas Foundation, Ocean Tracking Network and the Disney Conservation Fund, Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, NOAA, and C. and M. Jones.

About the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School

The University of Miami is one of the largest private research institutions in the southeastern United States. The University's mission is to provide quality education, attract and retain outstanding students, support the faculty and their research, and build an endowment for University initiatives. Founded in the 1940's, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. For more information, visit: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu and Twitter @UMiamiRSMAS

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance could be more challenging outside of the EU

Surveillance of AMR in Ireland is likely to be co-ordinated by the European Union, but the UK will need to develop it's own strategy.

MICROBIOLOGY SOCIETY

Research News

 

In a new report from the Microbiology Society, experts from around the UK explain the desperate need for long-term and ambitious funding for surveillance and research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The next pandemic is likely to be associated with antimicrobial resistance, they say, and improved surveillance systems to monitor the evolution of AMR over time will be critical to avoid a surge in drug-resistant infections.

"In Ireland, the task of setting up an efficient AMR surveillance system is likely to be directed by the EU. The UK, however, will need to develop its own strategy, which may prove more challenging out of the EU and will require the appropriate funding and direction" the report says. "Monitoring and identifying AMR is essential in order to identify outbreaks, trace transmission chains, and identify how AMR is evolving and what factors contribute to its evolution, and for local, national and international surveillance efforts. Further being able to detect the rise of AMR and its spread will help safeguard our economies from future pandemics."

The report further explains the urgent need for improved communication and education about AMR, which is described as a "slow-motion pandemic." Current momentum around infectious disease research should be used to raise awareness and understanding of AMR. With this opportunity comes a threat, however. According to the report, there is a risk of AMR messaging being diluted by the current information around the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report highlights the threat AMR poses to society and contains six key recommendations from the microbiology community. These recommendations focus on research, surveillance and collaboration, and how new interventions can be developed to tackle the threat of AMR.

Tackling the issue of AMR aligns with many of the SDGs; specifically, those related to poverty (SDG 1), human health (SDG 3), food security and agriculture (SDG 2), clean sanitation (SDG 6) and economic growth (SDG 8). Microbiology is at the forefront of developing novel antimicrobial compounds, vaccine research, providing sustainable solutions for treating livestock and crop diseases, unravelling disease transmission patterns across ecosystems and informing which antimicrobials should be prescribed when. Therefore, the microbiology community is pivotal for AMR research and can have a major influence in this area, which can contribute to delivering the SDGs.

The current landscape of AMR research in the UK and Ireland is highly active and expansive. However, the challenge is significant, and some aspects of the research must be augmented in order to provide new solutions to infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant organisms. Whilst basic research is fundamental to understanding the how and why, the field also needs to be more applied, aiming to translate findings into new interventions through enhanced interactions with other disciplines and industrial partners.

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The full report, including case studies and opinion pieces from key experts in the field is free to read at:
https://microbiologysociety.org/publication/briefing/a-sustainable-future-antimicrobial-resistance-policy-report.html

 

The Subaru Telescope photographs the next target asteroid for Hayabusa2

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES

Research News

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IMAGE: THE ASTEROID 1998 KY26 (THE POINT OF LIGHT LOCATED AT WHERE THE TWO LINES WOULD CROSS) CAPTURED BY HYPER SUPRIME-CAM MOUNTED ON THE SUBARU TELESCOPE. THE BLURRING OF THE BACKGROUND... view more 

CREDIT: NAOJ

On December 10, 2020 (Hawai?i Standard Time), the Subaru Telescope imaged the small asteroid 1998 KY26, the target of Hayabusa2's extended mission. The positional data for 1998 KY26 collected during the observations will be used to more accurately determine the orbital elements of this object.

Operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 delivered a reentry capsule to Earth containing samples from the asteroid (162173) Ryugu on December 6 (Japan Standard Time). After this drop-off, Hayabusa2 set out again, this time for the extended mission utilizing its remaining fuel. In this extended mission, Hayabsa2 is supposed to approach and observe its next target, the small asteroid 1998 KY26.

This asteroid is predicted to approach to within 0.47 AU of Earth in mid to late December 2020, giving us a rare opportunity that comes only once every three and a half years. However, the diameter of 1998 KY26 is estimated to be no more than 30 meters, and thus its brightness is so dim that ground-based observations of the asteroid are difficult without a very large telescope.

The observations with the Subaru Telescope were conducted upon the request of the Institute for Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), JAXA. And as a result, 1998 KY26 was photographed in the direction of the constellation Gemini as a 25.4-magnitude point of light with a measurement uncertainty of 0.7 mag. The positional data collected during these observations will be used to improve the accuracy of the orbital elements of the asteroid. Similar observations were conducted with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

"We successfully photographed the next target asteroid for Hayabusa2. We hope that these data will facilitate Hayabusa2's new mission," says Dr. Michitoshi Yoshida, Director of Subaru Telescope.

"After returning its reentry capsule to Earth, Hayabusa2 departed for a new target object, a small asteroid known as 1998 KY26. This will be the first mission to this small of an asteroid, so it is very meaningful both in terms of planetary science and planetary defense (protecting Earth from collisions with stellar objects). These Subaru Telescope observations will not only become very important data for Hayabusa2's extended mission, they will also give a boost to future missions. We are grateful to everyone at Subaru Telescope." says Dr. Makoto Yoshikawa, the Hayabusa2 Mission Manager at ISAS, JAXA.

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These results appeared on December 15, 2020, in the Minor Planet Electronic Circular issued by the IAU Minor Planet Center (MPEC 2020-X181 : 1998 KY26).

CAPTION

Animation made from three (out of five) images captured during the observations. The point of light (marked with two lines) moving from left to right near the center of the image is 1998 KY26. The field of view is 30 x 15 arcseconds.

Scientists develop new land surface model including multiple processes and human activities

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE PRIMARY PROCESSES CONSIDERED IN CAS-LSM, WHICH WERE DEVELOPED BASED ON CLM4.5 . view more 

CREDIT: LONGHUAN WANG

Human activities, such as urban planning, irrigation and agricultural fertilization, can affect terrestrial carbon, nitrogen and water cycle processes and aquatic ecosystems.

Some human activities lead to water stress, ecological environment damage, including groundwater lateral flow, and the movement of frost and thaw fronts. These changes in turn alter energy balance and water budget, and affect weather, climate and environment.

"We need a new land surface model to describe these processes," said Prof. XIE Zhenghui from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, "a comprehensive land surface model can not only provide a platform for water-energy simulations, but also contribute to water resources management, environment protection and sustainable development."

XIE and his team incorporated the schemes of groundwater lateral flow, human water use, soil freeze-thaw front dynamics, riverine nitrogen transport, and urban planning into a land surface model, and thus developed a land surface model CAS-LSM. According to XIE, the current version has improved the descriptions of biogeochemical process and urban modules, compared with the earlier version of this model.

"The new developed model can be applied to the simulation of inland river basins in arid areas to quantitatively evaluate the ecohydrological effects of stream water transfer," XIE said. "Combined with basin simulation and climate system models, CAS-LSM can monitor river water environment. It can also help quantitatively evaluate weather and climate effects of South-to-North water transfer and provide advice for urban planning."

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This series of studies have been published in the special section "The Chinese Academy of Sciences Climate and Earth System Models (CAS-FGOALS and CAS-ESM) and Applications" in Journal of Geophysical Research- Atmosphere and Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems.