PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers collaborate with First Nations to conserve cultural cedar trees

2021-07-06
(Press-News.org) A collaborative research project between the five First Nations of the Nanwakolas Council of B.C. and Simon Fraser University is contributing to conservation efforts of the iconic western redcedar tree.

New research in the Journal of Ethnobiology highlights concerns about the long-term sustainability of this culturally significant resource. Researchers found that western redcedar trees suitable for traditional carving are generally rare. Some important growth forms, such as large, spectacular trees appropriate for carving community canoes, are nearly extirpated from these First Nations' traditional territories, a region that includes parts of north Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia.

Indigenous people in this region use large cultural cedar extensively for cultural practices such as carving dugout canoes, totem poles and traditional buildings, which is why it's often described as the tree of life.

"Cedar is what connects us all up and down the coast of British Columbia," says Dallas Smith, president of the Nanwakolas Council. "There are different language groups, but we all have cultural cedar ceremonies that start our traditional gatherings."

Jordan Benner, adjunct professor in SFU's School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM) and a research advisor with the Nanwakolas Council, led the study as part of his doctoral thesis at SFU. Benner, together with REM professor emeritus Ken Lertzman and SFU PhD student Julie Nielsen, collaborated with the First Nation communities. With guidance from community leadership, this interdisciplinary team carried out interviews with traditional wood carvers and conducted extensive fieldwork with stewardship workers.

The research is contributing to the development of new forest stewardship policies focused on cedar conservation, which are being implemented through First Nation laws and subsequent agreements with forestry companies.

"It's pretty clear that more than a century of industrial logging has dramatically reduced the abundance of redcedar suitable for these types of practices. What we see today no longer reflects past baseline conditions," says Benner. "Seeing biological systems through a cultural lens is critical for First Nations who are striving to maintain traditional connections across generations, and it is an important piece of the sustainability puzzle."

Adds Lertzman, "This research is motivated by the needs and desires of the communities and carried out collaboratively. Combining cultural knowledge with ecological science is a powerful approach for understanding our impacts on the landscape and for improving forest management practices."

INFORMATION:

AVAILABLE SFU EXPERTS

KEN LERTZMAN, professor emeritus, School of Resource and Environmental Management | kenneth_lertzman@sfu.ca

JORDAN BENNER, adjunct professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management | jordan_benner@sfu.ca (*Note: Not available July 5-8) CONTACT

MATT KIELTYKA, SFU Communications & Marketing
236.880.2187 | matt_kieltyka@sfu.ca

Simon Fraser University
Communications & Marketing | SFU Media Experts Directory
778.782.3210 ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

As Canada's engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today's problems. With campuses in British Columbia's three largest cities--Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey--SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 144 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 170,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Embedded gas sensing device promises simple, accurate volatile organic compounds detection

Embedded gas sensing device promises simple, accurate volatile organic compounds detection
2021-07-06
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2021 -- Emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) include a variety of chemicals. Many of these chemicals are associated with a range of adverse human health effects, from eye, nose, and throat irritation, to liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage. The ability to detect VOCs in air samples simply, quickly, and reliably is valuable for several practical applications, from determining indoor air quality to screening patients for illnesses. In Review of Scientific Instruments, by AIP ...

'Zombie cells' hold clues to spinal cord injury repair

Zombie cells hold clues to spinal cord injury repair
2021-07-06
Mammals have a poor ability to recover after a spinal cord injury which can result in paralysis. A main reason for this is the formation of a complex scar associated with chronic inflammation that produces a cellular microenvironment that blocks tissue repair. Now, a research team led by Leonor Saude, group leader at Instituto de Medicina Molecular Joao Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and Professor at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, have shown that the administration of drugs that target specific cellular components of this scar, improve functional recovery after injury. The results now published in the scientific journal Cell Reports* set the basis for a new promising therapeutic strategy not ...

The brain's wiring technicians

The brains wiring technicians
2021-07-06
From the bark of a puppy to the patter of rain against the window, our brains receive countless signals every second. Most of the time, we tune out inconsequential cues--the buzz of a fly, the soft rustle of leaves in the tree--and pay attention to important ones--the sound of a car horn, a bang on the door. This allows us to function, navigate and, indeed, survive in the world around us. The brain's remarkable ability to sift through this ceaseless flow of information is enabled by an intricate neural network made up of billions of synapses, specialized junctions that regulate signal transmission between and ...

Missing bile ducts offer clues to mechanism of liver injury

2021-07-06
PITTSBURGH, July 6, 2021 - Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine described a new phenomenon in which the deletion of a single gene involved in liver embryogenesis completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice. But despite a major defect in their bile excretion system, those animals don't die immediately after birth. Rather, they survive for up to eight months and remain physically active, if small and yellow-tinted. Published today in the journal Cell Reports, the finding offers clues as to why some patients with cholestasis--or impaired ...

Diabetes care, glycemic control during pandemic in US

2021-07-06
What The Study Did: Rates at which patients with type 2 diabetes received diabetes-related health services prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic are compared in this study. Authors: Ateev Mehrotra, M.D., M.P.H., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.3047) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

Evaluation of messenger RNA from COVID-19 vaccines in human milk

2021-07-06
What The Study Did: COVID-19 vaccine-associated messenger RNA (mRNA) wasn't detected in 13 human milk samples collected after vaccination from seven breastfeeding mothers. Authors: Stephanie L. Gaw, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1929) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict ...

Seroprevalence, risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers in Italy early in pandemic

2021-07-06
What The Study Did: This study in the Lombardy region of Italy examined the association of different health care professional categories and operational units, including in-hospital wards and outpatient facilities, with the seroprevalence of positive IgG antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2 and the likelihood of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Authors: Piero Poletti, Ph.D., of the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento, Italy, and Marcello Tirani, M.D., Directorate General for Health, Lombardy region, in Milan, are the corresponding authors. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.15699) Editor's Note: The article includes ...

Association of travel distance to nearest abortion facility with rates of abortion

2021-07-06
What The Study Did: This national analysis examined the association between the travel distance to the nearest abortion care facility and abortion rate and the effect of reduced travel distance. Authors: Kirsten M. J. Thompson, M.P.H., of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.15530) Editor's Note: The article includes conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional ...

Comparing spending on common generic drugs by Medicare vs Costco members

2021-07-06
What The Study Did: The amount Medicare pays for common generic prescriptions in Part D was compared with prices available to patients without insurance at Costco. Authors: Erin Trish, Ph.D., of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.3366) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support. INFORMATION: Media advisory: The full study is linked ...

Researchers discover way to improve immune response

2021-07-06
Melbourne researchers have identified a way to improve the immune response in the face of severe viral infections. It is widely known that severe viral infections and cancer cause impairments to the immune system, including to T cells, a process called immune 'exhaustion'. Overcoming immune exhaustion is a major goal for the development of new therapies for cancer or severe viral infections. A team from the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) led by University of Melbourne's Dr Sarah Gabriel, Dr Daniel Utzschneider and Professor Axel Kallies has been able to identify why immune exhaustion occurs and how this may be overcome. The team had previously identified that while some T cells ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Viking colonizers of Iceland and nearby Faroe Islands had very different origins, study finds

One in 20 people in Canada skip doses, don’t fill prescriptions because of cost

Wildlife monitoring technologies used to intimidate and spy on women, study finds

Around 450,000 children disadvantaged by lack of school support for color blindness

Reality check: making indoor smartphone-based augmented reality work

Overthinking what you said? It’s your ‘lizard brain’ talking to newer, advanced parts of your brain

Black men — including transit workers — are targets for aggression on public transportation, study shows

Troubling spike in severe pregnancy-related complications for all ages in Illinois

Alcohol use identified by UTHealth Houston researchers as most common predictor of escalated cannabis vaping among youths in Texas

Need a landing pad for helicopter parenting? Frame tasks as learning

New MUSC Hollings Cancer Center research shows how Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for all

Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands

São Paulo to host School on Disordered Systems

New insights into sleep uncover key mechanisms related to cognitive function

USC announces strategic collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery

Detroit health professionals urge the community to act and address the dangers of antimicrobial resistance

3D-printing advance mitigates three defects simultaneously for failure-free metal parts 

Ancient hot water on Mars points to habitable past: Curtin study

In Patagonia, more snow could protect glaciers from melt — but only if we curb greenhouse gas emissions soon

Simplicity is key to understanding and achieving goals

Caste differentiation in ants

Nutrition that aligns with guidelines during pregnancy may be associated with better infant growth outcomes, NIH study finds

New technology points to unexpected uses for snoRNA

Racial and ethnic variation in survival in early-onset colorectal cancer

Disparities by race and urbanicity in online health care facility reviews

Exploring factors affecting workers' acquisition of exercise habits using machine learning approaches

Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor for ultra-low hydrogen detection

Maintaining bridge safer; Digital sensing-based monitoring system

A novel approach for the composition design of high-entropy fluorite oxides with low thermal conductivity

[Press-News.org] Researchers collaborate with First Nations to conserve cultural cedar trees