New concussion study in women’s rugby

Business Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

 

IMAGE: RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT FEMALE ATHLETES SUFFER A HIGHER RATE OF CONCUSSION, WHICH MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A WIDER RANGE OF MORE SEVERE AND PROLONGED SYMPTOMS COMPARED TO THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS. view more 

CREDIT: PIXABAY

An international study on concussion in sportswomen has been announced by the company that developed a concussion test for adult males based on research led by Dr Valentina Di Pietro and Professor Tony Belli at the University of Birmingham. 

Research suggests that female athletes suffer a higher rate of concussion, which may be accompanied by a wider range of more severe and prolonged symptoms compared to their male counterparts.

Emerging biotech company Marker Health was founded in 2016 and has already developed a CE-certified concussion test for adult males following the ground-breaking research from the University of Birmingham.   With a research base at the University’s bio-incubator the BioHub Birmingham, the company is now continuing the work that was led by Dr Di Pietro and Professor Belli from the University’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing. 

Following successful data collection during last year’s delayed 2021 Women’s World Cup and the Farah Palmer Cup in New Zealand, the comprehensive research programme will involve data collection from elite and community level rugby players, to support the extension of Marker’s current test approval to all levels of the female game. 

Testing and data collection is already underway with several partnerships including the Allianz Premier 15s and the recent TikTok Women’s Six Nations.  More international partnerships are anticipated, making this the most comprehensive programme of female-focused research to date.

The research is based on the analysis of small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) biomarkers in the saliva from a quick, easy and non-invasive mouth swab. Following a concussive event, a cascade of chemical processes occurs in the brain, altering biomarker profiles. Marker will analyse these changes to provide doctors with an accurate biological tool to diagnose concussions. Without an objective test, concussion has been challenging to diagnose with doctors currently relying on a series of subjective tests to make their diagnoses.

Marker has been undertaking focused research amongst female athletes for several years, with the aim of developing a specific and objective biological tool to improve diagnosis and outcomes.

Dr Di Pietro said: “Concussion can be difficult to diagnose, particularly in settings such as grass roots sports where evaluation by a specialist clinician is not possible. Consequently, some concussions may go undiagnosed. A non-invasive and accurate diagnostic test using saliva is a real game changer and will provide an invaluable tool to help doctors diagnose concussions more consistently and accurately.”

David Cohen, Chairman of Marker, said: “As seen in the huge crowd at the final game of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations, it is fortuitous that the phenomenal growth in Women’s rugby is occurring as we are extending our concussion diagnostic to female athletes”.

“It is critical to provide specific and accurate biological concussion diagnosis and safe return to play for women. The test can then be used to objectively support enhanced player welfare practices focussed on brain health across at all levels of female sport. The relationship with the University of Birmingham and our international collaborations with the RFU, NZR and TikTok Women’s Six Nations is rapidly moving us closer to providing female players with an accurate and objective concussion test.”

Dr Veemal Bhowruth from University of Birmingham Enterprise, said: “With the higher rate of concussion with women athletes, and the growth in the women’s game, this study is both timely and much needed, to help ensure the welfare of athletes at all levels.”  

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Human tissue samples

Toxic effects of pesticides on the marine microalga Skeletonema costatum and their biological degradation

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

IMAGE: THE GROWTH CURVES BASED ON THE CELL DENSITY AND CHL-A CONTENT WERE SIMILAR. FIGURE CREDIT: BO CHEN. view more 

CREDIT: FIGURE CREDIT: BO CHEN.

The study was led by Dr. Zilian ZHANG (College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University) and Dr. Meng CHEN (College of the environment & ecology, Xiamen University). Since in modern agricultural systems, large amounts of pesticides are applied to specific purposes such as weeding and insecticide, and most pesticides are eventually entering the ocean, however, the toxic effects of pesticides on marine microes are unlear. Therefore, in this study, the toxic effects of three representative pesticides (chlorpyrifos, acetochlor, and dicofol) on the growth of marine microbe microalga Skeletonema costatum were studied by analyzing microalgal cell density and chlorophyll-a content. The research team found that the toxic effects of three widely used pesticides on the marine microalga S. costatum are different. Among these pesticides, acetochlor showed the strongest toxic effect, while chlorpyrifos had the weakest effect. Combined toxicity analysis indicates that the presence of acetochlor increases the toxicity of dicofol and chlorpyrifos, while the toxicity of acetochlor and chlorpyrifos could be reduced by the presence of dicofol. The pesticides were partially degraded by marine microalgae during the cultivation. Among the three pesticides, acetochlor had relatively longer half-lives under both individual and combined conditions.

This study provides new insights into the toxicity of three pesticides to marine microalgae as well as the evidence concerning the contribution of microalgae in the removal of these pesticides from the environment. The molecular processes and mechanisms of degradation of pesticides by marine microalgae will to be further investigated.

See the article:

Zhang Z, Chen Q, Chen B, Dong T, Chen M. 2023. Toxic effects of pesticides on the marine microalga Skeletonema costatum and their biological degradation. Science China Earth Sciences, 66(3): 663–674, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-022-1064-7

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JOURNAL

Science China Earth Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s11430-022-1064-7 

Acetochlor was identified as highly toxic to S. costatum, while chlorpyrifos and dicofol were moderately toxic pesticides. Figure credit: Taojie Dong

CREDIT

Figure credit: Taojie Dong

The effects of three pesticides on S. costatum cell morphology were observed after exposure to different concentrations of acetochlor. a-e: The microalgae were exposed to 0, 0.01, 0.025, 0.1 and 0.25 mg/L acetochlor for 96 h respectively. The microalgal cells showed abnormal cell division and morphology (d) or cell shape disappeared completely and became a ‘cluster’ (e), when S. costatum was exposed to 0.1 or 0.25 mg L-1 acetochlor, respectively. The result indicated that the cell membranes of the microalgae were damaged by acetochlor. Photo credit: Qiulan Chen.

CREDIT

Photo credit: Qiulan Chen.

Past climate change to blame for Antarctica’s giant underwater landslides

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

 

IMAGE: THE RESEARCH VESSEL JOIDES RESOLUTION SURROUNDED BY SEA ICE AS IT APPROACHES ANTARCTICA'S EASTERN ROSS SEA DURING INTERNATIONAL OCEAN DISCOVERY PROGRAM (IODP) EXPEDITION 374 view more 

CREDIT: JENNY GALES/UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

Scientists have discovered the cause of giant underwater landslides in Antarctica which they believe could have generated tsunami waves that stretched across the Southern Ocean.

An international team of researchers has uncovered layers of weak, fossilised and biologically-rich sediments hundreds of metres beneath the seafloor.

These formed beneath extensive areas of underwater landslides, many of which cut more than 100metres into the seabed.

Writing in Nature Communications, the scientists say these weak layers – made up of historic biological material – made the area susceptible to failure in the face of earthquakes and other seismic activity.

They also highlight that the layers formed at a time when temperatures in Antarctica were up to 3°C warmer than they are today, when sea levels were higher and ice sheets much smaller than at present.

With the planet currently going through a period of extensive climate change – once again including warmer waters, rising sea levels and shrinking ice sheets – researchers believe there is the potential for such incidents to be replicated.

Through analysing the effects of past underwater landslides, they say future seismic events off the coast of Antarctica might again pose a risk of tsunami waves reaching the shores of South America, New Zealand and South East Asia.

The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017 by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition.

Scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores extending hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor.

By analysing those samples, they found microscopic fossils which painted a picture of what the climate would have been like in the region millions of years ago and how it created the weak layers deep under the Ross Sea.

The new study was led by Dr Jenny Gales, Lecturer in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration at the University of Plymouth, and part of IODP Expedition 374.

She said: “Submarine landslides are a major geohazard with the potential to trigger tsunamis that can lead to huge loss of life. The landslides can also destroy infrastructure including subsea cables, meaning future such events would create a wide range of economic and social impacts. Thanks to exceptional preservation of the sediments beneath the seafloor, we have for the first time been able to show what caused these historical landslides in this region of Antarctica and also indicate the impact of such events in the future. Our findings highlight how we urgently need to enhance our understanding of how global climate change might influence the stability of these regions and potential for future tsunamis.”

Professor Rob McKay, Director of the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington and co-chief scientist of IODP Expedition 374, added: “The main aim of our IODP drilling project in 2018 was to understand the influence that warming climate and oceans have had on melting Antarctica’s ice sheets in the past in order to understand its future response. However, when Dr Gales and her colleagues on board the OGS Explora mapped these huge scarps and landslides the year before, it was quite a revelation to us to see how the past changes in climates we were studying from drilling were directly linked to submarine landslide events of this magnitude. We did not expect to see this, and it is a potential hazard that certainly warrants further investigation.”

Laura De Santis, a researcher at the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics in Italy, and also co-chief scientist of IODP Expedition 374, said: "The sediment cores we analysed were obtained as part of IODP, the international seafloor scientific drilling project that has been active in the field of geoscience for over 50 years. The project aims to explore the history of planet Earth, including ocean currents, climate change, marine life and mineral deposits, by studying sediments and rocks beneath the seafloor.”

Jan Sverre Laberg, from The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, said: “Giant submarine landslides have occurred both on southern and northern high latitude continental margins, including the Antarctic and Norwegian continental margins. More knowledge on these events in Antarctica will also be relevant for submarine geohazard evaluation offshore Norway.”

Dr Amelia Shevenell, Associate Professor of Geological Oceanography at University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, said: “This study illustrates the importance of scientific ocean drilling and marine geology for understanding both past climate change and identifying regions susceptible to natural hazards to inform infrastructure decisions. Large landslides along the Antarctic margin have the potential to trigger tsunamis, which may result in substantial loss of life far from their origin. Further, national Antarctic programs are investigating the possibility of installing submarine cables to improve communications from Antarctic research bases. Our study, from the slope of the Ross Sea, is located seaward of major national and international research stations, indicating that marine geological and geophysical feasibility studies are essential to the success of these projects and should be completed early in the development process, before countries invest in and depend on this communication infrastructure.”

Drilling into the seabed of Antarctica [VIDEO] |

Professor Rob McKay (Director of the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington and co-chief scientist of IODP Expedition 374) and Dr Jenny Gales (Lecturer in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration at the University of Plymouth) examine the half-section of a core recovered from the Antarctic seabed

CREDIT

Justin Dodd

JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-38240-y 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Climate-controlled submarine landslides on the Antarctic continental margin

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-May-2023

Why Antarctic ice shelves are losing their mass and how it leads to global sea level rise

There are many nuances that factor into the behavior of large ice sheets in the Earth’s oceans; these nuances and the progress toward understanding and accurately simulating these behaviors are being reviewed in this study

 NEWS RELEASE 18-MAY-2023

OCEAN-LAND-ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH (OLAR)

 

IMAGE: FROM FIGURE 1 OF WANG Z, LIU C, CHENG C, QIN Q, YAN L, QIAN J, SUN C, ZHANG L. ON THE MULTISCALE OCEANIC HEAT TRANSPORTS TOWARD THE BASES OF THE ANTARCTIC ICE SHELVES. OCEAN-LAND-ATMOS. RES. 2023;2:ARTICLE 0010. view more 

CREDIT: WANG Z, LIU C, CHENG C, QIN Q, YAN L, QIAN J, SUN C, ZHANG L.

The Greenland ice sheet (GIS) and Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) contribute largely to global mean sea level (GMSL) changes, though the seas surrounding the Antarctic like the Bellinghausen-Amundsen Seas and the Indian Ocean sector are seeing significantly more warming than the rest of the marginal seas, with immediate noticeable effects on the mass balance (net weight of the glacier mainly accounting for ice gained by snow and lost by melting and calving) of the AIS. The level AIS will contribute to the overall increase in sea level is unknown, and current models vary drastically, leaving a major question regarding future sea levels unanswered. The development of accurate modeling and technology that can help predict the future state of the Earth’s oceans and ice sheets will be helpful in answering these questions.

Researchers’ findings were published in Ocean-land-Atmosphere Research on May 9.

“In this paper, we identify key multiscale oceanic processes that are responsible for heat delivery to the bases of the Antarctic ice shelves and review our current understanding of these processes,” said Zhaomin Wang, professor and first author of the study.

One of these processes responsible for heat delivery is circumpolar deep water (CDW).

CDW is a mix of the ocean’s water masses from different ocean basins, culminating in a warm, salty mass of water in the Southern Ocean. This water can cut through the base of ice shelves rapidly, leading to “cavities”, or cleaves in a glacier due to warm water currents. These cavities are then filled with warm-modified CDW and high salinity shelf water which eventually leads to loss of chunks from the tip of the glacier, known as “calving”. CDW and cavity development are substantial processes, along with basal melting and calving, in which the AIS loses its mass and consequently is a significant contributor to the rise in GMSL.

The effects CDW has on melting of Antarctic ice shelves, along with other mechanisms contributing to warm air and water circulation, are generally understood though they are poorly modeled with consistency. This may be due to not understanding small-scale processes, particularly when it comes to the effects eddies (short-lived oceanic circulation patterns) and the topography of cavities in the glacier have on melting.

“Both eddies and the dynamic effects of bottom topography have been proposed to be crucial in heat transport toward the fronts of ice shelves, in addition to heat transport by coastal currents,” Wang said. 

These topographical subtleties help with understanding the transport of CDW and how coastal currents, surface winds, and bottom pressure torque all play into the interactions of these warm water currents with glacial masses and ice sheets.

In review, ice melting thanks to warm water isn’t as simple as it seems on the surface. Researchers surmised that while progress in learning the mechanisms in which oceanic warming is affecting the AIS is occurring, there needs to be improvement and innovation to assess where the continued melting of ice shelves in the Antarctic will leave humanity in the future. Retreating coastlines and GMSL rise are anticipated, though the levels to be expected are poorly understood.

Researchers suggest priorities are made, starting with improving cavity geometry, bathymetry (measuring the depth of water) and future projections of the mass balance of ice sheets. Spending time investigating small-scale processes may also provide valuable information leading to better future models being developed, and critically, determining what the mass loss of the AIS means for atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice circulations.

China National Natural Science Foundation Projects, The Independent Research Foundation of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, and the National Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province made this research possible through funding.

Zhaomin Wang, Chengyan Liu, and Chen Cheng of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory（Zhuhai）, Qing Qin, Liangjun Yan, Jiangchao Qian, and Chong Sun of College of Oceanography at Hohai University, and Li Zhang of the School of Atmospheric Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University contributed to this research.

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JOURNAL

Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research

DOI

10.34133/olar.0010 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

On the Multiscale Oceanic Heat Transports Toward the Bases of the Antarctic Ice Shelves

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-May-2023

Paleontology: Fossil fragments shed light on a new spinosaurid dinosaur in Spain

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

A dinosaur specimen from Castellón, Spain represents a new proposed species of spinosaurid, reports a paper published in Scientific Reports. The identification of a potential new species suggests that the Iberian peninsula may have been a diverse area for medium-to-large bodied spinosaurid dinosaurs and sheds light on the origin and evolution of spinosaurids.

Spinosaurids comprise of different groups of dinosaurs that are often large, stand on two feet, and are carnivorous. Well-known examples of spinosaurids include Spinosaurus and Baryonyx. It is thought that spinosaurids may have originated in Europe and then migrated to Africa and Asia, but evidence of their existence in Spain is mostly based on fossilised tooth remains.

Andrés Santos‑Cubedo and colleagues analysed fossil fragments (a right jaw bone, one tooth and five vertebrae) discovered previously in the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Spain and dated to the late Barremian, Early Cretaceous period (between 127 and 126 million years ago). Based on the remains the authors estimate that the specimen is around 10 to 11 metres long. They compared the specimen to data on other spinosaurids to determine its evolutionary relationship to other species.

Based on a comparative analysis of the specimen with other spinosaurids, the authors identified the specimen as both a new species and a new genus of spinosaurid and named it Protathlitis cinctorrensis. The authors named the genus Protathlitis meaning “champion” in Greek and used cinctorrensis in the species name to reference the town — Cinctorres — in which the specimen was uncovered.

The authors propose that this new species may indicate that spinosaurids appeared during the Early Cretaceous in Laurasia — a large area of land in the northern hemisphere — with two sub-groups of species occupying western Europe. The spinosaurids may have later migrated to Africa and Asia where they diversified. In Europe, baryonychines like Protathlitis were dominant, while in Africa, spinosaurines like Spinosaurus were most abundant.

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Article details

A new spinosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous of Cinctorres (Spain)

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33418-2

Please link to the article online  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-33418-2

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JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-023-33418-2 

New dinosaur, a species of spinosaurid,

discovered in Spain, researchers say

The dinosaur stood on its hind legs and captured prey with its hands.

ByJulia Jacobo
May 18, 2023, 


2:53
One of the world's biggest-ever new dinosaur species found
Scientists dig up a gigantic new dinosaur species as long as a basketball court in Australia's outback


Fossil fragments found in Spain are pointing to a new species of dinosaur, researchers said.

Scientists have proposed a new species of spinosaurid after studying the specimen, which includes a right jaw bone, one tooth and five vertebrate, found in the Arcillas de Morella Formation in Castellon, Spain, in 2011, according to a study published in Scientific Reports on Thursday.

A new spinosaurid dinosaur, Protathlitis cinctorrensis, was discovered in Spain.
Grup Guix

Spinosaurids are often characterized by their large bodies, which stand on two feet. The group of dinosaurs, which include the Spinosaurus and Baryonyx, are also typically carnivorous.

MORE: Scientists discover fossils of new predatory dinosaur species in Mongolia

The fossils date to the late Barremian or Early Cretaceous period -- between 127 million and 126 million years ago, the authors said. Based on the remains, the researchers believe the dinosaur was between 10 meters to 11 meters long, or about 32 feet to 36 feet.

After comparing the specimen to other spinosaurids, the researchers determined it as both a new species and a new genus of spinosaurid, naming it Protathlitis cinctorrensis, with Protathlitis meaning "champion" in Greek and "cinctorrensis" in honor of the town, Cinctorres, in which the fossils were uncovered, according to the study.

A new spinosaurid dinosaur, Protathlitis cinctorrensis, was discovered in Spain.
Grup Guix

The name "Champion" was in reference to the UEFA Europa League title won by European soccer club Villarreal C.F. in 2021 and to celebrate the club's 100th anniversary in 2023, lead researcher Jose Santos‑Cubedo told ABC News.

Protathlitis cinctorrensis also has an elongated snout fitted with numerous conical teeth and used their hands to capture prey, Santos‑Cubedo said.

MORE: Giant, meat-eating new dinosaur species discovered in Argentina

The finding suggests the Iberian peninsula may have been a diverse area for medium to large-bodied spinosaurid dinosaurs, shedding further light on the origin and evolution of the type of dinosaur.

It is believed that spinosaurids may have originated in Europe and then migrated from Africa to Asia, according to the paper. Evidence of their existence in Spain is mostly based on fossilized tooth remains.

A new spinosaurid dinosaur, Protathlitis cinctorrensis, was discovered in Spain.
Grup Guix

The researchers believe this new species may indicate that spinosaurids appeared during the Early Cretaceous period in Laurasia -- a large area of land in the northern European hemisphere -- with two sub-groups of species occupying western Europe, according to the paper.

MORE: 2 new species of massive sauropod dinosaurs found in China, a 1st for the region

The spinosaurids may have later migrated to Africa and Asia, where they diversified.

A new spinosaurid dinosaur, Protathlitis cinctorrensis, was discovered in Spain.
Oscar Sanisidro/Grup Guix

"In Europe, baryonychines were dominant, while in Africa, spinosaurines were the most abundant," Santos‑Cubedo said.

New non-toxic powder uses sunlight to quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: DISINFECTANT POWDER IS STIRRED IN BACTERIA-CONTAMINATED WATER (UPPER LEFT). THE MIXTURE IS EXPOSED TO SUNLIGHT, WHICH RAPIDLY KILLS ALL THE BACTERIA (UPPER RIGHT). A MAGNET COLLECTS THE METALLIC POWDER AFTER DISINFECTION (LOWER RIGHT). THE POWDER IS THEN RELOADED INTO ANOTHER BEAKER OF CONTAMINATED WATER, AND THE DISINFECTION PROCESS IS REPEATED (LOWER LEFT). view more 

CREDIT: TONG WU

At least 2 billion people worldwide routinely drink water contaminated with disease-causing microbes.

Now Stanford University scientists have invented a low-cost, recyclable powder that kills thousands of waterborne bacteria per second when exposed to ordinary sunlight. The discovery of this ultrafast disinfectant could be a significant advance for nearly 30 percent of the world’s population with no access to safe drinking water, according to the Stanford team. Their results are published in a May 18 study in Nature Water.

“Waterborne diseases are responsible for 2 million deaths annually, the majority in children under the age of 5,” said study co-lead author Tong Wu, a former postdoctoral scholar of materials science and engineering (MSE) in the Stanford School of Engineering. “We believe that our novel technology will facilitate revolutionary changes in water disinfection and inspire more innovations in this exciting interdisciplinary field.”

Conventional water-treatment technologies include chemicals, which can produce toxic byproducts, and ultraviolet light, which takes a relatively long time to disinfect and requires a source of electricity.

The new disinfectant developed at Stanford is a harmless metallic powder that works by absorbing both UV and high-energy visible light from the sun. The powder consists of nano-size flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulfide, copper, and iron oxide.

“We only used a tiny amount of these materials,” said senior author Yi Cui, the Fortinet Founders Professor of MSE and of Energy Science & Engineering in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “The materials are low cost and fairly abundant. The key innovation is that, when immersed in water, they all function together.”

Fast, nontoxic, and recyclable

After absorbing photons from the sun, the molybdenum sulfide/copper catalyst performs like a semiconductor/metal junction, enabling the photons to dislodge electrons. The freed electrons then react with the surrounding water, generating hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals – one of the most biologically destructive forms of oxygen. The newly formed chemicals quickly kill the bacteria by seriously damaging their cell membranes.

For the study, the Stanford team used a 200 milliliter [6.8 ounce] beaker of room-temperature water contaminated with about 1 million E. coli bacteria per mL [.03 oz.].

“We stirred the powder into the contaminated water,” said co-lead author Bofei Liu, a former MSE postdoc. “Then we carried out the disinfection test on the Stanford campus in real sunlight, and within 60 seconds no live bacteria were detected.”

The powdery nanoflakes can move around quickly, make physical contact with a lot of bacteria and kill them fast, he added.

The chemical byproducts generated by sunlight also dissipate quickly.

“The lifetime of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxy radicals is very short,” Cui said. “If they don't immediately find bacteria to oxidize, the chemicals break down into water and oxygen and are discarded within seconds. So you can drink the water right away.”

The nontoxic powder is also recyclable. Iron oxide enables the nanoflakes to be removed from water with an ordinary magnet. In the study, the researchers used magnetism to collect the same powder 30 times to treat 30 different samples of contaminated water.

“For hikers and backpackers, I could envision carrying a tiny amount of powder and a small magnet,” Cui said. “During the day you put the powder in water, shake it up a little bit under sunlight and within a minute you have drinkable water. You use the magnet to take out the particles for later use.”

The powder might also be useful in wastewater treatment plants that currently use UV lamps to disinfect treated water, he added.

“During the day the plant can use visible sunlight, which would work much faster than UV and would probably save energy,” Cui said. “The nanoflakes are fairly easy to make and can be rapidly scaled up by the ton.” 

The study focused on E. coli, which can cause severe gastrointestinal illness and can even be life-threatening. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set the maximum contaminant-level goal for E. coli in drinking water at zero. The Stanford team plans to test the new powder on other waterborne pathogens, including viruses, protozoa, and parasites that also cause serious diseases and death.

Yi Cui is director of the Precourt Institute for Energy and the Sustainability Accelerator in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He is also a professor of photon science at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Bofei Liu is now a research scientist at EEnotech Inc., a water purification spinoff co-founded by Cui. Tong Wu is on the faculty of Tonji University in Shanghai.

Other Stanford co-authors are Harold Y. Hwang, professor of applied physics in the School of Humanities and Sciences and professor of photon science at SLAC; former engineering postdocs Chong Liu, Jiayu Wan, Feifei Shi, Ankun Yang, Kai Liu and Zhiyi Lu; and former engineering PhD students Jie Zhao and Allen Pei.

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JOURNAL

Nature Water

DOI

10.1038/s44221-023-00079-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Solar-driven efficient heterogeneous subminute water disinfection nanosystem assembled with fingerprint MoS2

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-May-2023

Some climate-smart agricultural practices may not be so smart

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STANFORD WOODS INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

-Several practices being promoted as climate smart could lead to land use spillovers that change their net impact on climate

-Most evidence is that cover cropping with rye, as done in the US, causes a yield loss. We show that the land use spillovers can then negate most of the climate benefit of cover cropping.

-The method and data we used were made available (as an R package) so that others can apply the same approach to other questions related to land use spillovers

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JOURNAL

Nature Sustainability

ARTICLE TITLE

Reduced benefits of climate-smart agricultural policies from land-use spillovers

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

18-May-2023

Keeping California’s oil in the ground will improve health but affect jobs

Researchers investigated the carbon emissions, labor and health implications of several policies to reduce oil extraction

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — As society reckons with climate change, there’s a growing call to keep fossil fuels right where they are, in the ground. But the impact of curtailing oil production will depend on the policies we implement to achieve this.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers investigated the carbon emissions, labor and health implications of several policies to reduce oil extraction, with a special focus on how the effects vary across different communities in California. Their results, published in Nature Energy, illustrate the tradeoffs between different strategies. For instance, models banning oil extraction near communities produced greater health benefits across the state, but they also led to more job losses, with disadvantaged communities feeling about one third of both the costs and the benefits.

With a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2045, California is currently implementing some of the world’s most ambitious climate policies. As the country’s seventh largest oil-producing state and the world’s fifth largest economy, California provides a unique setting to study supply-side decarbonization policies. It already has a carbon cap-and-trade program and is currently debating a setback policy that would ban new oil production near communities.

Many considerations

Petroleum production is a multifaceted endeavor. The greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are the main driver of climate change. Extracting these resources also emits CO2 into the environment, in addition to air pollution and toxic substances. Any policies seeking to curb oil production will affect people for better and worse. The industry employed 25,000 Californians in 2019, and provides tax revenue to local governments. “Our analysis is trying to quantify what those tradeoffs look like as the state considers different policies,” said co-author Kyle Meng, an associate professor in UC Santa Barbara’s economics department and the Environmental Markets Lab (emLab) at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.

“We’re taking traditionally climate-focused policies and comparing them along local impacts, health benefits and employment costs,” added co-lead author Paige Weber, an environmental economist at UNC Chapel Hill, previously an emLab post-doc.

The authors developed a framework to analyze the impact of three policies: an excise tax (paid per barrel); a carbon tax (paid per ton emitted); and setbacks at 1000 feet, 2500 feet and 1 mile. Taxes increase the cost of production, curbing activity and driving down emissions. Setbacks essentially ban extraction in areas where people live. In a previous study, the authors found that production decreases because it might not be economical to drill somewhere else.

To compare between the policies, each setback distance had a corresponding excise and carbon tax level that achieved the same emissions target in 2045.

The authors started with a suite of models to predict oil production in California. Using historical data and economic theory, the team attempted to answer the following questions: Will they drill here? How much will a well produce? When will it shut down?

The researchers then modeled the health impacts of oil production emissions as they spread across California’s communities. Finally, they modeled the outcome that each policy would have on jobs and worker compensation. The authors were especially curious how these effects fell on people living in areas that meet California’s definition of a disadvantaged community.

They calibrated the health and labor consequences of each policy based on its ability to reduce carbon. “We ask, for the same greenhouse gas reduction, which policy has greater health benefits and fewer labor costs, and how are these benefits and costs distributed?” Meng explained.

Always a tradeoff

Setbacks offered the greatest air-quality improvements, especially to disadvantaged communities. If you move oil production away from where people live, they’ll see health benefits. But there was a surprising tradeoff. When oil production is close to communities, so are the jobs it offers. “The same communities that benefit from cleaner air are also those facing labor market consequences,” Meng said.

During policy discussions, there’s often disagreement between groups highlighting the health impact of oil production and those focused on the employment benefits. “They’re often pitched as separate camps,” Meng continued. “But our analysis shows that costs and benefits can be borne by the same communities.”

Carbon and excise taxes both work by raising production costs, but the two policies target different oilfields. An excise tax eliminates the most expensive operations first, and falls roughly in the middle in terms of job and health implications.

“The cheapest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be with a carbon tax because it goes after the most carbon-intensive oil extractors first,” Weber said. But since it takes the smallest number of wells out of production per ton of carbon emissions reduced, a carbon tax offers the lowest total health benefits, while also leading to the lowest job losses.

The authors believe their estimates of the health impacts are conservative. They focused solely on premature mortality, as other health impacts are more difficult to quantify. As a result, any action will likely improve the health of Californians more than what the study lays out.

Similarly, the researchers expect they overestimated the labor impacts because their framework doesn’t account for the possibility of re-employment. It assumes that every job lost results in unemployment.

The path forward

By 2045, California aims to reduce emissions in the transportation sector by 90% compared with 2019. And the Golden State is looking to many policies to achieve this.

“It’s a hotly debated issue right now because the governor just signed a law banning new oil drilling near communities,” said co-lead author Ranjit Deshmukh, an assistant professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Environmental Studies Program. The oil industry quickly circumvented this action by collecting enough signatures to place a referendum on the next ballot.

“Unfortunately, even the largest setback distance did not reach the state’s greenhouse gas reduction target,” Weber said. “So, you’d need to combine a setback with another policy.”

The state currently has no plans to use an excise tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oil extraction, the authors said. On the other hand, the state’s cap-and-trade program functions much like a carbon tax. The only difference is that the market finds a price based on the cap, rather than it being set by the government. That said, the cap-and-trade program spans many sectors in the state, not just fossil fuel extraction.

This paper captured employment and health impacts on a much finer resolution than previous studies. Looking at, say, county averages for health benefits can be misleading, the researchers explained. Consider Los Angeles county: There’s a lot of variation between people living in Compton and Hollywood, or Long Beach and Lancaster. “A much finer resolution analysis is needed to accurately answer the question of how different communities bear the costs or get the benefits of this oil phase-out,” Deshmukh said.

The empirical aspect of their framework was also an innovation. Most other studies used only engineering models to forecast production. Using detailed historical extraction data gave the authors more confidence in the accuracy of their projections.

The team has begun similar work investigating the health and labor impacts of phasing out oil refining in California. And they plan to extend their analysis on petroleum production to the rest of the country. They hope their work will guide policymakers towards an effective, equitable solution for curbing fossil fuel extraction. One that maximizes its benefits while reducing its drawbacks.

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JOURNAL

Nature Energy