A new study, in which the Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (IACT) (CSIC-UGR) participated, has described for the first time a key stage in the beginning of the great glaciations and indicates that it can happen to our planet in the future. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Nature

The study claims to have found a new connection that could explain the beginning of the ice ages on Earth

Antarctic iceberg melt could hold the key to the activation of a series of mechanisms that cause the Earth to suffer prolonged periods of global cooling, according to Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo, a researcher at the Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (CSIC-UGR), whose discoveries were recently published in the prestigious journal Nature. 

It has long been known that changes in the Earth’s orbit, as it moves around the Sun, trigger the beginning or end of glacial periods by affecting the amount of solar radiation that reaches the planet’s surface. However, until now, the question of how small variations in the solar energy that reaches us can lead to such dramatic shifts in the planet’s climate has remained a mystery.

In this new study, a multinational group of researchers proposes that, when the Earth’s orbit around the sun is just right, the Antarctic icebergs begin to melt further and further away from the continent, moving huge volumes of freshwater from the Antarctic Ocean into the Atlantic. 

This process causes the Antarctic Ocean to become increasingly salty, while the Atlantic Ocean becomes fresher, affecting overall ocean circulation patterns, drawing CO₂ from the atmosphere and reducing the so-called greenhouse effect. These are the initial stages that mark the beginning of an ice age on the planet. 

Within this study, the scientists used several techniques to reconstruct oceanic conditions in the past, including by identifying tiny fragments of rock that had broken away from Antarctic icebergs as they melted into the ocean. These deposits were obtained from marine sediment cores recovered by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) during Expedition 361 off the sea-margins of South Africa. These sediment cores enabled the scientists to reconstruct the history of the icebergs that reached these latitudes in the last million and a half years, this being one of the most continuous records known.

Climate simulations

The study describes how these rocky deposits appear to be consistently associated with variations in deep ocean circulation, which was reconstructed from chemical variations in minute deep-sea fossils known as foraminifera. The team also used new climate simulations to test the proposed hypotheses, finding that huge volumes of fresh water are carried northward by icebergs.

The first author of the article, PhD student Aidan Starr from the University of Cardiff, notes that the researchers are “surprised to have discovered that this teleconnection is present in each of the different ice ages of the last 1.6 million years. This indicates that the Antarctic Ocean plays a major role in the global climate, something that scientists have long sensed, but that we have now clearly demonstrated.”

Francisco J. Jiménez Espejo, a researcher with the IACT, participated in his capacity as a specialist in inorganic geochemistry and physical properties during the IODP 361 expedition aboard the JOIDES Resolution research vessel. For two months, between January and March 2016, the research team sailed between Mauritius and Cape Town, collecting deep-sea sediment cores.

Jiménez Espejo’s main contribution to the study focused on identifying the geochemical variations associated with glacial and interglacial periods, which has made it possible to estimate with greater accuracy the age of the sediment and its sensitivity to the different environmental changes associated with those periods.

Over the course of the last 3 million years, the Earth began to experience periodic glacial cooling. During the most recent episode, about 20,000 years ago, icebergs continuously reached the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian Peninsula from the Arctic. Currently, the Earth is in a warm interglacial period known as the Holocene.

However, the progressive increase in global temperature associated with CO₂ emissions from industrial activities could affect the natural rhythm of glacial cycles. Ultimately, the Antarctic Ocean could become too warm for Antarctic icebergs to be able to carry freshwater north, and therefore a fundamental stage in the beginning of the ice ages—the variations in thermohaline circulation—would not take place. 

Ian Hall, also of Cardiff University, who co-directed the scientific expedition, indicates that the results may contribute to understanding how the Earth’s climate may respond to anthropic changes. Similarly, Jiménez Espejo, notes that “last year, during an expedition aboard Hespérides, the Spanish Navy research vessel, we were able to observe the immense A-68 iceberg that had just broken into several pieces next to the islands of South Georgia. Ocean warming may cause the trajectories and the melt patterns of these large icebergs to alter in the future, affecting the currents and, therefore, our climate and the validity of the models that scientists use to predict it.”

Sampling an iceberg during the Powell 2020 research expedition close to the “Juan Carlos I” Spanish Antarctic Base/José Abel Flores

The Hespérides oceanographic research vessel next to an iceberg (January 2020)/José Abel Flores 

Researchers aboard the Hespérides/José Abel Flores

Francisco J. Jiménez Espejo of the Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (CSIC-UGR) sampling rock fragments on a glacier terminus close to the “Juan Carlos I” Spanish Antarctic Base on Livingston Island (January 2020)

Bibliography:

DOI 10.1038/s41586-020-03094-7

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03094-7

Media enquiries:

Francisco J. Jiménez Espejo

Andalusian Earth Sciences Institute (CSIC-UGR)

Email: fjjspejo@ugr.es

Scientists from the Andalusian Research Institute in Data Science and Computational Intelligence, or DaSCI (University of Granada), together with the private company Ferrovial and the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering, highlight the need for unified, accessible, and open data in developing projects to address many of the challenges of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Scientists from the Andalusian Research Institute in Data Science and Computational Intelligence, or DaSCI (University of Granada), together with the private company Ferrovial and the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering (RAI), have conducted a study to analyse how engineering and technological solutions strongly linked to artificial intelligence (AI) can positively contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations (UN).

To protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all people, the UN established these 17 SDGs as part of its 2030 Agenda, which constitute a paradigm shift for companies and governments in the design of new business models and public policies based on sustainability. Governments, the private sector, and civil society all play an important role in achieving the goals.

The project, entitled “Engineering as a Facilitator of SDGs: Artificial intelligence and disruptive digital technologies”, began in March 2020, focusing specifically on the study of AI and digital technologies and how these might be applied to further progress toward the 17 SDGs. The research is organised into three facets that broadly correspond to (i) an introduction to AI and digital technologies, (ii) analysis of their application to the SDGs, and (iii) recommendations for action that can help develop projects and support the achievement of associated goals. As part of this research, the authors reviewed the specialised scientific literature, including over a thousand bibliographical references relevant to the 169 targets that have been set to achieve the SDGs.

This work makes an important contribution to our understanding of the analytical capacity of engineering—under the umbrella of AI and digitalisation in support of the SDGs—and to addressing the challenges faced by the world economy and society in the 21st Century. It also provides insights into the three dimensions that characterise sustainability: the economic (including the different areas of life and economic and technological development); the social (including social development and equality); and the environmental (including resources and the environment).

One of the conclusions of this work is that data constitute the common element on which AI and digital technologies are based. Here, it is important to highlight the need for data that are unified, accessible, and open, as this supports the development of projects designed to address many of the global challenges. Governments and companies must converge toward this objective by generating and sharing data that allow them to successfully take on projects and design solutions to address the SDGs.

The researchers point out that it is imperative to strengthen the links between science and engineering, industry and governments, to reinforce dialogue and expand the different avenues toward achieving high-quality data.

Global targets

“The SDGs set targets to be achieved at the global level, but not all countries and regions of the world are currently in the same position in this race to achieve them. So the application of AI and digital technologies must obviously be adapted to the situation of each country and targeted at the most pressing SDGs,” the authors explain.

Digital technologies are advancing at a rapid pace, which means it is important to look for alternative ways to measure the achievement of the SDGs—ways that are adapted to this accelerated pace of progress and the emergence of new digital paradigms. This is especially important given the current world scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has undoubtedly had a profound impact on all dimensions of the SDGs, far beyond the strictly health-related aspect.

AI and digital technologies are fundamental tools for travelling the path we have to navigate during this decade, as we carry heavy moral and ethical responsibility toward today’s world. Working toward the 17 SDGs is both a great opportunity and a major challenge.

A new book about the study, featuring original illustrations by Pablo García-Moral, is now available, which explores the latest thinking on this issue from those involved in the project. It was written by a team of 16 authors, coordinated by Rosana Montes (UGR), Francisco Herrera (UGR and RAI), Javier Pérez de Vargas (RAI), and Rosario Marchena (Ferrovial).

Image captions:

The research concludes with a brief discussion that revolves around five key lessons learned, as shown in this figure

The UGR team who worked on the project

The study can be downloaded here:

http://www.raing.es/es/publicaciones/libros/inteligencia-artificial-y-tecnolog-digitales-para-los-ods

Media enquiries:

Francisco Herrera and Rosana Montes

Andalusian Research Institute in Data Science and Computational Intelligence (DaSCI) University of Granada

Email: herrera@decsai.ugr.es; rosana@ugr.es

An international study in which the University of Granada participated—recently published in the journal Scientific Reports—has identified a new fossil record of these mysterious animals in the northeast of Taiwan (China), in marine sediments from the Miocene Age (between 23 and 5.3 million years ago)   

These organisms, similar to today’s Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois), were approximately 2 m long and 3 cm in diameter and lived in burrows

An international study in which the University of Granada (UGR) participated (recently published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports) has revealed that the seafloor was inhabited by giant predatory worms during the Miocene Age (23–5.3 million years ago). 

The scientists identified a new fossil record (indirect remains of animal activity such as, for instance, dinosaur tracks, fossilised droppings, insect nests, or burrows) linked to these mysterious animals, which are possible predecessors of today’s Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois). Based on the reconstruction of giant burrows observed in Miocene-age marine sediments from northeast Taiwan (China), the researchers concluded that these trace fossils may have colonised the seafloor of the Eurasian continent about 20 million years ago.

Olmo Míguez Salas of the UGR’s Department of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology (Ichnology and Palaeoenvironment Research Group) participated in the study, which was conducted as part of a project funded by the Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST, 2018) of which the researcher was a beneficiary.

Míguez Salas and the other researchers reconstructed this new fossil record, which they have named Pennichnus formosae. It consists of an L-shaped burrow, approximately 2 m long and 2–3 cm in diameter, indicating the size and shape of the organism— Eunice aphroditois—that made the structure.   

Bobbit worms hide in long, narrow burrows in the seafloor and propel themselves upward to grab prey with their strong jaws. The authors suggest that the motion involved in capturing their prey and retreating into their burrow to digest it caused various alterations to the structure of the burrows. These alterations are conserved in the Pennichnus formosae and are indicative of the deformation of the sediment surrounding the upper part of the burrow. Detailed analysis revealed a high concentration of iron in this upper section, which may, the researchers believe, indicate that the worms continuously rebuilt the opening to the burrow by secreting a type of mucus to strengthen the wall, because bacteria that feed on this mucus create environments rich in iron. 

Although marine invertebrates have existed since the early Paleozoic, their bodies primarily comprise soft tissue and are therefore rarely preserved. The fossil record discovered in this study is believed to be the earliest known specimen of a subsurface-dwelling ambush predator.

Olmo Míguez Salas notes that this finding “provides a rare view of the behaviour of these creatures under the seafloor and also highlights the value of studying fossil records to understand the behaviour of organisms from the past.”

Bibliography:

Pan, Y-Y., Nara, M., Löwemark, L., Miguez-Salas, O., Gunnarson, B., Iizuka, Y., Chen, T-T. & Dashtgard, S.E. (2021) ‘The 20-million-year old lair of an ambush-predatory worm preserved in northeast Taiwan’, Scientific Reports.

Image captions:

Eunice aphroditois (image courtesy of Ms. Chutinun Mora)

Photograph during the fieldwork in Taiwan

The fossil record Pennichnus formosae

Schematic model of the predatory Bobbit worm (image credit: Pan et al., 2021)

The UGR researcher Olmo Míguez Salas, one of the authors of this work

Media enquiries:

Olmo Míguez Salas

Department of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology 

Faculty of Science, University of Granada

Email: olmoms@ugr.es 

Tag: Faculty of Sciences

The researchers analysed how Spanish children and adolescents get to school, based on studies examining the commuting patterns of 36,781 individuals over a 7-year period (2010–2017) 

Researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) have conducted the most comprehensive study to date on how Spanish children and young people get to school each day, to determine the active commuting rate.

The results showed that, between 2010 and 2017, in the region of 60% of Spanish children and adolescents actively commuted to school, with no significant variations being observed during this period.

The study, which was recently published in the prestigious Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, analysed information drawn from 28 studies conducted throughout Spain, covering a total sample of 36,781 children and adolescents. To date, no study has been performed in Spain with such a large sample and such a longitudinal perspective, based on data collected over 7 successive years.

The results show how the overall trend of active commuting to school remained stable during 2010–2017, except for a sporadic increase in the rate among adolescents in 2012–2013. The UGR researchers highlight how promising these results are, as all similar studies previously carried out in different countries and in Spain showed a dramatic decline in the percentage of young people showing active mobility over time. Furthermore, they highlight that no significant association was found between the rate of active commuting to school and the period of economic crisis that Spain underwent in the period analysed.

The findings therefore indicate that the commitment shown in today’s society toward promoting measures and strategies for increasing active commuting to school seems to be paying dividends. This activity is not only good for young people’s health but is also beneficial for the environment, and efforts must continue to ensure long-term positive results in the quest for a more active society and a healthier environment.

Bibliography:

Gálvez-Fernández P., Herrador-Colmenero M., Esteban-Cornejo I., et al. (2021) ‘Active commuting to school among 36,781 Spanish children and adolescents: A temporal trend study’, Scand J Med Sci Sport 00: 1 –11. 

https://doi.org /10.1111/sms.13917 

Patricia Gálvez-Fernández, main author of this research

Palma Chillón, Patricia Gálvez-Fernández, Francisco Javier Huertas-Delgado and Manuel Herrador-Colmenero, authors of this research

Media enquiries:

Patricia Gálvez-Fernández
PROFITH Research Group (PROmoting FITness and Health through Physical Activity) Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS)
Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada
Email: pgalvez@ugr.es

http://profith.ugr.es

According to a recently-published study, inferior weight loss among adolescents following a diet is linked to a stronger connection between the areas of the brain associated with the motivation to eat and the rewarding effect of food

A research group from Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC) of the University of Granada (UGR) has been studying the issue of excess weight from a neuroscientific perspective for many years, to determine the precise role played by the brain.   

In a study recently published in the International Journal of Obesity—based on the doctoral thesis of Cristina Martín, which dealt with overweight adolescents—researchers from the UGR have found that that inferior weight loss among adolescents following a diet is linked to a stronger connection between the areas of the brain associated with the motivation to eat and the rewarding effect of food.

This finding adds to those previously obtained by the UGR’s Applied Neuropsychology and Psychoneuroimmunology Research Group in its work devoted to studying adolescents and adults, which shows how the brains of overweight people work differently from those of people of a healthy weight in all matters related to food.  

“When faced with a decision about what best to eat and when presented with highly appetising food, in terms of brain response we observed that the ‘impulsive’ circuits are more highly activated than the ‘reflective’ circuits,” explains Raquel Vilar López, a researcher at the UGR’s Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment and one of the authors of this work.

Different thickness in the cerebral cortex

In addition to these differences in brain activation, various areas of the brain in overweight people were found to differ in terms of how they connect and in the thickness of the cerebral cortex. There is also a link between these differences (which could be related to a diet high in fat) and the difficulty experienced by some people in following a diet and exercising, and therefore weight loss.

Based on these findings, researchers Raquel Vilar and Alfonso Caracuel of the UGR’s Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, in collaboration with two international research groups, have recently started a project to combat the phenomenon of excess weight.

This involves a combination of training approaches that, individually, have proven effective in modifying imbalanced aspects in the functioning of the brain circuits involved in being overweight or obese. These approaches can be delivered online or in person.

For more information, please visit:

Web: wpd.ugr.es/~train.eval

Instagram: @trainep_neuropsico

Twitter: @trainep.neurops

Facebook: facebook.com/Trainep-102575775125913

Bibliography:

Martín-Pérez, C., Contreras-Rodríguez, O., Verdejo-Román, J., Vilar- López, R., González-Pérez, R., & Verdejo-García, A. (2020) ‘Stressing diets? Amygdala networks, cumulative cortisol, and weight loss in adolescents with excess weight’, International Journal of Obesity, 44 (10), 2001–2010. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0633-4

The authors of this research in a virtual meeting

When faced with a decision about what best to eat and when presented with highly appetising food, in terms of brain response the ‘impulsive’ circuits are more activated than the ‘reflective’ circuits

Media enquiries:

Alfonso Caracuel Romero

Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Granada

Email: train.eval@ugr.es

Women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic report having felt greater stress in the delivery process, and rate lower the quality of care received 

Furthermore, almost 15% more women developed symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth during the pandemic

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) indicates that psychological variables have contributed to more severe anxiety and depression among pregnant women since the COVID-19 pandemic began. These psychological variables include the general stress suffered, the concerns that women have about the pregnancy itself, personal resilience, insomnia, fear of catching the virus, or the feeling of loneliness.

This study, published in the journal Medicina Clínica, has revealed that feeling stress, being highly concerned about the evolution of the pregnancy, fear of contagion, feeling lonely, and sleeping badly are the variables that most affect anxiety and depression. 

“We have all experienced highly stressful, sad, or anxious situations at some point during the pandemic. Since the state of alarm was decreed in our country, thousands of people have had to deal with a new way of life that is completely unfamiliar. This situation has affected pregnant women in particular, who have experienced a growing sense of fear about the possibility of infection due to potential transmission to the foetus”, explains the main author of this work, Borja Romero González, a researcher at the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment of the UGR.

In addition, the uncertainty caused by the lockdown situation (especially in the Spring of 2020), coupled with the experiences of these women in hospitals that are overwhelmed due to the pandemic, may have contributed to their stress and anxiety.

A study among 131 women

“During lockdown, we were all forced to change our day-to-day habits. So everything that surrounded us during that difficult time could help alleviate the negative effects of a situation in which we exchanged outdoor walks for looking out of a window, and visits to family members for video calls”, the researcher at the UGR observes.

Against this backdrop, this study focused on determining which variables—be they psychological or specific to the lockdown experience—contributed to increasing or decreasing the levels of anxiety and depression in a sample of 131 pregnant women.

In addition to the aforementioned psychological variables, then, the authors also analysed certain variables of the lockdown experience itself: the type of dwelling in which the women spent these months, whether they followed a balanced diet, and the frequency of video calls to family and friends.

The main findings were that psychological variables did indeed contribute to worsening anxiety and depression in pregnant women, which points to a clear conclusion: regardless of the major importance of where you live, how much contact you have with your relatives, and the type of diet you follow, the psychological state contributes more directly problems with anxiety and depression,” explains Borja Romero.

The UGR researchers therefore consider it very important to target psychological interventions at the pregnant female population, “to listen to them and allow them to talk about their emotions, to minimise the impact of lockdown on more serious problems such as anxiety and depression. This could also have a positive impact on the foetus, since the close relationship between the mother’s stress levels and the baby’s neurodevelopment is well known.

Less satisfied

A second study compared the levels of satisfaction with childbirth and the incidence of postpartum depression in women who gave birth before vs. during the pandemic. The main results showed that those women who gave birth during the pandemic reported having felt greater stress during the delivery process, and they rated lower the quality of care they received in hospital. Likewise, almost 15% more women developed symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth during the pandemic. This second study was based on a sample of 162 women and was recently published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.  

One possible explanation for these phenomena may be that, during the state of alarm and the most critical moments of the pandemic, the Spanish hospital system suffered an almost total collapse. This likely affected the women’s perception of the quality of care they received. In addition, having to give birth alone or being in an “inhospitable” place (as indeed all hospitals became during the pandemic) would increase the stress at the time of delivery.

“It is very important to note that satisfaction with childbirth is an indicator of later well-being, which is important in reducing the risk of suffering postpartum depression,” concludes Borja Romero.

Both studies were funded by the Junta de Andalucía and by the European Regional Development Fund.

Bibliography:

Romero-Gonzalez, B., Puertas-Gonzalez, J. A., Mariño-Narvaez, C., & Peralta-Ramirez, M. I. (2021) ‘Confinement variables by COVID-19 predictors of anxious and depressive symptoms in pregnant women’, Medicina Clinica, S0025-7753.

Mariño‐Narvaez, C., Puertas‐Gonzalez, J. A., Romero‐Gonzalez, B., & Peralta‐Ramirez, M. I. (2020) ‘Giving birth during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The impact on birth satisfaction and postpartum depression’, International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics.

Image captions:

The UGR researchers who conducted the study 

Women who gave birth during the pandemic reported experiencing increased stress when giving birth

Media enquiries:

Borja Romero González

Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 246 218

Email: borjaromero@ugr.es 

A research team from the University of Granada has conducted the world’s first whole-brain study of victims of gender violence using structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is held on 25 November each year

The research team of the BELIEVE project at the University of Granada (UGR) has identified the numerous changes in the brain caused by gender violence among female victims. This is the first study of its kind to be carried out worldwide using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and a whole-brain methodology. The results of this research have been published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 

This study, carried out at the UGR’s Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), is the first of its kind to analyse the structural differences between survivors and non-victims using this methodology. Most of the neuroimaging studies previously carried out on female survivors focused on a specific area of ​​the brain linked to post-traumatic stress. The present study pursued broader research aims by analysing the brain as a whole.

Miguel Pérez and Natalia Hidalgo, researchers at the UGR, explain: “It is widely known that gender violence causes a multitude of long-term consequences for female victims, yet the changes to the brain resulting from this violence remain under-studied.”  

Sixty women between the ages of 18 and 62 participated in the study and underwent MRI scans at the CIMCYC to analyse their entire brain—that is, all of its 160 areas. Of the total sample, 28 were survivors of gender-based violence.

Reduced cerebral volume and surface area

The results of this study showed structural brain differences between women who had not suffered gender violence and those who had, in terms of area, volume, and thickness in the lateral sulcus and the temporal, frontal, occipital, parietal, and limbic areas.

The victims primarily presented reduced volume and surface area in the right and left temporal sulcus, the inferior frontal gyrus, the left anterior cingulate cortex, and the right precuneus and occipital cortices.

Morphological analysis showed a relationship between changes in these regions and different potential causal mechanisms, such as adverse experiences suffered during childhood, post-traumatic stress resulting from violence, and various traumatic situations suffered during violent relationships, such as attempted strangulation, brain trauma, and the severity of the violence itself.

“In our study, we found that a significant number of women survivors of gender violence present long-term brain injuries. We also identified a link between these changes and certain adverse experiences, such as post-traumatic stress, attempted strangulation, brain injuries caused by their partner, and traumatic childhood events. The changes we found could thus be explained by these possible causal mechanisms”, notes Hidalgo. 

One of the contributions of these results is the discovery of this complex interrelationship between different variables related to gender violence that cause a number of changes in the brain, which are not typically studied or evaluated but may have consequences for the everyday life of these women survivors.

Bibliography:

Julia C. Daugherty, Juan Verdejo-Román, Miguel Pérez-García & Natalia Hidalgo-Ruzzante (2020), ‘Structural Brain Alterations in Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–34. doi 0886260520959621.

Image captions: 

Changes to the surface area of the brain

Volumetric alterations

Changes in cortical thickness

Two of the researchers from the University of Granada who conducted this study: Miguel Pérez and Natalia A. Hidalgo

Media enquiries:

Natalia A. Hidalgo Ruzzante

Department of Evolutionary and Educational Psychology

Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 243969Email: nhidalgo@ugr.es

The journal Science recently published an open letter written by four scientists from different international universities, including the UGR, to promote critical debate on the environment

Climate change, rural neglect, and forest management have increased the virulence of wildfires and their catastrophic consequences for both nature and humans

Australia, Brazil, the United States, and Russia are just some of the countries that have headlined in the last year due to an increasingly urgent and devastating phenomenon: the growing frequency and extent of wildfires.

The debacle surrounding environmental policy has led four international researchers, including a scientist from the University of Granada (UGR), to write an open letter to Science, one of the most prestigious journals in the world scientific community. 

The purpose of the letter is to warn of the continuing devaluation of policy debates on wildfires, undermining public scientific understanding and promoting instead the often-biased opinions of politicians.

In their letter, headed Wildfire debate needs science, not politics, researcher Alexandro Leverkus (UGR) and his colleagues Simon Thorn (Universität Würzburg), David Lindenmayer (Australian National University), and Juli Pausas (CIDE-CSIC) warn that, despite the decades of research that have generated vast scientific knowledge about the origins and consequences of wildfires, politicians are not leveraging this knowledge sufficiently to inform policies that facilitate a sustainable coexistence with fire. The terrible Yellowstone wildfires of 1988, those of South Australia in 2009, and other such disasters proved a critical turning point for researchers, with numerous scientific studies having been carried out since. These have helped to understand both the important role that fire plays in the functioning of ecosystems and the causes and potentially devastating consequences of the notable increase in the frequency, extent, and severity of these events on the planet.   

However, these researchers warn that the public debate on wildfires is not taking account of these scientific discoveries. Recently, politicians from different sides in various countries have been arguing about whether it is climate change or forest management that is ‘to blame’ for wildfires (although it is always the fault of the political opponent). Such debates only simplify the complex reality of the problem, as the causes of the increase in wildfires are many, and not all are applicable in each region. It is the prevalence of such arbitrary political comments that have provoked the indignation of this group of researchers, who criticise the treatment of public policies on such a crucial issue as “superficial”.

Fire is a double-edged sword. When not overly frequent, wildfires are necessary for the proper functioning of ecosystems, for biodiversity, and for society. Conversely, the occurrence of more widespread, frequent, and severe fires, or outbreaks in ecosystems where fire does not occur naturally, also pose a risk to biodiversity and ecosystems.

Climate change has had several effects on wildfires worldwide. These include prolonging the fire season and the frequency of dry years, further extending the periods of protracted drought that magnifies fire propagation and intensity, and the spread of fires through ecosystems that were hitherto considered non-flammable. This virulent trend is also detrimental to the human species, as the production of unprecedented volumes of smoke is harmful to our health and releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which, in turn, exacerbates the climate change problem.

In contrast, the scientists are endeavouring to use their findings to promote public policies for a healthier coexistence with fire, as the authors of the letter explain. One such example is the use of prescribed fire to prevent uncontrolled fires and the creation of heterogeneous landscapes in restoration programmes to prevent the spread of fires via large and homogeneous masses of vegetation.

Alexandro Leverkus of the UGR’s Department of Ecology points out that “we are all actively working in research and awareness-raising to encourage policies related to the countryside and wildfires that focus on sustainable coexistence with fire.”

The publication of the open letter in Science, when the prevailing issue of the moment is the Covid-19 crisis, is an encouraging sign for UGR researcher. He takes the publication of the letter to be “a recognition of the seriousness of the global wildfire crisis and the importance of implementing management measures that are based on scientific evidence to safeguard ecosystems and protect life on the planet.”  

Bibliography:

Alexandro B. Leverkus, Simon Thorn, David B. Lindenmayer, & Juli G. Pausas (2020), ‘Wildfire debate needs science, not politics’, Science 370. Online: DOI: 10.1126/ science.abf1326

Media enquiries:

Alexandro B. Leverkus

Department of Ecology, University of Granada

Email: leverkus@ugr.es

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀) is a molecule essential for life that is synthesised in the cells of our organs and tissues, but is also acquired through diet

Scientists from the University of Granada demonstrate for the first time that a CoQ₁₀ supplement is capable of modulating hydrogen sulphide metabolism and one-carbon metabolism 

A study led by scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) has found that a supplement of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ₁₀), an essential molecule for life that is synthesised in the cells of our organs and tissues and is also acquired through diet, could constitute a valuable complementary therapeutic option in the treatment of certain mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma, and Crohn’s disease.

The two most well-known functions of CoQ₁₀ are its role in the process of generating useful energy for cells and its antioxidant capacity. In various pathologies and throughout the natural ageing process, there is a decline in the cellular levels of CoQ₁₀, which contributes to various clinical manifestations, with a greater or lesser degree of severity. 

CoQ₁₀ capsules have therefore been made available for purchase in pharmacies and herbalists, yet the therapeutic action attributable to these exogenous supplements cannot be entirely explained by their effects on energy-production or the reduction of oxidative stress.  This study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, addresses this knowledge gap.

The UGR researchers have demonstrated for the first time that CoQ₁₀ supplements are capable of modulating hydrogen sulphide metabolism, which, in turn, triggers beneficial changes in other important metabolic pathways such as serine biosynthesis, the folate cycle, and nucleotide metabolism.   

In various pathologies, such as certain mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma, or Crohn’s disease, some of these pathways are altered, so the CoQ₁₀ supplement could be a valuable complementary therapeutic option in these diseases. 

The UGR researchers underline an important limitation of the study—namely, that a large proportion of these results were obtained in cell cultures. Therefore, further study is required to evaluate results obtained in vivo, in animal models. This would require the capacity of CoQ₁₀ to be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract to be increased and become available throughout the tissues being targeted.  

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the Ageing Disorders Research Unit (UNETE).

Bibliography:

‘Coenzyme Q10 modulates sulfide metabolism and links the mitochondrial respiratory chain to pathways associated to one carbon metabolism’. Human Molecular Genetics. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddaa214

Image of the authors who led the study

Graphic overview of the research

Media enquiries:

Pilar González García

Biomedical Research Centre (CIBM) and Department of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), University of Granada

Email: pgonzalez@ugr.es 

Agustín Hidalgo Gutiérrez

Biomedical Research Centre (CIBM) and Department of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), University of Granada

Email: ahg@ugr.es 

Uveal melanoma is a rare cancer that develops in the eye and leads to metastasis in 50% of patients, with an incidence of 2–8 cases per million inhabitants in Europe

Scientists from the University of Granada and GENYO have published their results in the journal Cancers 

Scientists from the University of Granada and GENYO (Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research), in a study led by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Manzaneque, have demonstrated the significant role of a protein called ADAMTS1 in uveal melanoma, one of the rarest and most aggressive cancers that exist, which develops in the eye.

Tumours are composed not only of a mass of cells that grow uncontrollably but also of the environment they create during their growth—together creating what is known as the ‘tumour microenvironment’. Within this environment, there are proteins that remodel it, known as extracellular proteases, which are capable of inhibiting or contributing to tumour growth and metastasis. They do this by modifying non-cellular elements of the tumour microenvironment that form the so-called extracellular matrix.

In this study, published in the journal Cancers, the researchers studied the role that one of these proteases, ADAMTS1, plays in the development of a rare and highly-aggressive subtype of melanoma: uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma develops in the eye, although 50% of patients develop metastasis, and it has an incidence of 2–8 cases per million inhabitants in Europe 

“In this research, we demonstrated that the ADAMTS1 protease is necessary for cancer cells to mimic endothelial cells (responsible for forming blood vessels), which is related to more aggressive tumours and a worse clinical prognosis,” explains Carlos Peris Torres, the main author of the work.  

To do this, the researchers inhibited the ADAMTS1 protease using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. This is a molecular tool used to ‘edit’ or ‘correct’ the genome of any cell (its developers, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, having won this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry). The researchers then verified the outcomes of their intervention on the protease in in vitro models with cell lines, and in vivo with different mouse models.     

Bioinformatic tools

In addition, using advanced bioinformatic tools and publicly-available data on uveal melanomas (from the Cancer Genome Atlas Project, developed by the US National Cancer Institute, which holds data on more than 20,000 samples of 33 different types of cancer), the UGR and GENYO scientists found new genes whose expression affects the clinical prognosis of this tumour type. 

“These include several members of the ADAMTS family and endothelial genes such as CDH5 and KDR. A more detailed analysis also revealed a high expression of ADAMTS1 in the initial stages of uveal melanoma, which confirmed its contribution to the initiation of tumour development and corroborated the results obtained experimentally”, adds Peris Torres.     

In light of these results, the researchers have concluded that ADAMTS1 is necessary for the development of uveal melanoma. This study is also the first to support the development of therapeutic targets aimed at the extracellular matrix to combat uveal melanoma.

Bibliography:

Peris-Torres, C., Plaza-Calonge, M.C., López-Domínguez, R., Domínguez-García, S., Barrientos-Durán, A., Carmona-Sáez, P., and Rodríguez-Manzaneque, J.C. (2020) ‘Extracellular Protease ADAMTS1 is Required at Early Stages of Human Uveal Melanoma Development by Inducing Stemness and Endothelial-Like Features on Tumor Cells’, Cancers 12, 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12040801

Media enquiries:

Carlos Peris Torres

Pfizer-University of Granada-Andalusian Government Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research (GENYO), Area of ​​Genomic Oncology

Email: carpeto@correo.ugr.es

Scientists from the University of Granada and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile have demonstrated that thermal tolerance varies quantifiably in line with body size in ectotherms—that is, animals whose body temperature depends mainly on environmental temperature (most animals)

Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile have succeeded in explaining why ectotherms (animals whose body temperature depends mainly on environmental temperature—that is, most animals) are reducing in size as a result of global warming. Their study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, offers the first plausible physiological explanation for the general reduction in organism size that has been observed, as a consequence of global warming. Rising temperatures lead to metabolic restrictions which restrict growth—in other words, the animals cannot develop to achieve larger sizes.

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, the lead author of the work, has recently joined the Department of Ecology at the University of Granada as a “Juan de la Cierva” Research Fellow and will develop his research within the ‘Modelling Nature’ Unit of Excellence. He explains: “Ectotherms, a group that includes the vast majority of animals, more or less depend on the ambient temperature to regulate their metabolism. For this reason, the enormous range of body sizes they present is surprising (about 12 orders of magnitude, from micrograms to tonnes), relative to the temperature range in which life develops (mostly between 0° and 40° C). Given that metabolism increases proportionally with size, how are animals of such disparate scales going to cope with global warming?”

After nearly three years spent investigating hundreds of scientific papers and museum collections, the researchers have collected a total of 637 empirical measurements of thermal tolerance and size among different species including annelids, molluscs, arthropods, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Using these data, and taking into account both the intensity and the duration of the thermal stress to which the organisms were subjected, the researchers have formulated an equation that enables the thermal tolerance of ectotherms to be quantified.

“This equation reveals that large and small animals respond differently to thermal stress as a result of the interaction between size and thermal sensitivity,” says Peralta-Maraver. Thus, smaller animals have a greater tolerance to extreme heat than larger ones, but their survival rate declines sharply, the longer their exposure to heat, which reduces the differences in endurance over long periods of exposure”. 

This discovery has major ecological implications, as it helps in understanding how ectotherms will respond to global warming. Furthermore, using the coefficients of their equation, the authors have corrected the thermal tolerance limits that were previously calculated for natural populations around the globe, warning of a huge overestimation produced by traditional forecasting methods.

Furthermore, by combining this new analytical framework with well-established equations from metabolic theory, the UGR researcher, together with the Chilean researcher Enrico L. Rezende, has mathematically demonstrated that metabolic limits also scale with size. With increasing size, death due to thermal stress occurs at a lower metabolic rate compared to rest at a non-stressful temperature. “This means that relatively large animals will see their development and growth capacity compromised due to the effects of climate warming”, the authors conclude.

The equation proposed by the researchers predicts that smaller animals have a greater tolerance to rapid temperature rises, which they can sustain for a short time. By contrast, large animals, which have less tolerance to extreme increases in temperature, survive longer

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, researcher, from the Department of Ecology of the University of Granada

Small ectotherms will outnumber larger ones in a global warming scenario (illustration: Ignacio Peralta)

Bibliography:

Peralta-Maraver, I. & Rezende, E.L. (2020) ‘Heat tolerance in ectotherms scales predictably with body size’, Nature Climate Change, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00938-y

Media enquiries:

Ignacio Peralta-Maraver
Department of Ecology, University of Granada
Mobile: +34 645474803
Email: nperalta@correo.ugr.es

During last Spring’s COVID-19 lockdown, researchers from the UGR ran Emotional Intelligence workshops that helped university students manage their adaptive processes and regulate their emotions more effectively 

The participants experienced less academic burnout and were more committed to their academic activities as a result of these workshops.

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and published in the journal Pharmacy has demonstrated that the application of various concepts from Emotional Intelligence (EQ) taught in workshops for university students during the COVID-19 lockdown period last spring helped participants manage their adaptive processes more appropriately and regulate their emotions more effectively. The students reported feeling less academic burnout and were more committed to their academic activities than before these workshops.

The sudden outbreak and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 demanded unprecedented measures to control the pandemic. In the case of Spain, the government declared a state of emergency and a strict national lockdown, leading the university system to have to rapidly transform its course delivery into a virtual (online) format. Taking into account the setbacks this caused—among other reasons, due to the emotional difficulties and uncertainty generated by the pandemic—a team of UGR researchers decided to draw on the concepts and tools of EQ as one of the most powerful teaching resources for achieving greater involvement among students and heightened commitment to their academic studies. Ultimately, this approach helped many of the participants overcome any deficiencies they were experiencing.

The research came about when lecturers from the UGR’s Department of Physiology, together with others from the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Educational Psychology Office, sought to improve teaching and learning under lockdown conditions. This led them to propose the study, which aimed to establish the effect of lockdown on teaching–learning processes and academic performance and the impact of applying EQ concepts among university students to improve their performance.

Javier Díaz Castro of the Department of Physiology is the principal author of this work. He explains that COVID-19 put teachers and students in a situation of uncertainty, constant challenges, and frustration: “We cannot continue teaching like we did before, as circumstances have changed. We need to reinvent ourselves to maintain quality teaching and attract the interest of our students. Since the key to learning lies in the emotions, not reason, and a positive environment is the first step toward achieving meaningful learning, it is clear that to achieve a high-quality experience for students, it is essential to take into account their emotions, needs, motivations, interests, and objectives.”

The reason–emotion binary is inseparable and synergistic, he continues. “We must motivate, excite, and inspire so that learning leaves an indelible mark on the student. We will only know, remember, and learn what interests, motivates, and inspires us. The acquisition of knowledge, curiosity, attention, or memory requires positive emotions. Emotion is the most powerful teaching tool that exists.”

Volunteer students from the Faculty of Pharmacy took part in the study. Two timeframes were established: one at the beginning of the lockdown and the other after various concepts of EQ had been taught online for two months. The Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Students (UWES-S) were used to evaluate the intervention.

In total, 63.5% of the students presented academic burnout during the lockdown, prior to the intervention. After the EQ workshops and seminars, only 31.1% presented academic burnout. Similarly, prior to the online input on EQ, 44.6% experienced exhaustion and 60.3% felt they were ineffective in their academic performance. After the input, only 29.1% of the students reported experiencing burnout and just 28.8% felt they were ineffective in their academic life. In fact, the scores obtained after studying the EQ in Physiology seminars led to improved results in all the variables studied.

The students managed their adaptive processes more appropriately and regulated their emotions better, since they felt less academic exhaustion and were more committed to their academic activities.

Some of the authors of this work. From left to right, Inmaculada López Aliaga, Jorge Moreno Fernández, Javier Díaz Castro, and Julio J. Ochoa Herrera

Bibliography:

Jorge Moreno Fernández, Julio J. Ochoa, Inmaculada López Aliaga, Mª José M. Alférez, Manuel Gómez Guzmán, Sagrario López Ortega & Javier Díaz Castro (2020), ‘Lockdown, emotional intelligence and academic performance in pharmacy students during the quarantine’, Pharmacy 8, 194; doi:10.3390/pharmacy8040194

Media enquiries:

Javier Diaz Castro

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Granada

Tel.: +34 958 243879Email: javierdc@ugr.es