TARENTELLA

Dancing alleviated perceived symptoms of depression and helped to understand its root causes

University of Eastern Finland

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Dance as a performative art form alleviates perceived symptoms of depression, helps to understand its root causes and promotes self-actualisation, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland found. The multidisciplinary research collaboration brought together perspectives from psychology and social psychology, as well as from dance as a performative art form, which is rarely included in interventions related to depression.

“Depression is a major public health concern, and there is an urgent need for adjunct treatment methods. Robust evidence regarding adjunct treatments for depression already exists for physical exercise, for example. The inclusion of expressive elements, such as those found in dance, could make physical exercise particularly appealing for many,” says Professor of Adolescent Psychiatry Tommi Tolmunen of the University of Eastern Finland.

Nowadays, dance is regarded as a promising rehabilitation method that complements medical treatment across a range of conditions, including depression. Dance movement therapy, in particular, has been shown to be a suitable adjunct treatment for both depression and anxiety. Dancing may reduce the secretion of stress hormones such as cortisol and noradrenaline, while increasing the secretion of dopamine, which, like physical exercise, is associated with pleasure. Dancing also enhances bodily awareness and offers a creative, non-verbal means of self-expression. Through dance, it is possible to process emotions that may be difficult to verbalise or that transcend verbal language.

The pilot study involved seven adolescents diagnosed with mild-to-moderate depression. During the study, they created a digital dance piece of their desired future, using dance improvisation and a camera-based 3D motion capture method. The results highlighted particularly the psychosocial health benefits of dance in reducing symptoms of depression, including better self-esteem and self-awareness, improved ability to process embodied emotions, a sense of being accepted and the importance of peer support.

Participants’ experiences of an accepting and trusting atmosphere, and of a sense of belonging and community, were especially conducive to helping them develop their relationship with their own body through enhanced bodily awareness. Participants also observed this transformation in their concrete choreography process, as their experiences of their own body and its capabilities evolved into encounters with the self, self-actualisation and self-expression.

“Depression can affect interoception, that is, how we perceive internal sensations in the body. Disruptions in interoception are common in depression, anxiety and alexithymia, for example. Moreover, one’s experience of the body can be negative in many ways,” says Senior Researcher Hanna Pohjola, Docent in Multidisciplinary Health and Well-being Research.

For participants, a key aspect of the research process was making their experience of depression and of their desired future visible through dance using 3D motion capture. This provided participants not only with a concrete way to anonymously perform dance to a wider audience, but also an opportunity to observe their own movement from an external perspective. This enabled reflection on personal values and attitudes, and therefore facilitated confronting the root causes of depression.

“For participants, this opened a path to self-actualisation, that is, engaging in meaningful activities that bring joy and satisfaction, and experiencing a sense of purpose,” Pohjola notes.

The study was conducted as part of the Narrating through Dance in Life Fractures project (2021–2025), funded by the Kone Foundation. The project explored the experiential and social psychological impacts of dance in various life fractures.

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Journal

Narrative Works

Article Title

NARRATIVE WORKS:ISSUES,INVESTIGATIONS,&INTERVENTIONS 14(1):1-28.©Hanna Pohjola(2025).Young women’ s embodied inner narratives of desired future in mild-to-moderate depression

 

Drones reveal unexpectedly high emissions from wastewater treatment plants

Linköping University

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Custom built drone to survey green house gas emissions.

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Credit: Magnus Gålfalk

Greenhouse gas emissions from many wastewater treatment plants may be more than twice as large as previously thought. This is shown in a new study from Linköping University, where the researchers used drones with specially manufactured sensors to measure methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

“We show that certain greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater treatment plants have been unknown. Now that we know more about these emissions, we also know more about how they can be reduced,” says Magnus Gålfalk, docent at Tema M – Environmental Change at Linköping University, who led the study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Wastewater treatment plants receiving sewage from households and industries account for approximately 5 per cent of human-induced methane and nitrous oxide emissions, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC.

To calculate this, the IPCC uses so-called emission factors that are linked to how many households are connected to the treatment plant. The calculation model then yields a number for the emissions from each wastewater treatment plant. This number is an estimate and not the result of actual measurements, which has turned out to be problematic.

According to the researchers, wastewater treatment plants continuously work to reduce the emissions. But with the current reporting system, the emissions remain on the same level, according to the IPCC model, regardless of whether actual emissions are decreasing or not. 

“It would be better if the emissions reported were based on actual measurements. This would make it easier for municipalities to show the benefits of investments to mitigate the emissions,” says Magnus Gålfalk.

Together with Professor David Bastviken at LiU, he has used a specially built drone that measured emissions of the greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) at twelve Swedish treatment plants that use anaerobic digestion as a sludge treatment. The measurements showed that methane and nitrous oxide emissions are significantly higher – about 2.5 times – than the IPCC calculation models show.

The emissions occurred mainly after digestion when the sludge is stored to reduce the amount of potentially harmful micro-organisms before being used as, for example, fertilizer. The current study shows that the amount of methane released in storage has been underestimated. And the researchers discovered something else – the measurements also showed that large amounts of nitrous oxide were emitted.

Nitrous oxide is a very powerful but fairly unknown greenhouse gas – it has a climate impact almost 300 times higher than carbon dioxide per kilogram.

“We show that the climate impact from nitrous oxide emissions from sludge storage is as great as that from methane, and this wasn’t known before. So it’s a major extra source to keep an eye on,” says Magnus Gålfalk.

Magnus Gålfalk, researcher at Tema M – Environmental Change at Linköping University.

Credit

Magnus Johansson

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Journal

Environmental Science & Technology

DOI

10.1021/acs.est.5c04780 

Article Title

In Situ Observations Reveal Underestimated Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Wastewater Treatment with Anaerobic Digestion – Sludge Was a Major Source for Both CH4 and N2O

 

Illinois researchers convert food waste into jet fuel, boosting circular economy

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

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Sabrina Summers, University of Illinois, demonstrates hydrotreating biocrude oil from food waste.

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Credit: Marianne Stein

URBANA, Ill. — Airplane travel is more popular than ever, and our desire for fast transportation means jet fuel has become a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered a novel way to address that problem—by converting food waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that meets industry standards without relying on fossil fuel blends. Their process, described in a new Nature Communications study, could help the aviation industry meet its ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The process in a nutshell is this: The researchers convert food waste into biocrude oil through a thermochemical conversion process called hydrothermal liquefaction, or HTL. Next, they remove impurities from the biocrude oil, and finally, they refine it with the use of hydrogen and catalysts to turn it into aviation fuel. 

This approach can be applied to a variety of feedstocks and types of oil, potentially leading to a new direction for obtaining fuels.  

“HTL basically mimics the natural formation of crude oil in the Earth. It uses high heat and pressure to convert wet biomass into a biocrude oil. The goal of this work is to upgrade that biocrude oil into transportation fuels that can go directly into existing energy infrastructure,” said lead author Sabrina Summers, who recently graduated with a doctoral degree from the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and The Grainger College of Engineering at U. of I.

In this project, the researchers used waste from a nearby food processing facility. Globally, over 30% of food is wasted annually at all levels of the supply chain — from farm to transportation, processing, retail, food service, and households. Food decomposition in landfills and wastewater treatment plants further contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and recycling waste helps promote sustainability. 

But HTL can process feedstock from a wide range of biowaste, including food, sewage sludge, algal bloom, swine manure, and agricultural residue. 

“To meet the aviation industry’s goals to decarbonate jet fuel, we need many different renewable sources, and agriculture is going to play a critical role in terms of providing the feedstocks,” said ABE professor and corresponding author Yuanhui Zhang. 

To convert biocrude oil into jet fuel, the researchers first removed impurities such as moisture, ash, and salt. They then used a process called catalytic hydrotreating to eliminate unwanted elements like nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur—leaving behind only the hydrocarbons needed for fuel. After testing dozens of options, they identified cobalt molybdenum as the most effective commercially available catalyst to drive the necessary chemical reactions and refine the oil into sustainable aviation fuel.

To optimize the hydrotreatment process, the researchers adjusted variables such as temperature, catalyst and hydrogen loads, and retention time to identify the best conditions for producing jet fuel. They then tested their sustainable aviation fuel against rigorous standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Federal Aviation Administration. Their SAF sample passed Tier Alpha and Beta prescreening tests and met all specifications for conventional jet fuel—without requiring any additives or blending with fossil fuels.

The technology has the potential to be scaled up for commercial production, Zhang noted.

“Our research helps solve the science and engineering problems, and then the industry can step in. The process can be applied to other types of oils for SAF. It can also replace other materials, such as petroleum-derived compounds for making plastics. This has huge potential for business opportunities and economic development,” he said. 

Zhang has developed an index to measure circular bioeconomy, and he said SAF provides a valuable contribution to circularity.

“In a linear economy, we just produce something, use it, and throw it away. In this project, we take the waste and recover the energy and materials to make a usable product. This fills a missing link in the circular paradigm,” he concluded.

The paper, “From food waste to sustainable aviation fuel: cobalt molybdenum catalysis of pretreated hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude,” is published in Nature Communications [DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-64645-y]. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (EE0009269) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-64645-y 

Article Title

From food waste to sustainable aviation fuel: cobalt molybdenum catalysis of pretreated hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude

Article Publication Date

30-Oct-2025

 

We learn physical skills by feeling rewarded, even in the absence of a reward, finds new study

University of Surrey

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We learn physical skills by feeling rewarded, even in the absence of a reward, finds new study 

People master new physical skills, such as sports, crafts or controlling a vehicle while driving, by blending lessons learnt from both feedback on the amount of error they had in failures and the rewards of successes, even when reward cues are removed, according to a new study led by Dr Shlomi Haar from the University of Surrey. 

Using a high-tech virtual reality pool setup, researchers from Surrey and Imperial College London had 32 participants play pool on a physical table while wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset that slightly changed the cue ball’s trajectory, forcing players to adapt. 

In the study, published in npj science of learning, two different sessions took place, with different feedback given to each player taking part. In one session, players only got “error feedback”, with the balls disappearing before they could pocket them. In the other session, participants only got “reward feedback”, with successful shots being artificially shown pocketing, while failed shots gave no visual results. The goal was to see whether the brain would only use the type of feedback it was given. 

However, the brain behaved differently. Even when the reward – pocketing the ball – was taken away in the “error feedback” condition, players still showed strong signs of using reward-based learning. They were seen to be finding their own “mini rewards”, such as observing the ball taking a correct-looking path. The brain wouldn’t ignore that key information, much like seasoned basketball players can anticipate a good shot before it goes through the hoop.  

Measurements of brain activity confirmed this complex interaction, showing a mixed learning pattern, rather than separate processes as seen in past lab experiments. While players were seen to learn faster when focusing on errors, the underlying process in both conditions was always a blend of the two processes. 

Dr Shlomi Haar, lead author and Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Surrey, said: 

"The brain is a highly active detective, always seeking every available piece of information - whether it's seeing the mistake or anticipating success. Our findings suggest that the most effective learning embraces and strategically uses both error information and rewards together, and visual feedback interventions could be used to enhance it further.” 

[ENDS] 

Notes to editors 

• The full paper is available upon request. 

• Once published, the full paper will be available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-025-00373-8 

• DOI: 10.1038/s41539-025-00373-8 

• An image of Dr Haar is available upon request. 

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Journal

npj Science of Learning

DOI

10.1038/s41539-025-00373-8