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)
Monday, May 27, 2024
New insights into the degradation dynamics of organic material in the seafloor
by MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen
Amino acid distributions indicate microbial secondary production based on added lipid substrate. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8096
The long-term deposition of organic material in sediments on the ocean floor is a key process in the global carbon cycle. The question of whether, from a chemical perspective, the deposited material is more similar to marine algae or the microorganisms that decompose the algal biomass is largely unresolved.
A research team has now published a study on this topic in the journal Science Advances.
For their study, the team fed organic material labeled with 13C carbon—either an algae-lipid mix or crude proteins—and observed it in the laboratory for 400 days. The microbial communities originate from a sediment core obtained off Helgoland.
The initial question was: What happens to fresh biomass and which microorganisms are involved in its processing? This was the first time that the formation of new biomass from secondary producers and its turnover was quantified more precisely.
The team has found that microbial communities can be stimulated by the addition of lipids and proteins and not only decompose fresh biomass that is easier to digest, but also decompose more of the old organic carbon that is otherwise difficult to break down. This new finding is relevant because the input of fresh organic matter is increased by man-made, climate-induced environmental changes, such as expanding low oxygen zones in the ocean, melting sea ice or glacier retreat.
"Our study is the first to link the degradation of labile organic matter to the growth of microbes and the consequences for the composition of the organic matter that is eventually buried in marine sediment. We were surprised to find that the addition of fresh organic matter had a disproportionately large and long-lasting effect on the degradation of old, supposed to be refractory organic matter," says Prof Jack Middelburg from Utrecht University (Netherlands), co-author of the study and Professor of Excellence in the Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean Floor—Earth's Unexplored Interface" at MARUM. As part of this cluster's research, the study has provided crucial insights into the link between organic matter deposition events and the long-term preservation of organic carbon.
The input of fresh organic matter into the seafloor could increase due to climate-related changes in the environment. These will not only have a direct impact on the microorganisms living on and in the ocean floor, but also on the carbon cycle and thus on the feedback with the climate system in a way that is still largely unexplored.
More information: Qing-Zeng Zhu et al, Secondary production and priming reshape the organic matter composition in marine sediments, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8096
New research has mapped wastewater flows on farms and revealed where spikes in antibiotic resistant bacteria in slurry occur, showing that water from copper and zinc footbaths used by dairy animals can cause fluctuations.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham developed mathematical models and conducted on-farm research to explore the impact of wastewater flows and management practices on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in slurry. The research is the first to investigate the effects of farm layout, the farm practices associated with different areas of the farm, and the impact these may have on the emergence and spread of AMR across the farm.
Temporal fluctuations in cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli were observed and attributed to farm activities, specifically the disposal of spent copper and zinc footbath into the slurry system. The results have been published in npj Antimicrobials and Resistance.
The results highlight farm-specific opportunities to reduce AMR pollution, beyond antibiotic use reduction, including careful disposal or recycling of waste antimicrobial metals.
Dairy slurry, if not properly stored, can be a source of environmental contamination with antimicrobial resistant genes and bacteria, which could eventually get into the human population through water or crops.
Previous modeling research from the University of Nottingham showed that slurry tanks that were left alone without further waste added for at least 60 days reduced the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) as the bacteria died in the hostile environment. Researchers also noticed that there were times when there were spikes in cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli.
"What we initially found was that the slurry tank wasn't as scary a place as we thought for the spread of antimicrobial resistant genes and, in fact, if left alone for a period of time, the bacteria would die in such a hostile environment. However, what was also interesting was that we were seeing fluctuations in a particularly problematic drug-resistant bacteria called Escherichia coli.
"When we investigated this further in this research using computer modeling and on farm research we saw that there was a direct correlation between the emptying of the water from the Zinc and copper footbaths into the slurry tank and a spike in the presence of Escherichia coli," said Dov Stekel, Professor of Computational Biology in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham.
In addition to antibiotics, other antimicrobials such as metals (copper and zinc) and other chemicals (e.g., formalin, disinfectants) are widely used across farms globally, particularly in footbaths to prevent lameness in livestock.
"Metals and other antimicrobial agents (such as formalin and glutaraldehyde) are known to have a co-selective effect on antibiotic resistance, meaning that ARBs could persist in the slurry even after the antibiotics have degraded," said Dr. Jon Hobman, Associate Professor of Microbiology, School of Biosciences.
Professor Stekel added, "Mapping the antibiotic resistant bacteria in this way allows us to understand its precise source and importantly its route through the farm. We hope this information will lead to wastewater management practices that can be developed to mitigate this."
Engineers at the University of Nottingham have started investigating how to remove copper and zinc from cattle footbath wastewater and found that layered double hydroxides successfully removed copper and zinc from cattle footbath. This was the first successful investigation into the removal of copper and zinc from a commercially available cattle footbath powder mix solution.
Bizarre bacteria defy textbooks by writing new genes
Bacterial defensive systems scramble the standard workflow of life.
A bacterial enzyme turns biology on its head by reading RNA (artist’s illustration) into DNA that forms new genes.Credit: Artur Plawgo/Science Photo Library
Now, scientists have discovered an even weirder twist1. A bacterial version of reverse transcriptase reads RNA as a template to make completely new genes written in DNA. These genes are then transcribed back into RNA, which is translated into protective proteins when a bacterium is infected by a virus. By contrast, viral reverse transcriptases don’t make new genes; they merely transfer information from RNA to DNA.
“This is crazy molecular biology,” says Aude Bernheim, a bioinformatician at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, who was not involved in the research. “I would have never guessed this type of mechanism existed.”
To work out how this system works, a team co-led by molecular biologist Stephen Tang and biochemist Samuel Sternberg, both at Columbia University in New York City, searched for the DNA molecules made by a reverse transcriptase from bacteria called Klebsiella pneumoniae. It found very long DNA sequences that consisted of numerous identical repeating segments. Each segment matched a chunk of the mysterious RNA.
Loop-the-loop
To explain this, the authors note that long RNA strands can form hairpin-like shapes, bringing two distant portions close to each other. The researchers found that the K. pneumoniae reverse transcriptase was doing repeated ‘laps’ around the RNA sequence, which was looped over itself like a shoelace, writing the same RNA molecule into DNA many times over. This created a repetitive DNA sequence.
The repeated segments created a protein-coding sequence called an open reading frame. The researchers named this sequence neo, for ‘never-ending open reading frame’, because it lacks a sequence that signals the end of a protein and, therefore, theoretically has no limit. They then found that viral infection triggers the production of the Neo protein, which causes cells to stop dividing. The findings, which have not yet been peer reviewed, were posted to the bioRxiv preprint server on 8 May.
How Neo halts growth of infected cells isn’t yet clear, the researchers say. A predicted 3D structure of a portion of Neo — its length probably varies depending on how much of its RNA gets translated — suggests that it forms a series of helices. Experiments showed that breaking up these shapes stymied Neo’s toxic effects. Exactly how viral infection kicks off the creation of the Neo protein is also a mystery, says Bernheim. “This I am burning to know.”
Wonderful life
The discovery that reverse transcriptase — which has previously been known only for copying genetic material — can create completely new genes has left other researchers gobsmacked. “This looks like biology from alien organisms,” Israel Fernandez, a computational chemist at Complutense University of Madrid, wrote on X.
“Their findings were astonishing,” says Nicolás Toro García, a molecular biologist at Zaidín Experimental Research Station, Spanish National Research Council, in Granada, Spain, and should help researchers to develop biotechnology applications for the system.
The discovery has even left Sternberg in awe: “It should change the way we look at the genome.”
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01477-8
UPDATES & CORRECTIONS
Correction 23 May 2024: An earlier version of this article included an incorrect city name for Nicolás Toro García and omitted the full name of his institution.
Most of the world's vineyards, including its most venerable names, are facing incredible existential challenges that pose essential risks to their very survival if they don't adapt to the changing environmental conditions. Canadian wine is by no means exempt from these changes.
It is still too early in the season to assess the full extent of the damage and, while many vines will need replacement, there is still hope that with careful management some vines will bounce back within a few years.
The Okanagan cold snap is merely the latest climate change-induced climatic event to rock the Canadian and global wine industry in recent years.
The viticulture industry must confront and adapt to these challenges to ensure its sustainability and resilience in the face of ongoing environmental changes.
Providing more support to viticulturists can help incentivize sustainable farming practices and eco-labeling. At the same time, providing access to resources and education can significantly enhance the industry's resilience and sustainability over the long term.
Meanwhile, forward-thinking new policies could encourage research and development in areas like climate change adaptation, disease management and alternative grape varieties more suitable for changing environmental conditions. Policymakers should promote the adoption of renewable energy sources and more climate-resilient approaches to the vines and the soil.
Grapevines are often cultivated in areas that are incredibly vulnerable to changes in climate and while global warming is the greatest challenge the wine industry faces, it is not the only one.
China, long a major wine market, has so far seen a 25% drop in wine sales in 2024 as rising prices and economic slowdown has left fewer glasses clinking than ever. Simply put, the wine world is experiencing a sobering moment.
Turning challenge into opportunity
Wine is one of life's great pleasures and an intrinsic part of human cultures—likely almost as old as civilization itself.
For those of us who drink wine, it is imperative that we try to be mindful of how we can all support our local viticulture industry in these challenging times.
As consumers, our role is pivotal in supporting resilience. Actions ranging from embracing local products, visiting vineyards, buying new wines crafted from climate-resilient varieties and staying informed about the challenges confronting the winery sector all can contribute to a brighter future for the industry.
We need to believe that the Canadian wine industry can not only adapt to change but can also thrive by producing great wines and developing the wine tourism that will educate consumers about the tradition and cultural heritage of Canadian wine making.
While global warming news can often seem all doom-and-gloom there remains a ray of hope. Using adaptation strategies and embracing agritech innovation, we can mitigate the impacts of climate change as much as possible. This adversity could catalyze a heightened focus on sustainability, adaptation and innovation within the viticulture sector. That, if nothing else, would be a positive outcome.
TikTok, the short-video company with Chinese roots, did the most American thing possible on May 7, 2024: It sued the U.S. government, in the person of Attorney General Merrick Garland, in federal court. The suit claims the federal law that took effect on April 24, 2024, banning TikTok unless it sells itself violates the U.S. Constitution.
The law names TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd., specifically. It also applies to other applications and websites reaching more than a million monthly users that allow people to share information and that have ownership of 20% or more from China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. If the president determines that such applications or websites "present a significant threat to the national security," then those apps and websites, too, must either be sold or banned from the U.S.
TikTok's suit says that the law violates the First Amendment by failing to provide evidence of the national security threat posed by the app and for failing to seek a less restrictive remedy. Despite legislators' claims to the contrary, the law forcing the divestiture of TikTok—the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—implicates First Amendment interests. In our view, it does so in ways that ripple beyond this specific case.
As a company incorporated in the United States that provides an online publishing platform, TikTok has a right protected by the First Amendment to select what messages—in this case, user videos—it chooses to publish.
A ban appears to us, scholars who study lawand technology, to be a massive prior restraint, which is generally barred by U.S. courts. Prior restraint is action by the government to prevent speech, typically some form of publication, before it occurs.
The First Amendment limits what the government can do to censor speech.
Speech in the crosshairs
The law's backers say that it is not a ban—all TikTok has to do is sell itself. These supporters describe the bill as a divestiture, a purely economic regulation that they say should insulate it from First Amendment challenge. After the sale, users could happily keep on using TikTok, not caring who owns the company. But the law seems to us an attempt to control speech by mandating a change in ownership.
Changing the speech content on the app is the express goal of some of the law's backers. The principal author of the bill, former U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, who stepped down from office in April to join a venture capital firm partly backed by Microsoft, explained to The New York Times that he was principally concerned about the potential for the Chinese Communist Party to spread propaganda on the app. The Times and The Wall Street Journal have reported that Congress passed this bill in part because of unsubstantiated accusations that TikTok was unfairly promoting one side in the Israel-Hamas war.
Imagine if the government told Jeff Bezos that he had to sell The Washington Post because it was worried that he might push a particular agenda using his control of the newspaper. Or to use a digital analogy, what if the government told Elon Musk that he had to sell X, formerly Twitter, because it didn't like his content moderation of legal speech? Those scenarios clearly have a connection to First Amendment protections.
Ownership matters
Transferring TikTok's ownership from one company to another matters greatly for the purposes of First Amendment analysis.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan observed during oral arguments in a case unrelated to TikTok's ownership that ownership can make a difference in an app. She noted that the sale of Twitter to Elon Musk changed the character of the app. Kagan said, "Twitter users one day woke up and found themselves to be X users and the content rules had changed and their feeds changed, and all of a sudden they were getting a different online newspaper, so to speak, in a metaphorical sense every morning."
Indeed, The Washington Post found a rightward tilt after Twitter changed hands.
By forcing the sale of TikTok to an entity without ties to the Chinese Communist Party, Congress' intent with the law is to change the nature of the platform. That kind of government action implicates the core concerns that the First Amendment was designed to protect against: government interference in the speech of private parties.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, co-sponsor of the House bill on TikTok, pointed to another instance where the U.S. government ordered a Chinese company to sell a U.S. app. In 2019, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ordered the new Chinese owners of Grindr to sell the dating app, which the Chinese owners did the following year. In that case, the foreign owners could not assert First Amendment rights in the United States, given that they were outside the U.S., and thus no court considered this issue.
TikTok is claiming First Amendment protection against the law forcing its sale or ban.
National security claims
The government hasn't disclosed to the public the national security concerns cited in the TikTok law. While such concerns, if accurate, might warrant some kind of intervention, some Americans are likely to decline to take claims of national security urgency on good faith. To address skepticism of secret government power, particularly when it involves speech rights, the government arguably needs to present its claims.
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn, both of whom supported the TikTok law and have seen the government's secret evidence, called for the declassification of that information. We believe that's a vital step for the public to properly consider the government's claim that a ban is warranted in this instance. In any case, the courts will ultimately weigh the secret evidence in determining whether the government's national security concerns justified this intrusion upon speech.
What seems likely to happen, absent judicial invalidation or legislative repeal of the law, is a world in which TikTok cannot effectively operate in the United States in a year's time, with mobile app stores unable to push out updates to the software and Oracle Corp. unable to continue hosting the app and its U.S. user data on its servers. TikTok could go dark on Jan. 19, 2025, in the United States.
Fast-fashion brand Shein expressed interest last year in listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). But, having met some opposition from US politicians, including Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio, it has now reportedly turned its attention to London.
While this would be a boost for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which has lost several organizations to other international exchanges over the last five years, it raises the question of why Shein has not been successful with its application to the NYSE.
Shein has gained a significant global market share in online fast fashion since launching in China in 2008. It found success accelerating the already lucrative fast-fashion business model to become an ultra-fast fashion retailer.
That Shein is the second most popular fashion retailer for American generation Z is unsurprising, given the vast choice of up to 10,000 new garments uploaded daily at significantly lower prices than fast-fashion competitors like Zara and H&M.
Yet those strategies that have enabled Shein's international expansion are now likely hindering its application to the NYSE. The low cost of fast fashion in general has long been linked to potential labor exploitation, and the precariousness of outsourcing fashion production to the cheapest supplier within a global supply chain was evident during the pandemic. And as awareness of unethical and unsustainable practices in the wider industry grows, activists may yet have the power to disrupt Shein's growth.
Swiss NGO Public Eye has reported on alleged exploitation at factories said to be used by Shein, which itself recently issued a comprehensive response saying it has made "extensive progress" in improving conditions. In the US, Rubio introduced a law in 2021 blocking imports made by Chinese Uyghur slave labor and has since ordered an investigation into Shein and fellow Chinese low-price retailer Temu to see if their goods fall foul of the law.
Climate emergency
The US is going further in regulating the fashion industry. In New York, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act will, if passed, legislate that fashion and footwear brands with more than US$100 million (£79 million) in revenue must map 50% of their supply chain to ensure transparency. They will also have to develop plans to reduce their social and environmental impact.
Similarly, in 2019 the European Parliament declared a climate emergency, and the European Commission responded by developing the European Green Deal. This includes planned legislation forcing the fashion industry to address sustainability issues, meaning that by 2030 fashion and textiles will have to become more durable, repairable and recyclable. Businesses will also need to have strategies in place from the design process through to the end of life to maximize resources and avoid contributing to landfill.
French politicians are also "legislating to limit the excesses of ultra-fast fashion," with a surcharge from 2025 of €5 (£4.29) per item, rising to €10 by 2030. This is recognition that ultra-fast and fast fashion does not only exploit labor, but also the environment. In being seen as disposable, fast fashion has been shown to encourage constant consumption.
While listing Shein on the LSE could improve the company's respectability and profits, it could backfire for the brand in the long term. Shein could become more visible to a wider audience and with more understanding of sustainability and business practices that contribute to the climate emergency, activists could begin targeting shareholders and other organizations and people with connections to the company.
There is precedent for this—activists who targeted museums and galleries over their sponsorship from energy companies, as well as campus protests in the US and Europe calling for universities to divest from Israeli companies over its war in Gaza.
This trend of publicly criticizing brands for exploitative or unethical practice has been levied at fast fashion retailers on social media for years. In particular, influencers who promote "fashion hauls" have been criticized for encouraging unsustainable fashion consumption.
The fashion industry may appear to be unfairly scrutinized for failing to address sustainability. After all, it's hardly the only industry that damages the environment. But the scrutiny appears to be valid; the United Nations now believes that the fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world.
What's more, as an industry it makes an overt display of its cheap prices and rapid turnover, with marketing tactics claiming "last chance to buy" or "low in stock," along with discounts that encourage frequent impulsive purchases. Our research has found that fast fashion marketing on social media is "in your face" and encourages mindless consumption of clothing that often languishes in wardrobes with the tags still on.
Fast-fashion retailers frequently make sustainability claims to alleviate consumer "eco-guilt," which are often ambiguous and can't be readily substantiated. But fast and ultra-fast fashion can never be sustainable due to the speed of turnover and items that are often binned after one wear.
So, although the marketing entices customers through social media, the messages consumers see as they scroll are increasingly competing with stories of activism and protests about fast fashion's harmful effects.
As moves to regulate the fast-fashion industry spread to more regions, the effects will almost certainly affect the profits of those in the sector. While a London listing for Shein might be a shot in the arm for the LSE, it could spell trouble for the retailer as it finds itself—and its practices—under increasing scrutiny.
A map of estimated clear-air turbulence around the world, current as of 3:00PM AEST (0500 UTC) on May 22 2024. Credit: Turbli
A little bit of turbulence is a common experience for air travelers. Severe incidents are rare—but when they occur they can be deadly.
The recent Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore shows the danger. An encounter with extreme turbulence during normal flight left one person dead from a presumed heart attack and several others badly injured. The flight diverted to land in Bangkok so the severely injured passengers could receive hospital treatment.
Air turbulence can happen anywhere, but is far more common on some routes than on others.
Climate change is expected to boost the chances of air turbulence, and make it more intense. In fact, some research indicates turbulence has already worsened over the past few decades.
Where does turbulence happen?
Nearly every flight experiences turbulence in one form or another.
If an aircraft is taking off or landing behind another aircraft, the wind generated by the engine and wingtips of the lead aircraft can cause "wake turbulence" for the one behind.
Close to ground level, there may be turbulence due to strong winds associated with weather patterns moving through the area near an airport. At higher altitudes, there may be wake turbulence again (if flying close to another aircraft), or turbulence due to updraughts or downdraughts from a thunderstorm.
Credit: The Conversation
Another kind of turbulence that occurs at higher altitudes is harder to predict or avoid. So-called "clear-air turbulence" is invisible, as the name suggests. It is often caused by warmer air rising into cooler air, and is generally expected to get worse due to climate change.
At the most basic level turbulence is the result of two or more wind events colliding and creating eddies, or swirls of disrupted airflow.
It often occurs near mountain ranges, as wind flowing over the terrain accelerates upward.
Turbulence also often occurs at the edges of the jet streams. These are narrow bands of strong, high-altitude winds circling the globe. Aircraft often travel in the jet streams to get a speed boost—but when entering or leaving the jet stream, there may be some turbulence as it crosses the boundary with the slower winds outside.
What are the most turbulent routes?
It is possible to map turbulence patterns over the whole world. Airlines use these maps to plan in advance for alternate airports or other essential contingencies.
While turbulence changes with weather conditions, some regions and routes are more prone to it than others. As you can see from the list below, the majority of the most turbulent routes travel close to mountains.
In Australia, the highest average turbulence in 2023 occurred on the Brisbane to Sydney route, followed by Melbourne to Sydney and Brisbane to Melbourne.
A map showing changes in the chance of clear-air turbulence across the globe between 1979 and 2020. Darker red indicates a higher chance of turbulence. Credit: Prosser et al. (2023), Geophysical Research Letters
Climate change may increase turbulence
How will climate change affect the future of aviation?
A study published last year found evidence of large increases in clear-air turbulence between 1979 and 2020. In some locations severe turbulence increased by as much as 55%.
What can be done to mitigate turbulence? Technology to detect turbulence is still in the research and development phase, so pilots use the knowledge they have from weather radar to determine the best plan to avoid weather patterns with high levels of moisture directly ahead of their flight path.
Weather radar imagery shows the pilots where the most intense turbulence can be expected, and they work with air traffic control to avoid those areas. When turbulence is encountered unexpectedly, the pilots immediately turn on the "fasten seatbelt" sign and reduce engine thrust to slow down the plane. They will also be in touch with air traffic control to find better conditions either by climbing or descending to smoother air.
Ground-based meteorological centers can see weather patterns developing with the assistance of satellites. They provide this information to flight crews in real time, so the crew knows the weather to expect throughout their flight. This can also include areas of expected turbulence if storms develop along the intended flight route.
It seems we are heading into more turbulent times. Airlines will do all they can to reduce the impact on planes and passengers. But for the average traveler, the message is simple: when they tell you to fasten your seatbelt, you should listen.