Mushrooms magnify memory by boosting nerve growth

Researchers from The University of Queensland have discovered the active compound from an edible mushroom that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS FOUND LION'S MANE MUSHROOM IMPROVED BRAIN CELL GROWTH AND MEMORY IN PRE-CLINICAL TRIALS. IMAGE, UQ view more 

CREDIT: UQ

Researchers from The University of Queensland have discovered the active compound from an edible mushroom that boosts nerve growth and enhances memory.

Professor Frederic Meunier from the Queensland Brain Institute said the team had identified new active compounds from the mushroom, Hericium erinaceus.

Researchers have discovered lion's mane mushrooms improve brain cell growth and memory in pre-clinical trials. Image UQ. 

“Extracts from these so-called ‘lion’s mane’ mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine in Asian countries for centuries, but we wanted to scientifically determine their potential effect on brain cells,” Professor Meunier said.

“Pre-clinical testing found the lion’s mane mushroom had a significant impact on the growth of brain cells and improving memory.

“Laboratory tests measured the neurotrophic effects of compounds isolated from Hericium erinaceus on cultured brain cells, and surprisingly we found that the active compounds promote neuron projections, extending and connecting to other neurons.

“Using super-resolution microscopy, we found the mushroom extract and its active components largely increase the size of growth cones, which are particularly important for brain cells to sense their environment and establish new connections with other neurons in the brain.”

Co-author, UQ’s Dr Ramon Martinez-Marmol said the discovery had applications that could treat and protect against neurodegenerative cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our idea was to identify bioactive compounds from natural sources that could reach the brain and regulate the growth of neurons, resulting in improved memory formation,” Dr Martinez-Marmol said.

Dr Dae Hee Lee from CNGBio Co, which has supported and collaborated on the research project, said the properties of lion’s mane mushrooms had been used to treat ailments and maintain health in traditional Chinese medicine since antiquity.

“This important research is unravelling the molecular mechanism of lion’s mane mushroom compounds and their effects on brain function, particularly memory,” Dr Lee said.

The study was published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.

UQ acknowledges the collaborative efforts of researchers from the Republic of Korea’s Gachon University and Chungbuk National University.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Neurochemistry

DOI

10.1111/jnc.15767 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Hericerin derivatives activates a pan-neurotrophic pathway in central hippocampal neurons converging to ERK1/2 signaling enhancing spatial memory

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Jan-2023

COI STATEMENT

This work was supported by the company CNG-Bio inc. Frédéric A. Meunier is a former editor of the Journal of Neurochemistry.

Researchers find substantial portion of U.S. public potentially interested in using genetic technologies to enhance offspring education

Survey conducted by team of researchers from Geisinger, University of Southern California, UCLA, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Harvard University also reports attitudes toward gene editing and SAT prep courses

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GEISINGER HEALTH SYSTEM

An article published today in the journal Science indicates that a substantial proportion of Americans are willing to use an essentially unregulated reproductive genetic technology to increase the chances of having a baby who is someday admitted to a top-100 ranked college.

Survey respondents with college degrees, as well as those under 35 years of age — prime child-bearing age — were more willing to use polygenic embryo screening in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF) to do so, the study found.

Polygenic indexes (also called polygenic risk scores) can provide an estimate of disease risk — or other traits — based on an individual’s genes.  Private companies working with IVF clinics offer the service to patients who can select an embryo with a lower chance of developing diabetes, cancer, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease or schizophrenia as an adult.

Some patients have also reported uploading their embryos’ genomic data to online platforms that make predictions about non-medical traits, and the founder of one such company has not ruled out offering to screen for non-medical traits.

Noting how quickly new technologies can spread, researchers wanted to gauge public attitudes toward reproductive technologies and whether their willingness to use them was influenced by what others do.

Using a large, nationally representative sample, researchers asked respondents how likely they were to use polygenic screening, CRISPR-style gene editing, or standard SAT prep course training to increase the odds of their child getting into a top-100 ranked college, assuming that they were already using IVF and that all options were free and safe.

A majority of people (68%) said they were more likely than not to use SAT prep; substantial minorities were more likely than not to use gene editing (28%) and polygenic screening (38%) for this purpose. And people who were told that most people in a position to use each service choose to do so were more likely to say that they, too, would use it, suggesting the potential for a modest “bandwagon effect.”

These results suggest substantial—and likely growing—interest in using genetic technologies to try to influence offspring traits and outcomes, including to “enhance” social and behavioral outcomes like educational attainment.

The researchers argue that the time for a national conversation about possible regulation of polygenic embryo screening is now. They note that their survey about a complex technology that is only briefly described is not a substitute for the considered judgments that should emerge from such a sustained national conversation about the expected outcomes and risks of screening embryos for polygenic traits. It is not clear, for instance, whether the same people would still want to use that service if they were more fully informed about it.

Previous research by some of the same authors, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, described the limitations of polygenic screening, warning that patients and even IVF clinicians may form the mistaken impression that the technology is more effective and less risky than it is.

“Polygenic indexes are already only weak predictors for most individual adult outcomes, especially for social and behavioral traits, and there are several factors that lower their predictive power even more in the context of embryo selection,” said senior author Patrick Turley, Ph.D., assistant research professor of economics at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “Polygenic indexes are designed to work in a different setting than an IVF clinic. These weak predictors will perform even worse when used to select embryos.”

Assessments of the predictive power of polygenic indexes typically assume very similar environments for the generation from which the genetic information was collected and the generation born as a result of polygenic screening. An embryo selected via this technology may face a very different environment as an adult, which may lower predictive power. In addition, because biobanks disproportionately enroll people with predominantly European genetic ancestries, most of today’s polygenic indexes are less predictive for people of other genetic ancestries.

“There is—rightly—a lot of concern among scholars, including us, that companies and IVF clinics that use polygenic embryo screening could intentionally or unintentionally exaggerate its likely impact,” said Michelle N. Meyer, Ph.D., J.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences at Geisinger and first author of the article. “But in this study, we stipulated a realistic effect—that each service would increase the odds of having a child who attends a top-100 college by 2 percentage points, from 3% to 5% odds—and lots of people are still interested.”

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Open Philanthropy, and the Pershing Square Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior.

The authors are Michelle N. Meyer, Ph.D., J.D., Geisinger; Tammy Tan, National Bureau of Economic Research; Daniel J. Benjamin, Ph.D., UCLA; David Laibson, Ph.D., Harvard University; and Patrick Turley, Ph.D., USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

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JOURNAL

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ade1083 

ARTICLE TITLE

Public views on polygenic embryo selection

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Feb-2023

Researchers build more detailed picture of the movement of Greenland Ice Sheet

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

 

IMAGE: AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF RESEARCHERS, LED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, USED COMPUTER MODELLING TECHNIQUES BASED OFF EARLIER FIBRE-OPTIC MEASUREMENTS FROM THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET TO BUILD A MORE DETAILED PICTURE OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE WORLD’S SECOND-LARGEST ICE SHEET. view more 

CREDIT: ROBERT LAW AND RESPONDER TEAM

Researchers have found that the movement of glaciers in Greenland is more complex than previously thought, with deformation in regions of warmer ice containing small amounts of water accounting for motion that had often been assumed to be caused by sliding where the ice meets the bedrock beneath.

The international team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, used computer modelling techniques based off earlier fibre-optic measurements from the Greenland Ice Sheet to build a more detailed picture of the behaviour of the world’s second-largest ice sheet.

Their results, reported in the journal Science Advances, could be used to develop more accurate predictions of how the Greenland Ice Sheet will continue to move in response to climate change.

Mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased sixfold since the 1980s and is now the single largest contributor to global sea-level rise. Around half of this mass loss is from surface meltwater runoff, while the other half is driven by discharge of ice directly into the ocean by fast-flowing glaciers that reach the sea.

The RESPONDER project, funded by the European Research Council, is exploring the dynamics of the Greenland Ice Sheet using a combination of physical measurements and computer modelling.

The current research builds on earlier observations reported by the RESPONDER team in 2021 using fibre-optic cables. In that work, the team found that the temperature of ice sheets does not vary as a smooth gradient, but is far more heterogeneous, with areas of highly localised deformation warming the ice further.

The borehole measurements also showed that the ice at the base contains small amounts – up to roughly two percent – of water. In some parts of the ice sheet, this mixed ice-water layer, called temperate ice, was around eight metres thick, but in other parts it was up to 70 metres thick.

“The addition of even tiny amounts of water softens the ice considerably, transforming it into a unique material with substantially altered mechanical characteristics,” said first author Dr Robert Law, who completed the work while based at Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute and is now based at the University of Bergen. “We wanted to know why the thickness of this layer varied so much, because if we don’t fully understand it, our models of ice sheet behaviour won’t fully capture the physical processes occurring in nature.”

“The textbook view of glacier motion is that it occurs with a neat partitioning of basal sliding and internal deformation, and that both are well understood,” said co-author and RESPONDER project leader Professor Poul Christoffersen, who is based at SPRI. “But that’s not what we observed when we looked carefully in boreholes with new techniques. With less detailed observations in the past, it was difficult to get a really good picture of how the ice sheet moves and even more challenging to replicate it with computer models.”

Law, Christoffersen and their colleagues from the UK, US, Switzerland and France developed a model based on their earlier borehole measurements that can account for all of the new observations.

Importantly, they accounted for natural variations in the landscape at the base of the ice, which, in Greenland, is full of rocky hills, basins and deep fjords. The researchers found that as a glacier moves over a large obstacle or hill, there is a deformation and heating effect which sometimes extends several hundred metres from the ice sheet base. Previously, this effect was omitted in models.

“The stress on the ice base is highest at the tops of these hills, which leads to more basal sliding,” said Law. “But so far most models have not accounted for all of these variations in the landscape.”

By incorporating these variations, the model developed by the researchers showed that a variable layer of temperate ice forms as the glacier moves over the landscape, whether the glacier itself is fast- or slow-moving. The thickness of this temperate ice layer agrees with the earlier borehole measurements, but diverges significantly from standard modelling methods used to predict sea level rise from ice sheets.

 “Because of this hilly landscape, the ice can go from sliding across its base almost entirely to hardly sliding at all, over short distances of just a few kilometres,” said Law. “This directly influences the thermal structure -- if you’ve got less basal sliding then you’ve got more internal deformation and heating, which can lead to  the layer of temperate ice getting thicker, altering the mechanical properties of the ice over a broad area. This temperate basal ice layer can actually act like a deformation bridge between hills, facilitating the fast motion of the much colder ice directly above it.”

The researchers hope to use this improved understanding to build more accurate descriptions of ice motion for the ice sheet models used in predicting future sea level rise.

The research was funded in part by the European Union and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

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JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.eabq5180 

ARTICLE TITLE

Complex motion of Greenland ice sheet outlet glaciers with basal temperate ice

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Feb-2023

One of the largest studies of its kind finds being exposed to wildfire smoke increases risk of going into labor prematurely

Reports and Proceedings

SOCIETY FOR MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE

San Francisco, Calif. -- The detrimental effects of poor air quality on a person’s health are well documented. In pregnant people, research has shown that poor air quality, such as smog, can lead to a number of adverse outcomes, including preterm birth (PTB), one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States as well as globally. PTB is defined as delivery before the 37th week of pregnancy.

Now, in a new study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™ — and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology — researchers will unveil findings that suggest that being exposed to another type of and potentially more dangerous pollutant ― smoke from wildfires ― increases a pregnant person’s chance of going into labor prematurely, also referred to as spontaneous preterm birth (versus one that is medically induced).

Wildfire smoke is especially harmful to people’s health because it contains extremely fine particles that can enter deep into the lungs and may worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. These tiny particles can also travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles from the wildfire’s point of origin.

Researchers reviewed birth certificates and hospital delivery data from 2007-2012 of more than 2.5 million pregnant people in California. They compared that information with daily estimates of wildfire smoke intensity — based on satellite images — by zip code.

Data revealed that four weeks prior to conception through the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, 86 percent of pregnant individuals were exposed to at least one day of wildfire smoke, with an average exposure of 7.5 days. Results showed that wildfire smoke was significantly associated with spontaneous preterm birth, and each additional day a pregnant person was exposed to wildfire smoke slightly increased the odds of delivering an infant prematurely.

“Wildfires lead to acute and abrupt changes in air quality,” says the study’s lead author Anne Waldrop, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist fellow at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. “And some emerging evidence suggests that wildfire smoke could be worse for your health than other types of pollutants. So, even as we work to decrease other forms of air pollution, with wildfires becoming more frequent, more intense, and happening on a much larger scale, exposure to wildfire smoke is a serious public health problem, especially for vulnerable populations like pregnant people.”

To view the presentation of this abstract or other Pregnancy Meeting™ abstracts and events, visit the SMFM website or contact Karen Addis at karen@addispr.com or 301-787-2394.

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About the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), founded in 1977, is the medical professional society for maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists, who are obstetricians with additional training in high-risk pregnancies. SMFM represents more than 5,500 members who care for high-risk pregnant people and provides education, promotes research, and engages in advocacy to advance optimal and equitable perinatal outcomes for all people who desire and experience pregnancy. For more information, visit SMFM.org and connect with the organization on Facebook and Twitter. For the latest 2023 Annual Meeting news and updates, follow the hashtag #smfm23.

Association of long-term exposure to air

pollution with late-life depression in older 

adults

JAMA Network Open

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: Harmful associations were observed between long-term exposure to air pollution and increased risk of a late-life depression diagnosis in this study including 8.9 million Medicare enrollees. 

Authors: Xinye Qiu, Ph.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and Liuhua Shi, Sc.D., of Emory University in Atlanta, are the corresponding authors. 

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53668

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. time 

http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.53668?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=021023

About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

First nonhuman primate model of Usher syndrome confirmed

OHSU researchers to evaluate gene therapy for leading cause of blindness-deafness

Reports and Proceedings

OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

ORLANDO, Florida -- Those with Usher Syndrome -- the leading hereditary cause for simultaneous deafness and blindness, for which there is no treatment -- may have a new reason for hope now that researchers have confirmed the first-ever nonhuman primate model of their disease.

Genetic mutations lead those with Usher Syndrome to be born deaf, experience balance issues and gradually lose their sight. A treatment for Usher -- which affects an estimated 4 to 17 out of every 100,000 people -- has been stymied by the lack of an animal model that closely mimics how the disease affects people.

An Oregon Health & Science University research team has been working to fill that gap.  They confirmed that their model – a rhesus macaque born a year ago – has symptoms that mirror the most severe form of Usher Syndrome, Type 1B, and will report these findings during a Feb. 11 presentation at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology meeting. The researchers used the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9 to create the model, and thereby make it possible to test experimental gene therapies for Usher syndrome. 

“While children with Usher 1B are born deaf, cochlear implants can enable them to have good hearing, especially if they’re implanted early enough,” said research team lead, Martha Neuringer, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience in OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center and a research associate professor of ophthalmology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

“However, there is no treatment right now to stop the steadily increasing vision loss that occurs in children with Usher 1B,” Neuringer added. “That’s why having an accurate Usher model is so important. It’s our hope and goal that this model will enable us to one day preserve the sight of children with Usher syndrome.”

The meeting presentation was given by team member, John V. Brigande, Ph.D., a principal investigator for the Oregon Hearing Research Center and a professor of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine.

“This model’s creation is truly a momentous scientific achievement,” Brigande said. “It should be shouted from Everest.”

Scientists like Brigande already use mice to study Usher hearing loss, but fundamental differences in eye anatomy mean mice aren’t suitable models for Usher vision loss. A pig model of a different form of the disease, Usher Type 1C, was recently created. 

But because the eyes and vision of nonhuman primates and humans are nearly identical, nonhuman primates best help scientists understand human retinal diseases and evaluate potential treatments. However, Usher syndrome doesn’t naturally occur in nonhuman primates. So Brigande, Neuringer and colleagues had to genetically engineer a nonhuman primate with a gene mutation that causes Usher.

The model’s development team includes genetics and reproduction experts with the primate center’s Division of Reproductive and Developmental Sciences. They used the gene-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9 to insert a mutation into the MYO7A gene, which causes Usher Type 1B, in monkey embryos. The embryos were transferred to surrogate monkey mothers to create pregnancies. 

As a result, the first infant with full MYO7A gene editing was born in late 2021. Testing quickly confirmed the newborn rhesus macaque had no functional hearing and its MYO7A gene was mutated. It also showed impaired balance, leading to a wobbly, uneven gait. But because Usher vision loss is gradual, the research team would have to wait. When the macaque was four months old, the scientists began to see signs that its retina -- tissue in the back of the eye that enables sight -- was beginning to deteriorate, and these changes worsened over the first year.

Now that the team has confirmed their model has all three of the defining signs of Usher syndrome, they are turning their focus to developing an experimental gene therapy that’s designed to deliver the normal MYO7A gene to the retina to counter retinal degeneration. Their gene therapy work is ongoing, and the team expects to have early results to share on that front later this year.

It’s unknown if the model could also help develop treatment options for deafness due to Usher syndrome. People with the condition are born with such profound hearing impairment that experts suspect the moment of birth may already be too late. However, previous research by Brigande has indicated fetal therapy, or treatment that’s given in utero, may be another option.

This research is supported by the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the National Institutes of Health (grants P51 OD011092, R21 DC018126). 

All research involving animal subjects at OHSU must be reviewed and approved by the university’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The IACUC’s priority is to ensure the health and safety of animal research subjects. The IACUC also reviews procedures to ensure the health and safety of the people who work with the animals. The IACUC conducts a rigorous review of all animal research proposals to ensure they justify the use of live animals and species selected; outline steps to minimize pain and distress; document appropriate training of all staff involved; and, establish, through a detailed review of published sources, the proposed study does not unnecessarily duplicate previous research. No live animal work may be conducted at OHSU without IACUC approval.

REFERENCE: John Brigande, Junghyun Ryu, Jon D. Hennebold, Fernanda C. Burch, J. Beth Kempton, Edward V. Porsov, Lauren Renner, Benjamin J. Burwitz, Carol B. Hanna and Martha Neuringer, “Congenital Deafness, Vestibular Dysfunction, and Progressive Visual Impairment in a Rhesus Macaque Model of Usher Syndrome Type 1B,” Association for Research in Otolaryngology 46th Annual MidWinter Meeting podium presentation, Feb. 11, 2023, Orlando, Florida.

Related OHSU News stories:

• 4/6/20, New OHSU research suggests in-womb gene correction
• 10/25/19, Discovery in monkeys could lead to treatment for blindness causing syndrome
• 9/24/19, Lewis & Clark student helps advance with Usher’s syndrome research at OHSU

Other links:

• What is Usher syndrome? (Usher Syndrome Coalition)
• Usher syndrome, type 1 (NIH’s Rare Diseases website)
• MYO7A gene (National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus)
• 11/25/15, The Oregonian, OHSU hearing researcher: John Brigande

Photos:

• Martha Neuringer, Ph.D.: https://news.ohsu.edu/file?fid=5bc0e1de2cfac22cd5f57af4
• John Brigande, Ph.D.: https://news.ohsu.edu/file?fid=5804ea3a2cfac214ea8c1014

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

 

FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, E..A. POE

https://archive.org/details/fallhouseushera00rhysgoog/page/n12/mode/2up

Deep-sea black carbon comes from hydrothermal vents

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: RESEARCH VESSEL HAKUHO MARU CONDUCTED THE OBSERVATIONS USED FOR THIS STUDY (PHOTO: YOUHEI YAMASHITA). view more 

CREDIT: YOUHEI YAMASHITA

Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.

The ocean is one of the largest dynamic carbon sinks in the world, and is susceptible to increased carbon emissions from human activities. There are even proposals to use the ocean to sequester carbon in an effort to reduce the carbon emissions. However, much of the processes by which the ocean functions as a carbon sink are not fully understood.

Associate Professor Youhei Yamashita and grad student Yutaro Mori at Hokkaido University, along with Professor Hiroshi Ogawa at AORI, The University of Tokyo, have revealed conclusive evidence that hydrothermal vents are a previously unknown source of dissolved black carbon in the deep ocean. Their discoveries were published in the journal Science Advances.

“One of the largest carbon pools on the Earth’s surface is the dissolved organic carbon in the ocean,” explains Ogawa. “We were interested in a portion of this pool, known as dissolved black carbon (DBC), which cannot be utilized by organisms. The source of DBC in the deep sea was unknown, although hydrothermal vents were suspected to be involved.”

The researchers analyzed the distribution of DBC in the ocean basins of the North Pacific Ocean and Eastern South Pacific Ocean, and compared the data with previously reported concentrations of a helium isotope that is associated with hydrothermal vent emissions, as well as oxygen utilization in these areas.

Their findings showed that hydrothermal vents were an important source of DBC in the Pacific Ocean. This hydrothermal DBC is most likely formed due to the mixing of the hot fluids from hydrothermal vents with cold seawater, and is transported over long distances — up to thousands of kilometers away.

“Most importantly, our research indicates that the DBC from hydrothermal vents is an important source of dissolved organic carbon in the deep ocean. In terms of DBC inputs to the ocean, hydrothermal vents may contribute up to half as much DBC as that which is formed by biomass burning or fossil fuel combustion and subsequently transported via rivers or atmospheric deposition,” concluded Yamashita. Further research is required to understand exactly how DBC is formed from hydrothermal vents.

In the eastern South Pacific Ocean, excess DBC concentrations increase closer to the equator, and are correlated with helium-3 isotopes from hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents are the primary source of excess DBC (Youhei Yamashita, Yutaro Mori, Hiroshi Ogawa. Science Advances. February 9, 2023).

CREDIT

Youhei Yamashita, Yutaro Mori, Hiroshi Ogawa. Science Advances. February 9, 2023

JOURNAL

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.ade3807 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Hydrothermal-derived black carbon as a source of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon in the ocean

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Feb-2023

European big cat population threatened with extinction as genetics show the population is near collapse

Scientists estimate that there are now less than 150 adult lynxes in France, with levels of genetic diversity so low they could be locally extinct in 30 years

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FRONTIERS

Scientists warn that if action isn’t taken soon, the Eurasian lynx will vanish from France. This elusive wild cat, which was reintroduced to Switzerland in the 1970s, moved across the French border by the end of the decade. But a genetic study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science showed that the lynx population in France is in desperate need of help to survive.

“Given the rapid loss of genetic diversity, we estimate that this population will go extinct in less than 30 years,” said Nathan Huvier of the Centre Athenas, corresponding author. “This population urgently needs new genetic material to become sustainable.”

The missing lynx

This population of lynxes, hidden deep within the Jura Mountains, is not well known. Observations by scientists estimate its size at a maximum of 150 adults and suggest that it is poorly connected to larger, healthier populations in Germany and Switzerland, and is not growing to a sustainable size. Scientists believe that a combination of poaching, car accidents, and inbreeding depression — where insufficient genetic diversity leads to problems with reproduction and survival — have suppressed its growth.

“As there is a lack of genetic monitoring of the lynx in France and we consider that crucial for species conservation, we took the lead and did this work,” said Huvier.

The team collected genetic samples between 2008-2020 with the goal of determining the genetic health of the population. Because of the precarity of the population, samples were taken when attending to lynxes that were already injured or dead or orphaned cubs, to avoid stressing healthy animals.

“For us, this method is more ethical as there is no capture and thus stress induced for DNA sampling only,” Huvier explained.

The team managed to secure a total of 88 samples, more than half the estimated population. Some samples were excluded to maximize the reliability of the results: those with a low amplification rate or genetic loci that couldn’t be genotyped, or that only appeared in one allelic form when data from other populations suggested there would normally be multiple different forms in a population. After this process was complete, they had 78 samples covering 23 genetic loci.

Emergency action needed

These genetic samples were compared to references derived from the parent population from the Carpathian Mountains. The scientists determined that although the size of the French population of lynxes is thought to be between 120-150 individuals, the effective population size — the estimated number of healthy breeding individuals needed to display this level of genetic diversity — is only about 38 individuals. The authors cautioned that this is likely to be an overestimate, so the number may be even lower. Even more alarmingly, the inbreeding coefficient — a measure of how likely it is that two mating individuals from the same population are closely related — is extremely high. There is a 41% chance that an individual’s two copies of an allele at any given locus in their genome were inherited from a common ancestor of both their parents. New genetic material is urgently needed, or the population will collapse.

The authors acknowledged that introducing more lynxes is politically difficult. They suggested that road signs raising awareness of the presence of lynxes, and stricter enforcement of the law where poaching is proven, would help protect the remaining population. Meanwhile, replacement of poached lynxes with animals from genetically healthier populations and the exchange of orphaned cubs between wildlife rescue centers would help rescue it from genetic collapse.

“We want this work to support action for lynx conservation,” said Huvier. “Reintroduction, replacement of poached lynxes, and exchange of orphan lynxes between care centers are the best short-term solution for this population to remain alive, and it will give it a chance to develop and connect with other populations in Europe.”

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Conservation Science

DOI

10.3389/fcosc.2023.1080561 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Time is running out: Microsatellite data predict the imminent extinction of the boreal lynx (Lynx lynx) in France.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Feb-2023

The era of globalization isn’t over, new study argues

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

Reports of globalization’s death are premature, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia and the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.

Their findings challenge widespread assumptions that the rivalry between the United States and China, recently highlighted during the Chinese spy balloon crisis, can only further escalate and split the world into two hostile camps. 

Dr. Victor Cui, a professor at Waterloo’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, said analysis shows that most likely isn’t going to happen.

“First, the potential economic cost of doing this is too high for the U.S., China, their allies, and the entire world,” Cui said. “The breakdown of globalization ultimately hurts consumers, which we are all experiencing too well. Globalization is not over.”

Beyond economic realities, the researchers found that the U.S.-China rivalry is based, in part, on misunderstanding. For example, China’s intentions to seek ‘self-reliance’ were largely defensive while being interpreted in Washington’s narratives as solely aggressive. For their part, China’s communist leaders bristled at what they saw as American attempts to limit China’s growing economic and political power. 

The authors suggest that Washington may have overstated China’s techno-nationalistic threat to the liberal world order for a few reasons. First, China increasingly centralizes top-down control over its innovation effort, which is unlikely to sustain its rapid technological advancement. Second, China may not be able to continuously inject the funding required to sustain its technology innovation because of its continuing economic growth decline. Moreover, China also faces a growing shortage of young productive workers in the next decade due to its former one-child policy. 

The researchers conclude key assumptions — that China’s rapid pace of technology innovation will accelerate, and that China may establish its own technological hegemony and surpass the U.S. in some strategic fields — are overstated. 

“We expect China’s threat will slowly disappear — it is not sustainable,” said Cui, the Conrad Research Excellence Chair. “Once the fear of China’s rise declines in the U.S., we expect the disengagement to slow down and even dissipate. We can be conservatively optimistic there will be changes.” 

The researchers argue the entire world would benefit if the U.S. and China acted as partners instead of rivals, as they can more effectively manage existential global challenges such as inflation, climate change and future pandemics while minimizing the risks of military confrontations. 

A paper on the findings, The Political Economy and Dynamics of Bifurcated World Governance and the Decoupling of Value Chains: An Alternative Perspective, appears in the Journal of International Business Studies.

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JOURNAL

Journal of International Business Studies

Canadian clothing companies lack awareness of child labour risks: Report

Story by The Canadian Press • Wednesday, Feb. 8,2023


OTTAWA — The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise says Canadian clothing companies have limited awareness about whether child labour could be being used in their global supply chains.


Canadian clothing companies lack awareness of child labour risks: Report© Provided by The Canadian Press

The government institutionsays in a new report that Canadian garment companies face challenges tracing their supply chains from origin to consumer, and aren't always aware of what goes on at of every level of their production.

It says Canada should adopt mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation to ensure clothing companies can successfully address human rights risks within their operations.

The report, which involved interviews with 10 Canadian garment companies as well as five other organizations, found that while confirmed cases of child labour in global supply chains were rare among the companies surveyed, that was likely because of limited supply chain transparency.

The ombudsperson says the success of Bill S-211, a proposed law on forced labour, will depend on how effective Canadian companies are at enhancing transparency in their supply chains, and urged the government to require reporting on every level of production.

A recent report by World Vision Canada found the value of Canadian imports of products at risk of being produced by child labour or forced labour totalled almost $48 billion in 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 8, 2023.

The Canadian Press