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A list of talks related to sustainability and the environment
URL: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/22840
Updated: 7 min 36 sec ago

Fri 07 Jun 13:00: Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Thu, 16/05/2024 - 16:04
Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Antarctic sea ice extent has been anomalously low since 2016, and reached extreme circumpolar minima in 2022/23. The causes of this change are the subject of lively scientific debate, including the relative roles of atmospheric and ocean processes in modulating sea ice evolution. The role of the ocean is particularly challenging to address due to the lack of sustained oceanographic data under the ice. Here, we examine the ocean’s response and potential role in the extreme sea ice minima using data collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program and BAS along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region has undergone dramatic change during many decades, including atmospheric and deep ocean warming, glacier retreat, and sea ice loss even prior to the most recent minima. Our observations show the extreme sea ice minimum followed after sustained wind anomalies that modulate ice advection, and occurred as the upper ocean stratification that typically prevents the ventilation of warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the surface broke down. We also show that this event reverted decades of upper-ocean change along the WAP .

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Tue 28 May 14:30: Multiscale mechanical linkage elongates tissues in development

Thu, 16/05/2024 - 13:27
Multiscale mechanical linkage elongates tissues in development

Cells and tissues acquire their shape and function during embryonic development. While the blueprint for tissue design is encoded in the genome, the execution of this program relies on the mechanical progression of coordinated behaviors at molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. Thus, understanding the emergence of biomechanical features and their functions in morphogenesis across multiple scales is fundamental to elucidating normal development and the mechanisms underlying congenital malformation.

My research has focused on convergent extension (CE), a conserved collective cell movement that elongates the head-to-tail body axis and several organ systems, including the neural tube, heart, and kidney. Recent studies have identified novel biomechanical features across multiple scales crucial to CE. Our data suggest that cellular forces propagate in a polarized manner, driving the propagation of coordinated cell movement. This multiscale mechanical linkage generates a synergistic effect, promoting efficient and robust body axis elongation. Conversely, subtle biomechanical compromises at the subcellular level can escalate over time and space, ultimately leading to axis elongation failure in the entire organism.

online TUESDAY

Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87939943699 Meeting ID: 879 3994 3699

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Mon 10 Jun 14:30: Cortical microtubules shape cell walls to support a wide range of functions

Thu, 16/05/2024 - 13:23
Cortical microtubules shape cell walls to support a wide range of functions

Abstract

How plants fulfill their life functions is to a large extend dictated by the presence of cell walls. These cell walls can adopt a wide range of structures, depending on the local functional demands—from stretching in a particular direction to reconciling contradictory requirements. A beautiful example of the latter is found in the primary xylem. Different patterns of local cell wall reinforcements are used at different stages of development, in line with different mechanical requirements. The required anisotropic material properties largely derive from the location and orientation of the constituting cellulose microfibrils. These, in turn are deposited along the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton.

I will describe how we use the banded pattern in protoxylem as a model system for complex cell wall patterns. For this, we use a diversity of modelling approaches involving both cortical microtubules and Rho-of-Plants (ROP) proteins. These deeply conserved small GTPases can establish membrane zones with different properties, leading to local differences in microtubule dynamics. Microtubules, however, do not simply “read out” this pattern. The final pattern arises from the mutual interations of both systems. This work not only helped us understand how these beautiful and functionally important patterns are formed, but also brought to light important insights on 1) how the precise distribution of microtubule nucleation plays a critical role in maintaining homogeneous microtubule arrays and, hence, cell wall integrity; and 2) how microtubule flexibility affects the array’s potential to adopt complex patterns and align in the first place.

I will also show some stunning pictures from recent field trips to South Africa and the USA to study/hunt for some very special plants: the few known species in the world that display dimorphic enantiostyly, which we use as a model system for the de novo establishment a left-right asymmetry. These plants demonstrate that rich biodiversity we still have in our world is an incredibly valuable resource even for fundamental cell and developmental biology, though challenging and challenged.

This is a hybrid event, in-person at SLCU and Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87939943699 Meeting ID: 879 3994 3699

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Mon 03 Jun 14:30: Wolfram Pönisch-Deciphering the role of noise in cell shape changes during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; Constance Le Gloanec-Protect and provide: the dual role of the cauline leaf.

Thu, 16/05/2024 - 13:22
Wolfram Pönisch-Deciphering the role of noise in cell shape changes during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; Constance Le Gloanec-Protect and provide: the dual role of the cauline leaf.

Wolfram Pönisch – Postdoc in Lab of Ewa Paluch, PDN University of Cambridge

Title: Deciphering the role of noise in cell shape changes during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Abstract: The development of an organism requires sequential state transitions towards more specialised cell types. Many state transitions coincide with changes in cell shape, with emerging evidence suggesting strong feedback between shape and state. An example of transitions where state and shape are tightly coupled is epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) which plays a crucial role in development and pathogenesis. While the changes in gene expression driving EMT have been extensively studied, the cell shape dynamics during EMT remain poorly understood.

To address this challenge, we developed a morphometric pipeline employing spherical harmonics descriptors to represent 3D cell morphodynamics in a low-dimensional morphospace quantitatively. Combining live-cell imaging with this pipeline, we characterised the cell shape trajectories associated with EMT . We inferred the underlying stochastic morphodynamics by modelling shape dynamics as a Langevin process and characterised the cell shape noise. Our findings reveal a peak in noise coinciding with a transition from epithelial to mesenchymal attractor states. Molecular perturbation experiments and mathematical modelling suggest that an increase in actin protrusivity and a decrease in membrane tension account for the cell shape noise during EMT . Together, our study suggests that EMT -associated cell spreading can be described as a transition between morphospace attractors.

Constance Le Gloanec, NUS

Title: Protect and provide: the dual role of the cauline leaf

Abstract: Plant organs have evolved diverse shapes for specialized functions despite emerging as simple protrusions at the shoot apex. Cauline leaves serve both as photosynthetic organs and protective structures for emerging floral buds. However, their growth patterns remain elusive. Here, we investigate the developmental dynamics shaping cauline leaves underlying their functional diversification from other flat organs. We show that cauline leaves display a strong delay in overall elongation as compared to juvenile leaves. Using live-imaging, we reveal that their functional divergence hinges on early modulation of the timing of cell differentiation and cellular growth rates. In contrast to rosette leaves and sepals, cell differentiation is delayed in cauline leaves, fostering extended proliferation, prolonged morphogenetic activity, and growth redistribution within the organ. Notably, cauline leaf growth is transiently suppressed during the early stages, keeping the leaf small and unfolded during the initiation of the first flowers. Our findings highlight the unique developmental timing of cauline leaves, underlying their shift from an early protective role to a later photosynthetic function.

Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87939943699 Meeting ID: 879 3994 3699

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Thu 23 May 11:30: Some aspects of contact line dynamics with applications to flow in porous materials

Thu, 16/05/2024 - 09:20
Some aspects of contact line dynamics with applications to flow in porous materials

Among the most difficult issues in CFD is the very wide range of scales involved in some problems. Attempts at investigating the dynamics contact line have been made coming from various theoretical and numerical frameworks, the closest to first principles being molecular dynamics, while diffuse interface methods and sharp interface methods with several variants have also been put forward. Experiments are obviously difficult. Efforts made on a number of typical cases, including plunging and withdrawing plates, a sheared droplet, sessile droplets on oscillating or accelerating substrates, menisci in nanopores and the hydrodynamics assist problem. The issues involved in nucleate boiling and accelerated sessile droplets will be addressed both from the point of view of experiments (performed by various colleagues from MIT and Tokyo University) and from the point of view of simulations.

I will also show recent developments in the Basilisk code allowing to simulate contact lines on complex curved boundaries, using the immersed boundary method and an appropriate contact angle boundary condition, and inside porous media.

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Wed 22 May 13:00: Modelling ocean connectivity and future change at the Antarctic margins

Mon, 13/05/2024 - 10:36
Modelling ocean connectivity and future change at the Antarctic margins

Many Antarctic margin processes are changing including accelerated rates of ice sheet mass loss and a slowdown in the production of dense bottom waters. Although these changes are localised around the Antarctic continent, they have the potential to remotely disrupt downstream processes of climatic importance via advective connections along the shelf. In the first part of this talk I will present some work from my PhD thesis that investigates ocean connectivity around the Antarctic margins from a modelling perspective. The results from this work suggest there is widespread zonal connectivity between adjacent regions of the shelf, and that such connectivity is important to consider when interpreting and linking observed changes with upstream drivers. In the second part of the talk I will present results from simulations that investigate future climate-driven changes to Antarctic margin processes under different emission scenarios, with and without future freshwater contributions. Such changes are poorly constrained because many climate models fail to adequately resolve key features of the Antarctic margin including the narrow westward flowing currents, and the formation of both dense and abyssal water masses. Results from these simulations suggest that even under a mid-range emissions scenario without additional meltwater forcing, substantial changes in Antarctic continental shelf circulation and hydrography are possible by the end of this century.

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Wed 15 May 13:15: Seminar – Population nutrition: upstream/downstream

Fri, 10/05/2024 - 15:58
Seminar – Population nutrition: upstream/downstream

All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:

Population nutrition: upstream/downstream

Professor Pablo Monsivais, Washington State University

This hybrid seminar will be held in Institute of Metabolic Science seminar rooms 1 & 2, Level 4, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ , and online.

If attending online, please register at https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIqf-moqD4iEtOSgtPiXJanoInqfmdkhdG2#/registration

About this talk In this presentation, Professor Monsivais will review two interdisciplinary projects aimed at identifying population-level determinants of diet and one project developing heart-healthy ready meals for use in research studies and interventions.

About Professor Monsivais After doctoral and post-doctoral training in neuroscience and physiology at the University of Washington and University College London, Professor Monsivais returned to the University of Washington to retrain in nutrition and public health in 2004.

Between 2007 and 2011, he conducted behavioral and epidemiologic research on food choices, diet and health at the UW’s Centre for Public Health Nutrition in the School of Public Health, first as a postdoctoral fellow in behavioral sciences and then as an acting assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology. From 2011 to 2017 he was Senior University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge Centre for Diet and Activity Research where he led a research group focused social and behavioral epidemiology.

He is currently an Associate Professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine based at Washington State University.

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Mon 10 Jun 14:30: Cortical microtubules shape cell walls to support a wide range of functions

Fri, 10/05/2024 - 15:11
Cortical microtubules shape cell walls to support a wide range of functions

Abstract

How plants fulfill their life functions is to a large extend dictated by the presence of cell walls. These cell walls can adopt a wide range of structures, depending on the local functional demands—from stretching in a particular direction to reconciling contradictory requirements. A beautiful example of the latter is found in the primary xylem. Different patterns of local cell wall reinforcements are used at different stages of development, in line with different mechanical requirements. The required anisotropic material properties largely derive from the location and orientation of the constituting cellulose microfibrils. These, in turn are deposited along the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton.

I will describe how we use the banded pattern in protoxylem as a model system for complex cell wall patterns. For this, we use a diversity of modelling approaches involving both cortical microtubules and Rho-of-Plants (ROP) proteins. These deeply conserved small GTPases can establish membrane zones with different properties, leading to local differences in microtubule dynamics. Microtubules, however, do not simply “read out” this pattern. The final pattern arises from the mutual interations of both systems. This work not only helped us understand how these beautiful and functionally important patterns are formed, but also brought to light important insights on 1) how the precise distribution of microtubule nucleation plays a critical role in maintaining homogeneous microtubule arrays and, hence, cell wall integrity; and 2) how microtubule flexibility affects the array’s potential to adopt complex patterns and align in the first place.

I will also show some stunning pictures from recent field trips to South Africa and the USA to study/hunt for some very special plants: the few known species in the world that display dimorphic enantiostyly, which we use as a model system for the de novo establishment a left-right asymmetry. These plants demonstrate that rich biodiversity we still have in our world is an incredibly valuable resource even for fundamental cell and developmental biology, though challenging and challenged.

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Mon 13 May 14:30: Mechanisms and mechanics of morphogenesis

Fri, 10/05/2024 - 11:40
Mechanisms and mechanics of morphogenesis

Abstract:

How organ shape and therefore function is encoded by the genome remains a major unresolved question in biology. All tissues arise from simple precursors or primordia. These become patterned through transcriptional changes within individual cells, and we have made much progress in untangling gene regulatory networks responsible, especially more recently using single-cell genome-wide approaches. How such patterning is then turned into physical changes at the molecular, cell and tissue scale is much less understood. This is the focus of my lab’s research, the emergence of shape and function, primed by cell-specific transcriptional changes, but implemented through highly coordinated changes of many cells in conjunction. Although transcriptional and biochemical control operates in individual cells, coordination works at the tissue scale, and we so far only understand small aspects of it. Because organ shape is critical for organ function, defects in morphogenesis lead to severe diseases including spina bifida or polycystic kidney disease. We want to understand the importance of cytoskeletal crosstalk, the coordination of events and forces within a tissue, and the role of spatial and temporal control by upstream transcriptional regulation. To do so, we utilise a highly tractable model process in Drosophila and combine it with a powerful organoid culture models of human tissue morphogenesis.

Zoom link: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87939943699 (Meeting ID: 879 3994 3699)

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Mon 27 May 19:30: CSAR lecture: Physics IS Enhancing Machine Learning

Thu, 09/05/2024 - 20:58
CSAR lecture: Physics IS Enhancing Machine Learning

Moving away from accurate-but-wrong predictions for bridges, wind turbines… and the climate. Machine Learning algorithms are revolutionising many scientific fields by enabling the development of models from observations – so called data-driven. However, in many engineering applications, we usually have access to a limited amount of “informative” data – hindering the applicability data-driven approaches – but a great deal of physics understanding and domain knowledge! This opens up opportunities to combine physics and domain knowledge with data-driven approaches for guiding high-consequence decision making in engineering applications.

This seminar will give a brief non-technical introduction to Machine Learning and an overview of recent research work carried out within the Data, Vibration and Uncertainty Group (https://sites.google.com/view/dvugroup) focusing on developing Physics Enhanced Machine Learning (PEML) strategies in applied mechanics. It will showcase recent PEML methods developed for tackling challenges in wind turbines, bridges and structural joints, and ongoing efforts for investigating climate repair strategies.

Open to all. More details including a link for booking, here.

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Wed 15 May 14:00: Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Thu, 09/05/2024 - 09:21
Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Antarctic sea ice extent has been anomalously low since 2016, and reached extreme circumpolar minima in 2022/23. The causes of this change are the subject of lively scientific debate, including the relative roles of atmospheric and ocean processes in modulating sea ice evolution. The role of the ocean is particularly challenging to address due to the lack of sustained oceanographic data under the ice. Here, we examine the ocean’s response and potential role in the extreme sea ice minima using data collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program and BAS along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region has undergone dramatic change during many decades, including atmospheric and deep ocean warming, glacier retreat, and sea ice loss even prior to the most recent minima. Our observations show the extreme sea ice minimum followed after sustained wind anomalies that modulate ice advection, and occurred as the upper ocean stratification that typically prevents the ventilation of warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the surface broke down. We also show that this event reverted decades of upper-ocean change along the WAP .

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Wed 15 May 14:00: Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Wed, 08/05/2024 - 17:30
Changing fast and slow: Hydrographic variability along the West Antarctic Peninsula Shelf during the recent sea ice extremes

Antarctic sea ice extent has been anomalously low since 2016, and reached extreme circumpolar minima in 2022/23. The causes of this change are the subject of lively scientific debate, including the relative roles of atmospheric and ocean processes in modulating sea ice evolution. The role of the ocean is particularly challenging to address due to the lack of sustained oceanographic data under the ice. Here, we examine the ocean’s response and potential role in the extreme sea ice minima using data collected by the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research program and BAS along the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region has undergone dramatic change during many decades, including atmospheric and deep ocean warming, glacier retreat, and sea ice loss even prior to the most recent minima. Our observations show the extreme sea ice minimum followed after sustained wind anomalies that modulate ice advection, and occurred as the upper ocean stratification that typically prevents the ventilation of warm Circumpolar Deep Water to the surface broke down. We also show that this event reverted decades of upper-ocean change along the WAP .

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Tue 28 May 14:30: Multiscale mechanical linkage elongates tissues in development

Wed, 08/05/2024 - 13:49
Multiscale mechanical linkage elongates tissues in development

Cells and tissues acquire their shape and function during embryonic development. While the blueprint for tissue design is encoded in the genome, the execution of this program relies on the mechanical progression of coordinated behaviors at molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. Thus, understanding the emergence of biomechanical features and their functions in morphogenesis across multiple scales is fundamental to elucidating normal development and the mechanisms underlying congenital malformation.

My research has focused on convergent extension (CE), a conserved collective cell movement that elongates the head-to-tail body axis and several organ systems, including the neural tube, heart, and kidney. Recent studies have identified novel biomechanical features across multiple scales crucial to CE. Our data suggest that cellular forces propagate in a polarized manner, driving the propagation of coordinated cell movement. This multiscale mechanical linkage generates a synergistic effect, promoting efficient and robust body axis elongation. Conversely, subtle biomechanical compromises at the subcellular level can escalate over time and space, ultimately leading to axis elongation failure in the entire organism.

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Thu 09 May 11:30: Engineering solutions for heart valve disease using computational modelling and simulation

Wed, 08/05/2024 - 09:01
Engineering solutions for heart valve disease using computational modelling and simulation

Transcatheter valve replacement is a revolutionary, minimally invasive alternative to surgery for patients with heart valve disease. With over 1.5 million procedures performed worldwide and expectations of a sharp increase in the coming years, there is growing concerns about the rise in adverse events such as coronary obstruction and valve thrombosis. It is anticipated that the interaction between the implanted transcatheter heart valve with patient-specific anatomy may give rise to unfavourable hemodynamics, contributing to these adverse events. In this seminar, we will explore the role of computational modelling and simulation in improving our mechanistic understanding of these events, and as a tool to assist clinicians in patient selection and pre-procedural planning, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

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Mon 20 May 14:30: You are not encoded - a biological theory of form

Tue, 07/05/2024 - 16:12
You are not encoded - a biological theory of form

Presenter: Alan Rodrigues (Co-director, The Laboratory of Morphogenesis, Rockefeller University)

Abstract: In recent decades, much progress has been made in understanding how genes within cells contribute to organ-specific fates or disease phenotypes. However, it is becoming more widely acknowledged that increasing understanding at the molecular scale has not been sufficient to fully grasp how tissues comprised of thousands of cells generate their structures. To address this gap, the Shyer/Rodrigues lab centers its studies on the behavior of cell collectives in vertebrate tissues. Using novel collective cell behavioral assays and the skin as a model, we find that emergent biophysical properties arise at the ‘supra’-cellular scale during organ development. Such emergent properties then serve to shape the skin. Our findings indicate that epigenetic processes beyond the cell scale can organize morphogenesis in vertebrate tissues. Finally, uncovering such epigenetic processes has allowed us to provide an account of morphogen function that re-envisions canonically accepted roles of these chemical cues.

Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/87939943699 Meeting ID: 879 3994 3699

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Wed 05 Jun 17:30: Extreme glacial implies discontinuity of early human occupation of Europe Building doors are card operated, so latecomers may not be able to access the venue.

Wed, 01/05/2024 - 21:50
Extreme glacial implies discontinuity of early human occupation of Europe

The oldest known hominin remains in Europe [ca. 1.5 to 1.1 million years ago (Ma)] have been recovered from Iberia, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have indicated warm and wet interglacials and mild glacials, supporting the view that once established, hominin populations persisted continuously. We report analyses of marine and terrestrial proxies from a deep-sea core on the Portugese margin that show the presence of pronounced millennial-scale climate variability during a glacial period ca. 1.154 to 1.123 Ma, culminating in a terminal stadial cooling comparable to the most extreme events of the last 400,000 years. Climate envelope–model simulations reveal a drastic decrease in early hominin habitat suitability around the Mediterranean during the terminal stadial. We suggest that these extreme conditions led to the depopulation of Europe, perhaps lasting for several successive glacial-interglacial cycles.

Building doors are card operated, so latecomers may not be able to access the venue.

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Wed 01 May 15:00: Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

Wed, 01/05/2024 - 14:14
Ocean, ice, and the spherical cow

“Consider a spherical cow in the vacuum…” – that’s how most physics problems start. A very simplified version of the real world that we can wrap our heads around and find answers using pencil and paper. Numerical models that simulate the components of the climate system are no different: we start simple and build it up as scientific knowledge of the system advances and technology allows us to explore smaller-scale processes. My research focuses on understanding ice-ocean interactions, focusing on the behaviour of icebergs and their impacts in the polar oceans, using said models. Join me as I explain my journey towards drawing a cow that looks less like a balloon and more like a quadruped.

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Tue 04 Jun 11:30: Aerosols and clouds in the UKCA across time and space Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89998723970?pwd=ekw0Q3RqaUVFU3NaT3J1djlHTytiQT09

Tue, 30/04/2024 - 20:52
Aerosols and clouds in the UKCA across time and space

In this talk I will present work that I have done on aerosols and clouds in UKCA -based models: the UK Earth System climate model and the regional high resolution UKCA model. The work spans a large range of time and spatial scales ranging from historical climate modelling of the 1850-2014 period to a case study of volcanic event at 4km resolution.

In the historical study we determined what caused the long-term trends in the upwelling short-wave (SW) top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) fluxes over the North Atlantic region. The UKESM showed a positive trend between 1850 and 1970 (increasing SW reflection) and a negative trend between 1970 and 2014. We found that the 1850–1970 positive trend is mainly driven by an increase in cloud droplet number concentration due to increases in aerosol, while the 1970–2014 trend was mainly driven by a decrease in cloud fraction, which we attributed mainly to cloud feedbacks caused by greenhouse gas-induced warming.

In the high resolution modelling work we use an eruption of sulphur dioxide from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii as a natural laboratory to evaluate aerosol-cloud interaction processes against satellite observations. The model produces an increase in aerosol optical depth due to the volcano that is too large compared to observations, but the increase in cloud droplet number concentration compares well. The cloud liquid water path (a measure of cloud thickness) and cloud fraction responses are in the opposite direction what is observed, although with a large observational uncertainty. This suggests some issues with the model, but also underscores the difficulty in observing aerosol-cloud interactions.

I’m now working in the UKESM development team at the Met Office. Therefore I will also look forwards towards the next iterations of the UKESM model with respect to aerosols and clouds, where we hope to bring together the things learnt from the research across various time and spatial scales that has been performed by scientists across the UK.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89998723970?pwd=ekw0Q3RqaUVFU3NaT3J1djlHTytiQT09

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Tue 21 May 15:00: Epistemic Exclusion in Climate Science: Why We Grow the Wrong Trees in the Wrong Places Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88161587298?pwd=U0I2ejRHTXROQmhiNHo2OTF6NE1kZz09

Tue, 30/04/2024 - 20:42
Epistemic Exclusion in Climate Science: Why We Grow the Wrong Trees in the Wrong Places

Why do we grow the wrong trees in the wrong places? This paper investigates this through the REDD + initiatives under the UNFCCC that advocated for planting trees in developing countries to cool down our global temperature. The intuition behind this initiative, that growing trees in the tropics are good for fighting climate change, was naturalized by mainstream climate science in the Global North. Yet, as biologists point out, trees especially in the tropics emit gases known as BVO Cs that can further exacerbate global warming. In other words, planting an enormous number of inappropriate species of trees in the tropics can even hurt rather than help the earth. This is surprising: why, given the espoused scientific commitment to pluralism as well as the interdisciplinary and global nature of climate change, are some scientific perspectives, especially biologists from the Global South, not well integrated into mainstream climate science? I show that rendering the climate as a singular legible entity from a god’s eye view also erects structural barriers to more heterogenous scientific studies of local ecologies from being integrated. Moreover, because models of the climate are based on environmental assumptions and tools of the Global North, they struggle to incorporate knowledge where these assumptions do not hold – especially in the Global South, where trees are more likely to emit gases that can exacerbate climate change – leading to international policies that ironically harms, rather than helps, the planet. I illustrate these challenges to integrating knowledge on BVO Cs into mainstream climate models based on 48 interviews with climate scientists in both the Global North and Global South, as well as fieldwork based in climate science labs in the U.S. and Thailand.

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Topic: CAS Seminar: Jittip Mongkolnchaiarunya Time: May 21, 2024 03:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88161587298?pwd=U0I2ejRHTXROQmhiNHo2OTF6NE1kZz09

Meeting ID: 881 6158 7298 Passcode: 174484

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88161587298?pwd=U0I2ejRHTXROQmhiNHo2OTF6NE1kZz09

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Mon 13 May 19:30: CSAR lecture: Creating brain organoids to uncover what makes us human.

Tue, 30/04/2024 - 13:30
CSAR lecture: Creating brain organoids to uncover what makes us human.

Using in vitro models to study human brain evolution and disease. The human brain is amazingly complex, and it’s this complexity that enables our remarkable cognitive power but also makes us susceptible to a range of neurological and mental health conditions. How this complexity arises specifically in humans is one of the most important questions in biology. Because it is a question that can’t be answered in standard animal models, we need a human model. We are exploring this by using stem cell derived models called organoids, small tissues that self-organise and build themselves in a petri dish. By making organoids that mimic the early stages of brain development, we can compare these tissues made from human cells with those made from our closest living relatives, the other great apes, to discover what sets us apart. We have discovered that the cells that produce neurons develop more slowly in human, and that this delay enables them to expand more before making neurons, and thus enables greater neuron number production in the end, hence a larger more complex brain. We are now exploring how this happens, and what goes wrong in disorders like autism and schizophrenia. By using a human model, we are finally revealing the key processes that set us apart as a species.

Open to all. More details, and a link for booking, here

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