Unexpectedly high emissions from wastewater treatment plants

With a custom built drone, researchers at LiU have shown that greenhouse gas emissions from many wastewater treatment plants may be more than twice as large as previously thought.
Photo 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.

New switch for programmed cell death identified

During the analysis work: Prof. Franz Hagn (left) and Dr. Umut Günsel
Photo Credit: Astrid Eckert / TUM 

In the fight against disease, programmed cell death – also known as apoptosis – is a key protective function of the body. It breaks down cells that are damaged or have undergone dangerous changes. However, cancer cells often manage to override this mechanism. A research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now succeeded in identifying a new molecular switch in this process and elucidating how it works.

The activation and deactivation of apoptosis is a promising field of research in basic biomedical research. The team led by Prof. Franz Hagn from the Chair of Structural Membrane Biochemistry at the TUM School of Natural Sciences has now discovered a new switch: "Many research teams worldwide are working on the exciting topic of apoptosis and its targeted control. The big advantage is that we are dealing with a highly efficient, evolutionarily developed regulatory mechanism. So, we don't have to invent something completely new, but can use the appropriate structural methods to learn from nature's optimized processes."

Researchers in Japan Discover New Jellyfish Species Deserving of a Samurai Warrior Name

Physalia mikazuki sp. nov., a newly described Portuguese man-of-war collected from Gamo Beach, Sendai Bay. The gas-filled float and long trailing tentacles are characteristic of the Portuguese man-of-war. Runner-up names with a similar Sendai-oriented cultural flare included Physalia: zunda shake, blue dragon, and one-eyed dragon.
Image Credit: © Tohoku University / Cheryl Lewis Ames et al.

A student-led research group from Tohoku University has discovered a new species of the venomous Physalia (commonly known as Portuguese man-of-war) that has never been seen before in northeast Japan. This revelation suggests that warming coastal waters and shifting ocean currents are influencing the distribution of marine organisms in northeastern Japan.

"I was working on a completely different research project around Sendai Bay in the Tohoku region, when I came across this unique jellyfish I had never seen around here before," remarks second author Yoshiki Ochiai. "So, I scooped it up, put it in a ziplock bag, hopped on my scooter, and brought it back to the lab!"

The crystal that makes clouds rain

The experiments have to be performed in the dark
Photo Credit: Technische Universität Wien

No one can control the weather, but certain clouds can be deliberately triggered to release rain or snow. The process, known as cloud seeding, typically involves dispersing small silver iodide particles from aircraft into clouds. These particles act as seeds on which water molecules accumulate, forming ice crystals that grow and eventually become heavy enough to fall to the ground as rain or snow.

Until now, the microscopic details of this process have remained unclear. Using high-resolution microscopy and computer simulations, researchers at TU Wien have investigated how silver iodide interacts with water at the atomic scale. Their findings reveal that silver iodide exposes two fundamentally different surfaces, but only one of them promotes ice nucleation. The discovery deepens our understanding of how clouds form rain and snow and may guide the design of improved materials for inducing precipitation.

Dark matter does not defy gravity

Map of the distribution of galaxies observed by the DESI collaboration, from which it is possible to accurately measure the velocities of galaxies.
Image Credit: © Claire Lamman/DESI collaboration; custom colormap package by cmastro.

Does dark matter follow the same laws as ordinary matter? The mystery of this invisible and hypothetical component of our Universe — which neither emits nor reflects light — remains unsolved.  A team involving members from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) set out to determine whether, on a cosmological scale, this matter behaves like ordinary matter or whether other forces come into play. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest a similar behavior, while leaving open the possibility of an as-yet-unknown interaction. This breakthrough sheds a little more light on the properties of this elusive matter, which is five times more abundant than ordinary matter.

Ordinary matter obeys four well-identified forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak forces at the atomic level. But what about dark matter? Invisible and elusive, it could be subject to the same laws or governed by a fifth, as yet unknown force.

Dark matter falls into gravitational wells in the same way as ordinary matter, thus obeying Euler's equations.

What Is: The Human Microbiome

The Human Microbiome
Image Credit: Scientific Frontline stock image

The Invisible Organ

The human body is not a sterile, solitary entity. It is a dense, complex, and dynamic ecosystem. Each individual serves as a host to a vast community of microorganisms, collectively known as the human microbiota. This community, which resides in and on the body, is estimated to comprise between 10 trillion and 100 trillion symbiotic microbial cells. Early estimates, which have become a cornerstone of the field, suggested these microbial cells outnumber human cells by a ratio of ten to one. While more recent analyses propose a ratio closer to 1:1, the sheer scale of this microbial colonization remains staggering. These microbial cells, though only one-tenth to one-hundredth the size of a human cell, may account for up to five pounds of an adult's body weight.

This vast microbial community is not a passive passenger. It functions as a "virtual organ" of the body, or more precisely, a "metabolic organ". It is so deeply integrated into our physiology that we are dependent on it for essential life functions, including digestion, immune system development, and the production of critical nutrients.

Bowhead whales’ secret to long life may lie in a protein

University of Rochester biologists are considering ways to ramp up in humans the CIRBP protein, which plays a key role in repairing DNA in bowhead whales and other species.
Photo Credit: National Park Service / public domain

As humans age, we become more vulnerable to cancer and other diseases. Bowhead whales, however, can live for up to 200 years while staying remarkably disease resistant.

How does one of the largest animals on Earth stay healthy for centuries? And could their biology hold clues to help humans live longer too?

New research from scientists at the University of Rochester and their collaborators suggests one answer lies in a protein called CIRBP. The protein plays a key role in repairing double-strand breaks in DNA, a type of genetic damage that can cause disease and shorten lifespan in a variety of species, including humans. In a study published in Nature, the researchers—including URochester biology professors Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov and first authors Denis Firsanov, a postdoctoral researcher, and Max Zacher, a graduate student in their lab—found that bowhead whales have much higher levels of CIRBP than other mammals. The findings offer a new clue to how humans might one day enhance DNA repair, better resist cancer, and slow the effects of aging.

New Species of Spider Discovered, Just in Time for Halloween

A species of trapdoor spider, named Aptostichus ramirezae, was newly identified by UC Davis scientists.
Photo Credit: Emma Jochim/UC Davis

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have discovered a new species of trapdoor spider lurking in California’s coastal sand dunes. The newly identified Aptostichus ramirezae is a close relative of Aptostichus simus, a species found along the coast from Monterey to Baja California, Mexico. 

The study, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows that what looked like one species, is actually two. 

“While there are over 50,000 species of spiders worldwide, there are probably hundreds of thousands left to be discovered, even along the coast where new spider species may be hiding just underfoot of California beachgoers,” said senior author Jason Bond, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Bioinformatics Uncovers Regenerative Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Human brain cells are notoriously difficult to culture in the lab, but UC San Diego researchers successfully grew human brain cells, shown here, in order to test a new treatment approach for spinal cord injury.
Photo Credit: Mark H. Tuszynski/UC San Diego Health Sciences

Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a major unmet medical challenge, often resulting in permanent paralysis and disability with no effective treatments. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have harnessed bioinformatics to fast-track the discovery of a promising new drug for SCI. The results will also make it easier for researchers around the world to translate their discoveries into treatments.

One of the reasons SCI results in permanent disability is that the neurons that form our brain and spinal cord cannot effectively regenerate. Encouraging neurons to regenerate with drugs offers a promising possibility for treating these severe injuries. 

The researchers found that under specific experimental conditions, some mouse neurons activate a specific pattern of genes related to neuronal growth and regeneration. To translate this fundamental discovery into a treatment, the researchers used data-driven bioinformatics approaches to compare their pattern to a vast database of compounds, looking for drugs that could activate these same genes and trigger neurons to regenerate.

New nanomedicine wipes out leukemia in animal study

The real-time cellular uptake of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and fusion with leukemia cells’ lysosomes, where the SNAs degrade and release potent chemotherapeutics. SNAs are shown in red; cells’ cytoskeletons are green; and cells’ nuclei are blue.
Video Credit: Chad A. Mirkin Research Group

In a promising advance for cancer treatment, Northwestern University scientists have re-engineered the molecular structure of a common chemotherapy drug, making it dramatically more soluble and effective and less toxic.

In the new study, the team designed a new drug from the ground up as a spherical nucleic acid (SNA) — a nanostructure that weaves the drug directly into DNA strands coating tiny spheres. This design converts a poorly soluble, weakly performing drug into a powerful, targeted cancer killer that leaves healthy cells unharmed.