04-29-2021
By
Earth.com staff writer
In a new study from the University of Southampton, experts have discovered that the rate at which plant life changes throughout an ecosystem increases significantly after human settlement. The most dramatic changes were found in locations that have been settled within the last 1,500 years.
The researchers analyzed fossilized pollen samples dating back 5,000 years, which were extracted from sediments on 27 islands.
Through their analysis, the experts were able to determine the composition of each island’s vegetation, including how plant life changed from the oldest to the most recent pollen samples.
“Islands provide the ideal environment to measure human impact as most were settled in the past 3,000 years when climates were similar to today’s conditions,” said study lead author Dr. Sandra Nogué.
From the potential of artificial intelligence and CRISPR to modulate the microbiome to the science around probiotics and prebiotics and immune function and the changing retail landscape, the upcoming IPA World Congress + Probiota Americas is not to be missed.
The three-day event, running online June 15-17, will also feature presentations about establishing a recommended daily intake of microbes, the opportunities for postbiotics and synbiotics, and emerging health areas, from women’s health to weight management, and athletic performance and recovery.
Experts from IBM Research, Postbiotics Plus, Seed Health, Yakult Europe, North Carolina State University, Culturelle, NOW Foods, Pharmavite, Zbiotics, University of Nebraska, Medical University of Graz, University of Southampton, J. Schall Consulting, Duke University School of Medicine, and Lumina Intelligence are just some of the confirmed speakers for North America’s flagship event for the prebiotics,
New technique to hyperpolarize and purify fumarate for MRI
A promising new concept published by an interdisciplinary research team in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paves the way for major advances in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their new technique could significantly simplify hyperpolarized MRI, which developed around 20 years ago for observing metabolic processes in the body.
The proposal involves the hyperpolarization of the metabolic product fumarate using parahydrogen and the subsequent purification of the metabolite. This technique would not only be simpler, but also much cheaper than the previous procedure, said leader of the project Dr. James Eills, a member of the research team of Professor Dmitry Budker at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM).
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Volunteers from the Southampton area are being asked to sign up to the latest COVID-19 vaccine study to be rolled out across the UK.
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-supported Valneva Phase 2/3 study is open to healthy adults who have not had a previous COVID-19 vaccine.
4,000 participants will be recruited across the UK, and everyone involved in the study will receive two active vaccine doses, administered in a four-week interval.
Those enrolled in the study over the age of 30 will be randomised to receive two doses of either the Valneva vaccine, or the approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
Experts are saying that countries with a higher coronavirus caseload, including India, need to prepare to deal with the long-term effects of the illness. This phenomenon is being termed as 'Long Covid'.