Thursday, June 05, 2025

Eating an array of smaller fish could be nutrient-dense solution to overfishing

Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. - To satisfy the seafood needs of billions of people, offering them access to a more biodiverse array of fish creates opportunities to mix-and-match species to obtain better nutrition from smaller portions of fish.

The right combination of certain species can provide up to 60% more nutrients than if someone ate the same quantity of even a highly nutritious species, according to an analysis by Cornell University researchers.

“This research hopefully highlights the importance of biodiversity, not just because of a moral quandary that we’re causing a mass extinction on Earth, but also because biodiversity can lead to better outcomes for fishery sustainability,” said first author Sebastian Heilpern, a postdoctoral fellow who has done previous research related to this in the Amazon River.

In the study, Heilpern and colleagues began by identifying a list of fish species that people are known to consume. Heilpern cross-checked it with existing nutrient content data for each species. From there, researchers determined the fish species that are found in every country or territory on Earth. The biogeographic and nutrient data was then fed into a computer model.

“We can then ask, out of all these combinations of potential options of species, which ones could we select and how much of each, in a way that would provide us with sufficient nutrition to meet a person’s diet [needs] with the lowest amount of fish biomass,” Heilpern said.

The model revealed that when fisheries are more biodiverse, an optimal diet that uses the lowest quantity of fish skews towards species with traits that can give them greater resilience to anthropogenic pressures like overexploitation and climate change. Such species tend to be smaller, lower on the food chain, and can be substituted with a wider range of other small species that contain similar levels of nutrients, thereby providing people with many potential alternatives.

Smaller species, like sardines, tend to be more ecologically resilient because they grow at faster rates than larger species. Additionally, optimal species are able to tolerate wider temperature ranges, making them more resilient to climate shocks.

The investigation showed that tropical coastal countries tend to have the most biodiverse fisheries, including countries in the Coral Triangle in the Pacific Ocean, Australia, India and the Amazon. The U.S. has good biodiversity, though Americans tend to consume a select few species; only 10 species account for up to 90% of fish that Americans eat.

The study was funded by the Schmidt Sciences programs, Cornell University, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

For additional information, read this Cornell Chronicle story.

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Journal

Nature Sustainability

FOREVER CHEMICALS

New research examines Holloman Lake PFAS contamination

University of New Mexico

A team of researchers from The University of New Mexico’s Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) has shared new research on the contamination at Holloman Lake in southern New Mexico. The team began studying PFAS contamination of wildlife at Holloman Lake in 2021.

In an article published in 2024, the team reported world-record concentrations of PFAS in birds and mammals at the lake. The article showed that contamination spanned a period of at least 30 years and was connected to the use of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used by military installations. The new article, "Ecosystem-wide PFAS characterization and environmental behavior at a heavily contaminated desert oasis in the southwestern U.S.," published in the journal Environmental Research, confirms previous findings and analyzes all the factors contributing to the unprecedented levels of contamination at Holloman Lake.

“Holloman Lake itself – its surface water and sediments, its flora and fauna – is the known epicenter of the massive PFAS contamination we have been studying since 2021, but we do not yet know the boundaries of the affected area," said Research Professor Jean-Luc Cartron, UNM Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology and lead author of the new report. "Much of the playa environment downstream of Holloman could be contaminated, and, even more important, the movements of animals and animal populations around the landscape are essential factors to consider. Contaminated animals may travel far from Holloman and contaminate other ecosystems or pose a risk to hunters.”

This new research expanded on earlier published research to examine PFAS contamination in waters of the lake, soils, plants, algae, fish, reptiles, and various species of birds and mammals.

The highlights of the new research are:

All the samples collected at Holloman Lake, whether water, soils, plants, algae, or animal tissues had very high PFAS concentrations (up to 120,000 ng/g in the liver of a kangaroo rat), up to 10,000 times or more the EPA’s drinking water standards
One plant composite sample had the highest PFAS concentrations recorded anywhere to date
Lake waters also appear to hold the highest PFAS concentrations recorded anywhere
Contamination is not limited to the lake itself. The scientists ruled out air transport as being an important mechanism and instead link high soil concentrations to past inundation events (where for example wastewater used to be stored)
They were able to find some of the same patterns reported during controlled lab studies and linking the length of the PFAS molecules (and the number of fluorinate carbons) to their ability to transport out of the water, with salt and clay minerals also playing an important role.

Due to the extraordinarily high levels of PFAS contamination, together with the local abundance of wildlife and the complex hydrogeological setting including gypsum deposits), Holloman Lake can serve as a natural laboratory for studying and learning more about PFAS environmental behavior including transport, fate and bioaccumulation.

“The prolonged and severe PFAS contamination at Holloman Lake presents an important natural experiment to investigate how legacy and emerging PFAS compounds are distributed and transported through an ecosystem—shedding light on exposure risks to wildlife and humans,” said co-author of the article and and new Ph.D. graduate Chauncey R. Gadek, Division of Birds, Museum of Southwestern Biology.

Holloman Lake is a wastewater lake located in a publicly accessible area of Holloman AFB in Otero County west of Alamogordo, N.M. It is home to thousands of waterfowls and shorebirds, the reason why it was designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society in 2002. It also harbors an abundance of other birds and small mammals.

“Our planet is undergoing rapid change on multiple fronts, and we now live in an era of global contamination,” said Distinguished and Regents’ Professor Joseph A. Cook, curator, Division of Mammals, Museum of Southwestern Biology, who co-authored the article. “The pervasive PFAS contamination found throughout the Holloman Lake ecosystem points to the dire need for more intensive holistic monitoring of New Mexico's environments on a regular basis."

One concern of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), an agency that assisted with funding the MSB, was the contamination of the regional aquifer and water wells, another the health risks to local duck hunters. Hunting was permitted at Holloman Lake until last year and the publication of the initial research.

The scientists have also observed a herd of oryx visiting Holloman Lake on a regular basis. Oryx can be hunted in New Mexico and thus there is the possibility for hunters to ingest contaminated meat. The scientists are now working in collaboration with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to evaluate that risk.

However, the most contaminated soil sample was downstream of the lake, not at the lake itself. Historical imagery indicates that water from the lake at times flowed past the dam and into the network of playas extending to the southwest in the direction of Lake Lucero on White Sands National Park. One of the big questions is how contaminated are the playas in the area? Playas can be important habitat for migratory birds during and after rain events.

Additionally, Cartron found a dead baby bird (a killdeer chick) right by its nest on the ground near the lake. It was sent to the lab for testing, and its tissues had the highest PFAS concentration recorded to date in a bird.

“We are worried about the possibility of toxicity on reproduction and development in local birds, some of them sensitive species like the snowy plover,” added Cartron. “Contamination by PFAS could also be trans generational, with contamination affecting not just animals living at or visiting Holloman Lake, but also future generations.”

The scientists are also concerned about the possibility of migratory birds becoming heavily contaminated at Holloman Lake and then migrating to other wetlands around the state (and beyond), where hunters may also become contaminated. UNM Biology Professor Chris Witt is spearheading that effort to identify the level of risk statewide, with assistance from hunters around the state.

For more information on the MSB, visit the Museum of Southwestern Biology.

Contamination spanned a period of at least 30 years and was connected to the use of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used by military installations.

Killdeer chick found dead near its nest and later found to have record-high tissue concentrations of PFAS.

Credit

Jean-Luc Cartron

Journal

Environmental Research

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Article Title

Ecosystem-wide PFAS characterization and environmental behavior at a heavily contaminated desert oasis in the southwestern U.S.

Emory study finds molecular link between air pollution and pregnancy risks

Emory University

A new study by Emory University researchers, published Thursday in Environmental Science & Technology, found that exposure to the tiny particles in air pollution during pregnancy can disrupt maternal metabolisms, altering key biological pathways. These changes were associated with increased risk of various negative birth outcomes, including premature birth.

The study, which analyzed blood samples provided by 330 pregnant women from the Atlanta metropolitan area, is believed to be the first to investigate how exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) commonly found in air pollution affects the metabolism of pregnant women and contributes to increased risks of preterm and early term births.

“The link between air pollution and premature birth has been well established, but for the first time we were able to look at the detailed pathway and specific fine particles to identify how they are reflected in the increased risk of adverse birth outcomes,” says Donghai Liang, PhD, study lead author and associate professor of environmental health at the Rollins School of Public Health. “This is important because if we can figure out the ‘why’ and ‘how’ then we can know better how to address it.”

Why This Matters

Previous research has shown pregnant women and fetuses are more vulnerable than other populations to exposure to PM2.5—which is emitted from combustion sources such as vehicle exhaust, industrial processes, and wildfires—including increased likelihood of preterm births (less than 37 weeks of gestation), which is the leading cause of death globally among children under the age of five. Preterm birth is also linked to complications such as cerebral palsy, respiratory distress syndrome, and long-term noncommunicable disease risks, while early term births (37-39 weeks of gestation) are also associated with increased neonatal morbidity and developmental challenges. Approximately 10% of the preterm births in the world are attributable to PM2.5 exposure.

Key Findings

This was the first study to uncover the specific pathways and molecules involved in energy and amino acid metabolism that may explain how exposure to PM2.5 contributes to preterm and early term births.
The researchers identified two substances—cortexolone and lysoPE(20:3)— as factors in the relationship between short-term air pollution exposure and elevated risk of early births, offering a potential mechanism through which air pollution triggers premature labor.
The study highlighted disruptions in protein digestion and absorption—which are vital to fetal development and immune function—as potential links between air pollution and early births, also offering new potential targets for prevention efforts.
Of the 330 women who participated in the Emory study, 66 (20%) delivered preterm babies and 54 (16.4%) delivered early term babies, both of which are significantly higher than the prevalence in the general U.S. population.

What The Experts Say

“As an air pollution scientist, I do not think air pollution is going away anytime soon. Even at lower levels, we continue to see harmful health effects, but we can’t just ask people to simply move away from highly polluted areas,” Liang says. “So, from a clinical intervention standpoint, that’s why it’s critical to gain a better understanding on these pathways and molecules affected by pollution. In the future, we may be able to target some of these molecules to develop effective strategies or clinical interventions that could help reduce these adverse health effects.”

Journal

Environmental Science & Technology

DOI

10.1021/acs.est.5c02071

Article Title

Unraveling the Molecular Links between Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Early Birth Risks in African American Mothers: A Metabolomics Study in the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort

FIAT LUX

Controlling bacteria with light: from tackling antibiotic resistance to “bacterial robots”

Results from Politecnico di Milano’s EOS research project published in The European Physical Journal Plus

Politecnico di Milano

image:
Photo-controlled bacteria - Project EOS
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Credit: Politecnico di Milano - Department of Physics

A groundbreaking technique developed by Politecnico di Milano researchers is enabling scientists to control specific bacterial functions using light-sensitive materials. The Engineering Of bacteria to See light (EOS) project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC), has pioneered a system that allows bacteria to sense light and convert light energy into electrical signals across their membranes without the need for any genetic modification. This method is being explored as a promising solution to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.

Its potential applications include developing next-generation antimicrobial platforms, where light is used to target resistant pathogens, and biocompatible, light-guided “bacterial robots” capable of delivering drugs to specific areas of the body, even those that are typically difficult to reach, such as the gastrointestinal tract.

Politecnico di Milano’s research team uses special photo-transducing molecules that irreversibly attach to the bacterial surface. When exposed to light, these molecules alter the electrical potential of the bacterial membrane. Department of Physics professor and EOS project scientific coordinator Giuseppe Maria Paternò said: “This interplay between light and electrical signalling allows us to control key biological processes such as movement, biofilm formation, and antibiotic sensitivity. By manipulating the membrane potential on demand, we can influence antibiotic uptake and restore or even enhance the effectiveness of treatments against resistant strains.”

The team’s initial findings, published in The European Physical Journal Plus (Springer Nature), demonstrate that optomodulation, which is the light-induced modulation of electrical signals, directly affects the absorption of antibiotics. “Using a photosensitive molecule called Ziapin2, the researchers altered the membrane potential of Bacillus subtilis, modulating the action of antibiotics such as Kanamycin (which acts within the cell) and Ampicillin (which targets the cell wall). Under blue light (470 nm), the effectiveness of Kanamycin was significantly reduced, suggesting that membrane potential plays a crucial role in the drug’s uptake. Ampicillin, on the other hand, retained much of its efficacy under illumination” Paternò said.

The EOS project unites expertise across physics, chemistry, materials science, and microbiology, involving researchers from the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano.

Launched in 2023, the project secured a prestigious ERC Starting Grant, receiving €1.5 million in funding under the Horizon Europe programme. Dr Paternò was also named an “Ambassador for the ERC Network” on 28 April, joining 31 other grant recipients from 26 countries in advocating for the importance of scientific research across governments, media, and local communities.

Journal

The European Physical Journal Plus

DOI

10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-06263-7

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Photocontrol of bacterial membrane potential regulates antibiotic persistence in B. subtilis

Mental health sessions in schools can reduce depression and anxiety symptoms

University College London

Whole-class mental health sessions in schools have a small but significant effect in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms, according to new analysis led by researchers at UCL (University College London) and Anna Freud.

The analysis, published in the journal Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, combined results from 71 existing studies involving 63,041 young people aged eight to 18.

The researchers found that sessions based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which helps people to recognise and challenge negative thoughts and behaviours, were more effective at reducing anxiety symptoms than mindfulness-based sessions or sessions drawing from other theories.

Lead author Dr Daniel Hayes, based in UCL’s Department of Behavioural Science & Health and Anna Freud, a mental health charity for children and young people, said: “The value of whole-class mental health interventions has been contested. Past evidence has been mixed and some experts have argued that, given a lack of obvious benefit, schools should reconsider their use.

“Our findings, based on the most up-to-date evidence, show that whole-class sessions can work in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Although the effect is small on average for individuals, such small effects can be impactful once scaled up at a population level.

“Not all interventions are equal. Our analysis found that CBT-informed sessions, where young people learn to understand their thoughts and behaviours, as well as how to manage them, were significantly more effective at reducing anxiety symptoms than mindfulness-based classes.”

Senior author Professor Jessica Deighton, based in UCL’s Division of Psychology & Language Sciences and Director of Applied Research and Evaluation at Anna Freud, said: “The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people has become a major public health concern, with increasing numbers in the UK and elsewhere in contact with specialist services.

“School-based mental health interventions can reach a large number of people, including those who may not otherwise seek help. As long as the approach is careful and evidence-based, tackling the issue with everyone in a class can avoid stigmatising those experiencing mental health problems and help build the wellbeing of all students.

“By increasing children’s understanding of mental health and equipping them with techniques to help them cope with challenges, it is hoped that these interventions might help to prevent problems in later life.

“However, it’s important to remember the impact of these interventions alone is often small, and should be part of a wider, whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. This involves building supportive relationships and a sense of belonging across the whole school community, and providing more targeted support for those that need it.”

As part of their analysis, the researchers reviewed hundreds of existing studies.

The 71 studies they selected took place in 22 countries, with more than half occurring in Australia (27) and the United States (10). Most were conducted in secondary schools (51) rather than primary schools (19). The interventions were mostly delivered by teachers (36) and psychologists (22) and ranged from a single 30-minute session to more than two hours a week over four school years.

The research team divided interventions into three groups: sessions drawing on CBT; sessions based on mindfulness, in which people are encouraged to be aware of their thoughts, feelings and surroundings, as they occur; and those based on other theories or multiple theories, such as yoga, physical education and self-determination theory.

They found that interventions were linked to a later reduction in self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms but not to a later reduction in self-reported internalising symptoms – a broader category encompassing a range of emotional difficulties, such as feeling low, feeling anxious or having peer problems.

The outcomes for depression and anxiety did not vary according to the length of session or who delivered it. CBT-based sessions had more benefit for anxiety symptoms, but depression symptoms did not vary according to the underlying approach informing the intervention.

The study was funded by the UK’s Department for Education and involved researchers from UCL and Anna Freud, as well as from the University of York, the University of Exeter, the University of Manchester, Liverpool John Moores University, Edge Hill University in Lancashire, Newcastle University, the University of Dundee and the University of Bath.

Journal

Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

DOI

10.3389/frcha.2025.1526840

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Thursday, June 05, 2025

Eating an array of smaller fish could be nutrient-dense solution to overfishing

Journal

New research examines Holloman Lake PFAS contamination

Contamination spanned a period of at least 30 years and was connected to the use of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) used by military installations.

Killdeer chick found dead near its nest and later found to have record-high tissue concentrations of PFAS.

Credit

Journal

Method of Research

Article Title

Emory study finds molecular link between air pollution and pregnancy risks

Journal

DOI

Article Title

Controlling bacteria with light: from tackling antibiotic resistance to “bacterial robots”

Journal

DOI

Method of Research

Subject of Research

Article Title

Mental health sessions in schools can reduce depression and anxiety symptoms

Journal

DOI

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