Big Science in the 21st Century – a new ebook published by IOP Publishing 

Book Announcement

IOP PUBLISHING

 

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BIG SCIENCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

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CREDIT: IOP PUBLISHING

IOP Publishing is proud to announce the release of ‘Big Science in the 21st Century’, a comprehensive exploration of the impact of Big Science on our society and the new perspectives it opens on evaluating its societal benefits.  

Authored by a diverse group of contributors, the book offers a multifaceted view of the challenges, merits, and transformations of Big Science across different disciplines and geographical boundaries. It delves into the transformative role of Big Science in shaping the world we live in, from its historical roots in the aftermath of the Second World War to its contemporary interdisciplinary and international nature. 

Big Science in the 21st Century is organized in five parts, each offering unique insights into the impact of Big Science. The first part looks at lessons from Big Science organizations and best practices in increasing the return of benefits to society. The second part offers the voice of key economists who have worked on assessment exercises concerning the socioeconomic benefits of large-scale research infrastructures. The editors also strived to include a historical perspective on these debates. Essays, in part three, trace the development of Big Science in the aftermath of World War II. Importantly, the editors also focus on the educational and cultural impacts that Big Science has beyond the laboratory; from the art gallery to the school classroom. In the last part, the editors aimed to bring a more global perspective with contributions from other continents outside North America and Western Europe. 

As noted in the preface: “Rather than an exhaustive list, this book aspires to offer a comprehensive overview of the different ways in which Big Science impacts our society and consequently opens new perspectives in thinking how to evaluate its societal benefits. It should offer a glimpse on the complex realities that characterize the development and present status of Big Science.”      

Panagiotis Charitos, one of the editors of Big Science in the 21st Century says: “The culmination of massive investment and intense international collaboration, ‘Big Science’ projects sit at the forefront of today’s scientific innovations. They reach beyond disciplinary boundaries to deliver global visibility, recognition, and impact for researchers.” 

Charitos continues: “The different viewpoints in this book demonstrate the ways in which Big Science has delivered intellectual, utilitarian, and economic progress. It serves as a reminder that Big Science, along its many coordinates, should be evaluated for its scientific, economic, educational, and cultural impact. The essays also stress that this path is not always linear while also giving voice to concerns around “Big Science” projects and the distribution of resources.” 

Miriam Maus, Chief Publishing Officer at IOP Publishing, says: “’Big Science’ projects span many issues, from combatting social imbalance to building the Large Hadron Collider. We are proud to publish a book that explores the depth and breadth of Big Science projects with perspectives from a wide variety of contributors across the globe.” 

The full book is available on the IOP Publishing Bookstore and is aimed at professionals involved in science policy and administration, economists interested in evaluating the results of scientific research, and anyone with an interest in scientific outreach and communication. The collection of essays is targeted to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions, with the hope of yielding new research tools for measuring the impact of Big Science and creating connections between economists, historians, and those working in science and technology studies. 

Five chapters of the book are available to read for free, covering topics including the development of CERN, the rise of ‘Big Science,’ its societal impacts in the 21st century, communicating Big Science in a post-war period, and the transition to an open science model. 

 

ASU research reveals regions in U.S. where heat adaptation and mitigation efforts can most benefit future populations

Study models the benefits of strategies to cope with and alleviate extreme heat in 47 of the largest U.S. cities through the end of the century

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

Tempe, Ariz., December 18, 2023 – Extreme heat waves, once considered rare, are now frequent and severe in cities due to climate change. Phoenix faced such a brutal heat wave in July of 2023 when it endured 31 consecutive days of high temperatures of at least 110 F. The severity of the heat wave triggered a state of emergency. In June of 2021, the town of Lytton, B.C., Canada, hit a blistering 121 F, leading to a fire that burnt most of the village. This pattern repeated in Europe in 2022, where heat caused fatal illnesses, wildfires and damaged infrastructure, highlighting an urgent need for climate adaptation measures. 

In order to make crucial urban-planning decisions across the United States, city managers and stakeholders will need to better understand the outcomes of potential solutions that address the immediate impacts of heat exposure on cities and the long-term climate impacts, both individually and together. 

 

New research published in the January issue of Nature Cities examines, for the first time, the potential benefits of combining heat adaptation strategies – such as implementing cool roofs and planting street trees – with mitigation strategies – such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions – to lessen heat exposure across major U.S. cities. It also identifies the regions in which these strategies could best benefit future populations. 

 

“Research to date has focused on the reduction of harmful impacts on cities resulting from either increased emissions of greenhouse gasses or direct effects from the built environment,” said Matei Georgescu, lead author of the paper and an associate professor at Arizona State University’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. “Our work highlights the value of adaptation to reduce human heat exposure at the city level but then goes further to emphasize the benefits of deploying adaptation strategies in tandem with mitigation strategies.”

The paper, “Quantifying the decrease in heat exposure through adaptation and mitigation in twenty-first-century U.S. cities,” is coauthored by Ashley Broadbent of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand, and E. Scott Krayenhoff of the 

School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 

 

In the study, the researchers used computer models to simulate future climate conditions that account for urban expansion, greenhouse gas emissions and population movement through the end of the century.

 

Then they examined the extent to which adaptation and mitigation strategies, in isolation and in tandem, can reduce population heat exposure across end-of-century U.S. cities and large urban areas. 

 

The adaptation strategies examined included deploying cool and evaporative roofs on buildings and street trees that were applied uniformly across all cities. Mitigation strategies involved the reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gasses. The simulations examined a contemporary decade (2000-2009) against future projections (2090-2099).

 

The study found that some cities like Tulsa, Okla., will respond better to adaptation strategies such as deploying street trees and cool roofs to cope with heat, while others like Denver benefit more from reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

When focusing on lowering emissions as a strategy to reduce the impact of heat, the study found that exposure to extreme heat for people in cities tends to be higher in southern latitude cities compared to those in northern latitudes. This pattern is seen for adaptation strategies that help us deal with the heat right now and mitigation strategies that tackle the longer-term problems of climate change. 

 

The researchers also discovered that the effectiveness of these strategies in reducing extreme heat exposure varies throughout the day, but remains consistent during nighttime.

 

When simultaneously implementing adaptation and mitigation measures, the study shows the benefits are the greatest in the Northeast and Midwest regions, encompassing cities like New York, Boston and Chicago. Sun Belt cities, including Los Angeles and Miami, face more limited heat exposure reductions.

 

Relative increases in population heat exposure remain after implementing adaptation and mitigation measures and are limited to Southeast, Great Plains and Southwest urban areas. 

 

“We underscore the importance of characterizing such results on the basis of individual urban environments, as it paves the way for prioritizing strategies with identified impacts at the urban, rather than broader regional or national scale,” said Georgescu who also is director of ASU’s Urban Climate Research Center. “The study helps us develop a timeline of implementation strategies to enhance livability in our cities.” 

 

Moving forward 

 

In the future, the researchers suggest further advancing modeling work to examine how impactful adaptation strategies can be in reducing adverse heat-related impacts by targeting specific neighborhoods within cities while facilitating collaboration between cities and academic institutions. 

 

“Collaboration between cities and academic institutions is crucial to gather important data and develop sound policies that can effectively protect at-risk communities from the effects of climate change and the added burden of heat from the built environment,” said Georgescu. “By understanding which strategies work best at the local level, and how such strategies may work differently depending on geographical context, we can create effective plans to tackle place-based climate challenges while continuing to work on mitigation strategies that deal with long-term consequences. Working together is key to creating better strategies for a sustainable and resilient future.”

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Cities

DOI

10.1038/s44284-023-00001-9 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Quantifying the decrease in heat exposure through adaptation and mitigation in twenty-first-century U.S. cities

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Dec-2023

 

Global inventory of sound production brings us one step closer to understanding aquatic ecosystems

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Scientists looking to uncover the mysteries of the underwater world have more valuable information at their fingertips thanks to an international team that has produced an inventory of species confirmed or expected to produce sound underwater.

Led by Audrey Looby from the University of Florida Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, the Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds working group collaborated with the World Register of Marine Species to document 729 aquatic mammals, other tetrapods, fishes, and invertebrates that produce active or passive sounds. In addition, the inventory includes another 21,911 species that are considered to likely produce sounds.

With more than 70% of the Earth’s surface covered in water, most of the planet’s habitats are aquatic, and there is a misconception that most aquatic organisms are silent. The newly published comprehensive digital database on what animals are known to make sounds is the first of its kind and can revolutionize marine and aquatic science, the researchers said.

“Eavesdropping on underwater sounds can reveal a plethora of information about the species that produce them and is useful for a variety of applications, ranging from fisheries management, invasive species detection, improved restoration outcomes, and assessing human environmental impacts,” said Looby, who also co-created FishSounds, which offers a comprehensive, global inventory of fish sound production research.

The team’s research, “Global Inventory of Species Categorized by Known Underwater Sonifery,” was published Monday in Scientific Data and involved 19 authors from six countries, funding from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and centuries of scientific effort to document underwater sounds.

“Understanding how marine species interact with their environments is of global importance, and this data being freely available is a major step toward that goal,” said Kieran Cox, a member of the research team and a National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada fellow.

Most people are familiar with whale or dolphin sounds but are often surprised to learn that many fishes and invertebrates use sounds to communicate, too, Looby said.

“Our dataset helps demonstrate how widespread underwater sound production really is across a variety of animals, but also that we still have a lot to learn,” she said.

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JOURNAL

Scientific Data

DOI

10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 

ARTICLE TITLE

Global Inventory of Species Categorized by Known Underwater Sonifery

 

Some coral species might be more resilient to climate change than previously thought

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

 

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OSU CORAL RESEARCHER ALEX VOMPE OFF THE NORTH SHORE OF MO'OREA (PHOTO BY MACKENZIE KAWAHARA).

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CREDIT: OSU CORAL RESEARCHER ALEX VOMPE OFF THE NORTH SHORE OF MO'OREA (PHOTO BY MACKENZIE KAWAHARA).

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Some coral species can be resilient to marine heat waves by “remembering” how they lived through previous ones, research by Oregon State University scientists suggests.

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, also contains evidence that the ecological memory response is likely linked to the microbial communities that dwell among the corals.

The findings, published today in Global Change Biology, are important because coral reefs, crucial to the functioning of planet Earth, are in decline from a range of human pressures including climate change, said the study’s lead author, Alex Vompe.

“It is vital to understand how quickly reefs can adapt to ever more frequent, repeated disturbances such as marine heat waves,” said Vompe, a doctoral student who works in the lab of microbiology professor Rebecca Vega Thurber. “The microbiomes living within their coral hosts might be a key component of rapid adaptation.”

Heat waves are likely to increase in frequency and severity because of climate change, he added. Slowing down the rate of coral cover and species loss is a major conservation goal, and predicting and engineering heat tolerance are two important tools.

Knowing the role microbes play in adaptation can inform coral gardening and planting efforts, Vompe said. A deeper understanding of the microbial processes, and the organisms responsible for ecological memory, can also aid in developing probiotics and/or monitoring protocols to assess and act on the quality of ecological memory of individual coral colonies.

Coral reefs are found in less than 1% of the ocean but are home to nearly one-quarter of all known marine species. They also help regulate the sea’s carbon dioxide levels and are a crucial source for scientists searching for new medicines.

Corals are made up of interconnected animal hosts called polyps that house microscopic algae inside their cells. Corals also house functionally and taxonomically diverse bacteria, viruses, archaea and microeukaryotes. The community of bacteria and archaea living within corals are referred to as the coral microbiome.

Symbiosis is the foundation of the coral reef ecosystem as these microbes benefit coral hosts by assisting in carbon, nitrogen and sulfur cycling, essential vitamin supplementation, and protection against pathogens. The coral polyps in turn provide nutrition and protection to the algae and bacteria.

Climate change is threatening coral reefs in part because some of the relationships between coral and their microbes can be stressed by warming oceans to the point of dissolution – a collapse of the host-microbe partnerships, which results in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching.

“But Acropora retusa, a prevalent coral species in the Mo’orean coral reef that we studied, appears to have a powerful ecological memory response to heat waves that the microbiome seems to play a role in,” Vompe said. “This means some coral species may be more resilient to climate change than previously thought.”

Vompe, Vega Thurber and colleagues at OSU, the University of California, Santa Barbara, Arizona State University, and the University of Essex spent five years studying 200 coral colonies at a reef on the north shore of Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Mo’orea is an island in the South Pacific, roughly halfway between Australia and South America.

Because of the reef’s recent history, it presented a unique opportunity to examine heat wave response, the researchers said.

In 2010, crown-of-thorns starfish and a cyclone destroyed more than 99% of the corals, effectively hitting the reset button on the reef. Corals reestablished and went through comparatively minor heat wave events in 2016 and 2017 before experiencing the area’s most severe marine heat wave in recorded history between December 2018 and July 2019.

The second-most severe heat wave soon followed, between February and July of 2020.

“We observed that some species of coral seem to remember exposure to past marine heat waves and maintain a higher level of health in subsequent heat waves,” Vega Thurber said. “And Acropora retusa’s memory response was strongly linked to changes in its microbiome, supporting the idea that the microbial community has a part in this process.”

Cauliflower corals in the genus Pocillopora stayed in good health through the heat events, and their microbiomes also showed an ecological memory response, she noted. They were perturbed by the initial 2019 heat wave but recovered to their predisturbance state despite the second heat wave in 2020.

“Members of coral microbial communities have unique biological features that make them more adaptable and responsive to environmental change – short generation cycles, large population sizes and diverse metabolic potential,” Vega Thurber said. “In two of the three coral species we focused on, we identified initial microbiome resilience, host and microbiome acclimatization, or developed microbiome resistance to repeated heat stress. The latter two patterns are consistent with the concept of ecological memory.”

Other Oregon State researchers involved the research were Thomas Sharpton, Hannah Epstein and Emily Schmeltzer. Sharpton is an associate professor of microbiology and statistics; Epstein was a postdoctoral researcher during the study and is now a lecturer at the University of Essex; Schmeltzer, a doctoral student in Vega Thurber’s lab, has graduated and is working as a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation also supported this research.

OSU coral researcher Alex Vompe working in a biosafety cabinet (photo by Olivia Harmon).

CREDIT

OSU coral researcher Alex Vompe working in a biosafety cabinet (photo by Olivia Harmon).

JOURNAL

Global Change Biology

DOI

10.1111/gcb.17088 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Microbiome ecological memory and responses to repeated marine heatwaves clarify variation in coral bleaching and mortality

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-Dec-2023

 

A new catalyst opens efficient conversion from nitrate pollution to valuable ammonia

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY PRESS

 

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SCIENTISTS FROM ZHONGYUAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED A NOVEL PATH TO EFFICIENTLY CONVERT NITRATE TO AMMONIA USING METAL-ADDED POLYOXOMETALATE AS THE CATALYST UNDER MILD OPERATING CONDITIONS.

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CREDIT: ZHIHUI NI, HENAN KEY LABORATORY OF FUNCTIONAL SALT MATERIALS, ZHONGYUAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Pollution spewing from a booming global economy poses a number of different threats to human health. Researchers from Zhongyuan University of Technology proposed a new possible avenue to efficiently convert nitrate, a widespread water pollutant, back to valuable ammonia. In their recently published study, the team outlined a novel path to efficiently convert nitrate to ammonia using metal-added polyoxometalate as the catalyst under mild operating conditions.

The study was published December 8 in Polyoxometalates.

In the past few decades, a number of methods have been deployed to mitigate nitrate nitrogen, which contributes to groundwater contamination. Previous studies have shown that chemical reduction can not only reduce or eliminate nitrate nitrogen but can actually put the harmful pollutant to good use by converting it into ammonia — a major synthetic industrial chemical used worldwide.

Pervasive in a wide range of fields, ammonia has an extremely high energy density and is simple to liquefy and transport. A century-old method called the Haber-Bosch process converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia by a reaction with hydrogen using an iron metal catalyst under high temperatures and pressures. However, the pressures and temperatures necessary for the “fixation” process consume large amounts of energy and produces huge quantities of greenhouse gas emissions.

“We should find high-efficiency, environmentally friendly methods for reducing nitrogen to ammonia under mild conditions,” said Zhihui Ni, study author from the Zhongyuan University of Technology.

In the past few years, scientists have been developing a number of mild nitrogen reduction techniques as alternatives to the Haber-Bosch process, including electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and microbial fuel cells. Of these, electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction is a promising alternative synthetic route for sustainable ammonia production, because it not only eliminates nitrate from water but also produces ammonia under mild operating conditions.

On this basis, the research team synthesized two nickel-added polyoxometalates (POMs), a class of metal-oxide clusters with unique physicochemical properties that make them particularly effective in using electrical energy to drive a chemical reaction.

Thanks to the stability of their molecular structures and reversible redox properties, POMs as

catalysts can break down organic pollutants in wastewater and reduce carbon dioxide. POMs can also catalyze simple organic transformations, including bond formation.

The research team characterized the structures of the nickel compounds, and hydrothermally synthesized them to test them under high pressures. The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction tests were performed using an electrochemical workstation.

“To evaluate the practicality of the nitrate reduction under real operating conditions, we conducted the electrocatalytic tests over a wide range of nitrate concentrations,” Ni said. They also tested for electrocatalysts’ stability, ammonia yield rate and Faraday efficiency among other parameters.

The results show high-efficiency electrochemical catalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia.

“This discovery creates a novel path for manufacturing highly effective electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction electrocatalysts using metal-added polyoxometalate as the catalyst in ambient settings,” Ni said.  “The research findings offer practical advice for creating effective electrocatalytic catalysts.”

In future steps, the research team plans to further explore this method of creating effective electrocatalytic catalysts.  

The research is supported by Henan Province Natural Science Foundation, University Natural Science Foundation of Zhongyuan Institute of Technology.

Other contributors include Ning Liu, Chunhui Zhao and Liwei Mi from Zhongyuan University of Technology.

 

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About Polyoxometalates  

Polyoxometalates is a peer-reviewed, international and interdisciplinary research journal that focuses on all aspects of polyoxometalates, featured in rapid review and fast publishing, sponsored by Tsinghua University and published by Tsinghua University Press. Submissions are solicited in all topical areas, ranging from basic aspects of the science of polyoxometalates to practical applications of such materials. Polyoxometalates offers readers an attractive mix of authoritative and comprehensive Reviews, original cutting-edge research in Communication and Full Paper formats, Comments, and Highlight.

About SciOpen 

SciOpen is a professional open access resource for discovery of scientific and technical content published by the Tsinghua University Press and its publishing partners, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities. SciOpen provides end-to-end services across manuscript submission, peer review, content hosting, analytics, and identity management and expert advice to ensure each journal’s development by offering a range of options across all functions as Journal Layout, Production Services, Editorial Services, Marketing and Promotions, Online Functionality, etc. By digitalizing the publishing process, SciOpen widens the reach, deepens the impact, and accelerates the exchange of ideas.

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JOURNAL

Polyoxometalates

DOI

10.26599/POM.2023.9140044 

ARTICLE TITLE

Hexanuclear nickel-added silicotungstates as high-efficiency electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction to ammonia

Three novel inorganic clusters accelerate ‘one of the most important’ chemical reactions

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY PRESS

 

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RESEARCHERS SYNTHESIZED THREE NOVEL CLUSTERS THAT CAN EACH ACCELERATE CHEMICAL REACTIONS NEEDED IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY TO PRODUCE STRONG CARBON-CARBON BONDS. THE CLUSTERS COMPRISE ALUMINUM AND RARE EARTH METALS, WHICH ARE NOT TYPICALLY USED TOGETHER FOR THIS KIND OF MOLECULAR COMPOUND.

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CREDIT: POLYOXOMETALATES, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY PRESS

Perfume, rubbing alcohol, a cholesterol medication and even biological processes all depend on a chemical process called the aldol reaction. The reaction primarily combines compounds to form carbon-carbon bonds, which are incredibly strong and provide a molecule with stability. Catalyst clusters made of aluminum and oxygen typically help accelerate this reaction, but clusters that also include rare earth elements could offer more desirable and synergistic properties, according to a team of researchers based in China.

The team developed three such clusters, each of which produced an actual yield of at least 74% and up to 86% of the theoretical potential final products — which are considered good in practical settings, such as a laboratory.

They published their results in Polyoxometalates on December 11.

“In organic chemistry, the aldol reaction is one of the most important methods for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds,” said corresponding author Wei-Hui Fang, research professor, State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences. “So far, many catalysts have been used in aldol reactions, but clusters have less used in this regard.”

Clusters comprise bound atoms and are bigger than a molecule but smaller than a bulk solid material. Conventional catalytic clusters, known as homometallic complexes, are made with aluminum and oxygen or rare earth elements. However, according to Fang, heterometallic complexes that combine the two are far rarer — despite properties that would allow the two components to work better together.

“Heterometallic compounds can lead to emergent synergistic properties but remain relatively unexplored due to complicated reaction systems containing more than three components including two metals plus linkers,” Fang said.

Fang and her team previously developed a method to produce aluminum molecular rings loaded with single lanthanide ions, which are a class of rare earth elements known as light metals. They found that by increasing the amount of aluminum and the lanthanide ions, they could produce a pure cluster compound with crystalline structure. By changing the amount and kind of lanthanide ions — cerium, praseodymium or neodymium — they produced the three heterometallic clusters.

“We employed ligand-controlled partial hydrolysis to produce these hat-shape clusters,” Fang said. Such a process involves using water to break molecules into smaller components that can rearrange into different complexes. Ligands, or ions bonded to an atom, can help control the process by preventing certain dissociations. “Its unique vertex-to-edge sharing arrangement has not been reported in either rare earth or aluminum oxo clusters.”

The sharing arrangement refers to how the molecules bond together, with edges and vertices pairing in such a way that the clusters look like hats. The researchers used various imaging and chemical analysis techniques to characterize the clusters. They then tested how well each one accelerated an aldol reaction with acetone. At 60 degrees Celsius and after 48 hours, the cluster with cerium produced an 86% yield, which Fang called an “excellent” result. The cluster with praseodymium had an 84% yield, and the cluster with neodymium had a 74% yield.

“It can be seen that heterometallic combination of aluminum and the rare earth system brings a completely different structure type from the two pristine systems,” Fang said. “We anticipate that the ligand-controlled partial hydrolysis will continue to be effective in heterometallic synthesis.”

Other contributors include Xiao-Yu Liu, Ying-Hua Yu, Yi-Fan Sun and Jian Zhang, all with the State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, CAS. Liu is also affiliated with the College of Chemistry and Materials Science at Fujian Normal University.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province and Youth Innovation Promotion Association supported this work.

 

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About Polyoxometalates  

Polyoxometalates is a peer-reviewed, international and interdisciplinary research journal that focuses on all aspects of polyoxometalates, featured in rapid review and fast publishing, sponsored by Tsinghua University and published by Tsinghua University Press. Submissions are solicited in all topical areas, ranging from basic aspects of the science of polyoxometalates to practical applications of such materials. Polyoxometalates offers readers an attractive mix of authoritative and comprehensive Reviews, original cutting-edge research in Communication and Full Paper formats, Comments, and Highlight.

About SciOpen 

SciOpen is a professional open access resource for discovery of scientific and technical content published by the Tsinghua University Press and its publishing partners, providing the scholarly publishing community with innovative technology and market-leading capabilities. SciOpen provides end-to-end services across manuscript submission, peer review, content hosting, analytics, and identity management and expert advice to ensure each journal’s development by offering a range of options across all functions as Journal Layout, Production Services, Editorial Services, Marketing and Promotions, Online Functionality, etc. By digitalizing the publishing process, SciOpen widens the reach, deepens the impact, and accelerates the exchange of ideas.

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JOURNAL

Polyoxometalates

DOI

10.26599/POM.2023.9140045 

ARTICLE TITLE

Tetrameric cubane Al9Ln7 (Ln = Ce, Pr, Nd) clusters as aldol addition catalysts

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Dec-2023

 

This next generation blue light could potentially promote or hinder sleep on command

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

Blue light from LED lamps and consumer electronics can mess with your sleep because it disrupts production of the natural sleep hormone melatonin. Tinted glasses or displays in night mode can mask, but don’t remove, a portion of the disruptive wavelengths. But now, researchers report in ACS Omega that they have designed more “human-centric” LEDs that could potentially enhance drowsiness or alertness on command.

Humans have evolved over millennia to be active during the day and to rest at night; we’ve depended on the sun to regulate our sleep/wake cycle. But many people today spend a majority of their time indoors, shielded from the sun, so it’s harder for them to maintain that optimal 24-hour circadian rhythm. Exposure to artificial light can worsen this problem because it can decrease secretion of melatonin. And nighttime exposure to blue light, specifically, is notorious for interfering with melatonin production and therefore sleep. However, blue light is emitted by LEDs in lamps, computers, TVs, phones and other handheld electronics that people often use at night. So, Changwook Kim, Young Rag Do and colleagues set out to make a light source that could support natural circadian rhythms, no matter what time of day it is used.

Blue light ranges in wavelength from 380 to 500 nanometers (nm), but not all blue light is created equal. The wavelengths that suppress melatonin production — and cause wakefulness — are in the range of 460 to 500 nm. So, the researchers designed two LEDs that emitted different wavelengths of blue light. One LED, intended for daytime use, restricted its blue emissions to wavelengths close to 475 nm. The other LED, for evening use, emitted blue wavelengths near 450 nm, outside the range that disturbs sleep.

Then the researchers built these two new LEDs into bulbs. Like conventional bulbs, they produced white light by converting some of the blue light into red and green with the help of phosphors encased in the bulbs. The new LED bulbs were placed along with conventional LED bulbs in fixtures installed in the ceiling of a windowless room furnished with a desk, treadmill and bed. Individual male volunteers stayed in the room for a stretch of three days. A computer controlled which type of LED was turned on or off during their stay; that way, the researchers could compare the impact on melatonin levels of conventional bulbs versus the new daytime and evening bulbs.

Saliva samples from 22 volunteers showed that using the new LEDs increased the participants’ nighttime melatonin levels by 12.2% and reduced daytime melatonin by 21.9% compared to consistent conventional LED exposure. The researchers hope manufacturers of LED lamps and electronic displays can apply these findings to help people increase daytime vitality and work efficiency while also improving nighttime relaxation and sleep quality.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea.

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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JOURNAL

ACS Omega

DOI

10.1021/acsomega.3c05620 

ARTICLE TITLE

Development and Verification of a 480 nm Blue Light Enhanced/Reduced Human-Centric LED for Light-Induced Melatonin Concentration Controlhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.3c05620