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Colorado screening newborn babies for spinal muscular atrophy

Jennifer Brown

July 12, 2021 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colorado

A joint project between Wyoming and Colorado screens newborns for spinal muscular atrophy, allowing them to receive gene therapies to prevent the deadly disease’s progression. Once researchers identified a protein missing from the cells of people with the disease, they developed treatments that are most effective the earlier they are started. The tests have significantly increased the number of cases identified across the two states, all of which are sent to Children’s Hospital Colorado for immediate treatment. Most babies are diagnosed within four days of birth and can start treatment soon after that.

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Chocpocalypse Now! Quarantine and the Future of Food

Nicola Twilley Cynthia Graber Geoff Manaugh

June 22, 2021 |

Gastropod |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Barrow Island, Western Australia

Off the coast of Australia, the energy company Chevron is experimenting with new quarantine management techniques to ensure that any plants and pests don’t hitchhike to new places, which can devastate the global food economy. They’ve redesigned shipping containers to make it harder for insects to tag along and they’ve created a video game to train workers on how to be better at finding these pests in their inspections. Some creatures and plants can slip through the process, but these tools have been successful and could be used in other ways.

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The Big Idea: using AI to breed more sustainable crops

Freya Pratty

June 22, 2021 |

Sifted |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Israel

For the past 200 years, crops have been bred for yield, for feeding livestock, rather than nutritional value. However, as more people shift away from meat the industry is looking to produce crops for flavor and nutritional value. Yet, finding the right crops with the right traits can take a long time. One company is trying to speed up the process. Equinom, is a company that is using AI technology to select the best genes from each plant and then predict the outcomes. The technology has resulted in 100k acres of specialized crops.

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The Bright Side of the Green Crab

Moira Donovan

May 13, 2021 |

Hakai Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Nova Scotia

The invasive European green crab was wreaking havoc on the soft-shell clam fishery in Nova Scotia. But fishers, researchers, and park officials worked together to remove as many of them as possible and find an alternative use for them. Their efforts were working: eelgrass meadows and clam populations were rebounding. Now, they’re testing how these crabs can be used in lobster bait, bioplastics, or even fertilizer for gardens.

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The forest sound detectives

Nick Holland

May 04, 2021 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Papua New Guinea

After remote Indigenous communities in Papau New Guinea set aside some of their land as conservation areas, they wanted to know if it was working. With the help from scientists and The Nature Conservancy, they were able to use bioacoustics or audio recordings of the rainforests to map out the biodiversity. Using 34 recording devices, they were able to record the forest, listen to them, analyze the sounds, and determine that these areas had a healthy biodiversity.

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To Solve 3 Cold Cases, This Small County Got a DNA Crash Course

Virginia Hughes

May 03, 2021 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentland, Indiana

Genetic genealogy's use in criminal cases has gone mainstream. As the cases of three murder victims in Indiana illustrate, the science of DNA evidence combined with genealogical research and detective work is rapidly ramping up, from a hobby to a curiosity and now to a major commercial and criminal-justice opportunity. Hundreds of missing persons have been identified from decades-old remains, or murder suspects identified from old biological evidence in cold cases. By creating a family tree of the victim or suspect, investigators can zero in on an identity more quickly and inexpensively than ever.

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The Farmer Trying to Save Italy's Ancient Olive Trees

Agostino Petroni

April 29, 2021 |

Atlas Obscura |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Italy, Gagliano del Capo, Puglia

An imported strain of bacteria is threatening to destroy olive trees in Italy that produce about 12 percent of the world’s olive oil. An agronomist is working with other scientists to graft trees — taking a different kind of tree that could be resistant to the bacteria and inserting it into the trunk of an older tree. After years of trial and error, they’ve found some success. On one farm, 70 percent of the grafts used have survived. But conspiracy theories and financial difficulties have made it a challenge to have a coordinated response to the problem.

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The fight to save India's most elusive cat

Kamala Thiagarajan

April 18, 2021 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

After a fishing cat was first documented in an Indian coastal city, state authorities, scientists, and conservationists sought to understand how many felines called the wetland home. Using camera traps, they observed 10 individual fishing cats among the mangrove forests, though this method of estimating the population is tricky. Another survey is underway as researchers study how the health of these habitats are linked to the health of the fishing cats, and how to effectively educate locals about the importance of protecting this species.

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Is Seaweed The Key To Carbon Offsets?

Teresa Carey

April 17, 2021 |

Freethink |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Maine

Running Tide Technologies, a shellfish hatchery in Maine, is betting on kelp forests as a way to store carbon deep in the ocean and sell that carbon to corporations looking to combat climate change and offset their own emissions. The startup is growing mini-farms of kelp on biodegradable floats and after a few months, they sink to the seafloor. More research is needed to see if it works, but they already have about 1,600 floats adrift in the ocean and the e-commerce company Shopify is the first to buy carbon offsets from them.

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How Scientists Are Pivoting In Their Quest To Save Hawaii's Crows

Brittany Lyte

April 16, 2021 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Hawaii

After a five-year effort to reintroduce the alala bird on Hawaii’s Big Island failed, conservationists are looking into releasing the nearly extinct Hawaiian crow on a different island. Of the 30 birds released in 2016, only five survived. Another predator known as the Hawaiian hawk killed off some of the birds. Releasing the crows on Maui is a temporary solution, but could allow them to learn skills to survive with other predators.

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