WORD OF THE DAY

Programmed cell death may be 1.8 billion years old

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SMBE JOURNALS (MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION AND GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION)

Apoptosis, often referred to as programmed cell death, is a fundamental process crucial to the growth and development of multicellular organisms. This process, or a primordial form of it, is also observed in single-celled eukaryotes like yeast and other microeukaryotes (aka protists). The origin of eukaryotic apoptosis remains an open question in biology. However, studies have noted that many apoptosis-initiating factors have a bacterial or mitochondrial origin, providing a clue into the evolutionary history of this widespread phenomenon. In a new study published in Genome Biology and Evolution, scientists from the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences reveal that many apoptotic factors may trace their origins to the time of mitochondrial domestication, suggesting remarkable conservation over the span of 1.8 billion years.

The processes triggering apoptosis exhibit striking similarities among various diverse eukaryotes: an increase in mitochondrial membrane permeability sets in motion a cascade of events involving proteins called apoptosis-inducing factors (AIFs), kickstarting the pathway that culminates in cell death. According to phylogenetic analyses, these AIFs usually have a bacterial/mitochondrial origin. To shed further light on the evolution of apoptosis across eukaryotes, a team led by Szymon Kaczanowski and Urszula Zielenkiewicz investigated the functional conservation of apoptotic factors through a yeast complementation test. The researchers replaced each of four apoptotic genes in yeast with related proteins from diverse eukaryotes and prokaryotes. They then treated the new yeast strains with apoptosis-inducing agents to evaluate whether the introduced genes maintained the ability to induce apoptosis in yeast. 

Remarkably, the study found that distantly related proteins from plants, animals, slime molds, and bacteria were largely able to functionally substitute for the original yeast proteins. “This surprising finding suggests that ancient mechanisms of cell death have been evolutionarily conserved since the domestication of mitochondria,” says Kaczanowski and Zielenkiewicz, an event that occurred approximately 1.8 billion years ago. 

The study’s findings further support an endosymbiotic origin of apoptosis, a hypothesis that was first proposed by Guido Kroemer in 1997. Kroemer suggested that the bacterial precursors of mitochondria produced both toxins (apoptotic factors) and antitoxins (anti-apoptotic factors). In this scenario, the antitoxins acted as “addiction molecules”, ensuring the persistence of the symbiont. Driven by this evolutionary conflict between bacterial endosymbionts and hosts, the toxins eventually evolved into the apoptotic factors we recognize today.

Kaczanowski and Zielenkiewicz present an alternative scenario for the evolution of apoptosis. They propose that early protoeukaryotes were predators, relying on bacterial prey. These bacteria, in response to predation, produced toxins as a defense mechanism. Over time, these bacteria were domesticated to serve as mitochondria within eukaryotic cells, and their toxins evolved into apoptotic factors. The different families of AIFs present today and their sporadic distribution across distantly related eukaryotes suggest the existence of multiple redundant toxins in the protomitochondria and hint at a coevolutionary arms race between protomitochondria and their protoeukaryotic hosts.

Regardless of whether apoptosis originates from an endosymbiotic toxin/antitoxin system or from a predator/prey dynamic, the study’s findings suggest that the intricate balance between life and death within eukaryotic cells is deeply rooted in the origin of mitochondria, opening up new avenues for research into the coevolution of mitochondria and eukaryotes, as well as the ancient origins of cell death mechanisms. Furthermore, a similar approach could be used to look at other ancient cellular mechanisms beyond programmed cell death and to ask to what extent conflicts among partners/participants have driven the evolution of genome features. “Future studies may reveal the evolutionary history of other aging mechanisms and could make a significant contribution to aging studies,” note Kaczanowski and Zielenkiewicz, emphasizing the broader implications of their research.

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JOURNAL

Genome Biology and Evolution

DOI

10.1093/gbe/evad154 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Apoptotic Factors Are Evolutionarily Conserved Since Mitochondrial Domestication

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Oct-2023

Simulations of ‘backwards time travel’ can improve scientific experiments

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Physicists have shown that simulating models of hypothetical time travel can solve experimental problems that appear impossible to solve using standard physics.

If gamblers, investors and quantum experimentalists could bend the arrow of time, their advantage would be significantly higher, leading to significantly better outcomes. 

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have shown that by manipulating entanglement – a feature of quantum theory that causes particles to be intrinsically linked – they can simulate what could happen if one could travel backwards in time. So that gamblers, investors and quantum experimentalists could, in some cases, retroactively change their past actions and improve their outcomes in the present.

Whether particles can travel backwards in time is a controversial topic among physicists, even though scientists have previously simulated models of how such spacetime loops could behave if they did exist. By connecting their new theory to quantum metrology, which uses quantum theory to make highly sensitive measurements, the Cambridge team has shown that entanglement can solve problems that otherwise seem impossible. The study appears in Physical Review Letters.

“Imagine that you want to send a gift to someone: you need to send it on day one to make sure it arrives on day three,” said lead author David Arvidsson-Shukur, from the Cambridge Hitachi Laboratory. “However, you only receive that person’s wish list on day two. So, in this chronology-respecting scenario, it’s impossible for you to know in advance what they will want as a gift and to make sure you send the right one.

“Now imagine you can change what you send on day one with the information from the wish list received on day two. Our simulation uses quantum entanglement manipulation to show how you could retroactively change your previous actions to ensure the final outcome is the one you want.”

The simulation is based on quantum entanglement, which consists of strong correlations that quantum particles can share and classical particles—those governed by everyday physics—cannot.

The particularity of quantum physics is that if two particles are close enough to each other to interact, they can stay connected even when separated. This is the basis of quantum computing – the harnessing of connected particles to perform computations too complex for classical computers.

“In our proposal, an experimentalist entangles two particles,” said co-author Nicole Yunger Halpern, researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland. “The first particle is then sent to be used in an experiment. Upon gaining new information, the experimentalist manipulates the second particle to effectively alter the first particle’s past state, changing the outcome of the experiment.”

“The effect is remarkable, but it happens only one time out of four!” said Arvidsson-Shukur. “In other words, the simulation has a 75% chance of failure. But the good news is that you know if you have failed. If we stay with our gift analogy, one out of four times, the gift will be the desired one (for example a pair of trousers), another time it will be a pair of trousers but in the wrong size, or the wrong colour, or it will be a jacket.”

To give their model relevance to technologies, the theorists connected it to quantum metrology. In a common quantum metrology experiment, photons—small particles of light—are shone onto a sample of interest and then registered with a special type of camera. If this experiment is to be efficient, the photons must be prepared in a certain way before they reach the sample. The researchers have shown that even if they learn how to best prepare the photons only after the photons have reached the sample, they can use simulations of time travel to retroactively change the original photons.

To counteract the high chance of failure, the theorists propose to send a huge number of entangled photons, knowing that some will eventually carry the correct, updated information. Then they would use a filter to ensure that the right photons pass to the camera, while the filter rejects the rest of the ‘bad’ photons.

“Consider our earlier analogy about gifts,” said co-author Aidan McConnell, who carried out this research during his master’s degree at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, and is now a PhD student at ETH, Zürich. “Let’s say sending gifts is inexpensive and we can send numerous parcels on day one. On day two we know which gift we should have sent. By the time the parcels arrive on day three, one out of every four gifts will be correct, and we select these by telling the recipient which deliveries to throw away.”

“That we need to use a filter to make our experiment work is actually pretty reassuring,” said Arvidsson-Shukur. “The world would be very strange if our time-travel simulation worked every time. Relativity and all the theories that we are building our understanding of our universe on would be out of the window.

“We are not proposing a time travel machine, but rather a deep dive into the fundamentals of quantum mechanics. These simulations do not allow you to go back and alter your past, but they do allow you to create a better tomorrow by fixing yesterday’s problems today.”

This work was supported by the Sweden-America Foundation, the Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation, Girton College, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

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JOURNAL

Physical Review Letters

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.150202 

ARTICLE TITLE

Nonclassical advantage in metrology established via quantum simulations of hypothetical closed timelike curves

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Oct-2023

 

Funding will help further development of bacteriophages to combat disease on a commercial scale

Pioneering work to develop effective and safe bacteriophages to combat disease has received an £800,000 boost.

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER

 

IMAGE: 

PROFESSOR MARTHA CLOKIE (LEFT) AND DR ANISHA THANKI

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER

Pioneering work to develop effective and safe bacteriophages to combat disease has received an £800,000 boost.

The grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), is aimed at advancing the production of phages to combat disease in the veterinary field and bring them to market.

It has been awarded to Professor Martha Clokie, the Director of the Leicester Centre of Phage Research, and Dr Anisha Thanki who earlier this year successfully developed a bacteriophage ‘liquid’ product to prevent Salmonella in broiler chickens.

The latter will now be used as a case study to advance ways in which this novel medicine can successfully and safely be produced in larger scales to meet UK guidelines.

Bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria and kill them. They are naturally occurring in the environment around us and can be found where high numbers of bacteria lurk. They have been identified by the UK Government and World Health Organisation as having great potential to prevent and treat infections.

Researcher, Dr Anisha Thanki helped develop the product to prevent Salmonella and will continue with this next stage.

She said: “We know that the development of bacteriophages will help counter growing resistance to existing antimicrobials. If a product such as this was eventually commercialised, it could save the farming industry billions of pounds each year while preventing Salmonella from entering our food chain – something which infects around 91,000 people in the EU every year.

“However, at present we have an effective product but no known way to bring it into wider commercial use. The work we’re doing is so novel that protocols and regulations don’t yet exist to allow that to happen. We’re very excited that this funding will allow us to translate this work to establish how to use phages effectively at a much larger scale and within UK regulation guidelines.

“Once we do this, we aim to have a successful blueprint to enable other effective phage products to be brought to the commercial market.”

Work on the two-year project begins early next year and will take place in collaboration with Dr Robert Atterbury from the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science.

Dr Thanki added: “Working with the school will allow us to develop further models to study phage production on a larger scale and test production protocols to ensure its efficacy and safety.”

Dr Robert Atterbury, Associate Professor in Microbiology at the University of Nottingham said: “Antimicrobial resistance is one of the key global public health challenges of the 21st century. Bacteriophages show great promise in the treatment of infections caused by multidrug resistant bacteria in animals and people. This exciting project, supported by the BBSRC, will allow us to address some of the key hurdles currently preventing their wider use in the agrifood sector and beyond.”    

Bacteriophage used within the Salmonella trial, published in scientific journal, Emerging Microbes and Infections, was developed in the University’s pioneering new Leicester Centre for Bacteriophage Research which is studying bacteriophage-based products to prevent and treat bacterial infections in humans, animals and agriculture. 

 DOI  10.1080/22221751.2023.2217947 

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PHAGES

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=BIOPHAGES

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PHAGE

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=BACTERIOPHAGE

Flagship individuals can boost conservation

 NEWS RELEASE 12-OCT-2023

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

 

IMAGE: 

LUA THE ANTILLEAN MANATEE

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CREDIT: L CANDISANI

“Flagship” individual animals like Cecil the lion or Freya the walrus can boost conservation, new research suggests.

Much-loved species like pandas and polar bears are widely used in conservation campaigns.

However, a new study argues that individual animals or plants can also be used as flagships, with enormous potential to raise awareness and mobilise public support.

The recent outcry over the felling of the “Sycamore Gap” tree in the UK demonstrates the power of individual plants or animals in public opinion.

“Flagship individuals typically share some common characteristics,” said lead author Ivan Jarić, from the University of Paris-Saclay in France and Czech Academy of Sciences.

“They mostly belong to charismatic species, and they often have some particular individual characteristics that make them appealing.

“They frequently interact with humans, and they typically have unique life stories, such as tragic fate.

“By forming connections with people and generating empathy, such individuals can encourage engagement and behavioural change, attract donations and even spark policy changes.”

The paper highlights examples including Lua the Antillean manatee – a species severely depleted by habitat loss and hunting in Brazil.

In 1994, Lua – an orphaned calf – was among the first manatees released in a new reintroduction programme.

“Lua quickly became the symbol of the programme, being used in local media and community activities to gain public attention,” said Iran Normande, from the Federal University of Alagoas in Brazil, one of the authors of the study.

“Because of her docile nature and willingness to approach humans and boats, Lua gave many people their first contact with a wild manatee.

“This helped to create a local sustainable tourism industry that currently supports up to 400 families.

“Lua – now ‘middle-aged’ at 31 – was the first released manatee to successfully breed in the wild, and has had six calves.”

However, this example also highlights the potential downside of flagship individuals, as some visitors have fed Lua potentially harmful things including beer and fried fish.

“If properly implemented, the promotion of flagship individuals can produce substantial benefits for conservation from local to global scales,” said Dr Sarah Crowley from the University of Exeter, another co-author of the study.

“This needs to be done with care – both to avoid harm to the individual, and to prevent the spread of false or distorted information.

“More research is now needed to identify how to promote flagship individuals in a way that generates wider support for conservation, attracts new audiences and limits any potential harm.”

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JOURNAL

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

DOI

10.1002/fee.2599 

ARTICLE TITLE

Flagship individuals in biodiversity conservation

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Oct-2023

Size matters: How body size shapes dogs' aging patterns

Smaller dogs may live twice as long life as their larger counterparts. But does this size difference also impact how dogs age in terms of behavior and cognitive abilities?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

SMALLER DOGS MAY LIVE TWICE AS LONG LIFE AS THEIR LARGER COUNTERPARTS. 

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CREDIT: PHOTO: ENIKO KUBINYI / DEPARTMENT OF ETHOLOGY AT EÖTVÖS LORÁND UNIVERSITY

Smaller dogs may live twice as long life as their larger counterparts. But does this size difference also impact how dogs age in terms of behavior and cognitive abilities? Based on the data of 15,000 dogs, researchers from ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, found that larger dogs experience an earlier onset of age-related decline (at around seven-eight years of age versus ten-eleven years in smaller dogs), but also a slower decline rate compared to smaller dogs. Additionally, the study also points out that, although larger dogs have somewhat shorter lifespans, they also maintain their cognitive health longer and experience a smaller degree of age-related decline than their smaller counterparts.

The average life expectancy of dogs varies more than two-fold between breeds, with giant dogs generally living to seven years and small dogs to fourteen. Purebreds also have a shorter life span than mixed breeds. However, little is known about how life expectancy is related to age-related behavioral and cognitive decline. In a study published in GeroScience, researchers from ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, explored the intriguing connection between a dog's size and its aging process.  

The researchers collected data from over 15,000 dogs and assessed the age trajectories of various behavioral characteristics and the prevalence of canine cognitive dysfunction. They investigated at what age the behavioral and cognitive changes start, how fast the changes progress, and also examined factors like the dog's body size, head shape, purebred status in relation to these age-related changes.

According to the results, behavioral and cognitive aging in dogs begin around ten and a half years of age, but the onset of aging, as well as the aging rate depend on the body size of the dogs. Dogs weighing over thirty kilogram (66 lbs) show an earlier onset of age-related decline by two-three years, but the rate of decline is slower compared to smaller dogs. “Larger dogs experience a physical breakdown at an earlier age, and the accumulating illnesses, and degradation in sensory functions leads to ‘old age behaviors’ long before their mental decline would begin.” - explained Borbála Turcsán, first author of the study.

On the other hand,

dogs weighing less than approximately seven kilogram (14 lbs) exhibited over four times higher prevalence of cognitive decline in old age than larger dogs, supporting the idea that although larger dogs have a shorter lifespan, they also experience a more limited degree of cognitive decline.

Unexpectedly, long-nosed (dolichocephalic) dogs, such as greyhounds, and purebreds have a higher risk of developing cognitive decline in old age compared to meso- and brachycephalic dogs and mixed-breeds. 

One of the most interesting findings of the study was that owners started to consider their dogs "old" around the age of six, regardless of the size of the dog or its purebred status. "Owners consider their dogs “old’ four to five years earlier than would be expected from behavioral data. This may be due to graying and barely noticeable changes," explained Enikő Kubinyi, Head of the Senior Family Dog Project.

The new research highlights that body size not only influences a dog's life expectancy, but also its healthspan.

However, the effect is not gradual, as only extreme size groups, the very small (toy) or very large (giant) dogs have markedly different aging trajectories. “For those who want a smaller sized dog but do not want to risk severe mental health problems in old age or want a larger sized dog but do not want to risk physical health problems at 7-8 years of age, we recommend a dog from the 10-30 kg size range.”  - explained Turcsán. “Based on our results, these dogs have a longer healthspan relative to their expected lifespan than their smaller and larger counterparts.”

Does size difference also impact how dogs age in terms of behavior and cognitive abilities?

CREDIT

Photo: Eniko Kubinyi / Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University

JOURNAL

GeroScience

DOI

10.1007/s11357-023-00945-9 

ARTICLE TITLE

Differential behavioral aging trajectories according to body size, expected lifespan, and head shape in dogs

 

Worldwide fertility crisis: Why men really need a hand from science

A consortium of international experts gives 10 recommendations to increase the chances that men will experience the joys of fatherhood and have healthy children

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL HOSPITAL RESEARCH CENTRE (CRCHUM)

 

IMAGE: 

SARAH KIMMINS, A CRCHUM RESEARCHER AND PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL

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CREDIT: AMÉLIE PHILIBERT I UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL

Montreal, October 13, 2023—Infertility now affects one in six couples of reproductive age according to the World Health Organisation. About half the time, it originates from men. As male infertility is increasing worldwide, researcher Sarah Kimmins and 25 international experts highlights that men have a right to meaningful diagnoses and targeted treatments.

Unfortunately, these are currently unavailable in most cases.

The lack of knowledge regarding the causes of male infertility and in combination with limited clinical tools, has resulted in female focussed treatment—burdensome and risky invasive procedures—for male infertility.

In a consensus report published in the journal Nature Reviews Urology, the consortium of 25 scientists led by Moira O’Bryan, Dean of Science at the University of Melbourne, reveal 10 recommendations that could improve the health of men and their children, and decrease the burden on their female partners.

Université de Montréal Professor Sarah Kimmins, a researcher at the CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM), weighs in the report as the first author and a world-leading expert in male fertility and gene-environment interactions.

Lifestyle and Environment Play a Key Role

“The rapid decline in male fertility cannot be explained by genetics, and studies indicate that environmental factors are a driving force, said Sarah Kimmins. These include increased exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals that exist in our daily lives and persist in the environment.”

“Other factors include the rise in overweight and obese men, poor diet, stress, cannabis use, alcohol and smoking or vaping. Unfortunately, men are generally unaware of these factors.”

One of the key recommendations of the report is to increase public awareness through public health campaigns around these lifestyle choices that are hazards to men’s fertility.

“As it takes months to make sperm, men should consider adopting a healthy lifestyle well before planning their families,” said Dr. Jacquetta Trasler, study’s co-author and senior scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.

Urgent Need for Better Diagnoses and Treatment

“The clinic is poorly equipped to properly diagnose and treat male reproduction. Current methods are based on outdated techniques,” said Géraldine Delbès, study’s co-author and researcher at Institut national de la recherche scientifique.

Men are currently designated infertile based on family history, physical examination, hormone profiles and a simple semen analysis that has not changed for more than 50 years.

“As health professionals, going forward, we need more funding of research that will allow us to offer men sensitive and accurate tests of sperm health,” said Dr. Trasler.

A Personalized Medicine Approach

Towards that goal Sarah Kimmins and her team have devoted years of research to develop a better male fertility diagnostic.

Aptly named HisTurn, it will be the first genomic diagnostic that offers a personalized medicine approach for male infertility.

While HisTurn is currently being clinically validated the goal is that it’s eventual use in fertility clinics will give men an accurate diagnosis that can better guide treatment, saving couples and clinics time and money, while improving the efficiency and success rates of fertility treatment.

“Decreasing semen quality and increasing frequency of testicular cancer and congenital defects in the urogenital system indicate that, globally, male reproductive health has declined over recent decades. Research is needed to understand why, and how this trend can be reversed. Urgent, worldwide action to implement our recommendations is critical,” states Moira O’Bryan.

 

Science writing: Bruno Geoffroy

 

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About the 10 recommendations

1. Governments, healthcare systems, insurance companies, and the public should understand and acknowledge that male infertility is a common, serious medical condition and patients have a right to meaningful diagnoses and targeted treatments;
2. Establish a global network of registries and biobanks containing standardized clinical and lifestyle information, and tissue from fertile and infertile men, their partners, and children. Link it to national healthcare data systems;
3. Implement protocols and incentives to standardize collection of de-identified tissue and clinical/lifestyle data;
4. Fund more international, collaborative research to understand the interactions and impacts of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors on male fertility in diverse populations;
5. Integrate genomic sequencing into diagnosis of male infertility;  
6. Develop additional diagnostic tests to improve diagnosis and cause of male infertility. 
7. Rigorously test the impact on male fertility of compounds—especially endocrine-disrupting chemicals—in products, the workplace, and the environment. Implement regulations and policies and develop safe alternatives;
8. Rigorously test strategies for medically assisted reproduction before they are integrated into clinical practice;
9. Public education campaigns to promote discussion of male infertility and engagement in health seeking;
10. Improved training for healthcare workers to promote male reproductive health across the lifespan. 

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About the study

“Frequency, morbidity and equity—the case for increased research on male fertility,” by Sarah Kimmins et al., was published online Oct. 12, 2023, in Nature Reviews Urology.

The paper’s 26 authors are world leaders in andrology, gynaecology, urology, cellular biology, endocrinology, environmental hazards, pathology, reproductive medicine, medically assisted reproduction, oncology, genetics, paediatrics, pharmacology, and therapeutics.

 

About the CRCHUM

The CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) is one of North America’s leading hospital research centres. It strives to improve the health of adults through a continuum of research spanning disciplines such as basic science, clinical research and population health. More than 2,150 people work at the CRCHUM, including nearly 500 researchers and nearly 650 students and postdoctoral fellows. crchum.com

 

About Université de Montréal

Deeply rooted in Montréal and dedicated to its international mission, Université de Montréal is one of the top universities in the French-speaking world. Founded in 1878, Université de Montréal today has 13 faculties and schools, and together with its two affiliated schools, HEC Montréal and Polytechnique Montréal, constitutes the largest centre of higher education and research in Quebec and one of the major centres in North America. It brings together 2,300 professors and researchers and has close to 67,000 students. umontreal.ca

 

 

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Reviews Urology

DOI

10.1038/s41585-023-00820-4 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Frequency, morbidity and equity — the case for increased research on male fertility

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Oct-2023

 

Historic agreement unites diverse stakeholders to revolutionize large-scale U.S. solar development

Business Announcement

STANFORD WOODS INSTITUTE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA and WASHINGTON, D.C. —  In a landmark accord, major solar developers, conservation groups, agricultural organizations, environmental and environmental justice groups, and tribal entities announced today their agreement to advance large-scale U.S. solar development while championing land conservation and supporting local community interests. The agreement is the result of a 20-month “Solar Uncommon Dialogue” convened by Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The agreement marks a major turning point in resolving conflicts over developing major U.S. solar projects and related conservation and community concerns.

Over the next 10 years, U.S. solar energy output is expected to increase five-fold, helping to address climate change and bring clean and affordable energy to more communities. The rapid increase in utility- scale solar also means that the industry must address various issues, including agricultural land conversion, wildlife and habitat impacts, and community engagement. The Solar Uncommon Dialogue agreement stresses that the development of large solar projects must be transparent, equitable and efficient and acknowledges that this will require many trade-offs.

Signatories to the Solar Uncommon Dialogue agreement have committed to improving large-scale solar development based on the “3Cs”: climate, conservation, and community.

• Climate emphasizes minimizing carbon emissions through clean energy sources, like solar energy and other tools, including natural climate solutions;

• Conservation seeks to minimize impacts on natural and working lands; and

• Community commits to equitable distribution of renewable energy project benefits.

The signatories are convening six working groups that will address key issues and opportunities including community engagement, siting-related risk assessment and decision-making, energy and agricultural technologies, tribal relations, and policy solutions.

These working groups will focus on advancing the 3Cs via improved public participation practices, solar siting mechanisms, regulation, financial incentives, information tools, and other means. The goal is to create best practices that solar companies, local governments, and other stakeholders can use to effectively site solar projects.

“Major U.S. solar projects are critical to fighting climate change but are increasingly opposed across the nation due to significant community and land conservation concerns,” said Stanford energy scholar Dan Reicher, who launched and leads the solar Uncommon Dialogue. “It’s exciting how motivated the parties are to avoid these conflicts and develop high-impact solutions — a triple play for climate, conservation, and community” added Reicher, who was U.S. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

As the solar and storage industry grows, it’s critical that we prioritize local engagement,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “We are thrilled to join our partners in this landmark agreement to help us quickly, responsibly, and equitably deploy solar and storage projects. We’re confident that by thoughtfully addressing stakeholder concerns from the start, we’ll be able to deliver the equitable clean energy future we need to see.”

"We’re committed to accelerating the renewable energy buildout and have to go smart to go fast,” said TNC CEO Jen Morris. “Bringing environmental groups to the table ensures that we strike the right balance, delivering clean energy solutions while safeguarding our precious natural resources and communities.”

The solar agreement grew out of a Stanford-organized “Uncommon Dialogue,” a convening of cross- sector experts and stakeholders designed to find common ground and build consensus around specific environmental challenges. A previous Uncommon Dialogue agreement on hydropower and river conservation led to $2.3 billion in federal funding for implementation of its working groups’ recommendations.

The solar dialogue and agreement have already spawned a new Uncommon Dialogue to address challenges facing U.S. electricity transmission development for solar, wind and other new clean energy projects.

Learn more about the Solar Uncommon Dialogue and how to participate in a working group.

Parties to the Solar Uncommon Dialogue Agreement 

American Farmland Trust 
Appalachian Voices 
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 
Climate Adaptive Infrastructure 
EDP Renewables 
energyRe 
Intersect Power 
Invenergy 
Land Trust Alliance 
Lightsource bp 
National Audubon Society 
National Wildlife Refuge Association 
Natural Resources Defense Council 
North American Indian Center of Boston
Pine Gate Renewables 
Solar Energy Industries Association 
The Lyme Timber Company 
The Nature Conservancy 
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership 
Union of Concerned Scientists  
WE ACT for Environmental Justice

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About Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment:  
The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment is working toward a future in which societies meet people’s needs for water, food, health and other vital services while sustaining the planet. Part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Woods is the university's hub for interdisciplinary research about the environment. We bring together Stanford faculty, researchers and students from all seven schools, fostering research collaborations that can tackle challenges too complex for any one discipline to solve alone. Our convening and external engagement efforts cross sectors as well, connecting Stanford's experts to their counterparts in government, business, NGOs, foundations and other academic institutions. These partnerships inform research priorities and link knowledge to action, advancing solutions to the most pressing environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. Learn more: woods.stanford.edu

About the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA):  
The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy, creating the framework for solar to achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Founded in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association for the solar and solar + storage industries, building a comprehensive vision for the Solar+ Decade through research, education and advocacy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org and follow @SEIA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.  

About The Nature Conservancy: 
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 76 countries and territories—37 by direct conservation impact and 39 through partners—we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.