Friday, August 11, 2023

Effectiveness of video gameplay restrictions questioned in new study

UNIVERSITY OF YORK

Legal restrictions placed on the amount of time young people in China can play video games may be less effective than originally thought, a new study has revealed.

To investigate the effectiveness of the policy, a team of researchers led by the University of York, analysed over 7 billion hours of playtime data from tens of thousands of games, with data drawn from over two billion accounts from players in China, where legal restrictions on playtime for young people have been in place since 2019.

The research team, however, did not find evidence of a decrease in heavy play of games after these restrictions were put in place.

The video games industry has witnessed a surge in popularity, and as many as 4 billion people are now estimated to engage in gaming worldwide each year.

Many countries across the globe have expressed concerns about the number of hours young people spend playing video games and the potential impact of this on wellbeing. In response to these concerns, in 2019 China restricted playtime for people under 18.

China is one of the first countries to explore legal means of restricting gameplay for young people with the aim of limiting the potential risks of gaming to wellbeing, and the policy was assumed to be effective, with some bodies suggesting that it had resolved issues relating to disordered gaming.

Dr David Zendle, from the University of York’s Department of Computer Science, said: "Policymakers around the world have been discussing how to understand the impact of video gameplay, particularly on young people, for some time now, and how to ensure a healthy relationship with games. The UK government, for example, has recently issued guidelines for high quality research into gaming and wellbeing to inform future decision making.

“The restrictions in China allowed us to look, for the first time, at the real behavioural impact of regulation on reducing the time people spent in gameplay and whether this policy had the desired effect.

“We found no evidence of a decrease in the prevalence of heavy play and more research is needed to understand why, but the work certainly highlights that this kind of analysis can be useful for policymakers, anywhere in the world, to move forward confidently in discussions around regulations in the digital space.”

Dr Catherine Flick, from De Montfort University, said: “We hope that the work will provide a case study for understanding how a government’s policy decisions affect - or do not affect - the lives of real people on a grand scale, and form a blueprint for future data-led public policy evaluation to lead to better and more effective policymaking.”

This research represents the first time big data has been used to evaluate the effect of public policy in games.

Leon Y. Xiao, from the IT University of Copenhagen, emphasised the importance of independent research when evaluating policymaking: “Given previous industry-affiliated claims that this policy has ‘solved video game addiction,’ it made sense in a Chinese context to consider scaling it up to other domains. In fact, the Chinese government is currently consulting on limiting screen time amongst young people by law, although parents may override those limits.

“These results now suggest that the potential effectiveness of such policymaking could benefit from being monitored by non-industry-affiliated, independent researchers.”

The research is published at a time when there are growing global efforts to regulate technology and its impact on society. The UK's Online Safety Bill, the European Parliament's rules on in-game purchases, and the ongoing focus on regulating social media in the USA, are current examples of how governments worldwide are seeking to address digital challenges, particularly concerning the protection of children. The research suggests a path forward for such efforts.

Professor Anders Drachen, from the University of Southern Denmark, emphasised the potential of this data-led approach in evaluating technology regulation, stating “It is now possible to tractably analyse billions of hours of digital behavioural data, which can help lead to a better understanding of how to develop effective policies around online behaviour. This study is an example of how we can use such data to assess whether a policy actually impacts citizens or companies in the way it is intended to.”

The research is published in the journal, Natural Human Behaviour. and was conducted by members of the Digital Observatory Research Cluster, a non-profit cross-institutional academic research group focused on delivering data-driven insights and observations about digital life.

JOURNAL

Nature Human Behaviour

Research details perils of not being attractive or athletic in middle school

Growing unpopularity leads to more loneliness and alcohol misuse

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

Not Being Attractive or Athletic in Middle School — IMAGE: THE PEER GROUP PUNISHES THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE HIGHLY VALUED TRAITS SUCH AS BEING GOOD-LOOKING OR BEING GOOD AT SPORTS. view more
CREDIT: ALEX DOLCE, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

Despite the many changes in school culture since the 1960s, a new study reveals that some things never change: life is harder for middle school students who are not attractive and for those who are not athletic.

As children head back to school, the first-of-its-kind longitudinal study by Florida Atlantic University helps to explain why adolescents who lack traits valued by peers are at risk for adjustment difficulties.

Results, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, show that low attractive youth and low athletic youth became increasingly unpopular over the course of a school year, leading to subsequent increases in their loneliness and alcohol misuse. Put simply, the peer group punishes those who do not have highly valued traits such as being good-looking or being good at sports.

The study put to rest stereotypes about sex differences in traits important for success with peers. For decades, it was assumed that not being athletic was particularly problematic for boys and that not being attractive was particularly problematic for girls.

The findings reveal a transformation in adolescent social culture such that the social penalties attached to being low in attractiveness or low in athleticism are no longer gender speciﬁc. Boys and girls did not differ in the extent to which unpopularity and adjustment problems flowed from low attractiveness and low athleticism. As their unpopularity grows, so do their problems.

“Children who lack the traits valued by their peers suffer from a host of adjustment difficulties, many of which stem from their deteriorating stature in the group,” said Brett Laursen, Ph.D., senior author and a professor of psychology in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “Children who are not attractive and children who are not athletic become increasingly unpopular. Growing marginalization, in turn, precipitates loneliness and alcohol misuse. Growing unpopularity is the key to understanding why the unattractive and the unathletic develop behavior problems. Of those who began drinking to intoxication during the course of the school year, almost two-thirds were above average in unpopularity.”

The dangers attached to stigmatized traits were comparable for boys and girls.

“Children who are not attractive and children who are not athletic become increasingly unpopular over time, suggesting that they must endure the indignities of powerlessness to remain attached to the peer group, a position that eventually takes a toll on individual well-being,” said Mary Page James, first author and a Ph.D. student in FAU’s Department of Psychology. “Being unattractive harms the popularity of boys as much as it does that of girls, and being unathletic is an important contributor to low popularity among girls, just as it is among boys. Despite widespread public messages about body acceptance, the adolescent social world is often still quite unforgiving.”

The study included 580 middle school students who ranged in age from 10 to 13. Participants were asked to identify classmates who best ﬁt the following descriptors: athletic (“good at sports”), attractive (“really good looking”), and unpopular (“unpopular”). They also described how often they felt lonely and how often they drank alcohol to the point of intoxication during the past month.

Replication is a strength of the study. The same pattern of associations emerged in a heterogeneous sample of youth from a large metropolitan area in Florida and from a homogeneous sample of youth from a small community in Lithuania.

Laursen, James and study co-authors offer several strategies to help children who lack these peer-valued traits:

For teachers, consider altering classroom norms. It may be difﬁcult to devalue physical appearance or athletic prowess given their prevalence in popular culture, but it may be possible to boost tolerance for those who are different or to emphasize the merits of other traits. A positive classroom climate also can buffer against loneliness for at-risk youth.
Finally, parents should provide opportunities for children to establish and maintain close friendships with well-adjusted agemates, because friends can mitigate against loneliness.

Study co-authors are Sharon Faur, a Ph.D. student in FAU’s Department of Psychology; and Goda Kaniušonytė, Ph.D., a researcher; and Rita Žukauskienė, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, both with Mykolas Romeris University in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This project was supported by grants from the United States National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD096457) and the European Social Fund (project No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-17-0009) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania.

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report and a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

JOURNAL

Journal of Youth and Adolescence

DOI

10.1007/s10964-023-01835-1

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The Perils of Not Being Attractive or Athletic: Pathways to Adolescent Adjustment Difficulties Through Escalating Unpopularity

Rutgers study confirms link between concealed carry weapons and gun homicide rates

As the right to carry expands in several states, researchers note acute safety risks with the expansion of legal firearm ownership

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Concealed guns significantly impact homicide rates and public safety, according to a Rutgers study that found an increase in homicides based on the number of concealed carry weapons licenses issued.

In a new study published in the Journal of Urban Health, researchers examined the reciprocal county-level relationship between the number of concealed carry weapon licenses issued and gun homicides in 11 states between 2010 and 2019.

“This study takes a close look at the back-and-forth relationship between concealed carry licensing and homicides over a relatively long period of time,” said Daniel Semenza, director of interpersonal research of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and co-author of the study.

“We found no evidence that homicides are reduced where there are more concealed carry licenses,” said Semenza. “On the contrary, we found that more concealed carry permits issued in a given county are linked to a greater number of homicides in that county the following year.”

Semenza, an assistant professor in the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health and in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Rutgers University-Camden, studied 832 counties in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Utah from 2010 through 2019. Researchers analyzed the number of concealed carry licenses in each county alongside the number of firearm homicides per county year.

“We take this all of this to mean that people aren’t using concealed guns in public defensively to thwart potential homicides,” said Semenza. “Rather, having more guns in public through concealed carry appears to be more dangerous and leads to higher homicide numbers. Policy makers need to seriously consider the dangers of allowing more guns in more public places, understanding that an increasingly armed society does not necessarily make us any safer.”

JOURNAL

Journal of Urban Health

DOI

10.1007/s11524-023-00759-2

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The Relationship between Concealed Carry Licenses and Firearm Homicide in the US: A Reciprocal County-Level Analysis

Making molecules dance to our tune reveals what drives their first move

Peer-Reviewed Publication

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

IMAGE: AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE PROBING PROCESS view more
CREDIT: SAMUEL PERRETT

Bringing ultrafast physics to structural biology has revealed the dance of molecular ‘coherence’ in unprecedented clarity.

How molecules change when they react to stimuli such as light is fundamental in biology, for example during photosynthesis. Scientists have been working to unravel the workings of these changes in several fields, and by combining two of these, researchers have paved the way for a new era in understanding the reactions of protein molecules fundamental for life.

The large international research team, led by Professor Jasper van Thor from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, report their results today in the journal Nature Chemistry.

Crystallography is a powerful technique in structural biology for taking ‘snapshots’ of how molecules are arranged. Over several large-scale experiments and years of theory work, the team behind the new study integrated this with another technique that maps vibrations in the electronic and nuclear configuration of molecules, called spectroscopy.

Demonstrating the new technique at powerful X-ray laser facilities around the world, the team showed that when molecules within the protein that they studied are optically excited, their very first movements are the result of ‘coherence’. This shows a vibrational effect, rather than motion for the functional part of the biological reaction that follows.

This is important distinction, shown experimentally for the first time, highlights how the physics of spectroscopy can bring new insights to the classical crystallography methods of structural biology.

Professor van Thor said: “Every process that sustains life is carried out by proteins, but understanding how these complex molecules do their jobs depends on learning the arrangement of their atoms – and how this structure changes – as they react.

“Using methods from spectroscopy, we can now see ultrafast molecular movements that belong to so-called coherence process directly in pictorial form by solving their crystal structures. We now have the tools to understand, and even control, molecular dynamics on extremely fast timescales at near-atomic resolution.

“We hope by sharing the methodological details of this new technique we can encourage researchers in both the fields of time-resolved structural biology as well as ultrafast laser spectroscopy to explore the crystallographic structures of coherences.”

Combining techniques

Combining the techniques required the use of X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facilities, including the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) in the USA, the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser (SACLA) in Japan, the PAL-XFEL in Korea and recently also the European XFEL in Hamburg.

Members of the team have been working since 2009 at XFELs to use and understand the motions of reacting proteins on the femtosecond (one millionth of one billionth of a second) timescale, known as femtochemistry. Following excitation by a laser pulse, ‘snapshots’ of the structure are taken using X-rays.

Early success with this technique in 2016 resulted in a detailed picture of the light-induced change in a biological protein. However, researchers still needed to address a key question: what is the origin of the tiny molecular 'motions' on the femtosecond time scale directly after the first laser light pulse?

Previous studies had assumed that all the motions correspond to the biological reaction, meaning its functional motion. But using the new method, the team found that this wasn’t the case in their experiments.

Coherent control

To reach this conclusion they created ‘coherent control’ – shaping the laser light to control the protein’s motions in a predictable manner. Following initial success in 2018 at LCLS in Stanford, checking and verifying the method required a total of six experiments at XFEL facilities around the world, each time assembling large teams and forming international collaborations

They then combined the data from these experiments with theoretical methods modified from femtochemistry, in order to apply them to X-ray crystallographic data rather than to spectroscopic data.

The conclusion was that the ultrafast motions measured with exquisite accuracy on the picometer scale and femtosecond time scale do not belong to the biological reaction, but instead to vibrational coherence in the remaining ground state.

This means that the molecules that are 'left behind' after the femtosecond laser pulse has passed dominate the motions that are subsequently measured, but only within the so-called vibrational coherence time.

Professor van Thor said: “We concluded that for our experiment, also if coherent control was not included, the conventional time resolved measurement was in fact dominated by motions from the dark ‘reactant’ ground state, which are unrelated to the biological reactions that are triggered by the light. Instead, the motions correspond to what is traditionally measured by vibrational spectroscopy and have a very different, but equally important, significance

“This was actually predicted based on theoretical work made previously, but has now been shown experimentally. This will have significant impact in both the fields of time resolved structural biology as well as ultrafast spectroscopy, as we have developed and provided the tools for analysis of ultrafast femtosecond time scale motion.”

Unprecedented collaboration

The paper includes 49 authors from 15 institutions, covering work over seven years, including experiments conducted remotely during the pandemic. It’s this sense of collaboration that made the result possible, according to Professor van Thor.

He said: “In a fast-moving field, where XFEL beamtime applications are incredibly competitive and there is pressure to publish from each individual experiment, I am extremely grateful to all the co-authors, team members and collaborators for their perseverance, hard work and investment in pursuing the greater objective, which required the strategic and much longer route that we have taken.”

Co-author Dr Sébastien Boutet, from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which hosts the LCLS, said: “These results represent what is truly unique about the capabilities of x-ray lasers. It demonstrates the type of knowledge on biology in motion that can only be achieved with very short bursts of x-rays and combined with cutting edge laser technology. We see an exciting future of discovery in this area.”

Co-author Professor Gerrit Groenhof, from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said: “Using coherent control to extracting the relevant molecular dynamics in the electronic excited state from other motions induced by the excitation laser is essential to understand how photoreceptor proteins have evolved to mediate the photo-activation process. Seeing such a molecular movie of photobiology in action is not only fascinating, but may also be the key to unlock biological principles for designing new light-responsive materials.”

JOURNAL

Nature Chemistry

DOI

10.1038/s41557-023-01275-1

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Optical control of ultrafast structural dynamics in a fluorescent protein

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Aug-2023

Before reaching the skies, the Himalayas had a leg up, new study shows

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Mountain ranges play a key role in global climate, altering weather and shaping the flora and fauna that inhabit their slopes and the valleys below. As warm air rises windward grades and cools, moisture condenses into rain and snow. On the leeward side, it’s quite the opposite. Deserts prevail, a phenomenon known as rain shadow. Thus, the way mountain ranges form is a matter of intense interest among those who study and model climates of the past.

That debate will soon grow more heated with a new paper in the journal Nature Geoscience. A team of researchers at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability has adapted a technique used to study meteorites to measure historic altitudes in sedimentary rocks to show that one of the world’s most familiar mountain ranges, the Himalayas, did not form as experts have long assumed.

“The controversy rests mainly in what existed before the Himalayas were there,” explains Page Chamberlain, professor of Earth and planetary sciences and of Earth system science at the Doerr School of Sustainability, and senior author of the study. “Our study shows for the first time that the edges of the two tectonic plates were already quite high prior to the collision that created the Himalayas – about 3.5 kilometers on average.”

“That’s more than 60 percent of their present height,” added Daniel Ibarra, BS ’12, MS ’14, PhD ’18, a recent postdoctoral researcher from Chamberlain’s lab, first author of the paper, and now an assistant professor at Brown University. “That’s a lot higher than many thought and this new understanding could reshape theories about past climate and biodiversity.”

At the very least, the findings mean that ancient climate models will have to be recalibrated, and it will likely lead to new paleoclimatic assumptions about the Himalayan region of Southern Tibet, an area known as the Gangdese Arc. It could also beget closer scrutiny of other key mountain ranges, such as the Andes and the Sierra Nevada.

Old technique, new insight

Why this longstanding debate is suddenly roiling has much to do with the challenges of measuring topographic altitudes of the past – a field known as paleoaltimetry. It is extremely challenging work, the researchers say. There are not many proxies for altitude in the geologic record, but the Stanford team found one in collaboration with study authors from China University of Geosciences (Beijing).

Not only do rains fall more heavily on windward slopes, but the chemical composition of the precipitation changes as the air rises toward the peaks. Heavier isotopes tend to drop out first; lighter ones nearer the peaks. Thus, by analyzing the isotopic makeup of the rocks, experts can find the telltale signs of the altitude at which they were laid down.

In the sedimentary record, oxygen exists in three stable isotopes: oxygen 16, 17, 18. Dauntingly, the key isotope, oxygen 17, is extremely rare. It comprises just 0.04% of the oxygen on Earth. That means, in a sample containing a million atoms of oxygen, just four atoms are oxygen 17.

“There are maybe eight labs in the world that can do this analysis,” said Chamberlain, who helped process samples at the Terrestrial Paleoclimate lab at Stanford. “Still, it took us three years to get numbers that made some sense and that were working every day.”

Tectonic shifts

That explains why triple oxygen analysis had been overlooked – or perhaps too easily dismissed – as a proxy for ancient altitude. But Chamberlain and his colleagues saw an opportunity. Using a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation, the team adapted the technique to paleoaltimetry and used the mountains of Sun Valley, Idaho, for a proof-of-concept paper in 2020. With the science established, they then turned their sights higher – to the Himalayas.

Sampling quartz veins from lower altitudes in southern Tibet and using triple oxygen analysis, the team showed that the foundations of the Gangdese Arc were already much higher than anticipated, long before any tectonic collision occurred.

“Experts have long thought that it takes a massive tectonic collision, on the order of continent-to-continent scale, to produce the sort of uplift required to produce Himalaya-scale elevations,” Ibarra said. “This study disproves that and sends the field in some interesting new directions.”

Contributing authors include Yuan Gao, Jingen Dai, and Chengshan Wang at China University of Geosciences (Beijing). Chamberlain is also a member of Bio-X and an affiliate with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

JOURNAL

Nature Geoscience

DOI

10.1038/s41561-023-01243-x

ARTICLE TITLE

High-elevation Tibetan Plateau before India–Eurasia collision recorded by triple oxygen isotopes

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Aug-2023

Researchers reverse hearing loss in mice

Peer-Reviewed Publication

KING'S COLLEGE LONDON

New research from The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London has successfully reversed hearing loss in mice.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used a genetic approach to fix deafness in mice with a defective Spns2 gene, restoring their hearing abilities in low and middle frequency ranges. Researchers say this proof-of-concept study suggests that hearing impairment resulting from reduced gene activity may be reversible.

Over half of adults in their 70s experience significant hearing loss. Impaired hearing is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing depression and cognitive decline, as well as being a major predictor of dementia. While hearing aids and cochlear implants may be useful, they do not restore normal hearing function, and neither do they halt disease progression in the ear. There is a significant unmet need for medical approaches that slow down or reverse hearing loss.

Researchers in this study bred mice with an inactive Spns2 gene. Mice were then provided with a special enzyme at differing ages to activate the gene after which their hearing improved. This was found to be most effective when Spns2 was activated at a young age, with the positive effects of gene activation becoming less potent the longer the researchers waited to provide the intervention.

Professor Karen Steel, Professor of Sensory Function at King’s IoPPN and the study’s senior author said, “Degenerative diseases such as progressive hearing loss are often believed to be irreversible, but we have shown that at least one type of inner ear dysfunction can be reversed. We used a genetic method to show this reversal as a proof-of-concept in mice, but the positive results should encourage research into methods like gene therapy or drugs to reactivate hearing in people with a similar type of hearing loss.”

Dr Elisa Martelletti, the study’s first author from King’s IoPPN said, “Seeing the once-deaf mice respond to sounds after treatment was truly thrilling. It was a pivotal moment, demonstrating the tangible potential to reverse hearing loss caused by defective genes. This groundbreaking proof-of-concept study unlocks new possibilities for future research, sparking hope for the development of treatments for hearing loss.”

This study was possible thanks to funding from the Medical Research Council, Wellcome, and from Decibel Therapeutics Inc.

Ends

For more information, please contact Patrick O’Brien (Senior Media Officer) on 07813 706 151.

Reversal of an existing hearing loss by gene activation in Spns2 mutant mice (DOI10.1101/2023.05.02.539081) (Elisa Martelletti, Neil J. Ingham and Karen P. Steel) was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

About King’s College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

King's College London is one of the top 35 universities in the world and one of the top 10 in Europe (QS World University Rankings, 2021/22) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 33,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from over 150 countries worldwide, and 8,500 staff. King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research.

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s is a leading centre for mental health and neuroscience research in Europe. It produces more highly cited outputs (top 1% citations) on psychiatry and mental health than any other centre (SciVal 2021), and on this metric has risen from 16th (2014) to 4th (2021) in the world for highly cited neuroscience outputs. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 90% of research at the IoPPN was deemed ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*). World-leading research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness, neurological conditions, and other conditions that affect the brain.

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2307355120

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Reversal of an existing hearing loss by gene activation in Spns2 mutant mice

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Aug-2023

COI STATEMENT

The authors declare no competing interest.

NIH zebrafish research included in US Postal Service’s “Life Magnified” stamps

NIH/EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Zebrafish Postage Stamp — IMAGE: "ZEBRAFISH" FOREVER® STAMP FROM THE USPS® "LIFE MAGNIFIED" STAMP PANEL. view more
CREDIT: USPS®

A microscopy image created by National Institutes of Health researchers is part of the “Life Magnified” stamp panel issued today by the United States Postal Service (USPS®). The NIH zebrafish image, which was taken to understand lymphatic vessel development in the brain, merges 350 individual images to reveal a juvenile zebrafish with a fluorescently tagged skull, scales and lymphatic system.

“Zebrafish are used as a model for typical and atypical human development. It is surprising how much we have in common with zebrafish,” said Diana W. Bianchi, director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which generated the image. “NIH research affects our lives every day. My hope is that this postage stamp will help spur conversations and appreciation for the importance of basic science research.”

The image was taken by NICHD’s Daniel Castranova, an aquatic research specialist, with assistance from former trainee Bakary Samasa. The research was conducted in the Section on Vertebrate Organogenesis, led by principal investigator Brant Weinstein, Ph.D. The lab is devoted to understanding mechanisms guiding the formation of blood and lymphatic vessels. The image also received top honor in the 46th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition in 2020.

Findings from the microscopy image were published in Circulation Research and featured on the journal’s cover. The work led to a groundbreaking discovery that zebrafish have lymphatic vessels inside their skull. These vessels were previously thought to occur only in mammals, and their discovery in fish could expedite and revolutionize research related to treatments for diseases that occur in the human brain, including cancer and Alzheimer’s.

“Life Magnified” is a set of 20 Forever® stamps (Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price). This collection includes work from other researchers relevant to the broader NIH community. Two creators lead microscopy core facilities often used by NIH-funded researchers at their universities. Tagide deCarvalho, Ph.D., is director of the Keith R. Porter Imaging Facility at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She created “Moss Leaves” and “Mold Spores.” Jason M. Kirk is director of the Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core at Baylor College of Medicine. He created “Oak Leaf Surface” and “Mouse Brain Neurons.”

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About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): NICHD leads research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all. For more information, visit https://www.nichd.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit https://www.nih.gov.

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

Threatened grey-necked rockfowl's habitat even smaller than expected, study finds

Researchers’ findings may help drive conservation efforts for this unique bird species, found only in Central Africa

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SAN DIEGO ZOO WILDLIFE ALLIANCE

SAN DIEGO (AUG. 10, 2023) — A new study on gray-necked rockfowl has found a much smaller range of suitable habitat for this elusive African bird than was previously assumed, and may warrant a downgrade in its conservation status.

Scientists from the Cameroon Biodiversity Association (CAMBIO) in Cameroon, in partnership with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, set out to better understand how much suitable habitat remains for the rockfowl, and where the birds can still be found.

Understanding suitable habitat and its extent is crucial for protecting species. However, scientists have limited knowledge about the available habitat for many species, including the grey-necked rockfowl (Picathartes oreas). One of only two species in the little-known family Picathartidae, grey-necked rockfowl are found only in the forests of Central Africa. Changes in land use are resulting in disappearing forests and habitat fragmentation in this region.

The study, published in Bird Conservation International, utilized intensive field work and advanced modeling techniques to generate crucial insights, including evidence to suggest changing the species’ status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, from Near Threatened to Vulnerable.

Scientists assessed 339 new and historical grey-necked rockfowl occurrence records, along with environmental variables. Then they predicted suitable habitat available for grey-necked rockfowl, and where conservation efforts for the species should be focused. The results show that the birds are strongly connected to areas with steep slopes and abundant forest cover, while variables related to climate, vegetation health and habitat condition didn't play a role in the birds’ distribution.

This study did not consider, however, how predictor variables might change in the future, due to factors such as climate change.

“Forest cover loss across Central Africa, home to many endemic, endangered and often understudied species, is accentuating biodiversity loss driven by climate change and other pressures,” said Ekwoge Abwe, Ph.D., a Scientific Program Manager for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, manager of CAMBIO and a co-author of the study. “Given its specific habitat requirements, including forest cover and steep slopes, the persistence of grey-necked Picathartes could be a good indicator of healthy forest. Conserving these unique habitats will help not only these birds, but a wide range of other related species.”

Ultimately, the team identified around 6,690 square miles, or 17,327 square kilometers, that fit the species’ desired criteria.

“Unfortunately, only about 2,490 square kilometers (961 square miles, or 14.4%) of this suitable habitat is in protected areas with strictly enforced conservation efforts,” said Guilain Tsetagho, research assistant at CAMBIO, who led the study. “Considering the bird’s limited range, specific nesting habitat needs and the increasing pressures from human activities, changing its conservation status could help prevent further land use from damaging rockfowl-compatible areas.”

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About San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, a nonprofit conservation leader, inspires passion for nature and collaboration for a healthier world. The Alliance supports innovative conservation science through global partnerships. Through wildlife care, science expertise and collaboration, more than 44 endangered species have been reintroduced to native habitats. Annually, the Alliance reaches over 1 billion people, in person at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and virtually in 150 countries through media channels, including San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers television programming in children’s hospitals in 13 countries. Wildlife Allies—members, donors and guests—make success possible.

JOURNAL

Bird Conservation International

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Modeling the potential distribution of the threatened Grey-necked Picathartes Picathartes oreas across its entire range