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Tag: University of Bristol

  • Live animal transport regulations not ‘fit for purpose’, major international study finds

    Live animal transport regulations not ‘fit for purpose’, major international study finds

    Newswise — A ‘fitness check’ of regulations in five countries meant to protect animals during transportation, has deemed that they all fall short of fully protecting animals during transport. Findings from this interdisciplinary work involving animal welfare scientists and a law lecturer which compared animal transport rules designed to protect the billions of livestock that are transported on lengthy journeys in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, EU (including UK) and US, highlights serious failures.

    The study, published in Royal Society Open Science today [Wednesday 24 January], and involving researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Essex and British Columbia (Canada), is the first comprehensive fitness check of live animal transportation regulations in five English-speaking Western countries to assess whether the regulatory framework for a policy sector is fit for purpose.

    Live animal transport, which affects most farm animals at some point during their lifetime, is a stressful experience whereby animals are often subjected to long transport times during which they are prevented from drinking, eating and resting. For example, in Canada some animals can be transported for 36 hours without feed, water and rest.

    Researchers investigated four major risk factors associated with live animal transportation – fitness for transport, journey duration, climatic conditions and space allowances – and explored how regulations were structured to prevent animal welfare issues.

    Results from this research showed that all countries could improve and draw key future directions for new policies. For instance, no countries adopt maximum journey duration for all animals, meaning that animals can sometimes be transported for days. Not all countries mandate regular rest stops for long journeys but those that do often mandate rest stop times that are too short to allow meaningful recovery. Updating the transport regulations using the most recent science would be an important step towards improved animal welfare during transport, bringing the livestock industries more in line with societal values.

    The team also considered recent and proposed changes to the regulations. These included reviewed changes that have been announced but not yet been translated into legislation or different options that are being considered. For instance, last month (December 2023), a Bill including a ban on the export of livestock for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain (i.e., England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland) was introduced in Parliament but may only target a minority of animals being exported.

    Dr Ben Lecorps, study co-author and Animal Welfare Lecturer in the Bristol Veterinary School, said: “Our findings indicate that regulations are often insufficient or too vague to ensure they are fit for purpose. All studied countries fall short in guaranteeing adequate protection to livestock during transport. Whilst this does not mean that all animals transported will experience serious harms, major risk factors such as excessively long journeys, or journeys during hot weather, are not being addressed to a satisfactory level.”

    Dr Eugénie Duval, study co-author and Lecturer in Law at the Essex Law School, added: “Even if they do not necessarily reflect the latest scientific evidence, some regulations are more specific than others. If we were to take the best from each regulatory framework (e.g. fitness for transport in Canada; providing species-specific thresholds for the temperature inside vehicles in the EU) and apply some of the propositions made by some countries (e.g. a ban of export outside the EU borders: proposition of some EU Member States), the ensuing regulations would be a major step closer to safeguarding animal welfare during transportation.”

    The study was funded by a grant awarded to ED and MvK by the Humane Slaughter Association and the Hans Sigrist Research Prize awarded to MvK by the Hans Sigrist Stiftung Foundation.

    Paper

    ‘Are regulations addressing farm animal welfare issues during live transportation fit for purpose? A multi-country jurisdictional check’ by Eugénie Duval, Benjamin Lecorps, Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk in Royal Society Open Science [open access]

    University of Bristol

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  • Endless biotechnological innovation requires a creative approach

    Endless biotechnological innovation requires a creative approach

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Scientists working on biological design should focus on the idiosyncrasies of biological systems over optimisation, according to new research.

    In a study, published today in Science Advances, researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Ghent have shown how exploring the unknown may be the crucial step needed to realise the continual innovation needed for the biotechnologies of the future.

    Recognising the role of open-endedness in achieving this goal and its growing importance in fields like computer science and evolutionary biology, the team mapped out how open-endedness is linked to bioengineering practice today and what would be required to achieve it in the lab.

    For success, algorithms used for biological design should not solely focus on moving toward a specific goal – such as better yield ­– but also consider the creation and maintenance of novelty and diversity in the solutions that have been found.

    Dr Thomas Gorochowski, co-author and Royal Society University Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at Bristol, explained: “When we try to design a complex biological process, it’s often tempting to just tweak something that partially works rather than take the risk of trying something completely new.

    “In this work we highlight that in these situations the best solutions often come from unexpected directions, because we don’t always fully understand how everything works. With biology, there are lots of unknowns and so we need a vast and diverse toolkit of building blocks to ensure we have the best chance of finding the solution we need.”

    Professor Michiel Stock, lead author from Ghent University, added: “Biological systems have a natural capacity for innovation that has led to the overwhelming biodiversity we see in nature today.

    “Our own attempts to engineer biology, in contrast, lack this creativity – they are far more rigid, less imaginative, and often doesn’t make the best use of what biology is capable of.

    “With all life around us originating from the open-ended process of evolution, wouldn’t it be awesome if we could harness some of that power for our own biological designs.”

    The ability to create new biotechnologies is becoming increasingly important for tackling global challenges spanning the sustainable production of chemicals, materials and food, to advanced therapeutics to combat emerging diseases. Fueling this progress are innovations in how biology can be harnessed in new ways. This work supports this goal by offering a fresh direction for new research and design approaches.

    The study was made possible due to a travel grant from the FWO Flanders and funding from the Royal Society, BBSRC and EPSRC.

    Paper:

    ‘Open-endedness in synthetic biology: a route to continual innovation for biological design’ by Michiel Stock and Thomas E. Gorochowski in Science Advances (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi3621)

    University of Bristol

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  • Research sheds new light on Moon rock formation, solving major puzzle in lunar geology

    Research sheds new light on Moon rock formation, solving major puzzle in lunar geology

    Newswise — The study, published today in Nature Geoscience, reveals a key step in the genesis of these distinctive magmas.  A combination of high temperature laboratory experiments using molten rocks, together with sophisticated isotopic analyses of lunar samples, identify a critical reaction that controls their composition.

    This reaction took place in the deep lunar interior some three and a half billion years ago, involving exchange of the element iron (Fe) in the magma with the element magnesium (Mg) in the surrounding rocks, modifying the chemical and physical properties of the melt.  

    Co-lead author Tim Elliott, Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: “The origin of volcanic lunar rocks is a fascinating tale involving an ‘avalanche’ of an unstable, planetary-scale crystal pile created by the cooling of a primordial magma ocean. 

    “Central to constraining this epic history is the presence of a magma type unique to the Moon, but explaining how such magmas could even have got to the surface, to be sampled by Space missions, has been a troublesome problem. It is great to have resolved this dilemma.”

    Surprisingly high concentrations of the element titanium (Ti) in parts of the lunar surface have been known since the NASA Apollo missions, back in the 1960s and 1970s, which successfully returned solidified, ancient lava samples from the Moon’s crust. More recent mapping by orbiting satellite shows these magmas, known as ‘high-Ti basalts’, to be widespread on the Moon.

    “Until now models have been unable to recreate magma compositions that match essential chemical and physical characteristics of the high-Ti basalts. It has proven particularly hard to explain their low density, which allowed them to be erupted some three and a half billion years ago,” added co-lead author Dr Martijn Klaver, Research Fellow at the University of Münster Institute of Mineralogy.

    The international team of scientists, led by the Universities of Bristol in the UK and Münster in Germany managed to mimic the high-Ti basalts in the process in the lab using high-temperature experiments.  Measurements of the high-Ti basalts also revealed a distinctive isotopic composition that provides a fingerprint of the reactions reproduced by the experiments.

    Both results clearly demonstrate how the melt-solid reaction is integral in understanding the formation of these unique magmas. 

    Paper

    ‘Titanium-rich basaltic melts on the Moon modulated by reactive flow processes’ by Martijn Klaver et al in Nature Geoscience

    University of Bristol

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  • Bristol researchers set to join leading experts at COP28 as world ‘stands on edge of burning bridge’ to tackle climate change

    Bristol researchers set to join leading experts at COP28 as world ‘stands on edge of burning bridge’ to tackle climate change

    Newswise — A team of University of Bristol experts are poised to join the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will hold the world to account in addressing humanity’s most urgent and ambitious challenge.

    The annual two-week summit, starting in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, 30 November, is set to deliver the first-ever global stocktake of progress in achieving key international climate targets to reduce carbon emissions and limit global warming.

    Dr Matt Palmer, Associate Professor of Climate Science, is among a group of academics from the University of Bristol’s renowned Cabot Institute for the Environment, who will be attending to share their expertise and insights.

    “The world community stands on the edge of a burning bridge: we must act faster to reduce emissions if we are to avoid devastating impacts of climate change on humans, the environment, and vital ecosystems,” Dr Palmer said.

    “2023 is set to be the warmest year on record and saw a catalogue of unprecedented and damaging extreme climate events across the globe. Current emissions reduction pledges by nations fall well short of the 1.5C Paris Agreement warming target. Immediate concerted action is imperative to lessen future climate risks and this meeting is a crucial opportunity for the global community to review progress, recognise shortcomings, and commit to stepping up mitigation actions.”

    Dr Palmer has been a lead author on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, covering sea-level rise and ocean warming, and he will be presenting an event focused on the latest observations on climate change.

    Wide-ranging experts in hot topics including climate change policy, emissions, climate modelling, adapting to a warming world, food systems, and ensuring the shift to a net zero economy is fair, are joining the gathering.

    The conference will help harness joint global efforts on climate action and identify changes needed to bridge gaps preventing being on track to meet agreed goals.

    Delivering climate resilient, net zero food systems is a major global challenge which will come under discussion.

    Dr Pete Falloon, Associate Professor in Climate Resilient Food Systems, is attending in this capacity, leading an event in the UK Pavilion spanning partners and youth farmers from the Global North and South amongst others.

    He said: “Droughts, flooding, high temperatures and rising sea levels are increasingly threatening the security and resilience of our food systems worldwide. Food systems are also a key part of the pathway to net zero, given they are responsible for around a third of global emissions. We critically need to transform our food systems so they are well adapted to climate change but also deliver on net zero goals.

    “My hope is that by bringing together scientists, young farmers and policy makers together, we will use climate science and services as a platform to accelerate food system change, innovation and practice to reduce hunger and ensure a more sustainable future.”

    Dr Katharina Richter, a specialist in decolonial environmental politics and equitable development, hopes negotiations will consolidate previous multilateral plans to help emerging economy countries have swift access to financing to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.

    “This year, extreme weather events in Africa, including drought and flooding, are thought to have been exacerbated by climate change and, tragically, have killed more than 15,000 people already. To prevent further loss of life, it’s absolutely critical developing countries can access climate finance quickly and unconditionally,” Dr Richter said.

    “I will therefore be watching closely to see how G77 and Alliance of Small Island States proposals are met by the international community, especially details on operationalising last year’s negotiation highlight: the Loss and Damage Fund.”

    Technology and the transition to a green economy are further important areas to be negotiated.

    “Rich and oil-producing countries must honour their emission-related responsibilities and commit to phasing out fossil fuels entirely. Clean energy technology will be key to replacing fossil fuels. Without commitments to demand-side reductions by rich nations, however, a business-as-usual energy transition will continue to create sacrifice zones in indigenous, biodiverse, and/or water scarce territories of the Global South,” Dr Richter added.

    “I will therefore also be looking out for how green technology supply chains are addressed in the negotiations, including outcomes for developing countries where critical raw materials are extracted.”

    Climate justice specialist Dr Alix Dietzel, who also attended last year, leads work to help ensure the journey towards net zero is fully inclusive and equitable.

    Dr Dietzel said: “I’ll be interested to see who is able to attend and who will have their voices heard at the negotiations and whether this represents fair and equal decision making. Substantial commitments to mitigation targets, adaptation planning, and loss and damage funding are vital requirements of the just transition to climate change.

    “I hope the global community rises to such pressing challenges and that pledges are fair to all those most affected by climate change, who may be under-represented.”

    Incorporating the voice of Indigenous groups will play a pivotal role in realising such aspirations.

    Dr Karen Tucker, an expert in the politics of Indigenous knowledge, added: “Indigenous peoples are some of the most knowledgeable actors in global climate politics. But this doesn’t mean their expertise or rights are always recognised in international negotiations.

    “I’ll therefore be paying attention to the ways in which Indigenous peoples and Indigenous knowledges are incorporated into negotiations, particularly relating to land use and nature.”

    Raising the ambition of climate policies by integrating cities in national climate policies could help deliver and step-up progress in meeting demanding targets.

    Energy and climate policy specialist Dr Colin Nolden is hosting an official event, which highlights the latest research development and cross-sectoral policy recommendations for ramping up climate action at urban level. It has a specific focus on using Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to generate investment, especially in the context of climate clubs and alliances.

    Dr Nolden said: “Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides a mechanism not just for trading carbon credits but also for generating investment and lowering the cost of capital, ranging from district heating systems in the global north to clean cooking projects in the global south.”

    “Climate clubs and alliances, meanwhile, can increase emission mitigation ambition among participating countries if they include cross-border investment and trading arrangements for carbon emission reductions generated using Article 6.

    “If appropriate Article 6 market governance arrangements are agreed on at COP28, climate clubs and alliances, ideally spanning the Global North and South, have great potential to help implement effective and just net zero policies. I will be providing insights and pitching an idea on how to make this happen.”

    University of Bristol student Katie Riley, who is in the final year of her degree in politics and international relations, will be joining as an observer.

    The 21-year-old has been an environmental lobbyist for several years and recently published a book about experiences of youth in climate activism. At COP27 Katie was a UK communications delegate for the Future Leaders Network and this year she is on Generation Climate’s COP28 strategy delegation.

    “I mainly started because I saw a space for change and loved engaging within my community. But international politics is exciting, especially within COP, so I’m pleased to be developing my involvement more widely,” Katie said.

    “I also think it’s necessary for as many young people to have a platform within big conferences like this, as our generation will be most affected by the climate crises.”

    The University has been working closely with Mayor Marvin Rees and Bristol City Council to help the city achieve a just transition towards a more sustainable economy. This includes a shared commitment to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to deliver better health, education, economic growth, and equality while also tackling climate change.

    Notes to editors

    Here’s a full overview of experts from the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment who can help with media requests in the run up to and during COP28: https://environment.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2023/10/30/are-you-a-journalist-looking-for-climate-experts-for-cop28-weve-got-you-covered/

    For more information and to request an expert comment and/or media interview, please contact Victoria Tagg, University of Bristol Media & PR Manager (Research): [email protected]

    University of Bristol

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  • Obesity may not be the only factor to link ultra-processed foods to higher risk of mouth, throat and oesophagus cancers

    Obesity may not be the only factor to link ultra-processed foods to higher risk of mouth, throat and oesophagus cancers

    Newswise — Eating more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) may be associated with a higher risk of developing cancers of upper aerodigestive tract (including the mouth, throat and oesophagus), according to a new study led by researchers from the University of Bristol and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).  The authors of this international study, which analysed diet and lifestyle data on 450,111 adults who were followed for approximately 14 years, say obesity associated with the consumption of UPFs may not be the only factor to blame. The study is published today [22 November] in the European Journal of Nutrition.

    Several studies have identified an association between UPF consumption and cancer, including a recent study which looked at the association between UPFs and 34 different cancers in the largest cohort study in Europe, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort.

    As more evidence emerges about the associations between eating UPFs and adverse health outcomes, researchers from the Bristol Medical School and IARC wanted to explore this further. Since many UPFs have an unhealthy nutritional profile, the team sought to establish whether the association between UPF consumption and head and neck cancer and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (a cancer of the oesophagus) in EPIC could be explained by an increase in body fat.

    Results from the team’s analyses showed that eating 10% more UPFs is associated with a 23% higher risk of head and neck cancer and a 24% higher risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in EPIC. Increased body fat only explained a small proportion of the statistical association between UPF consumption and the risk of these upper-aerodigestive tract cancers.

    Fernanda Morales-Berstein, a Wellcome Trust PhD student at the University of Bristol and the study’s lead author, explained: “UPFs have been associated with excess weight and increased body fat in several observational studies. This makes sense, as they are generally tasty, convenient and cheap, favouring the consumption of large portions and an excessive number of calories. However, it was interesting that in our study the link between eating UPFs and upper-aerodigestive tract cancer didn’t seem to be greatly explained by body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio.”

    The authors suggest that other mechanisms could explain the association. For example, additives including emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners which have been previously associated with disease risk, and contaminants from food packaging and the manufacturing process, may partly explain the link between UPF consumption and upper-aerodigestive tract cancer in this study.

    However, Fernanda Morales-Berstein and colleagues did add caution regarding their findings and suggest that the associations between UPF consumption and upper-aerodigestive tract cancers found in the study could be affected by certain types of bias. This would explain why they found evidence of an association between higher UPF consumption and increased risk of accidental deaths, which is highly unlikely to be causal.

    George Davey Smith, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Director of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, and co-author on the paper, said: “UPFs are clearly associated with many adverse health outcomes, yet whether they actually cause these, or whether underlying factors such as general health-related behaviours and socioeconomic position are responsible for the link, is still unclear, as the association with accidental deaths draws attention to.”

    Inge Huybrechts, Team head of the Lifestyle exposures and interventions team at IARC, added: “Cohorts with long-term dietary follow-up intake assessments, considering also contemporary consumption habits, are needed to replicate these study’s findings, as the EPIC dietary data were collected in the 1990s, when the consumption of UPFs was still relatively low. As such associations may potentially be stronger in cohorts including recent dietary follow-up assessments.”

    Further research is needed to identify other mechanisms, such as food additives and contaminants, which may explain the links observed. However, based on the finding that body fat did not greatly explain the link between UPF consumption and upper-aerodigestive tract cancer risk in this study, Fernanda Morales-Berstein, suggested: “Focussing solely on weight loss treatment, such as Semaglutide, is unlikely to greatly contribute to the prevention of upper-aerodigestive tract cancers related to eating UPFs.”

    Dr Helen Croker, Assistant Director of Research and Policy at World Cancer Research Fund, added: “This study adds to a growing pool of evidence suggesting a link between UPFs and cancer risk. The association between a higher consumption of UPFs and an increased risk of developing upper-aerodigestive tract cancer supports our Cancer Prevention Recommendations to eat a healthy diet, rich in wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, and beans.”

    The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust; Cancer Research UK; World Cancer Research Fund International; Institut National du Cancer; Horizon 2020 ‘Dynamic longitudinal exposome trajectories in cardiovascular and metabolic non-communicable diseases’ study; University of Bristol Vice Chancellor’s Fellowship; British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council.

    Paper

    ‘Ultra-processed foods, adiposity and risk of head and neck cancer and oesophageal adenocarcinoma in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study: a mediation analysis’ by Fernanda Morales‑Berstein et al. in the European Journal of Nutrition

    University of Bristol

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  • Skunks’ warning stripes less prominent where predators are sparse, study finds

    Skunks’ warning stripes less prominent where predators are sparse, study finds

    Newswise — Striped skunks are less likely to evolve with their famous and white markings where the threat of predation from mammals is low, scientists from the University of Bristol, Montana and Long Beach, California have discovered.

    Skunks’ iconic black and white colouration signals its toxic anal spray. However some skunks show very varied fur colour ranging from all black to thin or thick black and white bands to all white individuals. Variation is huge across the North American continent.

    Findings published today in Evolution, suggest that this is a result of relaxed selection, when environmental change eliminates or weakens the selection of a normally important trait – in this case black and white pelage.   

    Prof Tim Caro from Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences explained: “Warning coloration is an antipredator defence whereby a conspicuous signal advertises the ability of prey to escape predation, often because it is toxic or has spines or is pugnacious.”

    “Usually predators have to learn the significance of this signal and so it is predicted that warning colouration will look very similar across prey individuals of the same, as well as perhaps different, prey species to be an effective education tool. Yet some warningly coloured prey show rather different advertisements even within the same species.”

    Researcher Hannah Walker from the University of Montana documented the distribution of these different pelage colours across their range in North America using museum specimens. She plotted these against a menu of variables that the team thought might drive this variation in coloration.

    The team found that in locations in which skunks overlapped with rather few mammalian predators that might be capable of killing them, fur colour was varied even within the same litter.

    Where there were many species of predators that were a danger to them, they showed little variation.

    The team also examined owl and raptorial predators however while the effects were the same, they were not as evident. This is perhaps because birds have a poorer sense of smell and are less deterred by smelly anal defences. 

    “Our results indicate that relaxed predation pressure is key to warning signal variation in this species, whereas stronger pressure leads to signal conformity and stronger signals,” said Professor Caro.

    “We now know why not all skunks look alike, and perhaps why members of other warningly coloured species look different from each other.”

    Now the team plan to see if this occurs across other skunk species whose geographic ranges overlap in North America.

    Prof Caro concluded: “If relaxed selection operates within species, it should do so across prey species too. More broadly, this study provides another brick in the wall of explaining the evolution of coloration in nature.”

     

    Paper:

    ‘Predation risk drives aposematic signal conformity’ by Hannah Walker, Tim Caro et al in Evolution. 

    University of Bristol

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  • Researchers Capture First-Ever Afterglow of Huge Planetary Collision in Outer Space

    Researchers Capture First-Ever Afterglow of Huge Planetary Collision in Outer Space

    Newswise — The study, published today in Nature, reports the sighting of two ice giant exoplanets colliding around a sun-like star, creating a blaze of light and plumes of dust. Its findings show the bright heat afterglow and resulting dust cloud, which moved in front of the parent star dimming it over time.

    The international team of astronomers was formed after an enthusiast viewed the light curve of the star and noticed something strange. It showed the system doubled in brightness at infrared wavelengths some three years before the star started to fade in visible light.

    Co-lead author Dr Matthew Kenworthy, from Leiden University, said: “To be honest, this observation was a complete surprise to me. When we originally shared the visible light curve of this star with other astronomers, we started watching it with a network of other telescopes.

    “An astronomer on social media pointed out that the star brightened up in the infrared over a thousand days before the optical fading. I knew then this was an unusual event.”

    The network of professional and amateur astronomers studied the star intensively including monitoring changes in the star’s brightness over the next two years. The star was named ASASSN-21qj after the network of telescopes that first detected the fading of the star at visible wavelengths.

    The researchers concluded the most likely explanation is that two ice giant exoplanets collided, producing the infrared glow detected by NASA’s NEOWISE mission, which uses a space telescope to hunt for asteroids and comets.

    Co-lead author Dr Simon Lock, Research Fellow in Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: “Our calculations and computer models indicate the temperature and size of the glowing material, as well as the amount of time the glow has lasted, is consistent with the collision of two ice giant exoplanets.”

    The resultant expanding debris cloud from the impact then travelled in front of the star some three years later, causing the star to dim in brightness at visible wavelengths.

    Over the next few years, the cloud of dust is expected to start smearing out along the orbit of the collision remnant, and a tell-tale scattering of light from this cloud could be detected with both ground-based telescopes and NASA’s largest telescope in space, known as JWST.

    The astronomers plan on watching closely what happens next in this system.

    Co-author Dr Zoe Leinhardt, Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Bristol, added: “It will be fascinating to observe further developments. Ultimately, the mass of material around the remnant may condense to form a retinue of moons that will orbit around this new planet.”

    University of Bristol

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  • Jet lag disorder associated with shift work can lead to brain changes increasing appetite

    Jet lag disorder associated with shift work can lead to brain changes increasing appetite

    Newswise — Scientists have uncovered why night shift work is associated with changes in appetite in a new University of Bristol-led study. The findings, published in Communications Biology, could help the millions of people that work through the night and struggle with weight gain.

    Scientists from Bristol and the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan, sought to understand how ‘circadian misalignment’ — a phenomenon commonly associated with ‘jet-lag’ whereby the body’s biological clock is disrupted — affects the hormones responsible for regulating appetite.

    Prevalent in night shift workers, in this new study, the international team reveal how circadian misalignment can profoundly alter the brain’s regulation of hormones controlling hunger to the detriment of metabolic health.

    The team focused on glucocorticoid hormones in the adrenal gland which regulate many physiological functions including metabolism and appetite. Glucocorticoids are known to directly regulate a group of brain peptides controlling appetitive behaviour, with some increasing appetite (orexigenic) and some decreasing appetite (anorexigenic).

    In an experiment using animal models, comprising a control group and a out-of-phase ‘jet-lagged’ group, the team found misalignment between light and dark cues led the out-of-phase group’s orexigenic hypothalamic neuropeptides (NPY) to become dysregulated, driving an increased desire to eat significantly more during the inactive phase of the day.

    Strikingly, the team discovered that rats in the control group ate 88.4% of their daily intake during their active phase, and only 11.6% during their inactive phase. In contrast, the ‘jet-lagged’ group consumed 53.8% of their daily calories during their inactive phase (without an increase in activity during this time). This equated to nearly five-times more (460% more) than what the control group consumed during the inactive phase.  These results show that it is timing of consumption that has been affected.

    This new discovery revealed how completely, and significantly, disordered the neuropeptides become when daily glucocorticoid levels are out of synch with light and dark cues.  However, the authors suggest the neuropeptides identified in this study may be promising targets for drug treatments adapted to treat eating disorders and obesity.

    Dr Becky Conway-Campbell, Research Fellow in Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS) and the study’s senior author, said: “For people working throughout the night, a reversed body clock can play havoc with their health.

    “For those who are working night shifts long-term, we recommend they try to maintain daylight exposure, cardiovascular exercise and mealtimes at regulated hours. However, internal brain messages to drive increased appetite are difficult to override with ‘discipline’ or ‘routine’ so we are currently designing studies to assess rescue strategies and pharmacological intervention drugs. We hope our findings also provide new insight into how chronic stress and sleep disruption leads to caloric overconsumption.”

    Stafford Lightman, Professor of Medicine at Bristol Medical School: THS and co-senior author on the study, added: “The adrenal hormone corticosterone, which is normally secreted in a circadian manner, is a major factor in the daily control of brain peptides that regulate appetite. Furthermore when we disturb the normal relationship of corticosterone with the day to night light cycle it results in abnormal gene regulation and appetite during the period of time that the animals normally sleep.

    “Our study shows that when we disturb our normal bodily rhythms this in turn disrupts normal appetite regulation in a way that is at least in part a result of desynchrony between adrenal steroid hormone production and the timing of the light and dark cycle.”

    Dr Benjamin Flynn, one of the study’s co-authors who conducted the study while at Bristol but is now based at the University of Bath, added: “This is further evidence of how phase shift ‘jet-lag’ affects feeding behaviours and neuronal gene expression – data important for shift work co-morbidity research.”

    This research was funded by the Medical Research Council.

    Paper

    ‘Phase-shifting the circadian glucocorticoid profile induces disordered feeding behaviour by dysregulating hypothalamic neuropeptide gene expression’ by M Yoshimura, B Flynn, Y Kershaw, Z Zhao, Ueta, S Lightman, R Conway-Campbell et al. in Communications Biology [open access]

    University of Bristol

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  • Software can detect hidden and complex emotions in parents

    Software can detect hidden and complex emotions in parents

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Researchers have conducted trials using a software capable of detecting intricate details of emotions that remain hidden to the human eye.

    The software, which uses an ‘artificial net’ to map key features of the face, can evaluate the intensities of multiple different facial expressions simultaneously.

    The University of Bristol and Manchester Metropolitan University team worked with Bristol’s Children of the 90s study participants to see how well computational methods could capture authentic human emotions amidst everyday family life. This included the use of videos taken at home, captured by headcams worn by babies during interactions with their parents.

    The findings, published in Frontiers, show that scientists can use machine learning techniques to accurately predict human judgements of parent facial expressions based on the computers’ decisions.

    Lead author Romana Burgess, PhD student on the EPSRC Digital Health and Care CDT in the School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol, explained: “Humans experience complicated emotions – the algorithms tell us that someone can be 5% sad or 10% happy, for example.

    “Using computational methods to detect facial expressions from video data can be very accurate, when the videos are of high quality and represent optimal conditions – for instance, when videos are recorded in rooms with good lighting, when participants are sat face-on with the camera, and when glasses or long hair are kept from blocking the face.

    “We were intrigued by their performance in the chaotic, real-world settings of family homes.

    “The software detected a face in around 25% of the videos taken in real world conditions, reflecting the difficulty in evaluating faces in these kind of dynamic interactions.”

    The team used data from the Children of the 90s health study – also known as Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Parents were invited to attend a clinic at the University of Bristol when their babies were 6 months old.

    At the clinic, as a part of the ERC MHINT Headcam Study, parents were provided with two wearable headcams to take home and use during interactions with their babies. Parents and infants both wore the headcams during feeding and play interactions.

    They then used an ‘automated facial coding’ software to computationally analyse parents’ facial expressions in the videos and had human coders analyse the facial expressions in the same videos.

    The team quantified how frequently the software was able to detect the face in the video, and evaluated how often the humans and the software agreed on facial expressions.

    Finally, they used machine learning to predict human judgements based on the computers decisions.

    Romana said: “Deploying automated facial analysis in the parents’ home environment could change how we detect early signs of mood or mental health disorders, such as postnatal depression.

    “For instance, we might expect parents with depression to show more sad expressions and less happy facial expressions.

    Professor Rebecca Pearson from Manchester Metropolitan University, co-author and PI of the ERC project explained: “These conditions could be better understood through subtle nuances in parents’ facial expressions, providing early intervention opportunities that were once unimaginable. For example, most parents will try to ‘mask’ their own distress and appear ‘ok’ to those around them. More subtle combinations can be picked up by the software, including expressions that are a mix of sadness and joy or that change quickly.” 

    Now the team plan to explore the use of automated facial coding in the home environment as a tool to understand mood and mental health disorders and interactions. This will help to pioneer a new era of health monitoring, bringing innovative science directly into the home.

    Romana concluded: “Our research used wearable headcams to capture genuine, unscripted emotions in everyday parent-infant interactions. Together with the use of cutting-edge computational techniques, this means we can uncover hidden details that were previously unattainable by the human eye, changing how we understand parents’ real emotions during interactions with their babies.”

    As an extension to the ERC project, headcam data is now being collected in teenagers, with the plan to use the same methods to understand complex teen emotions at home, see Teencam Pilot Study – Institute of Population Health – University of Liverpool.

    Professor Nic Timpson, Principal Investigator for Children of the 90s commented: “Bristol’s families have been involved for decades in important health research and here they are pioneering new ways of studying mental health using this real-life headcam footage.”

    Paper:

    ‘Quantifying the efficacy of an automated facial coding software using videos of parents’ by Romana Burgess et al in Frontiers.

    University of Bristol

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  • Transformer! New multi-purpose robot changes shape for different uses

    Transformer! New multi-purpose robot changes shape for different uses

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Researchers have designed a robot which can change form to tackle varying scenarios.

    A team at the University of Bristol and based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have built a tetrahedron shaped robot with flexible piping known as Tetraflex that can move through small gaps or over challenging terrain. It can also encapsulate fragile objects such as an egg and transport them safely within its soft body.

    The findings, published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, show that the Tetraflex robot is capable of locomoting in multiple different ways. This makes the robot potentially useful for mobility in a challenging or confined environments such as navigating rubble to reach survivors of an earthquake, performing oil rig inspections or even exploring other planets.

    The object transport capability demonstrated also adds another dimension to potential applications. This could be used to pick up and transport payloads from otherwise inaccessible locations, helping with ecological surveying or in nuclear decommissioning.

    Lead author Peter Wharton from Bristol’s School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology explained: “The robot is composed of soft struts connected by rigid nodes. Each strut is formed of an airtight rubber bellow and the length of the strut can be controlled by varying the air pressure within the bellow.

    “Higher pressures cause the bellow to extend, and lower pressures cause it to contract. By controlling the pressure in each bellow simultaneously we can control the robot shape and size change.

    “After this, it was simply a matter of experimenting with different patterns of shape change that would generate useful motions such as rolling or crawling along a surface.”

    Their design uses soft struts which can change length freely and independently. By changing the lengths of the struts by the right amount and in the right sequence, they can generate multiple different ways such as rolling or crawling), change the size of the robot, and even envelop and transport payloads.

    Peter said: “I would say these capabilities are a natural consequence of working with such a versatile structure and we hope that other interesting capabilities can be developed in the future.

    “The most exciting aspect of this study for me is the versatility of Tetraflex and how we might be able to use these robots to explore challenging terrain and achieve tasks in areas humans cannot access. The multiple gaits available to Tetraflex and object transport capability show this versatility well.”

    The team have already enjoyed some success, entering an earlier version of Tetraflex in the RoboSoft 2022 Locomotion Competition in Edinburgh and coming third, demonstrating movement over sand, through small gaps and between obstacles.

    After exploring some capabilities of Tetraflex in locomotion and object transport, they now plan to apply machine learning algorithms which could allow them to really thoroughly explore movement patterns, as well as optimising their current ones.

    He added: “There could be some really creative and effective ways of moving around or interacting with the environment that we haven’t yet discovered.”

     

    Paper:

    ‘Tetraflex: A Multigait Soft Robot for Object Transportation in Confined Environments’ by Peter Wharton et al in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

    University of Bristol

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  • Sperm swimming is caused by the same patterns that are believed to dictate zebra stripes

    Sperm swimming is caused by the same patterns that are believed to dictate zebra stripes

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Patterns of chemical interactions are thought to create patterns in nature such as stripes and spots. This new study shows that the mathematical basis of these patterns also governs how sperm tail moves.

    The findings, published today in Nature Communications, reveal that flagella movement of, for example, sperm tails and cilia, follow the same template for pattern formation that was discovered by the famous mathematician Alan Turing. 

    Flagellar undulations make stripe patterns in space-time, generating waves that travel along the tail to drive the sperm and microbes forward.

    Alan Turing is most well-known for helping to break the enigma code during WWII. However he also developed a theory of pattern formation that predicted that chemical patterns may appear spontaneously with only two ingredients: chemicals spreading out (diffusing) and reacting together. Turing first proposed the so-called reaction-diffusion theory for pattern formation.

    Turing helped to pave the way for a whole new type of enquiry using reaction-diffusion mathematics to understand natural patterns. Today, these chemical patterns first envisioned by Turing are called Turing patterns. Although not yet proven by experimental evidence, these patterns are thought to govern many patterns across nature, such as leopard spots, the whorl of seeds in the head of a sunflower, and patterns of sand on the beach. Turing’s theory can be applied to various fields, from biology and robotics to astrophysics. 

    Mathematician Dr Hermes Gadêlha, head of the Polymaths Lab, and his PhD student James Cass conducted this research in the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology at the University of Bristol. Gadêlha explained: “Live spontaneous motion of flagella and cilia is observed everywhere in nature, but little is known about how they are orchestrated.

    “They are critical in health and disease, reproduction, evolution, and survivorship of almost every aquatic microorganism in earth.”

    The team was inspired by recent observations in low viscosity fluids that the surrounding environment plays a minor role on the flagellum. They used mathematical modelling, simulations, and data fitting to show that flagellar undulations can arise spontaneously without the influence of their fluid environment.

    Mathematically this is equivalent to Turing’s reaction-diffusion system that was first proposed for chemical patterns.

    In the case of sperm swimming, chemical reactions of molecular motors power the flagellum, and bending movement diffuses along the tail in waves. The level of generality between visual patterns and patterns of movement is striking and unexpected, and shows that only two simple ingredients are needed to achieve highly complex motion.

    Dr Gadêlha added: “We show that this mathematical ‘recipe’ is followed by two very distant species – bull sperm and Chlamydomonas (a green algae that is used as a model organism across science), suggesting that nature replicates similar solutions.

    “Travelling waves emerge spontaneously even when the flagellum is uninfluenced by the surrounding fluid. This means that the flagellum has a fool-proof mechanism to enable swimming in low viscosity environments, which would otherwise be impossible for aquatic species.

    “It is the first time that model simulations compare well with experimental data.

    “We are grateful to the researchers that made their data freely available, without which we would not have been able to proceed with this mathematical study.”

    These findings may be used in future to better understand fertility issues associated with abnormal flagellar motion and other ciliopathies; diseases caused by ineffective cilia in human bodies.

    This could also be further explored for robotic applications, artificial muscles, and animated materials, as the team discovered a simple “mathematical recipe” for making patterns of movement.

    Dr Gadêlha is also a member of the SoftLab at Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), where he uses pattern formation mathematics to innovate the next generation of soft-robots.

    “In 1952, Turing unlocked the reaction-diffusion basis of chemical patterns,” said Dr Gadêlha. “We show that the ‘atom’ of motion in the cellular world, the flagellum, uses Turing’s template to shape, instead, patterns of movement driving tail motion that pushes sperm forwards.

    “Although this is a step closer to mathematically decode spontaneous animation in nature, our reaction-diffusion model is far too simple to fully capture all complexity. Other models may exist, in the space of models, with equal, or even better, fits with experiments, that we simply have no knowledge of their existence yet, and thus substantial more research is still needed!”

    The study was completed using funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and DTP studentship for James Cass PhD.

    The numerical work was carried out using the computational and data storage facilities of the Advanced Computing Research Centre, at the University of Bristol.

     

    Paper:

    ‘The reaction-diffusion basis of animated patterns in eukaryotic flagella’ by James Cass and Dr Hermes Bloomfield-Gadêlha in Nature Communications.

    University of Bristol

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  • Colourful primates don’t have better colour vision, study finds

    Colourful primates don’t have better colour vision, study finds

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Primate species with better colour vision are not more likely to have red skin or fur colouration, as previously thought.

    The findings, published this week in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, suggest that red skin and/or red-orange fur may be beneficial for use in social communication even in primate species that don’t have particularly good colour vision.

    It’s long been assumed that primates’ colourful skin and fur is linked to their enhanced colour vision,  and the results may have implications for understanding why these traits exist in different species.

    Lead author Robert MacDonald from the University of Bristol explained: “There is a profusion of colour in the animal kingdom – think of the striking feathers of a bird of paradise, or the array of vivid hues on display in a coral reef.

    “Mammals, though, don’t tend to be so colourful, and are usually quite muted shades of black, brown, or grey.

    “Primates such as monkeys, apes and lemurs are the exception to this. Several primate species have really vibrant coloration, in particular bright red skin on the face or anogenital region which can change intensity to signal things like fertility or rank in the dominance hierarchy, or red-orange fur.

    “Primates also happen to have unusually good colour vision in comparison to other mammals; while all other mammals are red-green colourblind, meaning red and green appear as the same colour to them, some primates (including humans) can differentiate between shades of red and green. This enhanced colour visual system is generally thought to have evolved in order to more easily spot ripe red fruit or nutritious young red leaves among foliage, but it also makes it easier to spot the vibrant red colours that some primates exhibit.”

    Primates are known to use their red colour traits for communication with other members of their species, for example in signalling information about fertility or rank in the social hierarchy. It seems intuitive that having a better colour visual system that allows these traits to stand out more might have facilitated the evolution of these traits in the first place – it would make sense for a species with better colour vision to evolve to be more colourful to take advantage of this ability.

    The team set out to definitively investigate whether the evolution of enhanced colour visual system in some primates that allows the differentiation of red from green has facilitated the evolution of red colour traits.

    Using photographs, the researchers categorised each species of primate in terms of having or not having particular colourful traits (e.g. red skin on the genital region or face, red-orange fur on different parts of the body). They then compared this colour information with each species’ colour visual ability, taking into account the primate family tree, as well as a few other factors which might also influence coloration or colour visual ability such as whether they’re nocturnal or diurnal and the size of the social group they live in. The aim was to find out whether species that have better colour vision are more likely to have red colouration, after controlling for other potential influencing factors.

    Robert explained: “The fact that we didn’t find that species with better colour vision are more likely to be colourful contradicts some long-held assumptions about the origins of the striking variation in colour we see within primates, and means we might have to take a closer look about what colourful red skin or fur is being used for in individual species. It shows that despite the large amount of work that has gone into investigating primate colouration in recent years, we still don’t fully understand the pressures that have shaped the evolution of colour in our own closest relatives.”

     

    Paper:

    ‘Primate coloration and colour vision: a comparative approach’ by Rob MacDonald et al in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

    University of Bristol

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  • Tall buildings could be built quicker if damping models were correct, study finds

    Tall buildings could be built quicker if damping models were correct, study finds

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Multi-storey buildings are assembled over cautiously to withstand wind strengths, researchers have found.

    This is because there are several difficulties in estimating damping – the method of removing energy in order to control vibratory motion like noise and mechanical oscillation, accurately in high-rise buildings

    The findings, published today in the journal Structures, addresses the draw back and were compiled by a team at the University of Bristol who studied the damping and natural frequency characteristics of a 150 m tall building in London (UK) obtained from the full-scale wind-induced responses using a minimal monitoring system.

    In general, the response of a structure subjected to dynamic loading is strongly affected by its damping.

    Some mathematical damping models have been developed and used for convenience, though they cannot accurately describe the physical process behind them. In fact, the lack of universally accepted principles to predict the damping factors in complex systems has led to the use of predominantly empirical models which cannot be generalised accurately to all types of buildings. As one of the objectives, this research intends to address this drawback by studying the damping

    Lead author Daniel Gonzalez-Fernandez from Bristol’s School of Civil, Aerospace, and Design Engineering explained: “After evaluating the identified modal parameters in relation to a series of factors, including time, amplitude, wind speed and wind direction, the dominant effects were found to be amplitude and time in the case of natural frequencies and amplitude in the case of damping ratios.

    “The changes in the identified natural frequencies, with the monitoring time and response amplitudes, are attributed to the mass increase under the increasing occupancy and large-amplitude structural softening, respectively.

    “The identified trends between the measured total damping and wind speed for different relative wind directions indicate that the amplitude of the lateral building motion, rather than aerodynamic wind characteristics, primarily influence the observed variation in the modal damping.”

    The team used a set of three accelerometers and an ultrasonic anemometer to measure the wind-induced vibrations and associated wind conditions on top of the structure over a period of one year since it was first constructed.

    The natural frequencies and damping ratios were identified from the estimated acceleration Power Spectral Densities and correlated with the wind data. Several environmental parameters were investigated, including the magnitude and the relative directions of the wind with respect to the building motion. A finite element model of the tower was also employed to support the experimental observations.

     Wind effects are a primary concern in the design of tall buildings. In this context, significant uncertainty can be attributed to important phenomena such as damping and its sources. Additionally, given the complexity of these systems, the underlying predictive models require validation. This is where the in-situ measured modal characteristics, such as the natural frequencies and modal damping, provide an essential resource for model updating.

    Daniel said: “For tall buildings, occupant comfort is directly related to wind-induced sway, which can interfere with the occupants’ daily activities and general well-being. In addition, these insights might be applied in future to improve the design and mitigate the negative effects of the vibrations on the structures to enhance their performances, increase their lifespans and reduce failure risk.

    “Understanding these issues has become more critical in recent years since there is a trend for tall buildings to become more slender and hence more sensitive to wind-induced vibrations.”

     

    Paper:

    ‘Identification of varying modal parameters of a tall building from the full-scale wind-induced responses’ by Daniel Gonzalez-Fernandez et al in Structures.

    University of Bristol

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  • Pioneering research sheds surprising new light on evolution of plant kingdom

    Pioneering research sheds surprising new light on evolution of plant kingdom

    Newswise — A new study has uncovered intriguing insights into the evolution of plant biology, effectively rewriting the history of how they evolved over the past billion years.

    The research, published today in Nature Plants, shows plants have gradually developed their range of anatomical designs throughout the passage of time, punctuated by episodic bursts of innovation to overcome and adapt to environmental challenges.

    Such findings overturn the long-held belief that, much like animals, the fundamental range of plant types evolved in a big burst of sudden change early in their evolutionary history.

    Co-lead author Philip Donoghue, Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol, said: “Although plants are extraordinarily diverse in their design and organisation, they share a common ancestor which originated at sea more than a billion years ago.

    “We wanted to test whether they really evolved with a big bang early on in their history or whether their evolution was a slower and more continual process. Surprisingly, the results revealed plant evolution was a bit of a mix, with long periods of gradual change interrupted by short bursts of large-scale innovation, overcoming the challenges of living on dry land.”

    To test this theory the team of scientists analysed the similarities and differences of 248 groups of plants, ranging from single-celled pond scum and seaweed to land plants including everything from mosses and ferns, to pines, conifers and flowering plants. They also looked at 160 extinct groups known only from the fossil record, including species from the Devonian Rhynie Chert which lived more than 400 million years ago.

    More than a 130,000 observations were generated by breaking down plant designs into their components and recording those present or absent in each of the main groups, living and fossil. Computerised statistical techniques measured the overall similarities and differences between groups and how they have varied over time.

    The scientists also tried to work out what led to these evolutionary innovations, like the introduction of spores, seeds, roots, leaves, pollen and flowers.   

    Co-lead author Dr James Clark, Research Associate in Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, said: “We found changes in plant anatomical design occur in association with events in which the entire cellular genetic make-up was doubled. This has happened many times in plant evolutionary history, as a result of errors in the genome-copying process, creating duplicate copies of genes that are free to mutate and evolve new functions.”

    But the major pulses of plant anatomical evolution were found to be associated with the challenge of living and reproducing in increasingly dry environments, connected to the progressive emergence of plants from sea on to land.

    Co-lead author Dr Sandy Hetherington’s fascination with the evolution of land plants began as a budding geologist at the University of Bristol and now continues in his work at the University of Edinburgh.

    He said: “Overall the pattern of episodic pulses in the evolution of plant anatomical designs matches that seen in other multi-cellular kingdoms of complex life, like animals and fungi. This suggests it is a general pattern and blueprint for complex multicellular life from its inception.”

    Paper

    ‘Evolution of phenotypic disparity in the plant kingdom’ by James W. Clark et al in Nature Plants

    Notes to editors

    Professor Philip Donoghue, Dr James Clark and Dr Sandy Hetherington are available for interview and advance copies of the embargoed paper can be requested. Please contact Victoria Tagg, Media & PR Manager (Research) at the University of Bristol: [email protected]

    Images

    https://fluff.bris.ac.uk/fluff/u2/oc20541/_mcB3ejZQJjOMTnnuN0oqgELk/

    Caption: The moss, Polytrichum commune, which is one of the closest living relatives of the ancestral land plant

    Credit: Silvia Pressel, The Natural History Museum

    https://fluff.bris.ac.uk/fluff/u3/oc20541/y_2cDGSW92fm1yF6LDdirgELg/

    Caption: The evolution of plant anatomical variety. Each dot represents a living or fossil species and the connecting lines reflect their evolutionary relationships, branching from a universal ancestor (bottom left) to the most recently evolved group, the flowering plants (bottom right).

    Credit: James Clark and colleagues, University of Bristol, UK

    https://fluff.bris.ac.uk/fluff/u3/oc20541/QllcweUjKzmlC4sFggkdVwELV/

    Caption: A diverse community of land plants, ranging from mosses to flowering species, grow together in boggy stream in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.

    Credit: Sandy Hetherington, The University of Edinburgh, UK

    University of Bristol

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  • Plesiosaurs doubled their neck-length by gaining new vertebrae

    Plesiosaurs doubled their neck-length by gaining new vertebrae

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Plesiosaurs gained their famous long necks rapidly, researchers have shown.

    Their lengthy necks, used for chasing fast-moving fishes, developed quickly over a five million period around 250 million years ago.

    The findings, published today in BMC Ecology and Evolution, and carried out by scientists in China and the UK, show that a species known as pachycephalosaurs lengthened their necks mainly by adding new vertebrae.  One species, Pachycephalosaurs had 25 vertebrae, while some Late Cretaceous plesiosaurs such as Elasmosaurus had as many as 72, and its neck was five times the length of its trunk

    The animals originated in the Early Triassic, four million years after the end-Permian mass extinction wiped out around 90% of Earth’s species and during a time of rapid change following the disaster.

    In the study, the researchers describe a new, short-necked plesiosaur ancestor called Chusaurus xiangensis from the Early Triassic of Hubei Province, China. Its neck has begun to lengthen, but it is only half the length of the trunk of its body compared to 80% or higher in its later relatives.

    “We were lucky enough to find two complete skeletons of this new beast,” said Qi-Ling Liu from the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, who led the project. “It’s small, less than half a metre long, but this was close to the ancestry of the important group of marine reptiles called Sauropterygia.

    “Our new reptile, Chusaurus, is a pachycephalosaur, one of a group of small marine predators that were very important in the Triassic. I wasn’t sure at first whether it was a pachypleurosaur though because the neck seemed to be too short.”

    “The fossils come from the Nanzhang-Yuan’an Fauna of Hubei,” said Dr Li Tian, also of China University of Geosciences Wuhan, who co-supervised the project. “This has been very heavily studied in recent years as one of the oldest assemblages of marine reptiles from the Triassic. We have good quality radiometreic dates showing the fauna is dated at 248 million years ago.”

    Collaborator Professor Michael Benton of the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences said: “The end-Permian mass extinction had been the biggest mass extinction of all time and only one in twenty species survived.

    “The Early Triassic was a time of recovery and marine reptiles evolved very fast at that time, most of them predators on the shrimps, fishes and other sea creatures. They had originated right after the extinction, so we know their rates of change were extremely rapid in the new world after the crisis.”

    “The pachycephalosaurs lengthened their necks mainly by adding new vertebrae,” said Professor Cheng Long, of the Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, a co-supervisor.

    “Normally, vertebrates like reptiles and mammals (and us) have seven neck vertebrae.  Chusaurus already had 17, whereas later pachycephalosaurs had 25. Some Late Cretaceous plesiosaurs such as Elasmosaurus even had 72, and its neck was five times the length of its trunk. With so many vertebrae, these long necks must have been super-snakey and they presumably whipped the neck around to grab fishy prey while keeping the body steady.”

    Dr Tom Stubbs of the Open University UK added: “Not all long-necked animals do it in the same way. Giraffes for example keep the standard seven neck vertebrae, but each one is very long, so they can reach high into the trees. Flamingos also have long necks so they can reach the water to feed, because of their long legs, and they have extra vertebrae, up to twenty, but each one is also long.”

    “Our study shows that pachycephalosaurs doubled the lengths of their necks in five million years, and the rate of increase then slowed down,’ added Dr Ben Moon, also of the University of Bristol. “They had presumably reached some kind of perfect neck length for their mode of life.

    “We think, as small predators, they were probably mainly feeding on shrimps and small fish, so their ability to sneak up on a small shoal, and then hover in the water, darting their head after the fast-swimming prey was a great survival tool. But there might have been additional costs in having a much longer neck, so it stabilised at a length just equal to the length of the trunk.”

     

    The paper:

    ‘Rapid neck elongation in Sauropterygia (Reptilia: Diapsida) revealed by a new basal pachypleurosaur from the Lower Triassic of China’ by Qi-Ling Liu, Long Cheng, Thomas L. Stubbs, Benjamin C. Moon, Michael J. Benton, and Li Tian in BMC Ecology and Evolution.

     

    University of Bristol

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  • New dual-arm robot achieves bimanual tasks by learning from simulation

    New dual-arm robot achieves bimanual tasks by learning from simulation

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — An innovative bimanual robot displays tactile sensitivity close to human-level dexterity using AI to inform its actions.

    The new Bi-Touch system, designed by scientists at the University of Bristol and based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, allows robots to carry out manual tasks by sensing what to do from a digital helper.

    The findings, published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, show how an AI agent interprets its environment through tactile and proprioceptive feedback, and then control the robots’ behaviours, enabling precise sensing, gentle interaction, and effective object manipulation to accomplish robotic tasks.

    This development could revolutionise industries such as fruit picking, domestic service, and eventually recreate touch in artificial limbs.

    Lead author Yijiong Lin from the Faculty of Engineering, explained: “With our Bi-Touch system, we can easily train AI agents in a virtual world within a couple of hours to achieve bimanual tasks that are tailored towards the touch. And more importantly, we can directly apply these agents from the virtual world to the real world without further training.

    “The tactile bimanual agent can solve tasks even under unexpected perturbations and manipulate delicate objects in a gentle way.”

    Bimanual manipulation with tactile feedback will be key to human-level robot dexterity. However, this topic is less explored than single-arm settings, partly due to the availability of suitable hardware along with the complexity of designing effective controllers for tasks with relatively large state-action spaces. The team were able to develop a tactile dual-arm robotic system using recent advances in AI and robotic tactile sensing.

    The researchers built up a virtual world (simulation) that contained two robot arms equipped with tactile sensors. They then design reward functions and a goal-update mechanism that could encourage the robot agents to learn to achieve the bimanual tasks and developed a real-world tactile dual-arm robot system to which they could directly apply the agent.

    The robot learns bimanual skills through Deep Reinforcement Learning (Deep-RL), one of the most advanced techniques in the field of robot learning. It is designed to teach robots to do things by letting them learn from trial and error akin to training a dog with rewards and punishments.

    For robotic manipulation, the robot learns to make decisions by attempting various behaviours to achieve designated tasks, for example, lifting up objects without dropping or breaking them. When it succeeds, it gets a reward, and when it fails, it learns what not to do. With time, it figures out the best ways to grab things using these rewards and punishments. The AI agent is visually blind relying only on proprioceptive feedback  – a body’s ability to sense movement, action and location and tactile feedback.

    They were able to successfully enable to the dual arm robot to successfully safely lift items as fragile as a single Pringle crisp.

    Co-author Professor Nathan Lepora added: “Our Bi-Touch system showcases a promising approach with affordable software and hardware for learning bimanual behaviours with touch in simulation, which can be directly applied to the real world. Our developed tactile dual-arm robot simulation allows further research on more different tasks as the code will be open-source, which is ideal for developing other downstream tasks.”

    Yijiong concluded: “Our Bi-Touch system allows a tactile dual-arm robot to learn sorely from simulation, and to achieve various manipulation tasks in a gentle way in the real world.

    “And now we can easily train AI agents in a virtual world within a couple of hours to achieve bimanual tasks that are tailored towards the touch.”

     

    Paper:

    ‘Bi-Touch: Bimanual Tactile Manipulation With Sim-to-Real Deep Reinforcement Learning’ by Yijiong Lin, Nathan Lepora et al in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

     

    University of Bristol

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  • The modern sea spider had started to diversify by the Jurassic, study finds

    The modern sea spider had started to diversify by the Jurassic, study finds

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind.

    These fossils are very important to understand the evolution of sea spiders. They show that the diversity of sea spiders that still exist today had already started to form by the Jurassic.

    Lead author Dr Romain Sabroux from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, said: “Sea spiders (Pycnogonida), are a group of marine animals that is overall very poorly studied.

    “However, they are very interesting to understand the evolution of arthropods [the group that includes insects, arachnids, crustaceans, centipedes and millipedes] as they appeared relatively early in the arthropod tree of life. That’s why we are interested in their evolution.

    “Sea spider fossils are very rare, but we know a few of them from different periods. One of the most remarkable fauna, by its diversity and its abundance, is the one of La Voulte-sur-Rhône that dates back to the Jurassic, some 160 million years ago.”

    Unlike older sea spider fossils, the La Voulte pycnogonids are morphologically similar (but not identical) to living  species, and previous studies suggested they could be closely related to living sea spider families. But these hypotheses were restricted by the limitation of their observation means. As it was impossible to access what was hidden in the rock fossils, Dr Sabroux and his team travelled to Paris and set out to investigate this question with cutting-edge approaches.

    Dr Sabroux explained: “We used two methods to reinvestigate the morphology of the fossils: X-ray microtomography, to ‘look inside’ the rock, find morphological features hidden inside and reconstruct a 3D model of the fossilised specimen; and Reflectance Transformation Imaging, a picture technic that relies on varied orientation of the light around the fossil to enhance the visibility of inconspicuous features on their surface.

    “From these new insights, we drew new morphological information to compare them with extant species,” explained Dr Sabroux.

    This confirmed that these fossils are close relatives to surviving pycnogonids. Two of these fossils belong to two living pycnogonid families: Colossopantopodus boissinensis was a Colossendeidae while another, Palaeoendeis elmii was an Endeidae. The third species, Palaeopycnogonides gracilis, seems to belong to a family that has disappeared today.

    “Today, by calculating the difference between the DNA sequences of a sample of species, and using DNA evolution models, we are able to estimate the timing of the evolution that bind these species together,“ added Dr Sabroux.

    “This is what we call a molecular clock analysis. But quite like a real clock, it needs to be calibrated. Basically, we need to tell the clock: ‘we know that at that time, that group was already there.’ Thanks to our work, we now know that Colossendeidae, and Endeidae were already ’there’ by the Jurassic.”

    Now, the team can use these minimal ages as calibrations for the molecular clock, and investigate the timing of Pycnogonida evolution. This can help them understand, for example, how their diversity was impacted by the different biodiversity crises that distributes over the Earth history.

    They also plan to investigate other pycnogonid fossil faunae such as the fauna of Hunsrück Slate, in Germany, which dates from the Devonian, some 400 million years ago.

    With the same approach, they will aim to redescribe these species and understand their affinities with extant species; and finally, to replace in the tree of life of Pycnogonida all the pycnogonid fossils from all periods.

    Dr Sabroux added: “These fossils give us an insight of sea spiders living 160 million years ago.

    “This is very exciting when you have been working on the living pycnogonids for years.

    “It is fascinating how these pycnogonids look both very familiar, and very exotic. Familiar, because you can definitely recognize some of the families that still exist today, and exotic because of small differences like the size of the legs, the length of the body, and some other morphological characteristics that you do not find in modern species.

    “Now we look forward to the next fossil discoveries – from the Jurassic and other geological periods – so that we can complete the picture!”

     

    Paper:

    ‘New insights into the sea spider fauna (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, France (Jurassic: Callovian)’ by Romain Sabroux et al in Papers in Palaeontology.

    University of Bristol

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  • Poaching Risks Kordofan Giraffe Extinction in 15 Years

    Poaching Risks Kordofan Giraffe Extinction in 15 Years

    Newswise — Poaching of two Critically Endangered Kordofan giraffes per year could result in extinction in just 15 years within Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park without intervention. These are the alarming new findings of a University of Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society-led study published in the African Journal of Ecology.

    One of the last populations of Kordofan giraffes roam Cameroon’s Bénoué National Park in Africa with current estimates indicating there are fewer than 50 individuals left in the park. Bristol Zoological Society have been working to conserve this highly-threatened mammal since 2017.

    While poaching is frequently cited as a cause of population decline, evidence remains mostly anecdotal, with little research into its overall impact. Illegal hunters kill giraffes for their meat but also for their pelts, bones, hair and tails which are highly valued by some cultures.

    Researchers from Bristol Vet School and Bristol Zoological Society sought to analyse the effectiveness of different conservation measure interventions using a population modelling technique. The team compared anti-poaching interventions, population supplementation, and habitat protection. Each intervention was simulated individually and in combination to investigate their relative impact on population viability.

    Their modelling found the removal of one male and one female giraffe every year would result in an average time to extinction of just 15.3 years. The poaching of female giraffes had a more significant impact on population viability than males.

    The team’s findings confirm that conservation management should prioritise strengthening existing anti-poaching activity in conjunction with protecting wildlife corridors to aid dispersal.

    Kane Colston, the study’s lead author, who undertook the study as part of his Master’s degree at Bristol Vet School in conjunction with teaching partners Bristol Zoological Society, said: “Our findings confirm anti-poaching measures appear the most significant for population viability. The extent of poaching in Bénoué National Park is still unclear as far higher giraffe poaching rates have been reported in other national parks, but recent confirmed reports of the poaching of two giraffes in a period of just three months highlight the urgency of conservation intervention.”

    Dr Sam Penny, the project lead from Bristol Zoological Society, added: “These findings really underscore the magnitude of the threat facing Bénoué National Park’s Kordofan giraffe and highlight the importance of our conservation work in the area. We will continue to work with the park’s Conservation Service and our partner NGO Sekakoh to ensure anti-poaching initiatives are prioritised within the landscape.”

    Ends

    University of Bristol

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  • Butterfly species’ big brains adapted giving them a survival edge, study finds

    Butterfly species’ big brains adapted giving them a survival edge, study finds

    BYLINE: Laura Thomas

    Newswise — Heliconius butterflies’ brains grew as they adopted a novel foraging behaviour, scientists at the University of Bristol have found.

    A region of their brain, known as the mushroom body due to its shape, are two to four times larger than those of their close relatives.

    The findings, published today in Nature Communications, suggest that the structure and function of the nervous system are closely linked to an organism’s ecological niche and behaviour.

    Dr Stephen Montgomery of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences explained: “Heliconius are the only butterflies known to collect and digest pollen, which gives them an adult source of protein, when most other butterflies exclusively obtain protein as caterpillars.

    “This shift in diet allows Heliconius to live much longer lives, but they seemingly only collect pollen from specific plant species that occur at low densities.

    “Learning the location of these plants is therefore a critical behaviour for them, but to do so they must presumably invest more in the neural structures and cells that support spatial memory.”

    The team focused on the relationship between mushroom body expansion, sensory specialization and the evolutionary innovation of pollen feeding.

    The study involved a unique synthesis of comparative data on large-scale brain structure, cellular composition and connectivity in the brain, and studies of behaviour across species.

    They built 3D models of the brain in 30 pollen-feeding species of Heliconius, and 11 species from closely related genera, collected from across Central and South America.

    The volume of different brain areas was measured and mapped over phylogenetic (family) trees to estimate where major evolutionary changes in brain composition occurred.

    They then investigated changes in neural circuitry by quantifying in the number of neurons in the mushroom bodies and the density of their connections, as well as sensory specialisation by tracing neural inputs from brain areas that process visual information and smell before sending it to the central brain.

    Finally, in partnership with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, they conducted behavioural experiments in key species to assess whether the observed expansion of the mushroom body correlated with improved visual learning and memory.

    One striking result is the remarkable range of variation in mushroom body size observed among these closely-related species within a relatively short evolutionary timeframe. Across the whole dataset mushroom body size varies by 25-fold.

    This provides a compelling example of how specific brain structures can vary independently over evolutionary time, known as mosaic evolution, when under strong selective constraints for behavioural adaptation.

    Dr Montgomery added: “We identified that changes in mushroom body size are due to an increased number of ‘Kenyon cells’, the neurons that form the majority of the mushroom body and whose interactions are thought to be the basis of memory storage, as well as increased inputs from the visual system.

    “This expansion and visual specialization of the mushroom bodies were accompanied by enhanced visual learning and memory abilities. Through this synthesis of data types, we provide a clear example of a novel foraging behaviour coinciding with adaptations in the brain and associated cognitive shifts.”

    Co-lead author, Bristol’s Dr Antoine Couto, said: “”The study reveals how brain structure of Heliconius butterflies, specifically the mushroom bodies, has undergone remarkable changes that are tightly linked to their specialized foraging behaviours.

    “These butterflies have evolved larger mushroom bodies with enhanced visual processing abilities, allowing them to discriminate complex visual patterns and retain visual memories over extended periods. These findings highlight the fascinating connection between brain evolution and behavioural adaptations in the natural world.”

    Dr Fletcher Young, also co-lead author, added: “This study provides a rare combination of neurobiological and behavioural data across closely related species, revealing a clear example of marked evolutionary changes in the brain over a relatively short time scale coinciding with improved visual learning and memory abilities. Identifying such relationships between brain adaptations and behavioural shifts are crucial to our understanding of cognitive evolution.”

    Dr Montgomery concluded “We provide evidence that brain structure can vary in striking ways between even closely related species that live in the same habitats.

    “In this example, the innovation of one suite of behaviours has led to a dramatic expansion of critical learning and memory centres in the brain, and we show these neural changes co-occur with substantial enhancements in cognitive ability.

    “We hypothesise that these behavioural differences reflect either a direct response to selection on foraging behaviour, and the information the butterflies are extracting for the environment around them to guide their behaviour.”

    Understanding the relationship between brain anatomy, sensory processing, and foraging behaviour in Heliconius butterflies could also provide insights into the evolution of learning and memory mechanisms in not only insects, but other animals as the function and circuitry of mushroom bodies share some similarities with vertebrate brains. Hence these butterflies provide an excellent system in which to explore the neural basis of learning and memory with widespread relevance.

     

    Paper:

    ‘Rapid expansion and visual specialisation of learning and memory centers in the brains of Heliconiini butterflies’ in by Stephen Montgomery et al in Nature Communications.

    University of Bristol

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  • Significant variations in hip fracture health costs and care between NHS hospitals and regions, study finds

    Significant variations in hip fracture health costs and care between NHS hospitals and regions, study finds

    Newswise — There are significant variations in healthcare spending and care delivery across NHS hospitals in England and Wales following hip fracture, a new study aimed at understanding how hospital care impacts patients’ outcomes and costs has revealed. 

    The study, led by the University of Bristol and funded by Versus Arthritis, highlights the urgent need for evidence-based quality improvement strategies to reduce healthcare spending and improve patient outcomes in the year following a hip fracture.  The research is published online in The Lancet Healthy Longevity today [10 July].

    Hip fracture is a serious health concern, with more than 70,000 older adults admitted to a UK hospital each year. This study highlights the high healthcare burden associated with breaking a hip.

    The research analysed data from national databases for 178,757 hip fracture patients aged 60 years and above in England and Wales, who broke their hip between 2016 and 2019, followed up to just before the pandemic. More than one in four patients died within a year of their hip fracture.

    Patients spent an average of 32 days in hospital in the year following a hip fracture, resulting in substantial inpatient costs of on average £14,642 per patient – a cost similar to that incurred in the year after a stroke, and that exceeds costs of many common cancers. But this cost varied substantially between hospitals, with more than a two-fold difference in spending, ranging from £10,867 to £23,188 per patient, between 172 NHS hospitals studied in England and Wales.

    The researchers identified that in hospitals where patients are up and about quickly after their operation and where physiotherapy is provided seven days a week, patient costs were lower, and patients spent fewer days in hospital in the year following hip fracture.

    The research further highlighted the crucial role of orthogeriatricians – consultant geriatricians who specialise in the care of people with fractures – in hip fracture care.

    Dr Petra Baji, Senior Research Associate in Health Economics at Bristol Medical School: Translational Health Sciences (THS) and the paper’s first author, explained: “The findings suggest that having all patients assessed by an orthogeriatrician within the first days of admission could cut healthcare spending by £529 per patient, as well as reduce the chance of dying by 15% in the year following hip fracture.”

    Dr Rita Patel, Senior Research Associate in Medical Statistics at Bristol and statistician for the study, added: “If a consultant orthogeriatrician attends hospital clinical governance meetings, a further cost saving of £356 per patient could potentially be achieved, as well as patients spending fewer days spent in the hospital in the year following hip fracture.”

    “Hospitals with fracture liaison services also have lower mortality rates and patients spend fewer days in hospital. Our study suggests that rather than increasing the burden on the NHS, providing additional care for patients with orthogeriatrician and fracture liaison services may actually improve NHS efficiency.”

    The study highlights the importance of addressing the way hospitals deliver hip fracture care to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of hip fracture services, and the need to develop evidence-based quality improvement strategies across the UK, to achieve financial savings while also improving patient outcomes.

    Celia Gregson, Professor in Clinical Epidemiology in the Musculoskeletal Research Unit at the University of Bristol and Chief Investigator of the study, commented, “The variation we have seen in patient outcomes and health spending following hip fracture are difficult to justify on purely clinical grounds, it tells us that the way we organise the delivery of care can be improved nationally.

    “By prioritising orthogeriatrician assessment, getting patients out of bed promptly after surgery, providing seven-day physiotherapy, reducing delirium risk for patients, and holding monthly multidisciplinary clinical governance meetings, hospitals stand to improve patient outcomes and reduce their healthcare spending.”

    Caroline Aylott, Head of Research Delivery at Versus Arthritis, said: “This research shows the unacceptable state of care for older people who break their hip. The findings show that older people have a high chance of dying within a year of a hip fracture, and that quality of care varies hugely between NHS hospitals in England and Wales.

    “As hip fractures mainly affect older people, many of whom live with multiple long-term conditions, this research suggests we are not getting older people’s care right. That must change.

    “The study found that better, faster access to orthogeriatricians and fracture liaison services would not only reduce people’s risk of dying and improve chances of a better recovery, but also reduce NHS spending. Just weeks after publication of the NHS workforce plan, the study provides yet further evidence of the desperate and immediate need for a properly resourced NHS.”

    The research team has already developed a potential solution, after working with the Royal Osteoporosis Society to develop an innovative toolkit – REDUCE hip fracture service implementation toolkit – informed by the results of their research.

    The toolkit is freely available to all healthcare professionals and service managers to support the quality improvement of fracture service provision within the 172 acute hospital settings across England and Wales.

    This study follows previous work from the REDUCE study (REducing unwarranted variation in the Delivery of high-qUality hip fraCture services in England and Wales), published last year in Age and Ageing, the journal of the British Geriatrics Society, which focused on patient outcomes of hip fracture patients in the short term.

    The study was funded by Versus Arthritis (ref: 22086), the UK’s biggest charity supporting people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Bristol BRC).

    Paper

    ‘Organisational factors associated with hospital costs and patient mortality in the 365 days following hip fracture in England and Wales (REDUCE): a record-linkage cohort study’ by Petra Baji, Elsa M R Marques, Celia L Gregson et al. in The Lancet Healthy Longevity [open access]

    University of Bristol

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