̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield

Thousands of birds and fish threatened by mining for clean energy transition

jg533 — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:00:57 +0000

New research has found that 4,642 species of vertebrate are threatened by mineral extraction around the world through mining and quarrying, and drilling for oil and gas.

Mining activity coincides with the world's most valuable biodiversity hotspots, which contain a hyper-diversity of species and unique habitats found nowhere else on Earth.

̽��ֱ��biggest risk to species comes from mining for materials fundamental to our transition to clean energy, such as lithium and cobalt – both essential components of solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars.

Quarrying for limestone, which is required in huge amounts for cement as a construction material, is also putting many species at risk.

̽��ֱ��threat to nature is not limited to the physical locations of the mines - species living at great distances away can also be impacted, for example by polluted watercourses, or deforestation for new access roads and infrastructure.

̽��ֱ��researchers say governments and the mining industry should focus on reducing the pollution driven by mining as an ‘easy win’ to reduce the biodiversity loss associated with mineral extraction.

This is the most complete global assessment of the threat to biodiversity from mineral extraction ever undertaken. ̽��ֱ��results are published today in the journal Current Biology.

“We simply won’t be able to deliver the clean energy we need to reduce our climate impact without mining for the materials we need, and that creates a problem because we’re mining in locations that often have very high levels of biodiversity,” said Professor David Edwards in the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, senior author of the report.

He added: “So many species, particularly fish, are being put at risk through the pollution caused by mining. It would be an easy win to work on reducing this freshwater pollution so we can still get the products we need for the clean energy transition, but in a way that isn’t causing so much biodiversity loss.”

Across all vertebrate species, fish are at particularly high risk from mining (2,053 species), followed by reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. ̽��ֱ��level of threat seems to be linked to where a particular species lives and its lifestyle: species using freshwater habitats, and species with small ranges are particularly at risk.

“ ̽��ֱ��need for limestone as a core component of construction activity also poses a real risk to wildlife. Lots of species are very restricted in where they live because they're specialised to live on limestone. A cement mine can literally take out an entire hillside - and with it these species’ homes,” said Ieuan Lamb in the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield’s School of Biosciences, first author of the report.

̽��ֱ��Bent-Toed Gecko, for example, is threatened by limestone quarrying in Malaysia – it only exists on a single mountain range that planned mining activity will completely destroy.

To get their results, the researchers used International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) data to see which vertebrate species are threatened by mining. By mapping the locations of these species they could investigate the types of mining that are putting species at risk, and see where the risks are particularly high.

̽��ֱ��researchers discovered that species categorised as ‘vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered’ are more threatened by mineral extraction than species of lesser concern.

Watercourses can be affected in many ways, and water pollution can affect hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of rivers and flood plains. Mining sand as a construction material, for example, alters patterns of water flow in rivers and wetlands, making birds like the Indian Skimmer more accessible to predators.

Mineral extraction threatens vertebrate species populations across the tropics, with hotspots in the Andes, coastal West and Central Africa, and South-East Asia – which coincide with high mine density. For example, artisanal small-scale alluvial gold mining in Ghana threatens important bird areas through environmental mercury pollution.

Global demand for metal minerals, fossil fuels and construction materials is growing dramatically, and the extraction industry is expanding rapidly to meet this demand. In 2022 the revenue of the industry as a whole was estimated at US $943 billion.

Biodiversity underpins the protection of the world’s carbon stocks, which help to mitigate climate change.

̽��ֱ��study focused only on vertebrate species, but the researchers say mining is also likely to be a substantial risk to plants and invertebrates.

“There's no question that we are going to continue to mine - our entire societies are based on mined products. But there are environmental tensions embodied in our use of these products. Our report is a vital first step in avoiding biodiversity loss amidst the predicted drastic expansion of the mining industry,” said Edwards.

“Wildlife is more sensitive to mining in some regions of the world than in others, and our report can inform choices of where to prioritise getting our minerals to cause the least damage to biodiversity. Future policy should also focus on creating more circular economies - increasing recycling and reuse of materials, rather than just extracting more,” said Lamb.

̽��ֱ��research was funded by the Hossein Farmy scholarship.

Reference: Lamb, I P, ‘Global threats of extractive industries on vertebrate biodiversity.’ Current Biology, July 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.077

Our increasing demand for metals and minerals is putting over four thousand vertebrate species at risk, with the raw materials needed for clean energy infrastructure often located in global biodiversity hotspots, a study has found.

Our report is a vital first step in avoiding biodiversity loss amidst the predicted drastic expansion of the mining industry.

David Edwards

Gold mine in Rondonia, Amazonian Brazil

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Liquid water beneath Martian polar ice cap

sc604 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 14:38:08 +0000

An international team of researchers has revealed new evidence for the possible existence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars.

Quantum projects launched to solve universe’s mysteries

sc604 — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is supporting seven projects with a £31 million investment to demonstrate how quantum technologies could solve some of the greatest mysteries in fundamental physics. Researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have been awarded funding on four of the seven projects.

Just as quantum computing promises to revolutionise traditional computing, technologies such as quantum sensors have the potential to radically change our approach to understanding our universe.

̽��ֱ��projects are supported through the Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics programme, delivered by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of UKRI’s Strategic Priorities Fund. ̽��ֱ��programme is part of the National Quantum Technologies Programme.

AION: A UK Atom Interferometer Observatory and Network has been awarded £7.2 million in funding and will be led by Imperial College London. ̽��ֱ��project will develop and use technology based on quantum interference between atoms to detect ultra-light dark matter and sources of gravitational waves, such as collisions between massive black holes far away in the universe and violent processes in the very early universe. ̽��ֱ��team will design a 10m atom interferometer, preparing the construction of the instrument in Oxford and paving the way for larger-scale future experiments to be located in the UK. Members of the AION consortium will also contribute to MAGIS, a partner experiment in the US.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge team on AION is led by Professor Valerie Gibson and Dr Ulrich Schneider from the Cavendish Laboratory, alongside researchers from the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, the Institute of Astronomy and the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Dr Tiffany Harte will co-lead the development of the cold atom transport and final cooling sequences for AION, and Dr Jeremy Mitchell will co-lead the data readout and network capabilities for AION and MAGIS, and undertake data analysis and theoretical interpretation.

“This announcement from STFC to fund the AION project, which alongside some seed funding from the Kavli Foundation, will allow us to target key open questions in fundamental physics and bring new interdisciplinary research to the ̽��ֱ�� for the foreseeable future,” said Gibson.

“Every physical effect, known or unknown, leaves its fingerprint on the phase evolution of a coherent quantum system such as cold atoms; it only requires sufficiently sensitive detectors,” said Schneider. “We are excited to contribute our cold-atom technology to this interdisciplinary endeavour and to develop atom interferometry into a powerful detector for fundamental physics.”

̽��ֱ��Quantum Sensors for the Hidden Sector (QSHS) project, led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield, has been awarded £4.8 million in funding. ̽��ֱ��project aims to contribute to the search for axions, low-mass ‘hidden’ particles that are candidates to solve the mystery of dark matter. They will develop new quantum measurement technology for inclusion in the US ADMX experiment, which can then be used to search for axions in parts of our galaxy’s dark matter halo that have never been explored before.

“ ̽��ֱ��team will develop new electronic technology to a high level of sophistication and deploy it to search for the lowest-mass particles detected to date,” said Professor Stafford Withington from the Cavendish Laboratory, Co-Investigator and Senior Project Scientist on QSHS. “These particles are predicted to exist theoretically, but have not yet been discovered experimentally. Our ability to probe the particulate nature of the physical world with sensitivities that push at the limits imposed by quantum uncertainty will open up a new frontier in physics.

“This new window will allow physicists to explore the nature of physical reality at the most fundamental level, and it is extremely exciting that the UK will be playing a major international role in this new generation of science.”

Professor Withington is also involved in the Determination of Absolute Neutrino Mass using Quantum Technologies, which will be led by UCL. ̽��ֱ��project aims to harness recent breakthroughs in quantum technologies to solve one of the most important outstanding challenges in particle physics – determining the absolute mass of neutrinos. One of the universe’s most abundant particles neutrinos are a by-product of nuclear fusion within stars, therefore being key to our understanding of the processes within stars and the makeup of the universe. Moreover, knowing the value of the neutrino mass is critical to our understanding of the origin of matter and evolution of the universe. They are poorly understood however, and the researchers aim to develop pioneering new spectroscopy technology capable to precisely measure the mass of this elusive but important particle.

Professor Zoran Hadzibabic has received funding as part of the Quantum Simulators for Fundamental Physics project, led by the ̽��ֱ�� of Nottingham. ̽��ֱ��project aims to develop quantum simulators capable of providing insights into the physics of the very early universe and black holes. ̽��ֱ��goals include simulating aspects of quantum black holes and testing theories of the quantum vacuum that underpin ideas on the origin of the universe.

Researchers will use cutting-edge quantum technologies to transform our understanding of the universe and answer key questions such as the nature of dark matter and black holes.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

New Simulation Sheds Light on Spiraling Supermassive Black Holes

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‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought – and could help spare habitats

fpjl2 — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 15:28:52 +0000

Agriculture that appears to be more eco-friendly but uses more land may actually have greater environmental costs per unit of food than “high-yield” farming that uses less land, a new study has found.

There is mounting evidence that the best way to meet rising food demand while conserving biodiversity is to wring as much food as sustainably possible from the land we do farm, so that more natural habitats can be “spared the plough”.

However, this involves intensive farming techniques thought to create disproportionate levels of pollution, water scarcity and soil erosion. Now, a study published today in the journal Nature Sustainability shows this is not necessarily the case.

Scientists have put together measures for some of the major “externalities” – such as greenhouse gas emission, fertiliser and water use – generated by high- and low-yield farming systems, and compared the environmental costs of producing a given amount of food in different ways.

Previous research compared these costs by land area. As high-yield farming needs less land to produce the same quantity of food, the study’s authors say this approach overestimates its environmental impact.

Their results from four major agricultural sectors suggest that, contrary to many people's perceptions, more intensive agriculture that uses less land may also produce fewer pollutants, cause less soil loss and consume less water.

However, the team behind the study, led by scientists from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, caution that if higher yields are simply used to increase profit or lower prices, they will only accelerate the extinction crisis we are already seeing.

“Agriculture is the most significant cause of biodiversity loss on the planet,” said study lead author Andrew Balmford, Professor of Conservation Science from Cambridge’s Department of Zoology. “Habitats are continuing to be cleared to make way for farmland, leaving ever less space for wildlife.”

“Our results suggest that high-yield farming could be harnessed to meet the growing demand for food without destroying more of the natural world. However, if we are to avert mass extinction it is vital that land-efficient agriculture is linked to more wilderness being spared the plough.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge scientists conducted the study with a research team from 17 organisations across the UK and around the globe, including colleagues from Poland, Brazil, Australia, Mexico and Colombia.

̽��ֱ��study analysed information from hundreds of investigations into four vast food sectors, accounting for large percentages of the global output for each product: Asian paddy rice (90%), European wheat (33%), Latin American beef (23%), and European dairy (53%).

Examples of high-yield strategies include enhanced pasture systems and livestock breeds in beef production, use of chemical fertilizer on crops, and keeping dairy cows indoors for longer.

̽��ֱ��scientists found data to be limited, and say more research is urgently needed on the environmental cost of different farming systems. Nevertheless, results suggest many high-yield systems are less ecologically damaging and, crucially, use much less land.

For example, in field trials, inorganic nitrogen boosted yields with little to no greenhouse gas “penalty” and lower water use per tonne of rice. Per tonne of beef, the team found greenhouse gas emissions could be halved in some systems where yields are boosted by adding trees to provide shade and forage for cattle.

̽��ֱ��study only looked at organic farming in the European dairy sector, but found that – for the same amount of milk – organic systems caused at least one third more soil loss, and take up twice as much land, as conventional dairy farming.

Co-author Professor Phil Garnsworthy from the ̽��ֱ�� of Nottingham, who led the dairy team, said: “Across all dairy systems we find that higher milk yield per unit of land generally leads to greater biological and economic efficiency of production. Dairy farmers should welcome the news that more efficient systems have lower environmental impact.”

Conservation expert and co-author Dr David Edwards, from the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield, said: “Organic systems are often considered to be far more environmentally friendly than conventional farming, but our work suggested the opposite. By using more land to produce the same yield, organic may ultimately accrue larger environmental costs.”

̽��ֱ��study authors say that high-yield farming must be combined with mechanisms that limit agricultural expansion if it is to have any environmental benefit. These could include strict land-use zoning and restructured rural subsidies.

“These results add to the evidence that sparing natural habitats by using high-yield farming to produce food is the least bad way forward,” added Balmford.

“Where agriculture is heavily subsidised, public payments could be contingent on higher food yields from land already being farmed, while other land is taken out of production and restored as natural habitat, for wildlife and carbon or floodwater storage.”

New findings suggest that more intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the world while saving its species – provided use of such “land-efficient” systems prevents further conversion of wilderness to farmland.

Our results suggest that high-yield farming could be harnessed to meet the growing demand for food without destroying more of the natural world

Andrew Balmford

Scott Goodwill

Harvest

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Genes discovered that enable birds to produce the colour red

fpjl2 — Fri, 20 May 2016 08:02:04 +0000

Right across the bird and animal kingdoms, the colour red is used for communication, often to attract mates, and zebra finches are no different: the males have a distinctive red beak, which is a sexually selected trait - as females prefer males with redder beaks.

New research on zebra finches has identified for the first time the genes that allow some bird species to produce the red pigment that plays such a critical role in attraction and mating.

̽��ֱ��genes belong to a wider family of genes that also play an important role in detoxification, suggesting how heightened redness may be a sign of mate quality: it indicates a bird's ability to cleanse harmful substances from its body.

This could explain what's known as 'honest signaling': where an evolved trait is a genuine sign of better, fitter genes - in this case the ability to better deal with anything toxic.

̽��ֱ��research is published today in the journal Current Biology.

Birds such as the zebra finch obtain yellow pigments, known as carotenoids, from their diet of seeds, or insects in the case of other bird species.

Prior to the latest findings, it was known that such birds must have a way of converting these yellow dietary pigments into the red pigments - the ketocarotenoids - that colour the beaks, feathers or bare skin of many species. However, the mechanism for this process was unclear.

Nick Mundy from Cambridge's Department of Zoology, along with colleagues including Staffan Andersson from the ̽��ֱ�� of Gothenburg and Jessica Stapley from the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield, compared the gene sequences of wild, red-beaked zebra finches with captive finches that had a mutant, recessive gene causing yellow beaks.

They identified a cluster of three genes in the wild finches that were either missing or mutated in this genetic region in the 'yellowbeak' birds.

These genes encode enzymes called cytochrome P450s, which play an important role in breaking down and metabolising toxic compounds, primarily in the liver of vertebrates. In humans, these enzymes are well-studied, as they are strongly associated with drug metabolism.

"It was known that birds have an unusual ability to synthesize red ketocarotenoids from the yellow carotenoids that they obtain in their diet, but the enzyme, gene or genes, and anatomical location have been obscure," said Mundy. "Our findings fill this gap and open up many future avenues for research on the evolution and ecology of red coloration in birds."

Red colour in birds is thought to signal individual genetic quality, and the researchers argue that one way it can do this is if the amount of red colour relates to other beneficial physiological processes, such as detoxification.

"Our results, which link a detoxification gene to carotenoid metabolism, shed new light on this old hypothesis about the honesty of signalling," said co-author Staffan Andersson.

̽��ֱ��researchers found the specific expression of one or more of the identified 'red' gene cluster in the tissues where the red pigments were deposited: the beak, the tarsus in the bird's feet - as well as in the retina.

̽��ֱ��structure of retinas in the eye includes cone-shaped photoreceptor cells. Unlike mammals, avian retinal cones contain a range of brightly-coloured oil droplets, including green, yellow and red. These oil droplets allow birds to see many more colours than mammals.

Mundy says that the newly-discovered genetic links between red beaks and feathers and the internal red retina droplets suggest that producing red pigment evolved for colour vision before it developed a function for external display - as, while red oil eye droplets are ubiquitous across bird species, external reds are only patchily distributed.

"It was quite a surprise that the same genes are involved both in seeing red colours and making red coloration," said Mundy.

Mundy says he and his colleagues are now working on the genetics of red coloration in African widowbirds and bishops, which show "spectacular differences among different species."

Latest research suggests a new mechanism for how sexual displays of red beaks and plumage might be ‘honest signals’ of mate quality, as genes that convert yellow dietary pigments into red share cofactors with enzymes that aid detoxification – hinting that redness is a genetic sign of the ability to better metabolise harmful substances.

Our findings open up many future avenues for research on the evolution and ecology of red coloration in birds

Nick Mundy

David Cook

Zebra Finch

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Lighter planes are the future

sc604 — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:56:39 +0000

̽��ֱ��study, by the Universities of Sheffield, Cambridge and UCL ( ̽��ֱ�� College London), is the first to carry out a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of a composite plane, such as the Boeing Dreamliner 787 or Airbus 350, and extrapolate the results to the global fleet.

̽��ֱ��LCA covers manufacture, use and disposal, using publicly available information on the Boeing Dreamliner 787 fuselage and from the supply chain – such as the energy usage of the robots that construct the planes. ̽��ֱ��study compares the results to the traditional – and heavier – aluminium planes.

Emissions during the manufacture of composite planes are over double those of aluminium planes. But because the lighter aircraft use significantly less fuel, these increased emissions are offset after just a few international flights. Over its lifetime, a composite plane creates up to 20 per cent fewer CO2 emissions than its aluminium equivalent.

Professor in Advanced Materials Technologies at the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield, Alma Hodzic, says: “This study shows that the fuel consumption savings with composites far outweigh the increased environmental impact from their manufacture. Despite ongoing debates within the industry, the environmental and financial savings from composites mean that these materials offer a much better solution.”

̽��ֱ��researchers fed the data from the LCA into a wider transport model to gauge the impact on CO2 emissions as composite planes are introduced into the global fleet over the next 25 years, taking into account other factors including population, economic prosperity, oil prices and speed of adoption of the new technology.

̽��ֱ��study – published in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment – estimated that by 2050, composite planes could reduce emissions from the global fleet by 14-15 per cent relative to a fleet that maintains its existing aluminium-based configuration.

Professor in Energy and Transport at UCL, Andreas Schäfer, explains: “ ̽��ֱ��overall emissions reduction for the global fleet is lower than the reduction for an individual plane, partly, because by 2050, not all the fleet will be of composite construction. New planes entering the fleet before 2020 could still be in use by 2050, but the faster the uptake of this technology, the greater the environmental benefits will be.”

Dr Lynette Dray from Cambridge's Department of Architecture agrees: “Given that global air traffic is projected to increase four-fold between now and 2050, changing the materials used could avoid 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2050 alone, a value that roughly corresponds to current emission levels.”

Professor Hodzic adds: “ ̽��ֱ��industry target is to halve CO2 emissions for all aircraft by 2020 and while composites will contribute to this, it cannot be achieved by the introduction of lighter composite planes alone. However, our findings show that composites – alongside other technology and efficiency measures – should be part of the picture.”

A global fleet of composite planes could reduce carbon emissions by up to 15 per cent, but the lighter planes alone will not enable the aviation industry to meet its emissions targets, according to new research.

Given that global air traffic is projected to increase four-fold between now and 2050, changing the materials used could avoid 500 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2050 alone, a value that roughly corresponds to current emission levels

Lynette Dray

indianadinos

Airbus A350 XWB MSN001

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Genetic mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease

gm349 — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 10:28:28 +0000

Researchers have discovered how genetic mutations linked to Parkinson’s disease might play a key role in the death of brain cells, potentially paving the way for the development of more effective drug treatments.

In the new study, published in Nature Neuroscience, a team of researchers from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, UCL, and the ̽��ֱ�� of Sheffield showed how defects in the Parkinson’s gene Fbxo7 cause problems with ‘mitaphagy’ – an essential process through which our bodies are able to get rid of damaged cells.

Mitochondria are the ‘energy powerhouses’ of cells. Their function is vital in nerve cells which require a great deal of energy in order to function and survive. Dysfunctional mitochondria are potentially very harmful and, normally, cells dispose of the damaged mitchondria by self-eating them, a process called mitophagy.

Most of what we know about the mitophagy process comes from the study of the familial forms of Parkinson’s, one of the most common diseases of the brain. Over the last three years, two genes associated with familial Parkinson’s disease, PINK1 and Parkin, have been reported to play a role in mitophagy.

This new study shows just how central the role of mitophagy is and how mutations in Fbxo7 are also linked with the disease and interfere with the PINK1-Parkin pathway. In people with Parkinson’s, genetic mutations cause defects in mitophagy, leading to a build-up of dysfunctional mitochondria. This is likely to explain, at least partially, the death of brain cells in Parkinson’s patients with these mutations.

One of the lead authors, Dr Heike Laman from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: "This research focuses the attention of the PD community on the importance of the proper maintenance of mitochondria for the health of neurons. We are really only at the very beginning of this work, but perhaps we can use this information to enable earlier diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease patients or design therapies aimed at supporting mitochondrial health."

Co-author Dr Helene Plun-Favreau from the UCL Institute of Neurology, said: “These findings suggest that treatment strategies that target mitophagy might be developed to benefit patients with Parkinson's disease in the future.”

Dr Plun-Favreau added: “What makes the study so robust is the confirmation of defective mitophagy in a number of different Parkinson’s models, including cells of patients who carry a mutation in the Fbxo7 gene.”

Professor Nicholas Wood, Neuroscience programme director for the NIHR ̽��ֱ�� College London Hospitals BRC, said: “It is very exciting to see how detailed biological work of this type can highlight a single pathway that contributes to Parkinson’s disease. This presents the opportunity of more rationale drug design for many forms of parkinsonism.”

Professor Hugh Perry, chair of the Neurosciences and Mental Health Board at the Medical Research Council who part-funded the study, said: “This study raises interesting questions about precisely how brain cells die in a Parkinson’s patient: the process which is key to understanding the disease’s progression. ̽��ֱ��more we understand about the basic molecular events which contribute to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease, the better placed we will be to develop treatments to stop it in its tracks.”

̽��ֱ��work was funded by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and ̽��ֱ��NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at ̽��ֱ�� College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and ̽��ֱ�� College London.

Story adapted from UCL press release.

Mutations might play a key role in the death of brain cells.

We are really only at the very beginning of this work, but perhaps we can use this information to enable earlier diagnosis for Parkinson’s disease patients or design therapies aimed at supporting mitochondrial health.

Dr Heike Laman

marcel oosterwijk from Flickr

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