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

Airborne mapping reveals roles for biogenic sources and temperature in air pollution emissions in Los Angeles

2024-06-20
(Press-News.org) Airborne observations over California have revealed that biogenic sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – blooming trees and growing plants – dominate summertime air pollutant formation in Los Angeles, in a way that increases with temperature. Future air pollution regulations thus need to consider that only 40% of urban VOC emissions (those not tied to biogenic sources) can be mitigated through regulations, say the authors. Ambient air pollution – the fourth-leading global health risk – causes an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths annually. Key pollutants include fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and tropospheric ozone, both of which are formed from VOC precursors. Despite advancements in reducing automotive VOC emissions, concentrations of ozone and PM2.5 have stagnated since 2010, partly due to the rising contribution of VOCs from other sources: chemical products and plants. This has challenged existing models on the sources of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). In Los Angeles, the origin of SOA is under debate, with some studies reporting a predominantly vehicular source. Other studies indicate that high temperatures significantly increase PM2.5 and ozone levels, suggesting a bigger role for biogenic emissions. With climate change expected to increase the number of hot days, it is crucial to understand how temperature affects VOC emissions and secondary air pollutant formation. This will help inform effective regulation strategies.

 

Previous efforts to understand the magnitude and composition of VOC emissions in major urban centers, including Los Angeles, have relied on indirect methods subject to large uncertainties. To overcome this, Eva Pfannerstill and colleagues conducted airborne flux measurements to directly map VOC emissions above Los Angeles and over a range of temperatures (15ºC to 37ºC). Using proton transfer reaction (PTR)-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, Pfannerstill et al. identified more than 400 VOC species from a wide range of biogenic and anthropogenic sources. The authors found that temperature-dependent emissions are driving ozone and secondary organic aerosol pollution in Los Angeles, with roughly 60% of both pollutants formed through reactions associated with biogenic VOC emissions from blooming plants or from plants experiencing heat or drought stress. Moreover, Phannerstill et al. show that some anthropogenic VOC emissions strongly increase with temperature, which is an effect not currently represented in current emission inventories. The findings highlight that climate change could increase urban air pollution events unless anthropogenic emissions are significantly reduced. Reducing anthropogenic VOC emissions on high-temperature days is crucial, as biogenic emissions increase during flowering and drought stress and cannot be regulated. “The mapping of VOC emissions from airborne platforms, as performed by Pfannerstill et al., opens a new frontier for the improvement and verification of spatially resolved emission maps, which form the backbone of any meaningful air quality prediction model system,” writes Thomas Karl in a related Perspective.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Old bombs reveal new insights: Plants store more carbon, but for a shorter time frame, than we thought

2024-06-20
Analysis of radiocarbon produced during nuclear bomb testing in the 1960s suggests that current Earth system models underestimate carbon uptake into terrestrial vegetation and soils. But, say the study’s authors, this storage is more short-lived than previously thought. The findings suggest that anthropogenic carbon dioxide will not reside as long in the terrestrial biosphere as models currently predict. Accurate climate predictions, crucial for developing effective climate policies, require a robust representation of the global carbon cycle. It’s thought that vegetation and soils account for taking up approximately 30% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) ...

The time it takes a person to decide can predict their preference

The time it takes a person to decide can predict their preference
2024-06-20
Researchers led by Sophie Bavard at the University of Hamburg, Germany, found that people can infer hidden social preferences by observing how fast others make social decisions. Publishing June 20th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, the study shows that when someone knows the options being considered by another person, and they know how long it takes them to reach their decisions, they can use this information to predict the other person’s preference, even if they do not know what the actual choices were. How do we know what someone’s social preferences ...

Hurricane changed ‘rules of the game’ in monkey society

Hurricane changed ‘rules of the game’ in monkey society
2024-06-20
A devastating hurricane transformed a monkey society by changing the pros and cons of interacting with others, new research shows. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, killing more than 3,000 people. It also destroyed 63% of vegetation on Cayo Santiago (also known as Monkey Island), which is home to a population of rhesus macaques. Even now, tree cover remains far below pre-hurricane levels and – in this hot part of the world – that makes shade a scarce and precious resource for the macaques. The new study, led by the universities of Pennsylvania and Exeter and published in the journal Science, shows the storm ...

Researchers widely observe yet seldom publish about same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other mammals - often because it is perceived to be rare

Researchers widely observe yet seldom publish about same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other mammals - often because it is perceived to be rare
2024-06-20
Researchers widely observe yet seldom publish about same-sex sexual behavior in primates and other mammals - often because it is perceived to be rare ### Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0304885 Article Title: Same-sex sexual behaviour among mammals is widely observed, yet seldomly reported: Evidence from an online expert survey Author Countries: Canada, USA Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work. END ...

Wild chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants to treat illness and injuries

Wild chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants to treat illness and injuries
2024-06-20
Chimpanzees appear to consume plants with medicinal properties to treat their ailments, according to a study publishing on June 20 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues. Many plants produce compounds that have medicinal effects on humans and other animals. Wild chimpanzees eat a variety of plant matter, including some that is nutritionally poor but may treat or lessen the symptoms of illness. However, it is hard to determine whether chimpanzees self-medicate, by intentionally seeking out plants with properties that help their specific ailments, or passively consume plants ...

New catalyst unveils the hidden power of water for green hydrogen generation

New catalyst unveils the hidden power of water for green hydrogen generation
2024-06-20
Hydrogen is a promising chemical and energy vector to decarbonize our society. Unlike conventional fuels, hydrogen utilization as a fuel does not generate carbon dioxide in return. Unfortunately, today, most of the hydrogen that is produced in our society comes from methane, a fossil fuel. It does so in a process (methane reforming) that leads to substantial carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the production of green hydrogen requires scalable alternatives to this process. Water electrolysis offers a path to generate green hydrogen which can be ...

Supermassive black hole appears to grow like a baby star

Supermassive black hole appears to grow like a baby star
2024-06-20
Supermassive black holes pose unanswered questions for astronomers around the world, not least “How do they grow so big?” Now, an international team of astronomers, including researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, has discovered a powerful rotating, magnetic wind that they believe is helping a galaxy’s central supermassive black hole to grow. The swirling wind, revealed with the help of the ALMA telescope in nearby galaxy ESO320-G030, suggests that similar processes are involved both in black hole growth and the birth of stars.   Most galaxies, including our own Milky Way have a supermassive black hole at their centre. How ...

Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease

Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease
2024-06-20
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare progressive liver disease that damages bile ducts and significantly increases the risk of bile duct cancer, particularly a type called cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This cancer is aggressive, and curative surgery is uncommon. Liver transplantation is a potential treatment option for some PSC-CCA patients, especially if the cancer is caught early. Early diagnosis is essential for successful treatment. PSC can affect people of all ages but primarily strikes men in their 30s and 40s. It is often accompanied by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The disease can progress to liver failure and increase the risk of colorectal cancer ...

BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR-T therapy in refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR-T therapy in refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
2024-06-20
This study is led by Professor Junnian Zheng and Ming Shi from the Cancer Institute of Xuzhou Medical University, together with the team of Professor Guiyun Cui and Wei Zhang from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University. The team reported for the first time using BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR T cells for treating relapsed/refractory CIDP.   Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an uncommon condition with sudden onset symptoms, including nerve damage affecting movement, sensation, speech, breathing, and heart rate. ...

Embryo and organoid models do not threaten the definition of personhood, bioethicist says

2024-06-20
Advances in organoids and embryonic models of human development have the potential to prompt social and existential questions—e.g., what defines human individuality? However, bioethicist Insoo Hyun of Harvard Medical School and the Museum of Science in Boston says that these models have the potential to strengthen rather than weaken the concept of human individuality when considered within the philosophical frameworks of “personhood” and sentience. In a commentary publishing June 20 in the journal Cell, Hyun argues that despite huge advances, we are a long way off from developing technologies that would ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

USC Stem Cell mouse study sheds light on the secret to maintaining a youthful immune system

Suicide risk highest on Mondays and New Year’s Day

Gene signature shows promise to improve survival for breast cancer patients

Investigation finds “unexplained” millions in drug industry payments to the NHS

Maternal antibodies interfere with malaria vaccine responses

Teaching must be made more attractive as a profession to tackle shortages

Airbnb rentals linked to increased crime rates in London neighborhoods – study

UK budget 'blindness' risks handing green economy future to China, report argues

Marri trees a lifeline for many native bee species in biodiversity hotspot

Treatments used for HER2-positive breast cancers could help patients with rare gastrointestinal cancer

Little-studied RNA might be key to regulating genetic disorders like epilepsy, autism

UB researchers show why cannabis policies should shift to a harm reduction, health promotion approach to safeguard public health

Live well, think well: Research shows healthy habits tied to brain health

Could poor sleep in middle age speed up brain aging?

Fossils unveil how southern Europe’s ecosystem changed through Glacial-Interglacial Stages

Your ability to balance on one leg may be a reliable indicator of neuromuscular aging, with men and women showing significant declines over the decades

Most young adults in the UK consider non-consensual condom removal during sex to be wrong and a violation of consent, with almost 9 in 10 seeing it as a form of sexual assault, per survey of 18-25-yea

Under climate change scenarios, 30-44% more land in Ethiopia might become suitable for growing arabica coffee by 2080, although some cultivated areas might also become unsuitable, per modelling study

Cockroaches and maggots might be able to turn an invasive seaweed into a high quality compost, finds a new experimental study which provides hope for the environment and the circular economy

Implantable device may prevent death from opioid overdose

Half of young adults support prison time for non-consensual condom removal

‘Paleo-robots’ to help scientists understand how fish started to walk on land

Study: Robotic automation, AI will speed up scientific progress in science laboratories

Paleontologists discover Colorado ‘swamp dweller’ that lived alongside dinosaurs

Repeated COVID vaccines enhance mucosal immunity against the virus

MD Anderson expands arts experience program to enhance healing and well-being for patients

Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) face barriers to medical school admission, study finds

Symbiosis in ancient Corals

Researchers receive grant to study invasive autumn olive

New research shows urine tests may detect early diseases

[Press-News.org] Airborne mapping reveals roles for biogenic sources and temperature in air pollution emissions in Los Angeles