Monday, November 27, 2023

Natural products used in Ayurvedic treatments alleviate symptoms of depression in fruit flies

Mainz University and the US-American BENFRA Center have jointly demonstrated the effect of botanical products used in traditional Asiatic medicine on depressive states

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITAET MAINZ

Drosophila in leaves of Centella asiatica — IMAGE:
THE LEVEL OF MOTIVATION OF THE FRUIT FLY *DROSOPHILA* CAN BE DEDUCED ON THE BASIS OF WHETHER IT ATTEMPTS TO CLIMB OVER GAPS IT ENCOUNTERS WHEN WALKING. IN A DEPRESSION-LIKE STATE, THE FRUIT FLY IS LESS LIKELY TO DO SO. IN THE BACKGROUND ARE LEAVES OF *CENTELLA ASIATICA*, THE INDIAN PENNYWORT.
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CREDIT: PHOTO/©: HELEN HOVOET, HANS-HERMANN HUBER

Chronic exposure to stress can lead to the development of depression-like disorders that manifest as a lack of motivation – even in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. As a result, the insects show less courtship behavior, are less interested in stopping to ingest sweet nutrients, and are less willing to climb a gap in the experimental setup. Traditional medicinal plants, however, can – to some extent – alleviate some of the associated symptoms, as observed by researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany in collaboration with the BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center in Portland, Oregon. The researchers have shown that two plants used in Ayurvedic medicine can improve resilience to chronic stress when used prophylactically in the flies. Despite their stressed state, they then no longer displayed behavior consistent with depression. Papers on their studies of the two plant materials have been published in Nutrients.

Plants containing biologically active ingredients can help the organism deal with stress

The JGU research group led by Professor Roland Strauss has been using the Drosophila melanogaster model to analyze the underlying mechanisms involved in resilience to stress and the effects of stress on the nervous system. "Chronic stress can induce depression-like states also in the fruit fly, and these become apparent in changes to their behavior," explained Strauss. In this most recent research context, his group cooperated with the BENFRA Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Center in the United States of America. The center investigates botanicals that enhance neurological and functional resilience in aging.

The Mainz-based researchers focus on testing extracts of botanicals and natural substances that are known to be used in traditional Asian medicine and are also marketed as dietary supplements. The idea is that certain plants contain above average amounts of active constituents or substances that themselves demonstrate particularly high levels of biological activity. These so-called adaptogens can help our bodies adapt to increased physical and emotional stress.

"An advantage over conventional drugs could be that medicinal plants contain blends of various active botanical substances that act on different sites of the stress axis," said Helen Holvoet, a doctoral candidate in the team of Professor Strauss and lead author of the two papers. "Because they have a synergistic effect on counteracting stress, they may cause fewer undesirable effects than if the substances themselves were administered alone in pure form." Another potential advantage is that dietary supplements can be used as complementary medication in association with pharmacotherapies.

In the joint project, Strauss' team tested their approach for the treatment of stress using two Ayurvedic medicinal plants, namely Withania somnifera (known as ashwagandha or the sleep berry) and Centella asiatica (the Indian pennywort). The research partners were able to demonstrate that, when administered prophylactically, both plants enhanced the resilience to chronic stress so that the flies exposed to stress did not get into a depression-like state in the first place.

Chlorogenic acid identified as substance relevant to the treatment of stress

"In the case of Withania somnifera, we found that the way of preparing the root makes a difference – as aqueous extracts provided better prophylactic effects than extracts in alcohol," explained Dr. Burkhard Poeck, who was also involved in the experiments. This surprising result does indicate how important it is to pay attention to the production methods used for dietary supplements.

The team in Mainz and their cooperation partners in Portland obtained an even more impressive result when experimenting with Centella asiatica. They were actually able to identify a specific component, chlorogenic acid, acting as a prophylactic, anti-stress substance. Chlorogenic acid is present in many botanicals, in particularly high levels in coffee beans, for example. It is also found in traditional medicinal herbs such as valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), the stress-relieving potential of which have long been known.

The analysis of such medicinal substances not only provides general information on their effects on neuronal stress, but it can also offer starting points for fundamental resilience research. "In this case, we were able to pinpoint a relevant target protein for chlorogenic acid in Drosophila, the protein phosphatase calcineurin," said Professor Roland Strauss, explaining additional research results. In humans, calcineurin is present in many body organs and there are exceptionally high concentrations in the nervous system. There it interacts with numerous other proteins and mediates many signaling pathways.

The uptake of sugar and adaptogens can alleviate and even prevent depression-like states in the fruit fly Drosophila.

CREDIT

photo/©: Tim Hermanns

Publications:

H. Holvoet et al., Chlorogenic Acids, Acting via Calcineurin, Are the Main Compounds in Centella asiatica Extracts That Mediate Resilience to Chronic Stress in Drosophila melanogaster, MDPI Nutrients, 16 September 2023,
DOI: 10.3390/nu15184016
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/18/4016
H. Holvoet et al., Withania somnifera Extracts Promote Resilience against Age-Related and Stress-Induced Behavioral Phenotypes in Drosophila melanogaster; a Possible Role of Other Compounds besides Withanolides, MDPI Nutrients, 22 September 2022,
DOI: 10.3390/nu14193923
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/19/3923

JOURNAL

Nutrients

DOI

10.3390/nu15184016

ARTICLE TITLE

Chlorogenic Acids, Acting via Calcineurin, Are the Main Compounds in Centella asiatica Extracts That Mediate Resilience to Chronic Stress in Drosophila melanogaster

New research finds taste perception of ultra-processed foods no better than less processed foods

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

The study, led by Bristol’s Nutrition and Behaviour Group, wanted to test the common but largely untested assumptions that food energy density (calories per gram), level of processing, and carbohydrate-to-fat ratio are key factors influencing food liking and desirability.

In the experiment, involving 224 adult volunteers, participants were presented with colour images of between 24 and 32 familiar foods, varying in energy density, level of processing (including UPFs), and carbohydrate-to-fat ratio. There were 52 different foods in total, including avocado, grapes, cashew nuts, king prawns, olives, blueberry muffin, crispbread, pepperoni sausage, and ice cream.

Participants were then asked to rate the foods for taste pleasantness (liking), desire to eat, sweetness, and saltiness while imagining tasting them. The validity of this method was confirmed by, for example, finding a strong relationship between sweetness ratings and food sugar content.

Results from the study showed that, on average, UPFs were no more liked or desired than processed or unprocessed foods. However, foods that combined more equal amounts (in calories) of carbohydrate and fat, were more liked and desired than foods containing the same number of calories mostly as carbohydrate, or mostly as fat. This is known, from previous research, as the ‘combo’ effect.

Further results revealed that foods with higher amounts of dietary fibre were less liked and desired, and foods tasting more intense (mainly related to the level of sweetness and saltiness), were more liked and desired.

Professor Peter Rogers in the School of Psychological Science and the study’s lead author, commented that the results for UPFs were surprising. He said: ”Our results challenge the assumption that ultra-processed foods are ‘hyperpalatable’, and it seems odd that this has not been directly tested before.

“However, whilst ultra-processing didn’t reliably predict liking (palatability) in our study, food carbohydrate-to-fat ratio, food fibre content, and taste intensity did – actually, together, these three characteristics accounted for more than half of the variability in liking across the foods we tested.

“The results for sweetness and saltiness, are consistent with our innate liking for sweetness and saltiness. And the results for carbohydrate-to-fat ratio and fibre might be related to another important characteristic that determines food liking.

“Our suggestion is that humans are programmed to learn to like foods with more equal amounts of carbohydrate and fat, and lower amounts of fibre, because those foods are less filling per calorie. In other words, we value calories over fullness.

“In turn, this trait helps us to maximise calorie intake and build up fat reserves when food is abundant – which is adaptive in circumstances when food supplies are uncertain or fluctuate seasonally, but not when food is continuously available in excess of our immediate needs.”

The Nutrition and Behaviour Group are currently testing the calories versus fullness idea in further studies of food liking and meal preferences, including across different countries and cuisines.

This research was funded by the University of Bristol’s School of Psychological Science.

JOURNAL

Appetite

DOI

10.1016/j.appet.2023.107124

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Evidence that carbohydrate-to-fat ratio and taste, but not energy density or NOVA level of processing, are determinants of food liking and food reward

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Nov-2023

Wits researchers pioneer a new way of searching for dark matter

Researchers investigate whether dark matter particles actually are produced inside a jet of standard model particles.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND

Semi-visible jets — IMAGE:
A GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF HOW SEMI-VISIBLE JETS WILL APPEAR IN THE ATLAS DETECTOR, SHOULD THEY EXIST.
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CREDIT: CERN

The existence of Dark Matter is a long-standing puzzle in our universe. Dark Matter makes up about a quarter of our universe, yet it does not interact significantly with ordinary matter. The existence of Dark Matter has been confirmed by a series of astrophysical and cosmological observations, including in the stunning recent pictures from James Webb Space Telescope. However, up to date, no experimental observation of dark matter has been reported. The existence of Dark Matter has been a question that high energy and astrophysicists around the world has been investigating for decades.

“This is the reason we do research in basic science, probing the deepest mysteries of the universe. The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is the largest experiment ever built, and particle collisions creating big-bang like condition can be exploited to look for hints of dark matter,” says Professor Deepak Kar, from the School of Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Working at the ATLAS experiment at CERN, Kar and his former PhD student, Sukanya Sinha (now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester), has pioneered a new way of searching for Dark Matter. Their research has been published in the journal, Physics Letters B.

“There have been plethora of collider searches for Dark Matter over the past few decades so far have focused on weakly interacting massive particles, termed WIMPs,” says Kar. “WIMPS is one class of particles that are hypothesised to explain Dark Matter as they do not absorb or emit light and don’t interact strongly with other particles. However, as no evidence of WIMPS’ has been found so far, we realised that the search for Dark Matter needed a paradigm shift.”

“What we were wondering, was whether Dark Matter particles actually are produced inside a jet of standard model particles,” said Kar. This led to the exploration of a new detector signature known as semi-visible jets, which scientists never looked at before.

High energy collisions of protons often result in production of collimated spray of particles, collected in what is termed as jets, from decay of ordinary quarks or gluons. Semi-visible jets would arise when hypothetical dark quarks decay partially to Standard-Model quarks (known particles) and partially to stable dark hadrons (the “invisible fraction”). Since they are produced in pairs, typically along with additional Standard-Model jets, the imbalance of energy or the missing energy in the detector arises when all the jets are not fully balanced. The direction of the missing energy is often aligned with one of the semi-visible jets.

This makes searches for semi-visible jets very challenging, as this event signature can also arise due to mis-measured jets in the detector. Kar and Sinha’s new way of looking for Dark Matter opens up new directions into looking for the existence of Dark Matter.

“Even though my PhD thesis does not contain a discovery of Dark Matter, it sets the first and rather stringent upper bounds on this production mode, and already inspiring further studies,” says Sinha.

The ATLAS Collaboration at CERN has highlighted this as one of the flagship results to come out at summer conferences in a press briefing: https://atlas.cern/Updates/Briefing/Semi-Visible-Jets.

JOURNAL

Physics Letters B

ARTICLE TITLE

Search for non-resonant production of semi-visible jets using Run 2 data in ATLAS

Patient support programs for prescription drugs are common, especially for expensive drugs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

About 1 in 10 prescription drugs — mainly brand-name and expensive drugs and those for rare diseases — has a manufacturer-sponsored patient support program, which usually includes financial, nursing and educational supports.

"In an era where policy-makers are grappling with escalating drug prices and budgetary impacts globally, the pharmaceutical industry promotes patient support programs as adding complementary value to a drug through supporting medication adherence and enhancing clinical outcomes, patient experience or quality of life," writes Dr. Quinn Grundy, a registered nurse and assistant professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, with coauthors.

To understand the range of prescription drugs with patient support programs, researchers quantified and evaluated patient support programs for drugs on the market as of August 2022. Of the total 2556 prescription drugs marketed by 89 companies, they identified programs for 256 drugs (10%). Almost two-thirds of companies (55; 62%) offered patient support programs. Although only about 10% of drugs on the market are biologics, they represent more than half of drugs that have a patient support program.

Patient support programs most frequently existed for drugs that are expensive. Of the 2214 drugs dispensed through retail pharmacies, 1632 (74%) cost $10 per unit or less whereas those with a patient support program had a median cost per unit of $208.40.

The researchers note that they may have underestimated the number of support programs, as their analysis relied on publicly available information and they may have missed patient support programs for very specialized, rare drugs.

While financial supports, nursing support and counselling are valuable to patients, the researchers found duplication of services across companies marketing drugs with the same active ingredients, and lack of transparency around what programs offered and their impacts.

"Whether manufacturer-sponsored patient support programs are the optimal model to provide care related to medicines is an open question. Models of care should be designed around people's health needs, not a particular product," says Dr. Grundy.

"Prevalence and nature of manufacturer-sponsored patient support programs for prescription drugs in Canada: a cross-sectional study" is published November 27, 2023.

JOURNAL

Canadian Medical Association Journal

DOI

10.1503/cmaj.230841

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Prevalence and nature of manufacturer-sponsored patient support programs for prescription drugs in Canada: a cross-sectional study

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Nov-2023

Secrecy at Canada's pest management agency must end

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL

Health Canada increased maximum residue limits for glyphosate in some crops, such as oats and beans, in 2021 despite concerns about the health impact of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer regards these pesticides as genotoxic, meaning they can damage DNA and are likely carcinogenic.

"Health Canada's PMRA considers pesticide sales and risk evaluation data in Canada to be confidential business information, and independent researchers cannot access these data, even through the Access to Information Act. Such a level of secrecy contrasts with important steps taken by Health Canada to improve transparency of data about therapeutic products," say Drs. Marc-André Gagnon, an associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University (Ottawa), and Marie-Hélène Bacon from the Collectif de recherche écosanté sur les pesticides, les politiques et les alternatives (CREPPA) at Université du Québec à Montréal (Montréal).

The authors point out that federal ministers of health have discretionary powers to share confidential business information on therapeutic products, granted in 2014 with the passing of Vanessa's Law. They argue that these discretionary powers should be extended to pesticides if there is a risk to human health.

"This ongoing culture of secrecy at Health Canada's PMRA is deeply concerning. Health ministers should use their discretionary powers to ensure that safety data for pesticides stop being concealed as [confidential business information], as is the case for therapeutic products. By restraining access to evidence and by imposing secrecy, Health Canada impedes constructive public debates over important scientific and health issues related to pesticides, which nurtures the idea that governmental institutions are influenced by the agrochemical industry," the authors conclude.

"Time to improve transparency at Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency" is published November 27, 2023.

JOURNAL

Canadian Medical Association Journal

DOI

10.1503/cmaj.231089

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Time to improve transparency at Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Nov-2023

New study: One week of night shifts per month does not increase the risk of coronary heart disease

There is no higher risk of coronary heart disease if you work between one and seven night shifts per month, a new study from Aarhus University shows. The study examined the working life and medical history of more than 250,000 Danes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

If you clock in for work in the early hours when most of the population is still asleep, you may have heard that it increases the risk of heart disease. But now there is good news from Aarhus University for those of us who work night shifts. A new study shows no increased risk of coronary heart disease if you work up to seven night shifts per month.

PhD Student Jesper Medom Vestergaard from the Department of Clinical Medicine is responsible for the study, which is based on working time registrations of more than 250,000 employees from 2007-2015, combined with their hospital records.

"In our study, we didn’t see any association between the number of night shifts and the risk of coronary heart disease. Many international studies have otherwise suggested an association, which is why our results are interesting, not least because the previous studies are primarily based on questionnaires, whereas we’ve had an opportunity to compare specific data on working hours with people’s health information," says Jesper Medom Vestergaard.

In the study, Jesper Medom Vestergaard had access to day-to-day information on working hours for a total of 254,031 healthcare worers and other employees in the Danish regions, and this information was linked with their health information, including information from the Danish National Patient Register.

"Employees in the regions work on average 1.8 night shifts per month, and 93 per cent of them work fewer than seven monthly night shifts. The study shows that this is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease."

Jesper Medom Vestergaard emphasises, however, that the results of the study do not mean that everyone working night shifts can breathe a sigh of relief.

"Most of the 250,000 paticipants in our study work in the healthcare sector, and few of them work nights permanently. Therefore, we can’t conclude that there is not an increased risk of coronary heart disease associated with night shifts. Many other factors may be in play, but the data in the analyses were adjusted for age, sex, family history of cardiovascular disease and other diseases associated with coronary heart disease."

Jesper Medom Vestergaard will follow up with a new study, in which he will look at the risk of breast cancer, which has also previously been linked to night work.

The research results - more information

Type of study: The study is a register-based study based on a cohort of all 254,031 health care workers in Danish regions from 2007 to 2015, combined with health information, including information from the National Patient Register.
Partners: National Research Centre for the Working Environment, University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health, University of California, School of Public Health, Berkeley, USA,
Financing: The study has been financed by the Danish Working Environment Research Fund and Nordforsk.
Information about deviations from the principle that the research results discussed in the press release must be based on a peer-reviewed article that has been published in an academic journal: The study has been peer-reviewed and published in the internationally recognised academic journal – International Journal of Epidemiology
Read more in the scientific paper: https://academic.oup.com/ije/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ije/dyad126/7281366?utm_source=advanceaccess&utm_campaign=ije&utm_medium=email

JOURNAL

International Journal of Epidemiology

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Night shift work characteristics and risk of incident coronary heart disease among health care workers: national cohort study

Was “witchcraft” in the Devil’s Church in Koli based on acoustic resonance? – The crevice cave has a unique soundscape

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

Entrance to the Devil's Church. — IMAGE:
ENTRANCE TO THE DEVIL'S CHURCH.
view more
CREDIT: JULIA SHPINITSKAYA.

The national park of Koli in eastern Finland is home to a famous, 34-metre-long crevice cave known as Pirunkirkko, or Devil’s Church in English. In folklore, this crevice cave was known as a place where local sages would meet to contact the spirit world. Even today, the place is visited by practitioners of shamanism, who organise drumming sessions in the cave.

A new article by Riitta Rainio, a researcher of archaeology at the University of Helsinki, and Elina Hytönen-Ng, a researcher of cultural studies at the University of Eastern Finland, investigates the acoustics of the Devil’s Church and explores whether the acoustic properties of the cave could explain the beliefs associated with it, and why it was chosen as a place for activities and rituals involving sound.

The researchers found that the Devil’s Church houses a distinct resonance phenomenon that amplifies and lengthens sound at a specific frequency. This phenomenon may have significantly impacted the beliefs and experiences associated with the cave.

Resonance as a booster of healing rituals and drumming sessions

The researchers reviewed historical archives showing that several known sages and healers operated in the Koli area. The most famous of the sages was a man known as Kinolainen, sometimes also referred to as Tossavainen, who used the Devil’s Church for magical rituals.

“According to folklore, Kinolainen would take his patients to the ‘church’ to talk with the Devil about the causes and cures of their ailments. This kind of a healing ritual often included loud yelling, stomping, shooting and banging,” Rainio says, summarising traditional records.

Hytönen-Ng also interviewed and observed a modern-day practitioner of shamanism who uses the Devil’s Church for rituals. According to the practitioner, there is a special energy in the cave, creating a strong connection to the surrounding nature and to one’s own roots.

“The practitioner told in the interview that drumming sessions especially at the back of the cave have opened up ‘new horizons’.”

According to Rainio, acoustic measurements conducted in the corridor-like, smooth walled back of the cave show a strong resonance phenomenon. The phenomenon is caused by a standing wave between the smooth parallel walls, generating a tone at the natural frequency of the cave, 231 Hz, that stays audible for around one second after sharp impulses, such as clapping, drumming or loud bangs.

Tones vocalised in the cave near the 231 Hz frequency are amplified and lengthened by the cave.

“We recorded the shamanic practitioner and found that they repeatedly vocalised tones at 231 Hz, which were then amplified by the cave at its natural frequency.”

A rare phenomenon in the natural environment

Resonance is a common phenomenon in the built environment, especially in small rooms, but it is rare in the natural environment where smooth and solid, parallel surfaces are rarely found. According to the researchers, it can therefore be assumed that the resonance occurring in the innermost part of the Devil’s Church has been an exceptional sound phenomenon for the people living in the region centuries ago.

Similar distinct resonances in the natural environment have been measured, for example, in the Palaeolithic caves of France and Spain, occurring especially near paintings on cave walls.

Rainio and Hytönen-Ng suspect that a resonance-amplified, persistent tone has probably been audible on the background of rituals performed in the Devil’s Church. According to the researchers, the effect of this resonance may have been subtle and unconscious, yet it may have significantly shaped the beliefs and experiences associated with the cave.

“Where a researcher of acoustics hears as resonance, people of the past may have sensed the presence of a spirit, and a shamanic practitioner may feel the presence of an exceptional energy, each according to their background.”

The study thus provides an example of how resonance can be used to establish concrete communication and dialogue with a physical space, site or the natural environment.

The study in the field of archaeoacoustics was funded by the Academy of Finland. The study was carried out in collaboration between researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland. This research continues in a project funded by the Kone Foundation (2023–2026) in which the research group examines the historical and current acoustic traditions of Fennoscandia. An audio-visual virtual reality reconstruction of the Devil’s Church in Koli is currently underway for research and demonstration purposes.

JOURNAL

Open Archaeology

DOI

10.1515/opar-2022-0328

ARTICLE TITLE

Ringing Tone and Drumming Sages in the Crevice Cave of Pirunkirkko, Koli, Finland.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Nov-2023

A new map points at the impacts of Rare Earths

Reports and Proceedings

UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA

A map created by the Debt Observatory in Globalization in collaboration with the EJAtlas of Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the Institute for Policy Studies and CRAAD-OI Madagascar, documents 28 social and environmental conflicts derived from the extraction, processing and recycling of these minerals.

Impacts on water, soil, air and health, lack of transparency and participation in decisionmaking, human rights violations, criminalization and violence against communities are some of the effects documented along Rare Earths supply chains, according to the “Rare Earths Impacts and Conflicts Map”.

China, Chile, Brazil, Finland, Greenland, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and Sweden, are some of the scenes for these conflicts, which will be exacerbated as the demand for these minerals increases. As the EU Critical Raw Materials Act points out, Rare Earths are strategic for the green and digital transition, and also for defense and the aerospace industry.

What are Rare Earths and why do they matter?

Rare-earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 chemical elements considered critical for digitalization and for the energy transition. They have unique magnetic, optical and electronic properties that make them crucial for wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, LED and LCD screens, but also to produce aircraft, missiles, satellites and communications systems.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that to meet Net Zero Emissions goals the extraction of REEs would have to increase by a factor of 10 by 2030. Indeed, production has already increased by more than 85% between 2017 and 2020, driven mainly by the demand for permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind power technology.

A transition far from being just

While the central question for industrialized economies has remained how to urgently secure the sources that can meet a booming demand of critical materials for a green and digital transition, the REE Impacts and Conflicts Map highlights the increasingly unsustainable and unjust distribution of environmental, social and health burdens on communities across REE global supply chains. Some questions need to be urgently addressed, such as:

How can we envision environmentally just and sustainable energy transition and digitalization processes that do not exacerbate unjust and unsustainable practices or violate human rights?
How can we challenge and rethink energy demand scenarios (energy for what, for whom, at what cost) and establish clear limits?
How can we rethink industrial design (prolonging product lifespan, increasing recycling and decreasing e-waste, waste generation and energy use)?
How can we develop energy transition policies that do not push aside environmental, social or participation rights in the name of climate urgency (for instance, looking for solutions beyond technological fixes)?
How can we ensure that this transition takes biophysical limits into account?

Check out the complete report: Mapping the Impacts and Conflicts of Rare-Earth Elements

Smog from Copenhagen’s Bispeengbuen heads straight into living rooms

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - FACULTY OF SCIENCE

A large amount of the heavy automobile pollution from Copenhagen’s Bispeengbuen thoroughfare goes straight into people's homes. This, according to a study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. A sensor developed by one of the researchers can help fill in the blanks of our understanding about local air pollution.

Air pollution cuts the lives of more than four thousand Danes short every year. Locally, we have a very limited understanding how many harmful substances waft in the air we breath. Indeed, air pollution is only monitored at fourteen locations across Denmark.

This prompted University of Copenhagen chemists to set up their own measuring devices along one of the Danish capital’s busiest thoroughfares, a place where air quality is not otherwise measured: Namely by the Bispeengbuen – an elevated roadway that bisects densely populated residential areas and leads into and out of the heart of the Copenhagen. Pollution from the 50-70,000 cars that that drive over the six-lane raised road every day goes directly into nearby homes. Their results are presented in a study led by University of Copenhagen chemistry student Frederik Hildebrand which has just been published in the journal Dansk Kemi.

The scientists placed a range of low cost pollution sensors along Bispeengbuen, outside an inhabited apartment thirty-five meters from the roadway and inside one of the apartment's rooms. The devices, which were developed by researchers at the Department of Chemistry, measured air pollution levels for over four weeks.

"The sensor in the apartment was placed in a storage room where there were no people and where the doors and windows were closed for the entire period. Here, we found a close correlation between indoor and outdoor air pollution. This means that the air pollution originated outdoors and came into the room, despite it having been completely shut off. It was surprising," says Frederik Hildebrand.

Forty-eight percent of the pollution came from the roadway

The scientists’ measurements demonstrate that forty-eight percent of the apartment’s indoor air pollution comes directly from Bispeengbuen-generated car pollution.

"This could in part be due to it being an old building, which is not as well insulated as the newer ones. But for the most part, most of Copenhagen’s buildings are old. If one assumes that the same is true in other types of buildings that are similar, indoor pollution could be significant. Some of the homes are just five metres from the roadway," says Matthew S. Johnson, the Department of Chemistry professor who supervised the project and helped develop the sensor that was used.

The most alarming types of pollution the researchers measured were nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). NO2 is notorious for wreaking havoc on the lungs, causing cancer, dementia and cardiovascular diseases. Because they are so small, fine particles (PM2.5) can enter the lungs and find their way into the bloodstream and body. Among other things, the particles can lead to pulmonary diseases, diabetes, blood clots and cancer.

Exceeds WHO guidelines

While the average concentration of fine particles measured outdoors along the Bispeengbuen remained within the WHO guidelines for healthy air quality, the average level of NO2 exceeded the WHO's 24-hour limit values during the measurement period.

When PM2.5 concentrations were at their highest – which particularly occurred during the morning rush hour – they were more than ten times as high as the 24-hour limit values. For NO2, the values were six times as high.

"Our measurements at Bispeengbuen are as high as levels at the most polluted stretch of road in Denmark – H.C. Andersens Boulevard in downtown Copenhagen. The difference is that here we are up on the second floor, so the pollution is spread even more into the local area and most likely into people's homes," says Professor Johnson.

Within the apartment, concentrations remained below WHO limit values throughout the measurement period, during late spring of 2022:

"But that doesn't mean that it doesn't require attention. After all, the concentrations depend on the amount of traffic. In winter, we suspect that car traffic increases and alongside that, the amount of air pollution – as studies from elsewhere show. So, it is not impossible that the limits are exceeded," says Frederik Hildebrand.

"It is definitely worrying that there is such a close link between outdoor and indoor pollution. It finds its way in and is very likely to harm people's health. Part of the problem can be alleviated through building renovations. Still, it is very unfortunate planning for the roadway to be so close to the building," says Matthew S. Johnson.

After years of political discussion, it has been decided to demolish one of Bispeengbue two elevated roadways, which will be reduced from six lanes to three. What do the researchers think about this solution?

"Car traffic is still constant, so you really just move pollution from one place to another. If, on the other hand, you move traffic underground, you will not spread the pollution to the nearby areas, and you would be able to control it through filters and other things that can clean the air in the tunnel," says Frederik Hildebrand.

For the time being, measurements only gathered at three places in Copenhagen

Today, official air quality monitoring in Denmark is conducted with instruments that provide very precise measurements, but are large, expensive and energy intensive. Therefore, the number of measuring stations is severely limited, with only 14 stations spread across Denmark. Three of them are in Copenhagen.

"So, you need a more accurate picture of the rest of Copenhagen and of local effects in general. This is what the sensors we’ve deployed here can provide – faster, better and cheaper. For example, we have set up 225 of these measuring devices around the Borough of Camden in London. They serve as a good complement to official measurement networks. Working side-by-side these networks can provide us with much better knowledge than we have today about how polluted the air we breathe really is," concludes Professor Johnson.

[FACT BOX:] AIR POLLUTION FATALITIES

Danish calculations show that air pollution in Denmark in 2020 resulted in 4,030 premature deaths. 3,170 of the deaths are due to sources of air pollution abroad, while 860 cases are due to Danish sources. Danish sources also contribute approximately 1,930 premature deaths annually in Europe. (Source: Air pollution - Danish Health Authority)
According to a 2019 estimate, 11.65% of all deaths worldwide are due to air pollution. This makes air pollution the third leading cause of death after smoking and high blood pressure.
In 2019, outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide. (source: WHO)

[FACT BOX:] RESEARCHERS PRODUCE THE SENSORS THEMSELVES

The measuring devices used by the researchers in the study are low-cost sensors developed by the Danish company DevLabs. The company was founded by Matthew S. Johnson and other chemists from the same University of Copenhagen research group.
The low-cost sensors are compact, have low energy consumption and cost 100 to 1,000 times less than traditional air pollution monitoring devices. This makes it possible to create affordable networks of devices for studying local pollution at a previously unheard of level. However, the sensors must be calibrated against a more accurate and more expensive measuring instrument.

[FACT BOX:] ABOUT THE STUDY

The research article of the study has been published in the journal Dansk Kemi.
The authors are Frederik B. Hildebrand, Jens-Christian N. Poulsen and Matthew S. Johnson from the Department of Chemistry and Louise B. Frederickson from DevLabs/Aarhus University.

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