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Using stellar ‘twins’ to reach the outer limits of the galaxy

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Astronomers from the University of Cambridge have developed a new, highly accurate method of measuring the distances between stars, which could be used to measure the size of the galaxy, enabling greater understanding of how it evolved.

Using a technique which searches out stellar ‘twins’, the researchers have been able to measure distances between stars with far greater precision than is possible using typical model-dependent methods. The technique could be a valuable complement to the Gaia satellite – which is creating a three-dimensional map of the sky over five years – and could aid in the understanding of fundamental astrophysical processes at work in the furthest reaches of our galaxy. Details of the new technique are published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“Determining distances is a key problem in astronomy, because unless we know how far away a star or group of stars is, it is impossible to know the size of the galaxy or understand how it formed and evolved,” said Dr Paula Jofre Pfeil of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, the paper’s lead author. “Every time we make an accurate distance measurement, we take another step on the cosmic distance ladder.”

The best way to directly measure a star’s distance is by an effect known as parallax, which is the apparent displacement of an object when viewed along two different lines of sight – for example, if you hold out your hand in front of you and look at it with your left eye closed and then with your right eye closed, your hand will appear to move against the background. The same effect can be used to calculate the distance to stars, by measuring the apparent motion of a nearby star compared to more distant background stars. By measuring the angle of inclination between the two observations, astronomers can use the parallax to determine the distance to a particular star.

However, the parallax method can only be applied for stars which are reasonably close to us, since beyond distances of 1600 light years, the angles of inclination are too small to be measured by the Hipparcos satellite, a precursor to Gaia. Consequently, of the 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, we have accurate measurements for just 100,000.

Gaia will be able to measure the angles of inclination with far greater precision than ever before, for stars up to 30,000 light years away. Scientists will soon have precise distance measurements for the one billion stars that Gaia is mapping – but that’s still only one percent of the stars in the Milky Way.

For even more distant stars, astronomers will still need to rely on models which look at a star’s temperature, surface gravity and chemical composition, and use the information from the resulting spectrum, together with an evolutionary model, to infer its intrinsic brightness and to determine its distance. However, these models can be off by as much as 30 percent. “Using a model also means using a number of simplifying assumptions – like for example assuming stars don’t rotate, which of course they do,” said Dr Thomas Mädler, one of the study’s co-authors. “Therefore stellar distances obtained by such indirect methods should be taken with a pinch of salt.”

The Cambridge researchers have developed a novel method to determine distances between stars by relying on stellar ‘twins’: two stars with identical spectra. Using a set of around 600 stars for which high-resolution spectra are available, the researchers found 175 pairs of twins. For each set of twins, a parallax measurement was available for one of the stars.

The researchers found that the difference of the distances of the twin stars is directly related to the difference in their apparent brightness in the sky, meaning that distances can be accurately measured without having to rely on models. Their method showed just an eight percent difference with known parallax measurements, and the accuracy does not decrease when measuring more distant stars.

“It’s a remarkably simple idea – so simple that it’s hard to believe no one thought of it before,” said Jofre Pfeil. “The further away a star is, the fainter it appears in the sky, and so if two stars have identical spectra, we can use the difference in brightness to calculate the distance.”

Since a utilised spectrum for a single star contains as many as 280,000 data points, comparing entire spectra for different stars would be both time and data-consuming, so the researchers chose just 400 spectral lines to make their comparisons. These particular lines are those which give the most distinguishing information about the star – similar to comparing photographs of individuals and looking at a single defining characteristic to tell them apart.

The next step for the researchers is to compile a ‘catalogue’ of stars for which accurate distances are available, and then search for twins among other stellar catalogues for which no distances are available. While only looking at stars which have twins restricts the method somewhat, thanks to the new generation of high-powered telescopes, high-resolution spectra are available for millions of stars. With even more powerful telescopes under development, spectra may soon be available for stars which are beyond even the reach of Gaia, so the researchers say their method is a powerful complement to Gaia.

“This method provides a robust way to extend the crucially-important cosmic distance ladder in a new special way,” said Professor Gerry Gilmore, the Principal Investigator for UK involvement in the Gaia mission. “It has the promise to become extremely important as new very large telescopes are under construction, allowing the necessary detailed observations of stars at large distances in galaxies far from our Milky Way, building on our local detailed studies from Gaia.”

The research was funded by the European Research Council. 

Reference:
Jofré, P. et. al. Climbing the cosmic ladder with stellar twins. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv1724. 

A new method of measuring the distances between stars enables astronomers to climb the ‘cosmic ladder’ and understand the processes at work in the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Determining distances is a key problem in astronomy, because unless we know how far away a star or group of stars is, it is impossible to know the size of the galaxy or understand how it formed and evolved
Paula Jofre Pfeil
Two ‘twin’ stars with identical spectra observed by the La Silla Telescope. Since it is known that one star is 40 parsecs away, the difference in their apparent brightnesses allows calculation of the second star’s distance

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Neural circuit in the cricket brain detects the rhythm of the right mating call

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Scientists have identified an ingeniously elegant brain circuit consisting of just five nerve cells that allows female crickets to automatically identify the chirps of males from the same species through the rhythmic pulses hidden within the mating call.

The circuit uses a time delay mechanism to match the gaps between pulses in a species-specific chirp – gaps of just few milliseconds. The circuit delays a pulse by the exact between-pulse gap, so that, if it coincides with the next pulse coming in, the same species signal is confirmed.   

It’s one of the first times a brain circuit consisting of individual neurons that identifies an acoustic rhythm has been characterised. The results are reported today (11 September) in the journal Science Advances.

Using tiny electrodes, scientists from Cambridge University’s Department of Zoology explored the brain of female crickets for individual auditory neurons responding to digitally-manipulated cricket chirps (even a relatively simple organism such as a cricket still has a brain containing up to a million neurons).

Once located, the nerve cells were stained with fluorescent dye. By monitoring how each neuron responded to the sound pulses of the cricket chirps, scientists were able to work out the sequence the neurons fired in, enabling them to unpick the time delay logic of the circuit.

Sound processing starts in hearing organs, but the temporal, rhythmic features of sound signals – vital to all acoustic communication from birdsong to spoken language – are processed in the central auditory system of the brain.

Scientists say that the simple, time-coded neural network discovered in the brain of crickets may be an example of fundamental neural circuitry that identifies sound rhythms and patterns, and could be the basis for “complex and elaborate neuronal systems” in vertebrates.

“Compared to our complex language, crickets only have a few songs which they have to recognise and process, so, by looking at their much simpler brain, we aim to understand how neurons process sound signals,” said senior author Dr Berthold Hedwig.

Like in Morse code, contained within each cricket chirp are several pulses, interspersed by gaps of a few milliseconds. It’s the varying length of the gaps between pulses that is each species’ unique rhythm.

It is this ‘Morse code’ that gets read by the five-neuron circuit in the female brain.   

Crickets’ ears are located on their front legs. On hearing a sound like a chirp, nerve cells respond and carry the information to the thoracic segment, and on to the brain.

Once there, the auditory circuit splits and sends the information into two branches:

One branch (consisting of two neurons) acts as a delay line, holding up the processing of the signal by the same amount of time as the interval between pulses – a mechanism specific to a cricket species’ chirp. The other branch sends the signal straight through to a ‘coincidence detector’ neuron.

When a second pulse comes in, it too is split, and part of the signal goes straight through to the coincidence detector. If the second pulse and the delayed signal from the first pulse ‘coincide’ within the detector neuron, then the circuit has a match for the pulse time-code within the chirp of their species, and a final output neuron fires up, when the female listens to the correct sound pattern.

“Once the circuit has a second pulse, it can define the rhythm. The first pulse is initial excitation; the second pulse is then superimposed with the delayed part of the first. The output neuron only produces a strong response if the pulses collide at the coincidence detector, meaning the timing is locked in, and the mating call is a species match,” said Hedwig.

“With hindsight, I would say it’s impossible to make the circuitry any simpler – it’s the minimum number of elements that are required to do the processing. That’s the beauty of nature, it comes up with the most simple and elegant ways of dealing with and processing information,” he said.

To find the most effective sound pattern, the scientists digitally manipulated the natural pulse patterns and played the various patterns to female crickets mounted atop a trackball inside an acoustic chamber containing precisely located speakers.

If a particular rhythm of pulses triggered the female to set off in the direction of that speaker, the trackball recorded reaction times and direction.

Once they had honed the pulse patterns, the team played them to female crickets in modified mini-chambers with opened-up heads and brains exposed for the experiments.

Microelectrodes allowed them to record the key auditory neurons (“it takes a couple of hours to find the right neuron in a cricket brain”), tag and dye them, and piece together the neural circuitry that reads rhythmic pulses occurring at intervals of few milliseconds in male cricket chirps.

Added Hedwig: “Through this series of experiments we have identified a delay mechanism within a neuronal circuit for auditory processing – something that was first hypothesised over 25 years ago. This time delay circuitry could be quite fundamental as an example for other types of neuronal processing in other, perhaps much larger, brains as well.” 

The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Reference:
Stefan Schöneich, Konstantinos Kostarakos, Berthold Hedwig. An auditory feature detection circuit for sound pattern recognition. Science Advances (2015). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500325

Delay mechanism within elegant brain circuit consisting of just five neurons means female crickets can automatically detect chirps of males from same species. Scientists say this example of simple neural circuitry could be “fundamental” for other types of information processing in much larger brains.

That’s the beauty of nature, it comes up with the most simple and elegant ways of dealing with and processing information
Berthold Hedwig
Left: cricket on a trackball during experiment. Right: Auditory neuron in cricket brain.

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London Tube strike produced net economic benefit

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Analysis of the London Tube strike in February 2014 has found that despite the inconvenience to tens of thousands of people, the strike actually produced a net economic benefit, due to the number of people who found more efficient ways to get to work.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford, examined 20 days’ worth of anonymised Oyster card data, containing more than 200 million data points, in order to see how individual Tube journeys changed during the strike. Since this particular strike only resulted in a partial closure of the Tube network and not all commuters were affected by the strike, a direct comparison was possible. The data enabled the researchers to see whether people chose to go back to their normal commute once the strike was over, or if they found a more efficient route and decided to switch.

The researchers found that of the regular commuters affected by the strike, either because certain stations were closed or because travel times were considerably different, a significant fraction – about one in 20 – decided to stick with their new route once the strike was over.

While the proportion of individuals who ended up changing their routes may sound small, the researchers found that the strike actually ended up producing a net economic benefit. By performing a cost-benefit analysis of the amount of time saved by those who changed their daily commute, the researchers found that the amount of time saved in the longer term actually outweighed the time lost by commuters during the strike. An Oxford working paper of their findings is published online today.

The London Tube map itself may have been a reason why many commuters did not find their optimal journey before the strike. In many parts of London, the actual distances between stations are distorted on the iconic map. By digitising the Tube map and comparing it to the actual distances between stations, the researchers found that those commuters living in, or travelling to, parts of London where distortion is greatest were more likely to have learned from the strike and found a more efficient route.

Additionally, since different Tube lines travel at different speeds, those commuters who had been travelling on one of the slower lines were also more likely to switch routes once the strike was over.

“One of the things we’re looking at is whether consumers usually make the best decision, but it’s never been empirically tested using a large consumer dataset such as this one,” said co-author Dr Ferninand Rauch from Oxford’s Department of Economics. “Our findings illustrate that people might get stuck with suboptimal decisions because they don’t experiment enough.”

According to the authors, being forced to alter a routine, whether that’s due to a Tube strike or government regulation, can often lead to net benefits, as people or corporations are forced to innovate. In economics, this is known as the Porter hypothesis.

“For the small fraction of commuters who found a better route, when multiplied over a longer period of time, the benefit to them actually outweighs the inconvenience suffered by many more,” said co-author Dr Shaun Larcom of Cambridge’s Department of Land Economy. “The net gains came from the disruption itself.”

“Given that a significant fraction of commuters on the London underground failed to find their optimal route until they were forced to experiment, perhaps we should not be too frustrated that we can’t always get what we want, or that others sometimes take decisions for us,” said co-author Dr Tim Willems, also from Oxford’s Department of Economics. “If we behave anything like London commuters and experiment too little, hitting such constraints may very well be to our long-term advantage.” 

Reference:
Larcom, Shaun, Ferdinand Rauch and Tim Willems (2015), "The Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground Network", University of Oxford Working Paper. 

New analysis of the London Tube strike in February 2014 finds that it enabled a sizeable fraction of commuters to find better routes to work, and actually produced a net economic benefit.

For the small fraction of commuters who found a better route, when multiplied over a longer period of time, the benefit to them actually outweighs the inconvenience suffered by many more
Shaun Larcom
Untitled (cropped)

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Alice through the ages: revisiting a classic at 150

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Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece was first published in July 1865 and has never been out of print. Its remarkable appeal is marked this week by a programme of events based at Homerton College, Cambridge. The five-day celebration includes a conference, film-screenings, performances and a children’s tea party. Some events are open to the general public.

Wonderland Week at Homerton College has been organised by a small team led by Dr Zoe Jaques and Professor Maria Nikolajeva from the Faculty of Education. Jaques’ research explores the ways in which Alice in Wonderland is “more than just a book”.  Alice was based on a real-life girl, Alice Liddell, but became an icon of girlhood subject to constant transformation.

In the accompanying audio slide show, Jaques discusses representations of Alice – right from the John Tenniel drawings used to illustrate the first edition to portrayals by contemporary illustrators such as Barry Moser, Anthony Browne and Helen Oxenbury.  She shows how Alice’s age and looks have been skilfully reimagined to fit with changing audiences. 

A five-day programme of events at Homerton College, Cambridge, will celebrate the publication, 150 years ago, of Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Here, Dr Zoe Jaques, a lecturer in children’s literature, explores images of Alice from the first edition onwards. 

An illustration from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by John Tenniel

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Larger-sized portions, packages and tableware lead to higher consumption of food and drink

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The research, carried out by the University of Cambridge and published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, suggests that eliminating larger-sized portions from the diet completely could reduce energy intake by up to 16% among UK adults or 29% among US adults.

Overeating increases the risks of heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers, which are among the leading causes of ill health and premature death. However, the extent to which this overconsumption might be attributed to ‘overserving’ of larger-sized portions of food and drink has not been known.

As part of their systematic review of the evidence, researchers at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit combined results from 61 high quality studies, capturing data from 6,711 participants, to investigate the influence of portion, package and tableware size on food consumption. These results are published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

The data showed that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions, suggesting that, if sustained reductions in exposure to large sizes could be achieved across the whole diet, this could reduce average daily energy consumed from food by 12% to 16% among adults in the UK (equivalent of up to 279 kcals per day) or by 22% to 29% among US adults (equivalent of up to 527 kcals per day). The researchers did not find that the size of this effect varied substantively between men and women, or by people’s body mass index, susceptibility to hunger, or tendency to consciously control their eating behaviour.

Dr Gareth Hollands from the Behaviour and Health Research Unit, who co-led the review, says: “It may seem obvious that the larger the portion size, the more people eat, but until this systematic review the evidence for this effect has been fragmented, so the overall picture has, until now, been unclear. There has also been a tendency to portray personal characteristics like being overweight or a lack of self-control as the main reason people overeat.

“In fact, the situation is far more complex. Our findings highlight the important role of environmental influences on food consumption. Helping people to avoid ‘overserving’ themselves or others with larger portions of food or drink by reducing their size, availability and appeal in shops, restaurants and in the home, is likely to be a good way of helping lots of people to reduce their risk of overeating.”

However, the researchers point out that large reductions are likely to be needed to achieve the changes in food consumption suggested by their results. Also, the review does not establish conclusively whether reducing portions at the smaller end of the size range can be as effective in reducing food consumption as reductions at the larger end of the range. Critically, there is also a current lack of evidence to establish whether meaningful short-term changes in the quantities of food people consume are likely to translate into sustained or meaningful reductions in consumption over the longer-term.

The researchers highlight a range of potential actions that could be taken to reduce the size, availability or appeal of larger-sized portions, packages and tableware, including: upper-limits on serving sizes of energy-dense foods and drinks (for example, fatty foods, desserts and sugary drinks), or on the sizes of crockery, cutlery and glasses provided for use in their consumption; placing larger portion sizes further away from purchasers to make them less accessible; and demarcating single portion sizes in packaging through wrapping or a visual cue.

However, as Dr Hollands says: “With the notable exception of directly controlling the sizes of the foods people consume, reliable evidence as to the effectiveness of specific actions to reduce the size, availability or appeal of larger-sized food portions is currently lacking and urgently needed.”

Other potential actions include: restricting pricing practices whereby larger portion and package sizes cost less in relative (and sometimes absolute) monetary terms than smaller sizes and thus offer greater value for money to consumers; and restricting price promotions on larger portion and package sizes. The researchers suggest that some of the highlighted actions to limit portion size are likely to require regulation or legislation, helped by active demand from the public for changes to the food environment.

“At the moment, it is all too easy – and often better value for money – for us to eat or drink too much,” said Ian Shemilt, who co-led the review. “The evidence is compelling now that actions that reduce the size, availability and appeal of large servings can make a difference to the amounts people eat and drink, and we hope that our findings will provide fresh impetus for discussions on how this can be achieved in a range of public sector and commercial settings.”

 


Reference
Hollands GJ, Shemilt I, et al. Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9.

 

A new review has produced the most conclusive evidence to date that people consume more food or non-alcoholic drinks when offered larger sized portions or when they use larger items of tableware.

There has... been a tendency to portray personal characteristics like being overweight or a lack of self-control as the main reason people overeat. In fact, the situation is far more complex
Gareth Hollands
Hawksmoor, Spitalfields, London

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P is for Pet

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The scale of contemporary pet keeping is remarkable. In the US, ‘fur babies’ outnumber human babies. In the UK, almost a quarter of households have a dog and almost a fifth owns a cat. Fish (often listed among pets) are even more popular.

The keeping of these pets is one of the most significant of all human-animal relationships. The majority of pets live as part of the family. At the same time, many are poorly treated and animal activists have called into question the legitimacy of keeping pets at all.

What is a pet?  The answer may seem straightforward: they are animals kept in the home for pleasure and companionship. But our interactions with pets are far more complex, rooted as much in ownership and domination as in sentimentality and affection.

In his recent book At Home and Astray, cultural geographer Dr Philip Howell explores the ways in which the Victorians brought favoured animals in from the cold, to enjoy a place at the centre of the domestic sphere, while relegating unwanted others to shelters and inevitable destruction.

Here Howell engages in a broad-ranging conversation about pets with PhD student Makoto Takahashi. They begin with a discussion about pets at their most extreme: the English poet Byron kept a bear at Cambridge and the French poet Gérard de Nerval walked a lobster on a silk ribbon. They go on to examine both the lighter and darker sides of pet keeping as a national obsession.

Next in the Cambridge Animal Alphabet: Q is for a creature that has seen a dramatic decline in the past 80 years, with two of the UK’s 26 species now extinct.

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, P is for Pet. Cultural geographer Dr Philip Howell and PhD student Makoto Takahashi examine both the lighter and darker sides of pet keeping as a national obsession.

A toy spaniel, a Pomeranian and a Maltese terrier at a basket – Oil on Canvas by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Wegener 1855

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Refugee camp entrepreneurship

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At a time of global focus on refugee issues due to the war in Syria and other displacement, new research from the University of Cambridge calls for policymakers to foster entrepreneurship at refugee camps to help fill an ‘institutional void’ that leads to despair, boredom and crime.

Although most refugee camps are initially set up to provide supposedly “temporary” safety for people uprooted by war, natural disaster or other events, the reality is that many forcibly displaced people spend 20 years or more in exile.

A paper from Cambridge researchers calls on governments and other policymakers to promote refugee-camp entrepreneurship in order to provide an economic and psychological boost to displaced people.

“Refugee camp entrepreneurs reduce aid dependency and in so doing help to give life meaning for, and confer dignity on, the entrepreneurs,” says the paper, by Marlen de la Chaux, a PhD student at the Cambridge Judge Business School, and Helen Haugh, Senior Lecturer in Community Enterprise at Cambridge Judge. Marlen is a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

While such camps are created on the assumption they will be temporary in response to a passing emergency, such displacement is in fact often protracted – so “the rules of the game concerning temporary institutions do not reflect the reality of life in the camp,” the paper says.

The paper – entitled “Entrepreneurship and Innovation: How Institutional Voids Shape Economic Opportunities in Refugee Camps” – was presented by the authors at this summer’s 75th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Vancouver, Canada.

The researchers identify three institutional barriers to refugee camp entrepreneurship: a lack of functioning markets, inefficient legal and political systems, and poor infrastructure.

This presents a number of opportunities for policymakers to boost entrepreneurship opportunities, including urban planning techniques to design useful infrastructure because long-term refugee camps tend to resemble small cities rather than transient settlements.

In addition, cash-based aid programmes and partnerships between refugee camp organisers and micro-lending institutions can provide seed capital to refugee camp ventures; innovation hubs such as those recently established in Nairobi, Kenya, can help provide access to business advice and seed capital; and the host country can create employment opportunities within the refugee camp by outsourcing some tasks to refugees.

“As the number of forcibly displaced increases, the urgency to find solutions to redress the negative aspects of life in a refugee camp for those in protracted exile also rises,” the paper says. Enlightened policies to boost refugee-camp entrepreneurship “may also make a positive contribution to the economy of the host country and in so doing help to reduce the local resentment experienced by those living in camps.”

Adapted from an article originally published on the Cambridge Judge Business School website.

Entrepreneurship initiatives can fill the ‘institutional void’ of long-term refugee camps, according to new research.

The rules of the game concerning temporary institutions do not reflect the reality of life in the camp
Marlen de la Chaux
Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan

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Yes

Censorship versus freedom of expression

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Is terror legislation being used to stifle free expression? Where should the line be drawn on pornography? Can national broadcasters be truly independent at a time of war?

The first of these debates, on Wednesday 21 October, includes author and journalist, Bidisha, who will take part in ‘Hidden voices: censorship through omission’, which examines how censorship is sometimes more about whose voice is heard rather than what is said. Her fellow panellists include writer and journalist Peter Hitchens, feminist writer Julie Bindel and Cambridge sociologist Ella McPherson.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Bidisha said: “In the UK, as in many other seemingly pluralistic and democratic contexts in all hemispheres, not just 'the West', the spectrum of debate is not representative of society as it really is. Despite laws against discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, ability, sexuality and other factors – the media, politics, the arts, science, public life and indeed all institutions that hold power or set the agenda –  we know that women, people of colour of both sexes, differently abled individuals and many other speakers, experts, workers or practitioners who are not privileged and entitled white men are simply left out of the debate. They – we – are not given a place at the table, an opportunity to speak or a chance to be heard. Our contributions are written out of history or misjudged as inferior and we are represented by stereotypes and assumptions based on prejudice.”

Another challenging event on Saturday 24 October asks the question, ‘Can writers and artists ever be terrorists?’ Anti-terror legislation has been used in several countries to effectively gag free speech about sensitive political issues, but can writing or painting be a terrorist act? And what role do artists play in radicalisation? Speakers include Pelin Basaran, researcher and co-director of the project ‘Siyah Bant-Freedom of Expression in the Arts’ in Turkey and Director of Performing Arts' Research and Creation; Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship; Professor Anthony Glees, Professor of Politics at University of Buckingham; and Sara Silvestri, Director of Studies in Human Social and Political Science at St Edmund’s College and a Research Associate with the Von Hügel Institute.

Speaking about her position in this debate on freedom of expression, Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship said: “As governments worldwide respond to threats from terror, I will be considering the impact this has on civil liberties and democracy, and considering the way in which terror legislation is being used to stifle free expression. Considering recent examples in Egypt and Turkey, I will also explore what's happening in the UK: from mass surveillance powers to extremism disruption orders, and what this means for free speech.”

Professor Anthony Glees disagrees and will argue, “The government is right to say there is no clear line to be drawn between non-violent and violent extremism. Those who incite others to maim and kill are as guilty as those doing the maiming and the killing, sometimes more so.”

During the second week of the Festival, on Wednesday 28 October, a further panel discussion, ‘The body politic: censorship and the female body’, will consider the politics of pornography, objectification of women and censorship, and asks where should the line be drawn on pornography and should censorship be the answer to female objectification? With feminist poet Hollie McNish; David Bainbridge, author of Curvology: the Origins and Power of Female Body Shape; journalist Ian Dunt, and Cambridge philosopher Professor Rae Langton.

Ian Dunt said: “The only time we should ever ban pornography is if its production or distribution takes away someone's freedom. This is plainly the case if someone has been forced to appear in pornography – for instance in so-called revenge porn, which is rightly being banned. It would also be the case if we had specific data suggesting the prevalence of pornography triggered an increase in sexual assaults. But those data do not exist and there is no reason to believe pornography does have that effect. Instead, we've seen a wave of moral panic – from won't-someone-think-of-the-children moralists to parts of the radical feminist movement. This new puritanism is interfering in the activities of consenting adults, motivated by a vague sense of moral and social decline. Anyone who believes in freedom of expression should stand up to it.”

On Thursday 29 October, an illustrious panel including Caroline Wyatt, former defence correspondent for the BBC, will explore the question, War, censorship and propaganda: does it work? This debate will examine how war reporting presents particular issues for politicians and journalists and questions whether censorship in wartime has changed over time, and the issues for broadcasters in a world of 24/7 news and social media. Other panel members include Cambridge Historian Professor Christopher Andrew, a specialist in the history of intelligence services; Professor David Welch, an expert in 20th century political propaganda from the University of Kent; and former journalist and specialist in war and social media, Dr Peter Busch from King's College London.

Related events:

  • 24 October –BBC Arena at 40: the past, present and future of public service broadcasting. Members of the BBC Arena team discuss the future of public service broadcasting with Cambridge University film experts.
  • 24 October – Banned books: controversy between the covers. An exploration of literary censorship since 1900.
  • 25 October – Structured around and spurred on by the spirit of interrogation, Question Everything is an unconventional, unwieldy and disruptive day of talks, art and ideas featuring a broad range of speakers drawn from popular culture, the arts and academia.

Established in 2008, Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the most essential and thought-provoking ideas of our time. Hundreds of mostly free events, ranging from talks, debates and film screenings to exhibitions and comedy nights, are held in lecture halls, theatres, museums and galleries around Cambridge.

Speakers include some of the world’s leading thinkers in their fields, including the Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees; John Macnicol, one of Europe’s leading academic analysts of old age and ageing; Professor Christopher Andrew, the Official Historian of Mi5; Russian historian Professor Dominic Lieven; Classics Professor Paul Cartledge; and Professor Alan Sked, founder and former member of UKIP.

The Festival sponsors and partners are Cambridge University Press, St John’s College, Anglia Ruskin University, RAND Europe, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Cambridge Live, University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden, Arts Council England, Cambridge Junction, British Science Association, Heritage Lottery Fund, Heffers, WOW Festival, Southbank Centre, Collusion, TTP Group, Goethe Institut, Index on Censorship and BBC Cambridgeshire.

This article was originally published on the Cambridge Festival of Ideas website.

In a series of provocative debates at this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas (19 October – 1 November), censorship and freedom of expression will be explored by a range of leading thinkers and experts in their fields.

Censorship war

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New study shows artificial pancreas works for length of entire school term

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An artificial pancreas given to children and adults with type 1 diabetes going about their daily lives has been proven to work for 12 weeks – meaning the technology, developed at the University of Cambridge, can now offer a whole school term of extra freedom for children with the condition.

Artificial pancreas trials for people at home, work and school have previously been limited to short periods of time. But a study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, saw the technology safely provide three whole months of use, bringing us closer to the day when the wearable, smartphone-like device can be made available to patients.

The lives of the 400,000 UK people with type 1 diabetes currently involves a relentless balancing act of controlling their blood glucose levels by finger-prick blood tests and taking insulin via injections or a pump. But the artificial pancreas sees tight blood glucose control achieved automatically.

This latest Cambridge study showed the artificial pancreas significantly improved control of blood glucose levels among participants – lessening their risk of hypoglycaemia. Known as ‘having a hypo,’ hypoglycaemia is a drop in blood glucose levels that can be highly dangerous and is what people with type 1 diabetes hate most.

Susan Walls is mother to Daniel Walls, a 12-year-old with type 1 diabetes who has taken part in the trial. She said: “Daniel goes back to school this month after the summer holidays – so it’s a perfect time to hear this wonderful news that the artificial pancreas is proving reliable, offering a whole school term of support.

“The artificial pancreas could change my son’s life, and the lives of so many others. Daniel has absolutely no hypoglycaemia awareness at night. His blood glucose levels could be very low and he wouldn’t wake up. The artificial pancreas could give me the peace of mind that I’ve been missing.”

“The data clearly demonstrate the benefits of the artificial pancreas when used over several months,” said Dr Roman Hovorka, Director of Research at the University’s Metabolic Research Laboratories, who developed the artificial pancreas. “We have seen improved glucose control and reduced risk of unwanted low glucose levels.”

The Cambridge study is being funded by JDRF, the type 1 diabetes charity. Karen Addington, Chief Executive of JDRF, said: “JDRF launched its goal of perfecting the artificial pancreas in 2006. These results today show that we are thrillingly close to what will be a breakthrough in medical science.”

Reference:
Thabit, Hood et al. ‘Free-living Home Use of an Artificial Beta Cell in Type 1 Diabetes.’ New England Journal of Medicine (2015). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1509351

Adapted from a JDRF press release.

Technology assisting people with type 1 diabetes edges closer to perfection.

The data clearly demonstrate the benefits of the artificial pancreas when used over several months
Roman Hovorka
Study participant Daniel Walls, 12

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Global consortium rewrites the ‘cartography’ of dengue virus

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Dengue virus infects up to 390 million people each year. Around a quarter of these people will experience fever, headaches and joint pains, but approximately 500,000 people will experience potentially life-threatening complications, including haemorrhage and shock, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. There are currently no vaccines against infection with dengue virus.

For decades, scientists have thought that there are four genetically-distinct types of the virus, known as serotypes, and that antigenic differences between the types play a key role in the severity of disease, its epidemiology and how the virus evolves – and hence these differences would be important in vaccine design.

When we become infected, our immune system sends out antibodies to try and identify the nature of the infection. If it is a pathogen – a virus or bacteria – that we have previously encountered, the antibodies will recognise the invader by antigens on its surface and set of a cascade of defences to prevent the infection taking hold. However, as pathogens evolve, they can change their antigens and disguise themselves against detection.

One of the unusual aspects of dengue is that in some cases when an individual becomes infected for a second time, rather than being immune to infection, the disease can be much more severe. One hypothesis to explain this is that the antibodies produced in response to infection with one strain of the virus somehow allow viruses of a different strain to enter undetected into cells, implying that antigenic differences between the serotypes are important.

Researchers from the Dengue Antigenic Cartography Consortium, writing in today’s edition of Science, analysed 47 strains of dengue virus with 148 samples taken from both humans and primates to see whether they indeed fit into four distinct types. The researchers found a significant amount of antigenic difference within each dengue serotype – in fact, the amount of difference within each serotype was of a similar order to that between the different types. This implies that an individual infected with one type may not be protected against antigenically different viruses of the same type, and that in some cases the individual may be protected against some antigenically similar strains of a different type.

Leah Katzelnick, a researcher from the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, who began studying dengue after herself contracting the disease, says: “We were surprised at how much variation we saw not only between the existing four known types of dengue, but also within each type. This means that hypotheses that put antigenic differences at the centre of dengue epidemiology are now back on the table.”

Senior author Professor Derek Smith, also from the Department of Zoology at Cambridge, adds: “This discovery is in many ways similar to when researchers first began using the microscope – it will give us a new way of looking at dengue and in much closer detail than before. Now we can ask – and potentially answer – the interesting questions about how the virus evolves and, importantly, why a first dengue infection is often mild while many second infections are life-threatening.”

Characterising the global variation of dengue viruses will be important for understanding where current vaccines will be protective.  In the future, it may assist us in determining which strain to include in vaccination programmes and to follow the virus as it evolves, say the researchers.

The Dengue Antigenic Cartography Consortium is an open, global collaboration of dengue researchers set up in 2011 to establish how large samples of dengue isolates relate to one another antigenically.  The Consortium currently consists of epidemiologists, clinicians, geneticists, cartographers, molecular biologists, government officials, and vaccine developers, based in laboratories in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific.  As results from the project become available, they are shared with members of the Consortium.

Reference
Katzelnick, LC et al. Dengue viruses cluster antigenically but not as discrete serotypes. Science; 17 Sept 2015.

An international consortium of laboratories worldwide that are studying the differences among dengue viruses has shown that while the long-held view that there are four genetically-distinct types of the virus holds, far more important are the differences in their antigenic properties – the ‘coats’ that the viruses wear that help our immune systems identify them.

This discovery is in many ways similar to when researchers first began using the microscope – it will give us a new way of looking at dengue and in much closer detail than before
Derek Smith
Aedes Albopictus mosquito (cropped, lightened)

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Winton Symposium on green computing

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The fourth annual Winton Symposium will be held on 28 September at the University’s Cavendish Laboratory on the theme of ‘Green Computing’. The one-day symposium will cover topics ranging from new materials and architectures for low power consumption computing, to computer-based applications which can benefit our environment.

The proliferation of devices with increasing computing power poses opportunities and threats to how we manage our natural resources. Speakers at the symposium will explore emerging technologies that may alter how we perform computation in the future in an efficient manner, as well as how computing can enable us to do things more efficiently.

The opening speaker for the symposium will be Dr Mike Lynch, founder of Invoke Capital and Autonomy. Autonomy – now part of HP – is a global leader in software that processes human information, or unstructured data. His talk will be ‘The green light for new compute: What will we need all that compute for?’

Professor Andy Hopper, Head of the University’s Computer Laboratory, will discuss how to harness the power of computing technology to generate a better understanding of the Earth and its environment. His talk will cover the consumption of energy by computing and balance this with the numerous benefits that can be achieved.

Dr Krisztián Flautner, former VP of R&D at ARM who now leads ARM's Internet of Things Business Unit, will focus on the challenges and opportunities and the current sate of play in various segments of the Internet of Things in his talk. ARM designs scalable, energy efficient-processors and was voted in 2014 by Forbes as the third most innovative company in the world. The company is also one of Cambridge's most successful and has shipped over 60 billion ARM-based chips, with ARM technology in use in 95% of smartphones.

Other speakers at the event include, Professor Luca Cardelli of Microsoft Research and University of Oxford, Professor Linda Nazar of the University of Waterloo, and Professor Hideo Ohno of Tohoku University.

“As computers become ubiquitous, their power consumption is becoming a significant portion of total global energy demand,” said Dr Nalin Patel, Winton Programme Manager. “This can be mitigated by developing new materials, architectures and applications that can not only reduce power consumption but enable us to do things more efficiently.”

The symposium is organised by Dr Patel and Professor Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics and Director of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability.

There is no registration fee for the symposium and complimentary lunch and drinks reception will be provided, however due to the large demand for places, participants are required to register on-line for the event. The event is open for all to attend.

 

On 28 September, the fourth annual Winton Symposium will be held at the Cavendish Laboratory on the theme of ‘Green Computing’.

As computers become ubiquitous, their power consumption is becoming a significant portion of total global energy demand
Nalin Patel

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Study highlights possible knowledge gap over effects of some diabetes drugs

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A gap in scientific knowledge about a family of drugs that are used to treat Type 2 diabetes has been highlighted in a new study.

Researchers behind the study say that while their results are speculative at this stage, they point to a lack of complete information about the potential impact of a group of treatments known as GLP-1 agonists, or incretin mimetics.

In particular, their survey found that one such treatment has the hitherto unrecognised potential to activate receptor sites for the hormone, glucagon. This can promote the release of sugars into the blood, which is a process that GLP-1 agonists are supposed to prevent.

The paper, which is published in The Journal Of Biological Chemistry, stresses that these are only initial findings, and that more in-depth research will be needed before “definitive conclusions can be drawn” about the existing results.

The researchers also say that there is no evidence that existing GLP-1 agonists are in any way dangerous for patients, but they do call for a more comprehensive approach to testing new drugs of this type, before they are released on to the market.

The work was carried out by a team of researchers, led by academics from the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick. Dr Graham Ladds, from the Department of Pharmacology and St John’s College, University of Cambridge, said: “What we have shown is that we need a more complete understanding of how anti-diabetic drugs interact with receptors in different parts of our bodies.”

“GLP-1 agonists clearly benefit many patients with Type 2 diabetes and there is no reason to presume that our findings outweigh those benefits. Nevertheless, we clearly lack a full picture of their potential impact. Understanding that picture, and being able to consider all the components of target cells for such treatments, is vital if we want to design drugs that have therapeutic benefits for diabetes patients, without any unwanted side effects.”

People affected by diabetes suffer from excessively high blood sugar levels and resulting complications, caused by the fact that their body does not produce enough insulin – the hormone that enables the uptake of sugar from food. According to the World Health Organisation, about 347 million people worldwide have diabetes and it is likely to become the seventh leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030. Among adults, Type 2 diabetes accounts for the vast majority of cases.

GLP-1 agonists are a group of injectable drugs which are normally prescribed to patients who have not been able to bring their condition under control through lifestyle changes or with first-stage, tablet treatments.

They work by imitating the effects of a naturally-occurring hormone, called a Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1). This regulates blood sugar levels both by stimulating the release of insulin, and also by inhibiting glucagon, another hormone which allows the liver to release stored sugar into the bloodstream.

In addition, both GLP-1 and GLP-1 agonists have a number of other potentially beneficial effects. These include telling the brain when a person is full, and clinical trials have shown that some GLP-1 agonists can promote weight loss.

Like other peptides, GLP-1 takes effect by binding to specific receptor sites in the cells of our bodies. GLP-1 agonists are synthetic molecules which are designed to bind to these receptors in the same way.

Building on previous research, however, the new study investigated the possibility that instead of activating these receptors, GLP-1, or treatments which mimic it, might bind to the receptor for glucagon instead. This belongs to the same general “family” of receptors, but activating it could cause an unwanted side-effect for people with diabetes because it can potentially enable the release of more sugar into the bloodstream.

Although a limited number of previous studies had suggested that this was not possible, the team’s lab-based tests discovered that in certain conditions, GLP-1 can bind to the glucagon receptor. Their initial experiments, carried out on yeast containing the receptor, found that it was activated not only by GLP-1, but also by a GLP-1 agonist, which was among three such drugs that the group tested. Further experiments were then carried out in a mammalian cell culture, with similar results.

The researchers found that the decisive element was another protein called a receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP2). When RAMP2 was present, it prevented the peptides – including the diabetes treatments – from binding to the glucagon receptors. In its absence, however, binding became possible.

Little is currently known about RAMP2. Tests in mice have, however, shown that its levels vary in different parts of the body. In the liver, where glucagon receptors stimulate the release of sugar into the blood, levels of RAMP2 appear to be lower than in other parts of the body. As a result, it is possible that some GLP-1 agonists could activate these receptors and, potentially, promote the effects of glucagon, which they are supposed to inhibit.

“The work shows that, contrary to our previous assumptions, glucagon receptors can potentially be activated by anti-diabetic treatments,” Dr Ladds added. “To date, very little work has been done on RAMPs, but they clearly play an important part in the process of regulating blood sugar, which is core to helping people with diabetes. The study shows that there is a critical need to take this into account when designing new therapeutics.”

The study was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC - Grant numbers: BB/G01227X/1 and BB/M000176/1).

Reference:
Weston, Cathryn et. al. 'Modulation of Glucagon Receptor Pharmacology by Receptor Activity-modifying Protein-2 (RAMP2).' Journal of Biological Chemistry (2015). DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M114.624601. 

Scientists have found that some drugs from a group of anti-diabetic treatments may, in certain circumstances, act on glucagon receptors in the body, meaning that they could also potentially enable the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

The work shows that, contrary to our previous assumptions, glucagon receptors can potentially be activated by anti-diabetic treatments
Graham Ladds
GLP-1 Agonists are injectable drugs that regulate blood sugar levels and have also been shown to promote weight loss, making them an attractive form of treatment for Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity.

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Politics debates at the heart of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas

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Speakers include the writer Bidisha, Alan Sked, founder and now fiercest critic of UKIP, journalist Peter Hitchens, Professor David Runciman, Professor Paul Cartledge, John Macnicol, one of Europe’s leading academic analysts of old age and ageing, and Russian historian Professor Dominic Lieven.

Bidisha and award-winning journalist Emily Dugan will be in conversation about their new books which focus on the experiences of immigrants and refugees in the UK. Bidisha’s book, Asylum and Exile: the Hidden Voices of London, is the result of a writing residency with refugees and asylum seekers in London. Through their own words and writing, it tells the stories of people who have fled war, violent persecution, poverty or civil unrest in a range of countries, from Syria to the Congo and their experiences in the UK. It shows that though many used to be accountants, teachers, criminologists and composers in their own countries, they are often forced to work illegally in the UK in underpaid, unstable jobs, surviving on a few pounds a day.

Emily Dugan’s book, Finding Home: Real Stories of Migrant Britain, is described as “an honest, unflinching portrait of ordinary people, all immigrants to the United Kingdom, struggling with extraordinary obstacles to find somewhere called home”.

The Festival will also feature a debate on the rise of the extreme right in Europe. A screening of Andres Veiel’s award-winning film Der Kick [The Kick, 2006] on the murder of a teenager by three neo-Nazi teenagers in East Germany will be followed by a panel discussion on the rise of right-wing violence in Europe. Taking part are Dr Emmanuel Karagiannis, Senior Lecturer of the Defence Studies Department  at King’s College London, who specialises in the area of radicalisation and terrorism in Europe and ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus and Central Asia;  and from the University of Cambridge Dr Helen Roche, who specialises in Germany history and Dr Katharina Karcher, whose research interests include protest movements in the former West Germany, political violence and European women’s movements.

Also on the theme of immigration and the future of Europe is the debate Can Europe Keep the Peace? The speakers will be Alan Sked, MEP Mary Honeyball, historian Professor Robert Tombs and Montserrat Guibernau,  Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London and author of the forthcoming book 'Solidarity and Division in the EU'. In another event on Europe, leading commentator Paul Wallace will analyse why the Euro went wrong and if reforms have been sufficient to make it perform better in the future.

Other politics events at the Festival include:

  • A special Festival edition of the respected politics podcast, Election Live! led by Professor David Runciman. It will cover the new Labour leadership, Europe and other issues of the day, reflecting on how much has changed since June and how quickly, and looking at the US elections and what the parallels might be between maverick candidates there and here. The podcast will also be taking predictions on the US elections from the panel and the audience.
  • Can Writers and Artists Ever Be Terrorists? - debate with Professor Anthony Glees, Turkish artist and anti-censorship campaigner Pelin Basaran, Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, and Dr Sara Silvestri who specialises in radicalisation.
  • War, Censorship and Propaganda - a debate with Professor Christopher Andrew, Official Historian of MI5, Professor David Welch, director of the Centre for the Study of Propaganda and War at the University of Kent, Dr Peter Busch from King’s College London on the use of social media for propaganda purposes, and Caroline Wyatt, former defence correspondent at the BBC.
  • Flamenco and the Politics of Resistance: Flashmobs and Immigration in Spain - Matthew Machin-Autenrieth will explore how flamenco has been used as a catalyst for social change, including in 'flash mobs' where dancers and singers have engaged in acts of spontaneous performance in banks and political institutions as a form of anti-capitalist protest and to celebrate issues surrounding immigration and racism.
  • Greek democracy: ancient and modern– Paul Cartledge, Professor of Ancient Greek History, and political journalist Maria Margaronis will discuss ancient and modern conceptions of democracy and the myths surrounding them both.

Established in 2008, Cambridge Festival of Ideas aims to fuel the public’s interest in arts, humanities and social sciences. The events, ranging from talks, debates and film screenings to exhibitions and comedy nights, are held in lecture halls, theatres, museums and galleries around Cambridge. Most of the over 250 events are free.

Speakers include some of the world’s leading thinkers in their fields, including the astronomer Lord Martin Rees, John Macnicol, one of Europe’s leading academic analysts of old age and ageing, philosopher Professor Rae Langton, Professor Christopher Andrew, the Official Historian of Mi5, Russian historian Professor Dominic Lieven and Classics Professor Paul Cartledge. Also speaking are writer and journalist Peter Hitchens, BBC religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt, Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, and Professor Alan Sked, founder and former member of UKIP.

The Festival sponsors and partners are Cambridge University Press, St John’s College, Anglia Ruskin University, RAND Europe, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Cambridge Live, University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden, Arts Council England, Cambridge Junction, British Science Association, Heritage Lottery Fund, Heffers, WOW Festival, Southbank Centre, Collusion, TTP Group, Goethe Institut, Index on Censorship and BBC Cambridgeshire.

Political issues ranging from the future of Europe, the US elections, immigration and how to deal with Islamic extremists will be at the heart of this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas which runs from 19th October to 1st November.

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Awards scheme to support young sustainability entrepreneurs

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The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is collaborating with the consumer goods company Unilever to deliver the Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards. Now in its third year, the awards initiative is designed to support inspiring initiatives from around the world, developed by young people aged 35 and under, that offer a better solution to ‘business as usual’.

This year’s awards are centred around the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which set out to end extreme poverty, tackle climate change, empower women, secure universal water access, and reduce hunger by 2030. If the goals are met, they will ensure the health, safety and future of the planet for everyone on it.

The awards are one way of contributing towards the global goals – by increasing awareness of the goals and inspiring and supporting the action of young innovators that have already begun to address them.

“Over the last three years, we have worked closely with Unilever to support young people and create life-changing impact on the ground of diverse communities around the world,” said Mike Peirce, Programme Director at CISL. “Given the chance and the right support, young people around the world can create positive movements for change– we’re looking for those individuals whose initiatives are already helping people to live more sustainably.”

The winner of last year’s awards was Daniel Yu, founder of Reliefwatch, a simple software solution that helps medical clinics in the developing world to digitise and manage inventory records for better patient outcomes. Six other finalists shared the €200,000 prize fund which includes customised support and mentoring from CISL.

The prize package for winners this year includes funding, mentoring, access to an online business development programme, a two-day accelerator workshop at the University of Cambridge, and networking with senior executives and sustainability leaders at Unilever’s headquarters.

The competition is open to young entrepreneurs worldwide, aged 35 years or under -  it opens on 23 September and closes on 18 November. 

Awards initiative, now in its third year, supports entrepreneurs under 35 who are offering better solutions to ‘business as usual’. 

Given the chance and the right support, young people around the world can create positive movements for change
Mike Peirce

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Package tour to Mecca? How the Hajj became an essential part of the British calendar

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Modern customers are more likely to book seven nights in Tenerife or a last-minute deal in the Algarve, but back in the 19th century, Thomas Cook’s premier package tour was a pilgrimage to Mecca.

In the 1880s, Britain’s colonial Government in India found itself under fire. With more of its Muslim subjects than ever before travelling to the Arabian Holy City to perform the annual pilgrimage known as the Hajj, concern about the exploitation and insanitary conditions that the journey often involved had reached breaking point.

Facing media outrage, the British authorities decided to call in the professionals. Thomas Cook & Son, the original package holiday entrepreneurs, were approached – and promptly became the official travel agents for the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.

The story is one of many captured in a new study of Britain’s relationship with the Hajj during the age of Empire, written by Dr John Slight, from the Faculty of History and a Research Fellow at St John’s College, University of Cambridge. Contrary to its remote, even exotic image, he argues that the pilgrimage, which millions of Muslims are undertaking from September 20 – 25 this year, was  a matter of major British concern. Leading historical figures, and the general public, became fascinated by the ritual, as the business of running a vast Empire impelled Britain to behave as if it was a Muslim power in its own right.

The book reveals that Queen Victoria, King George V, Lord Kitchener, Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill all took an active interest in the Hajj, debated its management, and pencilled it into their calendars. The pilgrimage even made its way into a Sherlock Holmes adventure, a Joseph Conrad novel, and inspired Britons across the Empire to convert to Islam.

Britain’s relationship with the Hajj is a topic that has not been fully studied by historians before. Slight’s research covered a period from 1865, when a cholera outbreak forced Britain to manage the Hajj more pro-actively, to 1956, when the Suez Crisis significantly reduced its capacity to do so.

For most of that time, Britain ruled over approximately half of the world’s Muslims, across an area that stretched from West Africa to Southeast Asia. In global terms, the Empire’s first religion was Islam, and the Empire contained more Muslims than any other religious group.

As a result, the Hajj – a mandatory religious act that must be carried out at least once in the lifetimes of all adult Muslims capable of doing so – became a British question. Churchill himself observed in a 1920 memo to the British Cabinet: “We are the greatest Mohammedan power in the world. It is our duty to study policies which are in harmony with Mohammedan feeling.”

Slight’s research reveals that Britain’s stewardship of the Hajj started with controls to prevent disease, but soon expanded into a full-blown bureaucracy. By the mid-to-late 19th century, the British authorities were increasingly obliged to manage the pilgrimage so as to be seen as a friend and protector of Islam.

“It was one of the most significant unintended consequences of Britain’s rule over a large part of the Islamic world,” Slight said. “Britain ended up facilitating the pilgrimage in an ultimately futile attempt to gain legitimacy among its Muslim subjects. Inadvertently, it ended up acting like a Muslim power.”

Slight found that a preoccupation with the Hajj went right to the top of the British State. Queen Victoria took a personal interest, for instance, after meeting some South African pilgrims. In 1898 she exhorted the British ambassador in Istanbul to urge the Ottoman Sultan, who controlled Mecca, to address the ill-treatment of British Muslim subjects who were performing their sacred duty.

Later, amid war with the Ottomans in 1915, Lord Kitchener stressed to the British War Committee the need to secure the “Mahommedan Holy Places” and with them British prestige in the eyes of its Muslim subjects. King George V also devised a scheme to arrange for Indian Muslim soldiers to perform Hajj on their way home after the First World War, intended to be a PR triumph, but the scheme had mixed results when the participants got into fights with the local Bedouins.

Thomas Cook was called in by the Government in 1886, after a scandal surrounding the near-sinking of a pilgrim ship that made the front page of The Times. The firm was given a contract to arrange tickets, train journeys, ships and other logistics enabling Muslims living in India, as subjects of the British Crown, to perform Hajj.

By 1893, however, the firm had made such a loss that it chose to pull out. “Some government officials said I am powerless to make any improvement,” John Mason Cook, Thomas’ son, remarked. “I reminded them that government officials have been to a great extent powerless in relation to that pilgrimage.”

His comments reflect one of Slight’s major findings, which concerns the little-studied, hundreds of thousands of destitute, “pauper” pilgrims, who made Hajj. Barely able to go in the first place, many of these people ran out of money by the time they reached Mecca and were stranded at the nearby port of Jeddah. Repatriating them proved an ongoing problem for the Empire and, Slight says, illustrates the limits of its power.

By the First World War, Britain was essentially underwriting the cost of taking these pilgrims home, at great expense. A system of IOU forms was attempted, but reclaiming the outlay frequently proved a forlorn hope. Slight’s search through the archives revealed that many illiterate pilgrims signed with thumb prints, others gave false names, or even fabricated the name of the village where they lived. The IOUs were rarely repaid.

The plight of poor pilgrims also hastened efforts to employ more Muslims, capable of handling their needs, in the Hajj bureaucracy. By 1887, Bombay had its own Pilgrim Department, staffed by Muslims, and run by a Muslim “protector of pilgrims”.  By the 1930s, the British consulate at Jeddah was so reliant on Muslim staff that the consul remarked that he never saw much of the pilgrimage at all.

“We have the idea that the British Empire was run through some sort of top-down imposition of power, but in fact it was a very haphazard enterprise,” Slight said. “Instead of an image of British officials in their pith helmets dispensing justice to colonial subjects, this is a story where the main actors on both sides were Muslims, who to some extent shaped Imperial policy.”

One effect of Britain’s role as a “Muslim power” was that other Britons were inspired to perform Hajj or convert to Islam. The most famous was the Victorian explorer, Richard Burton, who travelled to Mecca, which was out-of-bounds to non-Muslims, disguised as an Afghan physician. Arthur Hamilton, also known as “Hajji Hamilton”, was director of the Political Intelligence Bureau in British Malaya and who went in 1927, is one of several eminent converts also recorded in the book.

Additional images: A Mecca pilgrimage ticket published by Thomas Cook & Son in 1886 / Title page from a Mecca pilgrimage booklet published by the company. Both images reproduced by permission of the Thomas Cook Archive.

This week, millions of Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj. A new study reveals how, in the age of Empire, the spiritual journey became a major feature of British imperial culture, attracting the interest of Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill and others – and resulting in one of the earliest Thomas Cook package tours.

Britain ended up facilitating the pilgrimage in an ultimately futile attempt to gain legitimacy among its Muslim subjects. Inadvertently, it ended up acting like a Muslim power.
John Slight
Pilgrims at the Masjid al-Haram on Hajj in 2008

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Bookings open for the eighth Cambridge Festival of Ideas

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Immigration, the future of Europe, and what age is best to have a baby are part of a packed Cambridge Festival of Ideas, which opens for bookings today [21st September].

The Festival, which celebrates new and original thinking on some of the most pressing issues of the day, runs from 19th October to 1st November and most of the over 250 events are free.

Speakers include some of the world’s leading thinkers in their fields, including the astronomer Lord Martin Rees; John Macnicol, one of Europe’s leading academic analysts of old age and ageing; philosopher Professor Rae Langton; Professor Christopher Andrew, the Official Historian of MI5; Russian historian Professor Dominic Lieven; and Classics Professor Paul Cartledge. Other speakers include writer and journalist Peter Hitchens; author Bidisha; BBC religious affairs correspondent Caroline Wyatt; CEO of Index on Censorship Jodie Ginsberg; and Professor Alan Sked, Founder and former member of UKIP and now one of its fiercest critics.

The Festival will focus on a huge range of issues, from the ethics of artificial intelligence and the role of technology in revolutions to whether Europe can live up to its founding ideals and keep the peace. Writers Bidisha and Emily Dugan will be in conversation about their new books, which focus on the experiences of immigrants and refugees in the UK. A panel of experts – three historians, a fertility expert and a writer – will answer the question should we be having babies at 20? and will consider the ways in which individuals have approached questions of fertility, family, lineage, social stability and health in reproductive practices.

There are events for all ages, including workshops on what makes superheroes tick, angels and the science of flowers.

The aim of the Festival is to promote new ideas and critical thought and there is an emphasis on public interaction. Question Everything is an afternoon of disruptive thinking, featuring some of the most innovative and dissenting voices, from Brett Scott, author of The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance; gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell; political sociologist Jeff Miley; writer and academic Dr Priyamvada Gopal; and banned Uzbek writer Hamid Ismailov. The event is a partnership between the University of Cambridge, The Junction and Index on Censorship and will be compered by Jodie Ginsberg. The speakers will each have to answer a question and will speak in relay. Audience members will be able to interact with the speakers directly after they have spoken.

The Festival is also inviting the public to collaborate on future events. The Women of the World (WOW) think-in extends an open invitation to ‘like-minded men and women’ to brainstorm ideas on what they would like to see in the next WOW Cambridge Festival.

Other events include:
- Artificial Un-intelligence– researchers from the Psychometrics Centre will discuss the ethics of technological innovation, such as computers that can predict our personalities and interact with us intelligently.
- The Kick – following a screening of Andres Veiel’s award-winning film Der Kick, a panel of experts discuss themes explored in the film, particularly right-wing violence in Europe.
- e-Luminate Light Lab– an exhibition showcasing ground-breaking, light-based technologies organised by e-Luminate Cambridge and celebrating the UNESCO International Year of Light.
- Greek democracy: ancient and modern – Paul Cartledge, Professor of Ancient Greek History, and political journalist Maria Margaronis discuss ancient and modern conceptions of democracy and the myths surrounding them both.
- Data Shadow– Collusion’s Real Time Commission 2015, delivered by artist Mark Farid, explores issues around mobile phone security, such as how easy it is to access the personal information on our phones and what that information reveals.
- Rapping our way to Islam– spoken word artist Tommy Evans' insight into his personal journey to faith and Islam via his love of hip hop. The event will showcase The Centre of Islamic Studies’ major research project ‘Narratives of Conversion to Islam in Britain - Male Perspectives’, whose findings are published in October.
- Art Language Location – an art festival taking place in locations throughout Cambridge, featuring innovative and experimental contemporary artists from across the UK and beyond who use text in their work.

Established in 2008, Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores some of the most essential and thought-provoking ideas of our time. Hundreds of mostly free events, ranging from talks, debates and film screenings to exhibitions and comedy nights, are held in lecture halls, theatres, museums and galleries around Cambridge.

The Festival sponsors and partners are Cambridge University Press, St John’s College, Anglia Ruskin University, RAND Europe, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Cambridge Live, University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden, Arts Council England, Cambridge Junction, British Science Association, Heritage Lottery Fund, Heffers, WOW Festival, Southbank Centre, Collusion, TTP Group, Goethe Institut, Index on Censorship and BBC Cambridgeshire.

Full programme available http://www.cam.ac.uk/festivalofideas here.
 

Cambridge Festival of Ideas aims to promote new ideas and critical thought on the most pressing issues of the day.

 

"Sleeping newborn infant" by Andrés Nieto Porras from Palma de Mallorca, España - 73/365²: LexieUploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

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Old drug performs new tricks

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Spironolactone, one of a range of drugs given according to doctors' preference to patients with resistant hypertension (high blood pressure that doesn't respond to a standard drug treatment), is in fact "outstandingly superior" to the alternatives, researchers have found. They recommend it should now be the first choice for such patients, and say that – for most – this well-known but under-valued drug will bring their condition fully under control.

The discovery could have a profound impact globally, since hypertension, a major contributor to stroke and heart disease, is so common, affecting as many as one in three adults in some countries. It challenges what the authors describe as "a growing perception" that severe hypertension was beyond the control of existing drug treatments, and gives more clues into what causes the condition.

The latest research, published today in the Lancet to coincide with their presentation to the British Hypertension Society, emerged from the PATHWAY-2 trial, part of the PATHWAY programme of trials in hypertension funded by the British Heart Foundation and led by Professor Morris Brown, professor of clinical pharmacology at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Gonville & Caius College.

The findings are drawn from what authors Brown and Professor Bryan Williams of University College London describe as an experimental "shoot-out" between three different drugs used by doctors for years to treat patients if the standard initial cocktail of three hypertension drugs do  not work.

Spironolactone 'slugged it out' against a betablocker (bisoprolol) and an alpha-blocker (doxazosin) in the trial, which took six years and involved 314 patients in 14 different centres.

The patients all suffered from resistant high blood pressure that had not responded to the standard treatment for hypertension: a combination of three drugs (an ACE-inhibitor (or angiotensin-receptor blocker), a calcium channel blocker and a thiazide-type diuretic). They continued with this basic combination thoughout, but each of the three trial drugs – and a placebo – was added one at a time, in random order, for 12 weeks each.

In what is known as a "double blind" trial, neither the patients nor the researchers knew which patient was taking which drug when. In a pioneering step, the study also used patients' own blood pressure readings taken at home to minimise so-called "white coat syndrome", in which the stress of being in a clinic causes blood pressure to rise artificially.

Once the resulting data had been analysed, it emerged that almost three quarters of patients in the trial saw a major improvement in blood pressure on spironolactone, with almost 60% hitting a particularly stringent measure of blood pressure control. Of the three drugs trialled, spironolactone was the best at lowering blood pressure in 60% of patients, whereas bisoprolol and doxazosin were the best drug in only 17% and 18% respectively.

"Spironolactone annihilated the opposition," said Brown. "Most patients came right down to normal blood pressure while taking it."

He added: "This is an old drug which has been around for a couple of generations that has resurfaced and is almost a wonder drug for this group of patients. In future it will stimulate us to look for these patients at a much earlier stage so we can treat and maybe even cure them before resistant hypertension occurs."

Doctors appear to have been wary of giving patients spironolactone because it raises the level of potassium in the body. But the study revealed the rise to be only marginal and not dangerous.

The causes of resistant of hypertension are still poorly understood, but one theory is that the condition could be the result of sodium retention: too much salt in the body.

Spironolactone is a diuretic and helps the body get rid of salt. In the trial, it worked even better than average on patients whom tests showed had high salt levels. Brown said the findings appeared to confirm that, in most patients with resistant hypertension, excessive salt was the problem, probably caused by too much of the adrenal hormone aldosterone.

Instead of seeing the treatment-resistant form of high blood pressure as simply the result of having the condition for a long time or of poor treatment, it should be regarded as a different sub-group of hypertension which would need different investigations and treatments, Brown said.

Patients with the most dangerous type of high blood pressure will be able to receive far more effective treatment after Cambridge-led research reveals the powers of a "wonder drug" that has lain under the noses of doctors for 50 years.

Sphygmomanometer

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North Korea unveils its nuclear ‘treasured swords’ to the world again

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North Korea’s announcement that “normal operation” was again underway at its Yongbyon reactor complex sent a characteristic wave of anxiety through the world’s Pyongyang watchers. The country’s nuclear ambitions had, after all, been largely forgotten in what seemed like a lull in North Korea’s fractious relations with the wider world.

Even as the Korean peninsula itself endured a summer of high tension, the West’s complicated fear of North Korea has been displaced by a myopic public narrative currently fixated on the European refugee crisis, the murderous idiocy of Islamic State, and the travails of Donald Trump.

Things are clearly rather different on the inside. The regime’s primary tool of geo-political leverage can have slipped nobody’s mind – and North Korea’s recent statements speak volumes about how the Kim regime conceives of its nuclear programme.

Back to the Byungjin line

In North Korea’s worldview, nuclear capability is the only thing that can ward off the chaos and collapse that befell Iraq, Libya and Syria. As the recent statement put it, these weapons are a “measure for self-defense in the face of the US extreme hostile policy and nuclear threats towards it”.

The highest echelons of North Korea’s bureaucracy have seen the footage of erstwhile ally Muammar Gaddafi being brutalised and killed in the dust and dirt. None of its institutions or leaders have the slightest intention of repeating his experience.

The Kim regime thinks this should be obvious. If anything, North Korea’s statement of September 15 expresses an incredulity that Pyongyang’s position is not understood elsewhere.

North Korea’s nuclear tests of 2006, 2009 and 2013 at Pungyye-ri birthed an ideological and developmental theme known as the “Byungjin Line”, best translated as “parallelism”.

This concept essentially holds that North Korea’s unencumbered technical, political and social development could only be achieved under the protective umbrella of nuclear capability and research. In the supposed recent nuclear hiatus, some analysts thought the Byungjin Line had all but faded away – but now, with Yongbyon restarted, it’s suddenly returned.

The restart is, the statement says, “pursuant to the line of simultaneously pushing forward the economic construction and the building of a nuclear force advanced at the historic plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea” (WPK).

The rest of the world generally views plenary meetings of the Central Committee of the WPK with bemusement and scorn. But by reiterating the relevance of this particular meeting, and restating the Byungjin’s parallelism, the statement should remind us that the memory of such meetings has weight – and that North Korea’s institutional outlook is far from the myopic charade observers often mistake it for.

From party foundation to nuclear capability

Pyongyang takes an extraordinarily long view when it comes to historiography; North Korea’s self-narrative is replete with commemorative moments and necessary articulations. And the reappearance of Yongbyon is perhaps much less surprising when taken as part of North Korea’s commemorative plans for 2015.

Accordingly, Kim Jong-un’s 2015 New Year message laid out North Korea’s entire developmental and bureaucratic year around a moment of memorial – and not just any moment. Pyongyang has already marked the passing of Liberation Day on August 15, and the Day of Songun on August 25, but a far more important moment awaits: the 70th anniversary of the founding of the WPK, to be marked on October 10.

 

The Yongbyon complex nuclear facility.EPA/Digital Globe

 

Just as North Korea’s governance structure does not represent a truly singular dictatorship but instead pits institutions and agendas against each other, its narrative and commemorative systems are far from monolithic. Instead, they are generated and transmitted by multiple nodes of charisma and authority.

The activity at Yongbyon and its announcement by the KCNA may or may not be directly connected to the no doubt enormous celebrations that are planned, but they are just as crucial a pillar of Pyongyang’s legitimacy.

While the WPK’s soon-to-be-celebrated birthday will refresh the revolutionary political atmosphere in which North Korea’s regime and system can breathe, Pyongyang’s military and technological infrastructure, including the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and its attendant nuclear capacity, is designed to safeguard North Korea’s patch of the geo-political terrain.

Viewed in this light, North Korea’s “treasured swords” of nuclear mastery are far from the height of geopolitical folly. They are instruments of protection and shared ownership, guaranteeing both the past and future of all both at home and abroad. So it’s only natural that a little sabre-rattling is in order now and then.

Robert Winstanley-Chesters, Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Beyond the Korean War Project, University of Cambridge

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Robert Winstanley-Chesters, Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Beyond the Korean War Project, discusses the motivations behind North Korea's relaunch of it nuclear weapons complex.

In North Korea’s worldview, nuclear capability is the only thing that can ward off the chaos and collapse that befell Iraq, Libya and Syria
Robert Winstanley-Chesters
North Korea – Pyongyang

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Emissions from melting permafrost could cost $43 trillion

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Increased greenhouse gas emissions from the release of carbon dioxide and methane contained in the Arctic permafrost could result in $43 trillion in additional economic damage by the end of the next century, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Colorado.

In a letter published today (21 September) in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers have for the first time modelled the economic impact caused by melting permafrost in the Arctic to the end of the twenty-second century, on top of the damage already predicted by climate and economic models.

The Arctic is warming at a rate which is twice the global average, due to anthropogenic, or human-caused, greenhouse gas emissions. If emissions continue to rise at their current rates, Arctic warming will lead to the widespread thawing of permafrost and the release of hundreds of billions of tonnes of methane and CO2– about 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon are held in permafrost soils in the form of frozen organic matter.

Rising emissions will result in both economic and non-economic impacts, as well as a higher chance of catastrophic events, such as the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, increased flooding and extreme weather. Economic impacts directly affect a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), such as the loss of agricultural output and the additional cost of air conditioning, while non-economic impacts include effects on human health and ecosystems.

The researchers’ models predict $43 trillion in economic damage could be caused by the release of these greenhouse gases, an amount equivalent to more than half the current annual output of the global economy. This brings the total predicted impact of climate change by 2200 to $369 trillion, up from $326 trillion – an increase of 13 percent.

“These results show just how much we need urgent action to slow the melting of the permafrost in order to minimise the scale of the release of greenhouse gases,” said co-author Dr Chris Hope from the Cambridge Judge Business School.

Hope’s calculations were conducted in collaboration with Kevin Schaefer of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado.

Hope and Schaefer used the PAGE09 (Policy Analysis of the Greenhouse Effect) integrated assessment model to measure the economic impact of permafrost thawing on top of previous calculations of the climate change costs of business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“We want to use these models to help us make better decisions – linking scientific and economic models together is a way to help us do that,” said Hope. “We need to estimate how much it will cost if we do nothing, how much it will cost if we do something, and how much we need to spend to cut back greenhouse gases.”

The researchers say that if an aggressive strategy to reduce emissions from thawing permafrost is adopted, it could reduce the impact by as much as $37 trillion.

Reference:
Hope, C. and Schaefer, K. ‘Economic impacts of carbon dioxide and methane released from thawing permafrost’. Nature Climate Change (2015). DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2807

New analysis of the effects of melting permafrost in the Arctic points to $43 trillion in extra economic damage by the end of the next century, on top of the more than the $300 trillion economic damage already predicted. 

These results show just how much we need urgent action to slow the melting of the permafrost in order to minimise the scale of the release of greenhouse gases
Chris Hope
Not so Permafrost

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Surprise finding suggests diabetes drug could release rather than prevent blood sugar

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Nearly all medications have some sort of side effects, some more unpleasant and dangerous than others. They may occur because a treatment affects the body in ways that weren’t previously anticipated, or simply because not every patient is identical.

This means there is a continual need for us to evaluate and study the medications we use. We discovered previously unidentified effects associated with a commonly prescribed diabetic medication. We found evidence that, in some cases, the treatment could actually promote the release of sugars into the blood – the opposite of what it’s designed to do. While our results, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, are very preliminary, they do point to a need for further investigations into how these medications work.

Diabetes affects around 347m people worldwide, a number that is growing in part due to rising levels of obesity. Type 2 or “adult-onset" diabetes occurs when cells in the body fail to respond to insulin, the chemical signal that regulates sugar and fat metabolism. This results in high sugar levels in the blood, which if untreated can damage blood vessels and nerves, leading to heart disease, strokes, kidney damage and loss of sight.

Exercise and diet changes can reduce the progression of diabetes if diagnosed early. Over time, however, most people require some form of medication. Treatments available today typically suppress sugar production and encourage the pancreas to release more insulin. This is because in a type 2 diabetes patient, the body often ignores the effects of naturally-produced insulin and, in response, produces more blood sugars, a process activated by the hormone glucagon.

New solution

Until recently, these medications were the only way to treat the disease before it had reached the stage when patients had to inject insulin themselves. In the past few years, however, a new treatment has emerged that both targets the effects of diabetes and promotes weight loss.

These therapies are based on a hormone known as glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1. When you eat something, the intestine releases the hormone in order to promote insulin secretion. At the same time, it makes the stomach empty itself more slowly and makes us feel full – good news if you want a drug that can tackle obesity and diabetes at the same time.

Unfortunately, GLP-1 breaks down rapidly in the body. So in response, scientists created a number of artificial injectable versions that mimic its effects but last for much longer. While these GLP-1 mimetics have been approved for use and for treating diabetes, they are not without controversy and there is a continuous scientific and moral requirement for clinicians and scientists to evaluate and investigate their effectiveness and mechanism of action.

Our research, led by Cambridge University’s pharmacology department and Warwick University’s medical school, found that one such GLP-1 mimetic may, under specific conditions, activate the molecules in the body’s cells that recognise the signal from the hormone glucagon. Were this to happen in the liver, it could promote the release of sugars into the blood -– precisely the process that it is supposed to prevent.

It’s important to stress that these results are only initial findings and that more in-depth analysis is required. Our results, however, are likely to prove quite controversial. A limited number of published studies previously suggested that GLP-1 cannot bind to the glucagon receptor molecule at all, ruling out the possibility of this effect. Our research contradicts this.

The key difference is that we studied how the treatment was affected by another molecule called RAMP2 that is found in varying amounts around the body. We found that without the presence of this molecule, the GLP-1 was able to bind with the glucagon receptor and so promote sugar release.

Ramping up the receptors

The problem is that we know very little about RAMP2. Studies in mice have suggested that its levels vary in different tissues. Levels of RAMP2 appear to be lower in the liver than other areas of the body. This means there’s a chance GLP-1 mimetics could activate the glucagon receptors in liver tissue, promoting the release of sugars.

In our study, we found GLP-1 only has a limited ability to interact with glucagon receptors. But because the GLP-1 drugs are designed to reside in the body for much longer than the natural GLP-1 molecule, this may increase the chances of interaction. Another study earlier this year found that prolonged use (for more than 12 weeks) of the same GLP-1 mimetic in type 2 diabetes patients led to an increase in glucagon secretion, correlating with the results of our own study.

Our study in no way suggests that GLP-1 mimetics are at all dangerous for patients currently using them. Indeed, the beneficial effects for many patients currently outweigh the risks. But it does not mean that we should not continue to evaluate and investigate this treatment as new information about its interaction with the body emerges.

Graham Ladds, Lecturer in pharmacology, University of Cambridge

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Inset image: Diabetes (Jill Brown).

Graham Ladds, lecturer in pharmacology, discusses the controversy around a group of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes.

We should continue to evaluate and investigate this treatment as new information about its interaction with the body emerges
Graham Ladds
Diabetes 2/4

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