• Energy Research
• 13. Climate action close
• 15. Life on land close
• US close
• DE close
• CA close
• Neuroscience close

AbstractThe climate is currently warming fast, threatening biodiversity all over the globe. Populations often adapt rapidly to environmental change, but for climate warming very little evidence is available. Here, we investigate the pattern of adaptation to an extreme +10°C climate change in the wild, following the introduction of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana from San Francisco Bay, USA, to Vinh Chau saltern in Vietnam. We use a resurrection ecology approach, hatching diapause eggs from the ancestral population and the introduced population after 13 and 24 years (∼54 and ∼100 generations, respectively). In a series of coordinated experiments, we determined whether the introduced Artemia show increased tolerance to higher temperatures, and the extent to which genetic adaptation, developmental plasticity, transgenerational effects, and local microbiome differences contributed to this tolerance. We find that introduced brine shrimp do show increased phenotypic tolerance to warming. Yet strikingly, these changes do not have a detectable additive genetic component, are not caused by mitochondrial genetic variation, and do not seem to be caused by epigenetic marks set by adult parents exposed to warming. Further, we do not find any developmental plasticity that would help cope with warming, nor any protective effect of heat-tolerant local microbiota. The evolved thermal tolerance might therefore be entirely due to transgenerational (great)grandparental effects, possibly epigenetic marks set by parents who were exposed to high temperatures as juveniles. This study is a striking example of “missing heritability,” where a large adaptive phenotypic change is not accompanied by additive genetic effects.

We report on two independent failures to conceptually replicate findings by Ballard & Lewandowsky (Ballard and Lewandowsky 2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 373 , 20140464 (doi:10.1098/rsta.2014.0464)), who showed that certainty in, and concern about, projected public health issues (e.g. impacts of climate change) depend on how uncertain information is presented. Specifically, compared to a projected range of outcomes (e.g. a global rise in temperature between 1.6°C and 2.4°C) by a certain point in time (the year 2065), Ballard & Lewandowsky (Ballard and Lewandowsky 2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 373 , 20140464 (doi:10.1098/rsta.2014.0464)) showed that focusing people on a certain outcome (a global rise in temperature of at least 2°C) by an uncertain time-frame (the years 2054–2083) increases certainty in the outcome, and concern about its implications. Based on two new studies that showed a null effect between the two presentation formats, however, we recommend treating the projection statements featured in these studies as equivalent, and we encourage investigators to find alternative ways to improve on existing formats to communicate uncertain information about future events.

Effects of Solar Flares on human health. Quantum Physics ideates as the root causes of imbalances in the health of individuals arising from solar winds gushing into the surface of the Earth via the atmosphere. This concept leads to the analysis of the Dense Neutrinos' effects and derives solutions for its mitigation!

AbstractThe globally invasive mosquito subspecies Aedes aegypti aegypti is a highly effective vector of human arboviruses because it specializes in biting humans and breeding in human habitats. Recent work suggests that specialization first arose as an adaptation to long, hot dry seasons in the West African Sahel, where Ae. aegypti is forced to rely on human-stored water for breeding. However, rainfall patterns in this region have changed dramatically over the past 10-20 thousand years, and we do not yet know exactly when specialization occurred. Here we use whole-genome cross-coalescent analysis to date the emergence of human specialist populations in the Sahel and thus further probe the climate hypothesis. Importantly, we take advantage of the known migration of human-specialist populations out of Africa during the Atlantic Slave Trade to calibrate the coalescent clock and thus obtain a more precise estimate of the older evolutionary event than would otherwise be possible. We find that human-specialist mosquitoes diverged rapidly from ecological generalists approximately 5,000 years ago, which corresponds to the end of the African Humid Period—a time when the Sahara dried and water stored by humans became a uniquely stable, aquatic niche in the Sahel. We also use population genomic analyses to date a previously observed influx of human-specialist alleles into major West African cities, where mosquitoes tend to be more attracted to humans than in nearby rural populations regardless of climate. In this case, the characteristic length of tracts of human-specialist ancestry present on a generalist genetic background in Kumasi, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso suggests the change in behavior occurred during rapid urbanization over the last 20-40 years. Taken together, we show that the timing and ecological context of two previously observed shifts towards human biting in Ae. aegypti differ; climate was likely the original driver, but urbanization has become increasingly important in recent decades. Understanding the changing relationship between mosquitoes and humans over time is critical for predicting and managing burdens of mosquito-borne disease.

Solutions to complex and unprecedented global challenges are urgently needed. Overcoming these challenges requires input and innovative solutions from all experts, including Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs). To achieve diverse inclusion from ECOPs, fundamental changes must occur at all levels—from individuals to organizations. Drawing on insights from across the globe, we propose 5 actionable pillars that support the engagement of ECOPs in co-design processes that address ocean sustainability: sharing knowledge through networks and mentorship, providing cross-boundary training and opportunities, incentivizing and celebrating knowledge co-design, creating inclusive and participatory governance structures, and catalyzing culture change for inclusivity. Foundational to all actions are the cross-cutting principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity. In addition, the pillars are cross-boundary in nature, including collaboration and innovation across sectors, disciplines, regions, generations, and backgrounds. Together, these recommendations provide an actionable and iterative path toward inclusive engagement and intergenerational exchange that can develop ocean solutions for a sustainable future.

El cambio climático afecta a la productividad agrícola en todo el mundo. El aumento de los precios de los productos alimenticios básicos es la indicación inicial de una drástica pérdida de rendimiento comestible, que se espera que aumente aún más debido al calentamiento global. Esta situación ha obligado a los científicos de plantas a desarrollar cultivos resistentes al cambio climático, que pueden soportar tensiones de amplio espectro como la sequía, el calor, el frío, la salinidad, las inundaciones, la inmersión y las plagas, lo que ayuda a aumentar la productividad. La genómica parece ser una herramienta prometedora para descifrar la capacidad de respuesta al estrés de las especies de cultivos con rasgos de adaptación o en parientes silvestres para identificar genes subyacentes, alelos o loci de rasgos cuantitativos. Los enfoques de fitomejoramiento molecular han demostrado ser útiles para mejorar la adaptación al estrés de las plantas de cultivo, y los avances recientes en la secuenciación de alto rendimiento y las plataformas de fenotipado han transformado el fitomejoramiento molecular en fitomejoramiento asistido por genómica (Gab). En vista de esto, la presente revisión detalla el progreso y las perspectivas de los AGP para mejorar la resiliencia al cambio climático en los cultivos, que probablemente desempeñará un papel cada vez mayor en el esfuerzo por garantizar la seguridad alimentaria mundial. Le changement climatique affecte la productivité agricole dans le monde entier. L'augmentation des prix des produits alimentaires est l'indication initiale d'une perte drastique de rendement comestible, qui devrait encore augmenter en raison du réchauffement climatique. Cette situation a contraint les phytologues à développer des cultures résilientes au changement climatique, capables de résister à des stress à large spectre tels que la sécheresse, la chaleur, le froid, la salinité, les inondations, la submersion et les parasites, contribuant ainsi à augmenter la productivité. La génomique semble être un outil prometteur pour déchiffrer la réactivité au stress des espèces cultivées avec des traits d'adaptation ou chez les parents sauvages vers l'identification des gènes sous-jacents, des allèles ou des locus de caractères quantitatifs. Les approches de sélection moléculaire se sont révélées utiles pour améliorer l'adaptation au stress des plantes cultivées, et les progrès récents des plates-formes de séquençage et de phénotypage à haut débit ont transformé la sélection moléculaire en sélection assistée par génomique (GAB). Compte tenu de cela, le présent examen élabore les progrès et les perspectives de GAB pour améliorer la résilience au changement climatique dans les cultures, qui est susceptible de jouer un rôle de plus en plus important dans l'effort visant à assurer la sécurité alimentaire mondiale. Climate change affects agricultural productivity worldwide. Increased prices of food commodities are the initial indication of drastic edible yield loss, which is expected to increase further due to global warming. This situation has compelled plant scientists to develop climate change-resilient crops, which can withstand broad-spectrum stresses such as drought, heat, cold, salinity, flood, submergence and pests, thus helping to deliver increased productivity. Genomics appears to be a promising tool for deciphering the stress responsiveness of crop species with adaptation traits or in wild relatives toward identifying underlying genes, alleles or quantitative trait loci. Molecular breeding approaches have proven helpful in enhancing the stress adaptation of crop plants, and recent advances in high-throughput sequencing and phenotyping platforms have transformed molecular breeding to genomics-assisted breeding (GAB). In view of this, the present review elaborates the progress and prospects of GAB for improving climate change resilience in crops, which is likely to play an ever increasing role in the effort to ensure global food security. يؤثر تغير المناخ على الإنتاجية الزراعية في جميع أنحاء العالم. ارتفاع أسعار السلع الغذائية هو المؤشر الأولي على فقدان محصول الطعام بشكل كبير، والذي من المتوقع أن يزداد أكثر بسبب الاحترار العالمي. وقد أجبر هذا الوضع علماء النبات على تطوير محاصيل قادرة على التكيف مع تغير المناخ، والتي يمكن أن تتحمل ضغوطًا واسعة النطاق مثل الجفاف والحرارة والبرودة والملوحة والفيضانات والغمر والآفات، مما يساعد على زيادة الإنتاجية. يبدو أن علم الجينوم أداة واعدة لفك رموز استجابة الإجهاد لأنواع المحاصيل ذات سمات التكيف أو في الأقارب البرية نحو تحديد الجينات الأساسية أو الأليلات أو مواقع السمات الكمية. أثبتت مناهج التكاثر الجزيئي أنها مفيدة في تعزيز تكيف نباتات المحاصيل مع الإجهاد، وقد أدت التطورات الحديثة في منصات التسلسل والتنميط الظاهري عالية الإنتاجية إلى تحويل التكاثر الجزيئي إلى تربية بمساعدة الجينوم (GAB). وفي ضوء ذلك، يوضح هذا الاستعراض التقدم الذي أحرزه المكتب وآفاقه لتحسين القدرة على التكيف مع تغير المناخ في المحاصيل، والتي من المرجح أن تلعب دوراً متزايداً في الجهود المبذولة لضمان الأمن الغذائي العالمي.