It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, May 15, 2025
U$ State-level abortion policies and public preferences
Does state-level governance better reflect citizen views than policies made at the national level? The US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe vs. Wade and devolved abortion regulation to the states. Gabor Simonovits and colleagues investigated whether this decision led to policies that were more representative of public opinion at the state level than during the period when abortion was legal nationwide. Using surveys of over 6,000 Americans, the authors first estimated the maximum gestational age at which the average resident of each state believed abortion should be permitted (excluding cases where the woman was the victim of rape or incest, where the health of the woman is endangered, or where there is a risk of serious defects in the fetus). The authors then compared these estimates to state-level policy in each state just prior to Dobbs being argued and two years later. Pre-Dobbs, policies were more permissive than average preferences nationwide. After Dobbs, a bimodal situation emerged, in which policies were on average more permissive than state residents preferred in Democrat-leaning states, while policies were more restrictive than state residents preferred in Republican-leaning states. According to the authors, rather than making policies more reflective of public preferences, devolution to the states has sharpened policy polarization across states.
Journal
PNAS Nexus
Article Title
Federalism and representation: Evidence from state abortion laws in the aftermath of Dobbs vs. Jackson women’s health organization
A semantic map of the situations described across all posts. The most frequently occurring situations pertained to family (21%), the office (8.4%), and weddings (4.2%).
Researchers often use moral dilemmas to probe the contours of human moral intuitions, but such studies typically take place in depersonalized contexts in which the precise relations between actors are unspecified—an intentional design to omit the potentially confounding noise of relational contexts. Yet most real-world moral dilemmas occur in the context of various familial, work, or community relationships. Daniel A. Yudkin and colleagues analyzed a rich dataset of real moral conundrums, the “AITA?” board on the social media site Reddit. Posters to the board describe their own behavior in context, and ask for opinions about whether they are acting like a jerk—although the board’s full name includes a more profane synonym. A look at 369,161 posts and 11 million comments using qualitative, quantitative, and machine-learning methods finds that dilemmas concerning relational obligations were the most common type of dilemma explored on the board—e.g. spouses worried about being disloyal; roommates seeking fair distributions of rent; parents unsure whether they were doing too much or not enough to care for their children; and so on. Over 80% of posts involved an identifiable relationship between actors. Looking at the responses to posted dilemmas, the authors found that violations of trust, such as lying and cheating, were, on average, evaluated more negatively than acts of harm. The third most negatively evaluated dilemma type pertained to judgmentalness—a potential moral wrong often overlooked in academic studies. According to the authors, the lack of relational context in many studies of morality risks confounding responses as the nature of the relationship between actors may be a constitutive feature of moral cognition.
Journal
PNAS Nexus
Article Title
A large-scale investigation of everyday moral dilemmas
5G wireless is safe, according to a study. The adoption of 5G wireless technology raised concerns about the health effects of the associated electromagnetic exposure. The frequencies involved can only penetrate a few millimeters into human skin, so Vivian Meyer and colleagues studied the gene expression and methylation profiles of human skin cells exposed to 5G electromagnetic fields at different frequencies (27 GHz and 40.5 GHz), power flux densities (1 mW/cm2 and 10 mW/cm2) and exposure times (2h and 48h). Gene expression and DNA methylation remained statistically unchanged after 5G exposure, even at 10 times the recommended exposure limits. According to the authors, the quantum energies are far too low to have photochemical or even ionizing effects on cells. The authors controlled for temperature in their experiments; some previous studies that found effects of 5G failed to do so, and effects are likely to have been caused by heat alone. The authors hope their results will close the debate on the safety of 5G technology.
Journal
PNAS Nexus
Article Title
5G-exposed human skin cells do not respond with altered gene expression and methylation profiles
Article Publication Date
13-May-2025
HUMAN BEING(C),(TM),(R)
Vespa Capital acquires FibroFind to accelerate global growth in human tissue-based drug testing
FibroFind, a Newcastle University spin-out and global leader in human tissue-based pre-clinical research, has been acquired by Vespa Capital to drive its next phase of growth and scientific innovation.
Founded in 2019 by Professors Jelena Mann, Derek Mann, Fiona Oakley and Dr Lee Borthwick at Newcastle University, UK, FibroFind was established to advance the development of therapies for fibrotic diseases using human-relevant, scientifically rigorous pre-clinical models. Following the Vespa transaction, Professors Derek Mann and Fiona Oakley have exited the business.
FibroFind’s patented Precision Cut Tissue Slice (PCTS) platform preserves the architecture and function of both healthy and diseased human tissue, providing unparalleled translational accuracy over conventional in-vivo (animal) and in-vitro models. This platform allows for the detailed study of drug safety, efficacy and mechanism of action in an ex-vivo environment that closely reflects human biology.
The company focuses on fibrotic diseases of multiple organs, providing injury-specific models and supporting the development of medicines that can prevent, halt or reverse fibrosis - the damaging thickening and scarring of tissue that underpins many chronic conditions and is involved in around 45% of diseases and deaths in the Western world.
Professor Jelena Mann, Professor of Epigenetics at Newcastle University and CEO of Fibrofind said: “Partnering with Vespa Capital marks an exciting step in FibroFind’s growth journey. We are already seeing strong international demand for our platform, and this investment will allow us to scale further, broaden our reach across therapeutic areas, and deepen our impact in pre-clinical drug development.
“As regulatory and industry momentum continues to shift towards human-relevant models, we are ideally placed to help our clients make faster, more confident decisions with better data."
David Forbes, Partner at Vespa Capital, said: “FibroFind is a unique and well-respected business with a strong reputation in an attractive and growing segment of the life science services sector. Professor Mann and Dr Borthwick have built a platform which allows customers to either progress to the clinical trial phase with confidence, based on the superior translational accuracy of the pre-clinical data, or to save customers hundreds of millions of pounds in failed clinical trials. We are excited about the opportunity to extend the reach of the company as it seeks to revolutionise drug testing and pre-clinical research.”
FibroFind was named Bionow Start-up of the Year in 2022 and recently won the Bionow Internationalisation Award. Its work is underpinned by decades of academic research and a growing body of high-impact publications.
Vespa Capital was advised by DLA Piper, Candesic, BDO, Lockton, EVMS and The Continuum. Debt facilities were provided by Santander.
FibroFind’s shareholders were advised by Grant Thornton and Mills & Reeve.
A recent study led by Professor Yong Sik Ok, published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, highlights the commercial potential of biochar as a key carbon-negative technology supporting ESG strategies, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and global carbon initiatives. Traditionally used in agriculture, biochar is now entering sectors such as construction and energy, with the study urging policy reforms and offering a blueprint for firms such as Microsoft and Shell to meet Net Zero goals.
Credit: Reproduced from Ok et al. with permission from Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Image source link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032125004174
This recent study led by Prof. Yong Sik Ok—President of the International ESG Association (IESGA), President of the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB), Director of the Korea Biochar Research Center (KBRC), Full Professor at Korea University, titled “Sustainable biochar: Market development and commercialization to achieve ESG goals,” the comprehensive analysis lays the groundwork for the large-scale adoption and commercialization of biochar as a carbon-negative technology. This is aligned with corporate ESG strategies, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and global initiatives such as Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and voluntary carbon markets. The findings were published online and will appear in Volume 217 of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews in July 2025. This study marks another benchmark in ESG research by Prof. Ok’s team.
Traditionally applied as a soil amendment, biochar is now gaining momentum across a range of industries—including renewable energy, construction, textiles and waste management. The study explores the rapidly evolving market potential of biochar and its scalability as a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) solution.
“Biochar presents one of the most promising carbon-negative technologies available today. To meet ESG and sustainability commitments, we must move beyond laboratory-scale innovation and advance toward full-scale commercial deployment—supported by smart governance and international collaboration,” remarked Prof. Ok.
Our study focuses on global market dynamics while stressing the urgency of coordinated policy reforms. Critically, it provides a strategic blueprint for industry players—including major firms like Microsoft—for integrating biochar into their climate portfolios and ESG strategies, aligning with TCFD disclosures and Net Zero pathways. For instance, Microsoft has signed a six-year carbon credit offtake agreement with “The Next 150,” a climate solutions provider, to purchase 95,000 tons of carbon removal credits sourced from a newly established biochar production plant in Mexico. Similarly, Royal Dutch Shell, a global energy and petrochemicals company, is incorporating biochar into its soil enhancement initiatives, complementing their hydrolysis and hydro-conversion technologies.
“At KBRC, with support from IESGA, our mission is to transform biochar from a promising research concept into a cornerstone of industrial sustainability. Our latest study advances that goal by synthesizing evidence across economics, policy, and technology, while offering actionable guidance for governments, industry leaders, and research institutions,” concludes Prof. Ok.
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References
Title of original paper: Active Learning-Based Guided Synthesis of Engineered Biochar for CO2 Capture
Professor Yong Sik Ok serves as the President of the International ESG Association (IESGA) and the President of the International Society of Trace Element Biogeochemistry (ISTEB). He was recognized as the only Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) in three distinct fields: Environment and Ecology, Engineering, and Biology and Biochemistry in 2022. Notably, Prof. Ok was the first Korean scientist to receive HCR recognition in Environment and Ecology in 2019. Adding to his remarkable achievements, Prof. Ok was ranked first in the world in Environmental Sciences by ScholarGPS and first in Asia in Environmental Sciences by Research.com in 2025. His remarkable citation record includes an h-index of 177, over 20,000 annual citations, and more than 114 highly cited papers, with a total of over 118,992 citations according to Google Scholar. As Korea's most cited scientist across various disciplines, his contributions to research are exceptional. He maintains an extensive global professional network and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for CleanMat (Wiley). His research focuses on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESG principles to create a more sustainable future with green and sustainable climate technologies such as biochar. In addition to his research, Professor Ok teaches MBA and EMBA courses on business and the environment at the Korea University Business School, and has delivered numerous lectures at leading organizations including Samsung Electronics, the POSCO Forum, and Shinhan Bank.
Sustainable biochar: Market development and commercialization to achieve ESG goals
Article Publication Date
1-Jul-2025
To restore your gut health, a healthy diet matters most
A healthy diet outperforms fecal transplants in restoring and protecting the gut microbiome, according to new research published in Nature by the Simons Foundation’s Joy Bergelson and collaborators at the University of Chicago.
There are trillions of microbes living in your body. Far from parasitic squatters, most of these microorganisms form a diverse and essential community that aids digestion, strengthens the immune system and helps fend off harmful invaders.
When our microbial ranks are damaged or depleted — whether by inflammatory bowel diseases, antibiotic regimens or bone marrow transplants — it is crucial to restore them.
According to a new study published April 30 in Nature, the most effective way of rebuilding the microbiome is also the simplest: maintaining a healthy diet.
“There’s a big emphasis on treating a depleted microbiome with things like fecal transplants right now, but our study shows that this will not be successful without a healthy diet, and in fact, a healthy diet alone still outperforms it,” says Joy Bergelson, executive vice president of the Simons Foundation’s Life Sciences division.
“This study is a great example of a clinically relevant finding that stems from very fundamental, basic science,” says Eugene Chang of the University of Chicago, who co-led the study with Bergelson. “It identifies a way of naturally restoring the microbiome in a way that’s easy, safe and fast.”
Bergelson and Chang co-authored the study with Megan Kennedy, Michael Cooper, Candace Cham, Marissa L. St George, Martin Kalski, Alex Guzzetta and David Rubin of the University of Chicago; Andrew Freiburger, Kathleen Beilsmith and Chris S. Henry of Argonne National Laboratory; and Siew C. Ng and Francis K. Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
You Are What You Eat
The idea for the study came about when Kennedy, the paper’s first author, was working on a project aimed at optimizing recovery after antibiotics. In her background research, she noticed a missing element in our understanding of the recovery process: diet.
Many Americans are on a ‘Western’ diet characterized by low fiber and high fat. It’s a diet that is known to have detrimental effects on the microbiome. Kennedy was shocked that no one was seriously studying how it impacted a microbiome recovering from depletion.
Kennedy and her Ph.D. advisors, Chang and Bergelson, set out to find some answers. To start, the team set up a simple experiment. Mice were fed either chow that had been designed to mimic a Western diet or a healthy, nutrient-balanced diet for several weeks. Then, the mice’s microbiomes were wiped out, and the team monitored their recovery.
“In the mice that were on the healthy diet, within a week after antibiotic treatment, they recovered to almost their normal state,” says Kennedy. “By comparison, the microbiomes of the mice on the Western diet remained completely obliterated. They only had one type of bacteria left, and it dominated for weeks. They never really got back to the place they began.”
A diet high in simple sugars doesn’t support the development of a diverse microbial community. Normally, microbial ecosystems form through a sequential process: Some microbes first break down complex carbohydrates, producing byproducts that other organisms use to grow and thrive. This cycle repeats, creating a vibrant interconnected network of organisms that depend on one another to sustain their community.
In a Western diet, “the sugars are so simple to begin with that you don’t need somebody to come in and break down the complex ones,” says Bergelson. “So you get one organism that has a broad metabolic niche who can just come in and eat everything that’s there. It’s a much less rich community, and in turn, is not as versatile.”
When New Microbes Move In
The team then wondered whether diet would still have this same impact if a community of healthy microbes entered the body from a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT).
“The idea of an FMT is that you can take the good microbes from somebody who is healthy, plop them in and that will fix them,” says Kennedy. “It has gotten a lot of enthusiasm, but we weren’t sure how it would interact with a Western-style diet.”
The answer? Badly.
“It totally doesn’t stick,” says Kennedy. “On a healthy diet, the transplant works, but on the unhealthy one, the mice show basically no signs of recovery.”
The results could shed light on the inconsistent clinical results of fecal transplants.
“Fecal transplants are rather hit or miss in practice: They work sometimes, and then they don't work other times,” says Chang. “And maybe that’s because we haven’t been paying attention to diet.”
Protecting Against Pathogens
The researchers then turned their attention to the microbiome’s other job: defending against pathogens. Specifically, the team investigated invaders called ‘opportunistic pathogens’ that exploit a vulnerable system to wreak havoc. They wondered whether depleted microbiomes on unhealthy diets could be a prime target for these pathogens, and for how long.
The scientists again administered either Western-style or healthy diets to mice with depleted microbiomes. This time, they introduced an opportunistic pathogen — salmonella bacteria — two weeks after the mice’s microbiomes were wiped out.
“The mice on the Western diets get way sicker,” says Kennedy. “They lose a lot of weight and get awful diarrhea. Two weeks might sound short, but it’s the equivalent of months for humans. It just goes to show that these microbiomes are in a vulnerable state for an extended period.”
Beyond the Gut
The clinical relevance of the study is clear: If your gut microbiome is in a fragile state, eating whole grains and greens could be the shortest route to health. However, the work also highlights ecological tenets that underlie many natural processes.
“Following a fire or a storm, what are the characteristics that help a system recover? How might you manage them to make them more resilient?” asks Bergelson. “These are big questions that take a long time to study on a macroscopic level. However, we can still learn lessons from smaller-scale studies like this one. Antibiotics are a much different kind of perturbation than, say, a volcano, but many of the same principles apply."
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About the Simons Foundation The Simons Foundation is a private foundation in New York City whose mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. Founded in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons, the foundation supports transformative science through grantmaking, in-house research and public engagement. The Simons Foundation provides grants in autism science and neuroscience; life sciences; mathematics and physical sciences; and science, society and culture. The foundation’s in-house research division, the Flatiron Institute, develops and deploys computational methods to advance basic scientific research. To learn more, visit simonsfoundation.org.
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of bacteria cultured from a sample of human faeces. The SEM shows a variety of different bacteria types.
