It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
AI meets Forestry: EU Project SWIFTT webinar explores insect damage detection in European forests
The webinar will explore the practical and technical challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite data to monitor bark beetle outbreaks
The SWIFTT project invites forest professionals, researchers, and remote sensing experts to its upcoming webinar, “Leveraging AI Models for Insect Damage Detection in European Forests,” taking place online on 11 July 2025, from 14:00 to 15:00 CEST (Paris Time).
The webinar will explore the practical and technical challenges of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and satellite data to monitor bark beetle outbreaks—one of the most pressing threats to forest health in Europe.
In the first session, led by project partner Juris Zariņš (Rīgas Meži, LV), participants will gain insight into the real-world challenges of detecting insect damage early, a task made more difficult by the speed and subtlety of pest spread.
This sets the stage for Prof. Annalisa Appice (UNIBA, IT), who will delve into how AI models can support large-scale monitoring—but only when anchored in accurate, high-quality field data.
Together, these sessions highlight the critical interplay between remote sensing, machine learning, and traditional forestry knowledge, reinforcing SWIFTT’s mission to create practical tools that forest managers can trust and apply.
About SWIFTT
SWIFTT will provide forest managers with affordable, simple and effective remote sensing tools backed up by powerful machine learning models. Our solution will offer a holistic health monitoring service using Copernicus satellite imagery to detect and map the various risks to which forests and their managers are exposed.
SWIFTT is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement 101082732. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Quantum clocks can be more accurate than expected
Quantum effects are often used today for extremely precise measurements. But where is the absolute limit of accuracy? Results from TU Wien and collaborators show that it is better than expected.
How can the strange properties of quantum particles be exploited to perform extremely accurate measurements? This question is at the heart of the research field of quantum metrology. One example is the atomic clock, which uses the quantum properties of atoms to measure time much more accurately than would be possible with conventional clocks.
However, the fundamental laws of quantum physics always involve a certain degree of uncertainty. Some randomness or a certain amount of statistical noise has to be accepted. This results in fundamental limits to the accuracy that can be achieved. Until now, it seemed to be an immutable law that a clock twice as accurate requires at least twice as much energy. But now a team of researchers from TU Wien, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and University of Malta have demonstrated that special tricks can be used to increase accuracy exponentially. The crucial point is using two different time scales – similar to how a clock has a second hand and a minute hand.
What exactly is a clock?
“We have analyzed in principle, which clocks could be theoretically possible,” says Prof. Marcus Huber from the Atomic Institute at the TU Wien. “Every clock needs two components: first, a time base generator – such as a pendulum in a pendulum clock, or even a quantum oscillation. And second, a counter – any element that counts how many time units defined by the time base generator have already passed.”
The time base generator can always return to exactly the same state. After one complete oscillation, the pendulum of a pendulum clock is exactly where it was before. After a certain number of oscillations, the caesium atom in an atomic clock returns to exactly the same state it was in before. The counter, on the other hand, must change – otherwise the clock is useless.
“This means that every clock must be connected to an irreversible process,” says Florian Meier from TU Wien. “In the language of thermodynamics, this means that every clock increases the entropy in the universe; otherwise, it is not a clock.” The pendulum of a pendulum clock generates a little heat and disorder among the air molecules around it, and every laser beam that reads the state of an atomic clock generates heat, radiation and thus entropy.
“We can now consider how much entropy a hypothetical clock with extremely high precision would have to generate – and, accordingly, how much energy such a clock would need,” says Marcus Huber. “Until now, there seemed to be a linear relationship: if you want a thousand times the precision, you have to generate at least a thousand times as much entropy and expend a thousand times as much energy.”
Quantum time and classical time
However, the research team at TU Wien, together with the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) in Vienna and the teams from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and University of Malta, has now shown that this apparent rule can be circumvented by using two different time scales.
“For example, you can use particles that move from one area to another to measure time, similar to how grains of sand indicate the time by falling from the top of the glass to the bottom,” says Florian Meier. You can connect a whole series of such time-measuring devices in series and count how many of them have already passed through – similar to how one clock hand counts how many laps the other clock hand has already completed.
“This way, you can increase accuracy, but not without investing more energy,“ says Marcus Huber. "Because every time one clock hand completes a full rotation and the other clock hand is measured at a new location – you could also say every time the environment around it notices that this hand has moved to a new location – the entropy increases. This counting process is irreversible."
However, quantum physics also allows for another kind of particle transport: the particles can also travel through the entire structure, i.e. across the entire clock dial, without being measured anywhere. In a sense, the particle is then everywhere at once during this process; it has no clearly defined location until it finally arrives – and only then is it actually measured, in an irreversible process that increases entropy.
Like second and minute clock hands
“So we have a fast process that does not cause entropy – quantum transport – and a slow one, namely the arrival of the particle at the very end,” explains Yuri Minoguchi, TU Wien. “The crucial thing about our method is that one hand behaves purely in terms of quantum physics, and only the other, slower hand actually has an entropy-generating effect.”
The team has now been able to show that this strategy enables an exponential increase in accuracy per increase in entropy. This means that much higher precision can be achieved than would have been thought possible according to previous theories. "What's more, the theory could be tested in the real world using superconducting circuits, one of the most advanced quantum technologies currently available.”, says Simone Gasparinetti, co-author of the study and leader of the experimental team at Chalmers. “This is an important result for research into high-precision quantum measurements and suppression of unwanted fluctuations,” says Marcus Huber, “and at the same time it helps us to better understand one of the great unsolved mysteries of physics: the connection between quantum physics and thermodynamics.”
KANSAS CITY, MO—June 10, 2025—Fungal infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals, are responsible for nearly four million deaths annually—however, current treatments are limited and are frequently ineffective. Now, scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the University of Georgia discover how the lethal pathogenic fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, thrives, allowing them to identify potential novel therapeutic targets for treatment.
Published in PLoS BIOLOGY on June 5, 2025, the study refined a genetic tool to identify which genes in C. neoformans are essential for its survival. Importantly, the research team uncovered more than 1,400 required genes, including more than 300 that share no similarity with human genes, making them promising targets for new antifungal drugs with reduced risks for side effects.
“Cryptococcus neoformans kills around 150,000 people a year. It’s the AIDS-defining illness in the majority of HIV patients. Current treatments are limited, and outcomes are often poor,” said lead author Blake Billmyre, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia and former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Stowers Associate Investigator SaraH Zanders, Ph.D. “There is an urgent need to develop new therapies, and this study provides an atlas.”
Although humans and fungi bear little resemblance, genetically, we are surprisingly similar, which has historically made antifungal drug development difficult. Identifying essential genes in fungal pathogens that have no analog to human genes is critical for pinpointing potential antifungal agents that do not harm human cells.
The team uncovered 302 ideal therapeutic targets in C. neoformans—however, because drug development is costly, the researchers also identified a subset of around 30 essential genes conserved across many pathogenic fungi, or 30 potential therapies that could destroy most fungal invaders.
“A big question in biology is which genes are essential for life as well as how they might change over evolutionary time,” said Zanders. “Blake's TN-seq project opens the door to genome-wide screens for important traits in pathogenic fungi and will speed the pace of drug discovery.”
The team used a genetic technique called transposon mutagenesis sequencing, or TN-seq, where they damaged C. neoformans’ genome by bombarding millions of cells with small DNA segments called transposons.
“The analogy we use to explain TN-seq dates back to WWII,” said Billmyre. “Fighter planes returning to hangars were mapped for bullet damage to devise ways to strengthen them. However, areas of planes lacking damage were not necessarily better reinforced, but rather were never mapped because they never returned, a phenomenon called survivorship bias.”
Transposons landing within essential genes cause the fungal cells to die. By sequencing the DNA of the surviving cells, researchers can map which genes are vital for survival and which are not. Zanders explained: “The TN-seq approach mirrors this survivorship bias with transposon-ridden fungi. When we look genome-wide at all the places with and without damage, we can infer that if you damage a required region of the genome, the organism will die.”
TN-seq has been used widely in bacteria and in more established fungal species like baker’s yeast. This is the first time the approach was adapted for C. neoformans. It allowed the team to create a mutant library for C. neoformans—with millions of transposon-induced mutations including those in DNA that regulate essential genes. The researchers could then ask even more nuanced questions, such as which genes contribute not only to survival but also to resistance of antifungal drugs.
“Traditional methods involve deleting one gene at a time, but TN-seq lets us make deletions for the entire genome, allowing us to rapidly identify the repertoire of essential genes in Cryptococcus,” said Billmyre. “In addition, we were also able to use the tool to test both essential and non-essential genes that confer resistance to the most common antifungal, fluconazole.”
Billmyre was recently awarded the prestigious NIH New Innovator Award to examine how fungi evolve to grow at high temperatures, which is key to understanding pathogenicity.
“My lab is now trying to understand the network of genes that enable fungal pathogens to grow at human body temperature,” said Billmyre. “This can inform us of what might happen in the future if increases in global temperature cause different species of fungi to acquire pathogenic properties.”
Additional authors include Caroline Craig, Joshua Lyon, Claire Reichardt, Amy Kuhn, and Michael Eickbush.
This work was funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (awards: DP2GM132936, R35GM151982), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH (award: DP2AI184725), and with institutional support from the University of Georgia and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Founded in 1994 through the generosity of Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, biomedical research organization with a focus on foundational research. Its mission is to expand our understanding of the secrets of life and improve life’s quality through innovative approaches to the causes, treatment, and prevention of diseases.
The Institute consists of 20 independent research programs. Of the approximately 500 members, over 370 are scientific staff that include principal investigators, technology center directors, postdoctoral scientists, graduate students, and technical support staff. Learn more about the Institute atwww.stowers.organd about its graduate program atwww.stowers.org/gradschool.
The team used a genetic technique called transposon mutagenesis sequencing, or TN-seq, where they damaged C. neoformans’ genome by bombarding millions of cells with small DNA segments called transposons.
What if the key to improving financial well-being is not better budgeting or more savings, but simply more joy? Banks are increasingly focusing on financial health or well-being, but struggle with translating their view of what it means to their customers. Somehow, people are not too keen to do what the bankers think is wise to do – learn about financial terms and services, plan and invest.
Yet emerging research shows that financial well-being is fundamental for mental health and life satisfaction, and the OECD G20 has even issued a policy note on that. Then how can bankers and policymakers support people in securing and improving their financial well-being?
These issues led Leonore Riitsalu, the Research Fellow in Behavioural Policy at the University of Tartu, together with Boris Marte, CEO of the ERSTE Foundation to initiate a unique partnership between academia, philanthropy, and the banking sector nearly four years ago. On May 7, their findings were published in a book and presented to a broad audience online and in person in Vienna. It was a multi-stage research with multiple data collections, including the largest qualitative study (630 interviews in 7 countries) into the human-centred meaning of financial well-being, analysis of responses to longitudinal multi-dimensional subjective financial well-being study combined with bank data for 14 months for each of the respondent on all of its accounts, and experiments testing the interventions that go beyond money.
The rigorous study reveals that for people, the three elements of financial well-being are security, freedom and pleasure. The first two have been addressed before, but none of the existing measures explicitly assess pleasure, the enjoyment of life. When people hear the word “invest", they often feel ambivalent, thinking more about personal growth – like health, family, or education – than financial products. A quote from an interview:
“I don’t like investments, I invest in holidays; those stocks and funds, these are all the things I didn’t believe in; maybe I am wrong, maybe I could have been wealthier, but I don’t believe in investing.”
To apply the human-centred, three-dimensional conceptualisation of financial well-being to the real world, the researchers developed and tested new measures: nine reliable and valid statements across time, languages and personality types, to be included in surveys, as well as a digital tool, which is freely available online in English and is not linked to any banks. Experts in any field can use the new scale, which assesses security, freedom and pleasure, to see if their interventions have any effect.
People themselves can reflect upon various topics in their lives, such as education, family and even pets, and assess how these affect their financial well-being, using the new digital tool. Existing financial health or well-being tools give the respondent either a score (e.g. 7 out of 10) or a diagnosis (e.g. you are in the red). Those can be intimidating, cause stress and give no clue what to do with that information (other than suggestions to buy some banking services). Our measure is very different, it is the first financial well-being assessment tool without numbers, and with no normative verdicts in the end. Instead, the user can self-reflect, set goals for changes and receive tips on how to enjoy life more.
Furthermore, it was evident from the interviews, and as a vast surprise to the bankers, that many people do not want their financial well-being to be improved. It may be counterintuitive to managers in the financial sector and policymakers that not everyone aims for more wealth. The interviewees said that they are rather satisfied with the way things are, though they wished they could afford life's simple pleasures more often – like treating friends to coffee or a concert. Nothing more, nothing less.
Talking to people and studying the bank data confirmed that factors affecting financial well-being go far beyond money. In the interviews, people talked about investing in themselves and social relationships, the socio-economic and financial indicators in the bank data explained in total only a quarter of financial well-being assessment. Experimental evidence showed that using a mindfulness app Headspace improves not only psychological but also financial well-being, and these effects remain over time. So far it has been addressed the other way around – problems with finances cause psychological stress and are harmful to mental health. Now it has been turned around – helping to improve mental health also benefits financial health. Therefore, our recently published book “Beyond Money: Exploring Financial Well-Being through a Human Lens” shifts the financial well-being paradigm and provides ideas for implications for various sectors. With the aim of helping people to enjoy their lives, today and in the future.
Authors of the study: Adele Atkinson, Rauno Pello, Leonore Riitsalu. Foto by Valerie Maltseve, ERSTE Foundation
Credit
Valerie Maltseve, ERSTE Foundation
Method of Research
Case study
Subject of Research
People
Textile materials designed for circularity
The research project "teXirc" will receive funding of 1.4 million euros from the Volkswagen Foundation to develop more easily recyclable synthetic fibres and textiles based on biological raw materials.
Fiber-based products and textiles in their overall life cycle significantly contribute to anthropogenic green-house gas emissions, resource consumption and environmental microplastics pollution. To tackle these problems, researchers from the University of Konstanz, RWTH Aachen University and the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf have joined forces in the collaborative project "Textile Materials Designed for Circularity" ("teXirc" for short). The Volkswagen Foundation supports the project with a total of 1.4 million euros as part of their "Circularity with recycled and biogenic resources" funding initiative.
"A major obstacle in resolving these crucial issues is that today's established fiber materials were not designed for circularity", explains Stefan Mecking, Chair of Chemical Materials Science in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Konstanz and teXirc coordinator.
From lab to prototype In their collaborative project, the researchers will develop novel types of synthetic fibres and textiles based on sustainable raw material that can be produced on an industrial scale, are easy to process and closed-loop recyclable under mild technical conditions. Unlike conventional materials, the new fibres and textiles will also be easily biodegradable. This is important in the event that they are released, which happens, for example, due to the ubiquitous abrasion of fibres during washing.
"Key for us is material with a polyethylene-like crystallinity in which we incorporate low-density functional groups that represent a kind of molecular predetermined breaking point. Using enzymes, we can very efficiently break down the long carbon chains that make up plastics and synthetic fibres – for example during recycling processes", Mecking says. The goal of teXirc is to advance scalable materials and recycling processes to a prototype level that allows subsequent implementation into first products.
Key facts:
The project "Textile Materials Designed for Circularity" (teXirc) receives 1.4 million euros in funding from the Volkswagen Foundation as part of the "Circularity with recycled and biogenic resources" funding initiative.
Project goal: Development up to prototype stage of more easily recyclable synthetic fibres and textiles based on renewable and sustainable feedstocks.
Principal Investigators:
Professor Stefan Mecking, Department of Chemistry, University of Konstanz
Professor Ulrich Schwaneberg, Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University
Professor Michael Buchmeister, German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf
