Thursday, April 10, 2025

Innovative partnerships advancing ocean observations

Research institutions and maritime pair up to monitor the vast and open ocean

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Oleander mast — image:
Sustained scientific observations and monitoring are crucial, offering researchers a unique, sustained window into upper ocean currents, water properties, and marine ecology. An initiative between cargo marine vessel MV Oleander and a team of researchers are contributing to ocean observations and data collection, and offering peer-reviewed data.

view more
Credit: Credit: Tim Noyes © BIOS/Arizona State University

Woods Hole, Mass. (April 10, 2025) -- Sustained scientific observations and monitoring are crucial for measuring ocean change, providing valuable data that contributes to a better understanding of oceanography, biodiversity, and the interconnectedness of global systems, and help inform decisions about conservation and resource management.

An initiative between a merchant marine container vessel and a team of researchers from multiple institutions including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the Arizona State University / Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (ASU BIOS) is contributing to ocean observations and data collection, and offering peer-reviewed data. A recently published study in Frontiers in Ocean Observing details how this unique partnership is helping to fill gaps in observations of the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf, Slope Sea, Gulf Stream and Sargasso Seas.

Cargo marine vessel (MV) Oleander is operated by Bermuda Container Line/Neptune Group and makes weekly trips between Elizabeth, N.J., and Bermuda. Since the 1970s, scientific equipment has been mounted on three different container ships operating consecutively on the “Oleander Line,” resulting in decades of scientific data. The newest MV Oleander came into service in 2019, and is now providing regular water column, sea surface, and atmospheric measurements.

This collective data gives scientists a unique, sustained window into upper ocean currents, water properties, and marine ecology. Along its route, the Oleander crosses the Gulf Stream and other currents that make up an important part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This vast oceanic circulatory system influences climate and weather patterns across North America, Europe, and many other parts of the globe and may itself be undergoing change resulting from human impacts on the global climate and ocean system.

“Sustained observations of temperature, salinity, and carbon dioxide concentrations along the Oleander Line have provided critical information about our changing oceans, including the warming and shrinking of the Slope Sea, and a northward shift of the Gulf Stream,” said Magdalena Andres, a senior scientist in WHOI’s Department of Physical Oceanography, and lead author on the study.

After passing Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the deep-reaching Gulf Stream begins to meander, serving both as a moving boundary between the water masses, ecosystems, and chemical regimes of the Slope and Sargasso Seas and as a point of air-sea exchange that drives intense regional wintertime cooling and uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Warm and cold core rings can intermittently break free from the Gulf Stream and drive interocean mixing, and the nutrient supply for phytoplankton blooms. Monitoring the impacts of the Gulf Stream and its rings is an area of active research, supported by the Oleander data.

Data from the project has been cited in dozens of peer-reviewed scientific publications, and contributes to global observing programs, including the Global eXpendable BathyThermograph (XBT) Network (Line AX32), the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT), and the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey.

“The long-standing cooperation between scientists and the Bermuda Container Line/Neptune Group serves as a model,” said Tim Noyes, marine ecologist and research fellow at ASU BIOS, and co-author of the study. “In situ measurements provided by ships can complement satellites and be an important part of global observing systems. Along with a suite of other observatory tools, this region of the world’s ocean is revealing some of the changes underway and helping us to predict and respond to future changes.”

The Oleander Project is a part of the Science RoCs (Research on Commercial Ships) initiative, which aims to equip many more commercial vessels with sensors to measure physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean along the world’s major shipping routes. The current custodians of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Oleander Project are led by WHOI and comprise ASU BIOS, Stony Brook University, and University of Hawaii with key contributions also by the University of Rhode Island, one of the founding institutions of the partnership.

"The industry has signaled that it is willing to help as scientists seek to expand their ability to collect sustained observations of the atmosphere and upper ocean waters to advance science and address pressing global challenges,” said Kerry Strom, Senior Manager in WHOI Marine Operations and co-author on a recent study documenting best practices for recruiting vessels of opportunity for seagoing data collection. “With its integrated system of scientific sensors, MV Oleander serves as an interdisciplinary observatory in the Northwest Atlantic that can be replicated elsewhere to aid scientists who have only limited access to the seas. The successes of Oleander’s operation over the last 50 years demonstrate that partnering with the merchant marine can increase this access.”

The Oleander Program is funded by the US National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences with the XBT probes supplied by NOAA/AOML and is made possible by the continued generosity of the Bermuda Container Line/Neptune Group and the invaluable expertise and support of the ship’s captains, chief engineers, and crew.

Sustained scientific observations and monitoring are crucial, offering researchers a unique, sustained window into upper ocean currents, water properties, and marine ecology. An initiative between cargo marine vessel MV Oleander and a team of researchers are contributing to ocean observations and data collection, and offering peer-reviewed data.

Credit

Credit: Tiffany Wardman © BIOS/Arizona State University

The MV Oleander travels a route between New Jersey and Bermuda, providing researchers with sustained scientific observations and monitoring. The route takes scientific instruments through the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and the Gulf Stream, offering valuable data about our changing oceans.

Credit

Graphic: Natalie Renier /© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its mission is to understand the ocean and its interactions with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean’s role in the changing global environment. WHOI’s pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering—one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in fundamental and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of ocean data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide—both above and below the waves—pushing the boundaries of knowledge to inform people and policies for a healthier planet. Learn more at whoi.edu.

About the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, is a U.S. non-profit scientific research and educational organization based in Bermuda and a Bermuda Registered Charity. For over 120 years scientists have worked to explore the ocean and address important local and global environmental issues. Ocean and atmospheric science research programs at ASU BIOS provide a wealth of information that is used by government representatives, environmental resource managers and community leaders to inform their decision-making processes. R/V Atlantic Explorer is a U.S. flagged ocean class vessel in the Academic Research Fleet, operated by ASU BIOS as a UNOLS designated operator, that provides scientists with a platform for conducting short-and long-term studies of the open ocean, providing data to inform our understanding of global climate change, nutrient cycling and ocean-atmospheric dynamics. For more information visit bios.asu.edu.

About the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory

The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University represents the urgent belief that we can and must make a meaningful contribution to ensuring a habitable planet and a future in which well-being is attainable. The Global Futures Laboratory is the world’s first comprehensive laboratory dedicated to the empowerment of our planet and its systems. It is built upon the deep and diverse expertise of ASU scientists and scholars and an ability to leverage insights and knowledge from an extensive global network of partners in order to address the complex social, economic and scientific challenges spawned by the current and future threats from environmental degradation. From this foundation, the Global Futures Laboratory is able to anticipate and respond to existing and emerging challenges and use innovation to purposefully shape and inform our future so that all of Earth’s inhabitants may thrive. For more information visit globalfutures.asu.edu.

DOI

10.5670/oceanog.2025e108

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Monitoring Impacts of the Gulf Stream and its Rings on the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology of the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelf and Slope from CMV Oleander

Brain circuit associated with intensity of involvement across the political spectrum identified

Effects were seen in both liberal and conservative participants and were not driven by political ideology or party affiliation

Mass General Brigham

A new study has identified a common brain circuit for intensity of political involvement across the political spectrum. Researchers from Mass General Brigham assessed data from 124 male military Veterans with penetrating head trauma, finding that lesions to a distinct circuit were associated with intensity of political involvement. These effects were consistent across conservative and liberal participants, suggesting that the circuit is tied to political intensity, not political ideology. Results are published in the journal Brain.

“Many studies have examined brain differences between conservatives and liberals, but our study focuses instead on intensity of political involvement, and in that respect, we find that people across the political spectrum are more similar than they are different,” said corresponding author Shan Siddiqi, MD, director of Psychiatric Neuromodulation Research Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

To conduct their study, researchers analyzed data from participants in the Vietnam Head Injury Study who had completed behavioral testing approximately 40-45 years after sustaining penetrating head trauma. The testing included a political questionnaire that asked participants to rate their intensity of political involvement, which included their level of interest in politics, frequency of following politics in the media, and frequency of discussing politics with others.

The researchers found that political involvement was more intense in people who had experienced lesions connected to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the posterior precuneus, parts of the brain believed to manage cognitive control and executive function. Political involvement was less intense in people who had experienced lesions connected to the amygdala and anterolateral temporal lobes, which are involved in fear and empathy. The authors note that political views did not correlate with any discernible neuroanatomical features and did not influence the relationship between neuroanatomy and political engagement.

Authorship: Additional authors include Stephanie Balters, Giovanna Zamboni, Shira Cohen-Zimerman, and Jordan H. Grafman.

Disclosures: Siddiqi is the owner of intellectual property involving the use of brain connectivity to target TMS, scientific consultant for Magnus Medical, investigator-initiated research funding from Neuronetics and Brainsway, speaking fees from Brainsway and Otsuka (for PsychU.org), shareholder in Brainsway (publicly traded) and Magnus Medical.

Funding: The present work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. K23MH121657 and R01MH136248 to Siddiqi). Siddiqi has also received funding from nonprofit organizations including the Baszucki Family Foundation and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, as well as investigator-initiated industry-sponsored funding from BrainsWay Inc and Neuronetics LLC. The funders were not directly involved in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Paper cited: Siddiqi SH et al. “Effects of focal brain damage on political behavior across different political ideologies” Brain DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaf101

Journal

Brain

DOI

10.1093/brain/awaf101

Article Title

Effects of focal brain damage on political behavior across different political ideologies

Article Publication Date

10-Apr-2025

COI Statement

Siddiqi is the owner of intellectual property involving the use of brain connectivity to target TMS, scientific consultant for Magnus Medical, investigator-initiated research funding from Neuronetics and Brainsway, speaking fees from Brainsway and Otsuka (for PsychU.org), shareholder in Brainsway (publicly traded) and Magnus Medical.

Scientists develop process using molecules in the cell to identify environmental signals

An effort involving Rutgers researchers could have applications for disease detection and environmental monitoring

Rutgers University

Students in Izgu Lab — image:
(From left) Sarah Cho and Liming Wang, graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, assess data for a research study headed by Assistant Professor Enver Cagri Izgu.
view more
Credit: Enver Izgu/Rutgers University

Scientists have transformed RNA, a biological molecule present in all living cells, into a biosensor that can detect tiny chemicals relevant to human health.

Research by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists centers on RNA, a nucleic acid that plays a crucial role in most cellular processes. Their work is expected to have applications in the surveillance of environmental chemicals and, ultimately, the diagnosis of critical diseases including neurological and cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

“Imagine that people will go to the hospital and give a sample of cells from their own bodies for regular check-ups,” said Enver Cagri Izgu, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and the corresponding author of the study. “And there will be some technology involved in transforming their cells into sensor cells without changing their frame and physiology. Those cells would then be returned to the person’s body, and the body will never have the issue of rejecting because it's their own cells. Those cells will have the ability to talk to us and generate signals about whether we have traces of toxic chemicals or the beginnings of disease within us.”

In the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Izgu and his team reported how they implemented RNA within bacterial cells in such a way that these cells, and even their daughter cells, were able to detect distinct chemicals. Such substances to be detected can be short-lived inorganic chemicals central to many physiological processes, both in healthy and disease states. RNA normally would not interact with these types of chemicals, and it would be exceedingly challenging to sense them through complex genetic circuits.

Scientists are actively investigating aspects of RNA to understand its multiple functions and its potential for improving human health. One unusual RNA function, first disclosed in 2011, is the ability of RNA to bind small molecules to generate light. This seminal study inspired Izgu and his team to push the boundaries of the RNA-induced light generation concept.

“We used our chemistry knowledge and turned RNA into a detector for physiologically important and short-lived inorganic chemicals, such as hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen peroxide,” Izgu said. “The inorganic chemical we want to detect first reacts with a small receptor molecule, which in turn becomes a binder of a special RNA sequence. The subsequent binding event between the receptor product (a hydroxybenzylidene imidazolinone derivative) and the RNA generates light at a specific wavelength. We achieved this chemical sensing mechanism inside living Escherichia coli as the model organism.”

The work is novel because although an externally designed RNA can be produced within cells, it can’t be coaxed to detect hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen peroxide.

In the critical stages of cancer and neurological and cardiovascular diseases, the human cells produce different levels of hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen peroxide. Izgu and his team were able to detect these chemicals using their E. coli sensors under laboratory conditions.

Izgu said the ultimate goal of the Rutgers research is to transform a human cell into a sensor cell in a similar way they were able to make the E. coli sense traces of chemicals.

Izgu and co-author Tushar Aggarwal, a former doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, are co-inventors in a patent application filed by Rutgers University on this work.

Other Rutgers scientists who contributed to the study included: Liming Wang and Sarah Cho (both current), and Bryan Gutierrez (former), doctoral students in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; Huseyin Erguven, a former postdoctoral associate who is now working at Paraza Pharma Inc. in Montreal; and Hakan Guven, a student at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.

Journal

Angewandte Chemie

DOI

10.1002/anie.202421936

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

A Small-Molecule Approach Enables RNA Aptamers to Function as Sensors for Reactive Inorganic Targets

COI Statement

Enver Izgu and Tushar Aggarwal are co-inventors in a patent application filed by Rutgers University on the subject of this work.

Genotype-to-phenotype map of human pelvis illuminates evolutionary trade-offs between walking and childbirth

Summary author: Walter Beckwith

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

A combined study on the morphology of the human pelvis – leveraging genetics and deep learning on data from more than 31,000 individuals – reveals genetic links between pelvic structure and function, locomotion, and childbirth outcomes, researchers report. The findings offer fresh insights into how our species evolved to balance the competing demands of bipedalism and childbirth. The transition to bipedalism in hominins led to significant changes in pelvic morphology, including a shorter and wider pelvis, which facilitated an upright posture and efficient locomotion. However, this adaptation also created a challenge for childbirth, as the narrowing of the birth canal made it difficult for babies with larger brains to pass through. This conflict – known as the "obstetrical dilemma" – has sparked debate for decades. It has been suggested that the dilemma may have been alleviated through evolution, with humans giving birth to less developed infants, allowing them to pass through the birth canal more easily. However, this theory has been challenged by recent studies showing human gestation and newborn size are comparable to other primates of similar size. While functional genomic studies on gene expression and comparisons between great apes and humans have provided insights into pelvic development, the genetic basis for pelvic morphology in humans remains largely unknown. To study the genetic basis of the human pelvis, Liaoyi Xu and colleagues used full-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images and genetic data from 42,284 individuals in the UK Biobank. Using a deep-learning approach on 39,469 high-quality DXA images, Xu et al. derived a comprehensive set of 7 skeletal measurements of the human pelvis and performed genome-wide scans to identify genetic loci associated with variations in pelvic proportion. Xu et al. uncovered 180 independent genetic loci associated with pelvic shape and found sex-specific differences in genetic architecture, as well as asymmetries in pelvic structure linked to handedness. They also found that wider birth canals are genetically associated with slower walking speed and greater risk of pelvic floor disorders, but also with a reduced risk of obstructed labor. Moreover, the study found no evidence that shorter gestation evolved to ease childbirth, but did observe genetic correlations between pelvic shape and head size, hinting at evolutionary responses to the challenges of birthing large-brained infants.

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adq1521

Article Title

The genetic architecture and evolutionary consequences of the human pelvic form

Article Publication Date

11-Apr-2025

A new Denisovan mandible from Taiwan

Ancient protein analysis revealed that the oldest hominin fossil in Taiwan was derived from a male Denisovan

The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI

Photograph of the right side of the mandible of Penghu 1. — image:
Robust morphology can be seen.
view more
Credit: Chun-Hsiang Chang, Jay Chang

A fossil mandible (Penghu 1: 19,000 to 10,000 years ago) was discovered on the seabed of the Penghu Channel in Taiwan and reported as the first and oldest hominin fossil from Taiwan in 2015. Penghu 1 has distinct morphological characters and retains archaic features, but its taxonomic identity was unknown. Attempts were made to extract ancient DNA from this fossil, but these were unsuccessful. Now, an international research team from Japan, Taiwan, and Denmark revealed that Penghu 1 was derived from a male Denisovan by sequencing its bone and tooth proteins. The molecular identification of Penghu 1, a Denisovan, has significant implications for human evolutionary history in eastern Asia.

Modern human populations in eastern Asia, particularly in the southeast, have genomic elements derived from the Denisovans, and it has been suggested that the two interbred in the region. However, so far, the molecularly identified Denisovan fossils are very fragmentary and have been found only from two sites in northern Asia. This research has directly demonstrated that Denisovans were also distributed in southeastern Asia. This research also revealed that the jaws and teeth of Denisovans were much robust than those of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, who lived on Earth at the same time. These findings have shed light on the mysterious appearance and distribution of Denisovans.

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ads3888

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan

Article Publication Date

10-Apr-2025

One can see how the shallow sea extends out.

Credit

Takumi Tsutaya

A robust male Denisovan individual was walking under the bright sun during the Pleistocene of Taiwan. This illustration was drawn by Cheng-Han Sun.

Credit

Cheng-Han Sun

Pleistocene-age Denisovan male identified in Taiwan

Summary author: Walter Beckwith

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

A fossil Pleistocene-age hominin jawbone discovered in Taiwan has now been identified as belonging to a Denisovan, according to a new paleoproteomic analysis of the remains. The findings provide direct molecular evidence that Denisovans occupied diverse climates, from the cold Siberian mountains to the warm, humid subtropical latitudes of Taiwan, and offer new morphological insights into this enigmatic hominin lineage. Recent research has revealed a surprising variety of ancient human relatives that lived in eastern Asia during the Pleistocene before modern humans arrived. One of the most important discoveries is the Denisovans, a distinct group identified through DNA from fossils in Denisova Cave, Siberia. Studies show that Denisovans were closely related to Neanderthals and interbred with both them and modern humans. However, outside Siberia, direct genetic evidence of Denisovans has only been found on the Tibetan Plateau. While other fossils found across eastern Asia have been proposed as being Denisovan, their classification remains uncertain without molecular confirmation. Here, Takumi Tsutaya and colleagues provide paleoproteomic evidence identifying a fossil hominin mandible (Penghu 1) recovered from the Penghu Channel off Taiwan as belonging to a male Denisovan. The Penghu remains, along with various animal fossils, were retrieved through commercial fishing dredging from the seafloor, which was once part of the Asian mainland during lower sea levels in the Pleistocene. Using ancient proteomic analysis, Tsutaya et al. extracted proteins from bone and dental enamel from the fossil and retrieved 4,241 amino acid residues, two of which were Denisovan-specific protein variants. According to the authors, these variants are rare in modern human populations but have a higher frequency in regions associated with Denisovan genetic introgression. What’s more, morphological analysis of the Penghu 1 remains reveals a robust jaw structure with large molars, and distinctive root structures, features that align with traits seen in the Tibetan Denisovan specimen, suggesting these traits were characteristic of the lineage and perhaps sex-specific.

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ads3888

Article Title

A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan

Article Publication Date

11-Apr-2025