In this issue, we report from Brussels. Europe has voted and the European Parliament is sorting itself out. The election results  also shaped the negotiations of the EU member states on important personnel issues, above all the positions of Commission and Council President. Independently of the European election results, they are also negotiating the composition of the new EU Commission. Particularly important for us is how research will be anchored in it. Sometimes “the EU” may seem far away, but the joint work of the Commission, Council and Parliament can be seen everywhere, especially when on vacation with terms such as “EU-wide, free roaming”. The EU also plays a central role in research, and is more than just a source of money. Germany cannot solve the major issues alone and European research also needs to exchange and collaborate on the topics covered in our newsletter, from new approaches to health research to dealing with heat waves. This is exactly what the EU can make possible with its fundamental freedoms and programs.

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FTD, ALS and PSP form a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases with overlapping symptoms characterized by dementia, behavioral symptoms, paralysis and muscle wasting, movement impairment and other serious impairments. In Germany, it is estimated that up to 60,000 people are affected by one of these diseases. Although they are relatively rare, their consequences for health are nevertheless severe. “As yet, there is no cure for any of these diseases, and, with current methods it is not possible to reach a conclusive diagnosis of the molecular pathology of these diseases during a patient’s lifetime, since brain tissue must be examined,” explains Anja Schneider, a research group leader at DZNE and Director of the Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Cognitive Disorders at University Hospital Bonn (UKB).

“However, a diagnosis of the underlying pathology is required for the development of therapies and for stratifying patients according to their disease. Only such stratification allows targeted and therefore potentially effective disease-modifying treatments to be tested,” continues Schneider, who is also affiliated with the University of Bonn. “We now show that PSP, behavioral variant of FTD and the vast majority of ALS cases with the exception of a particular mutation can be recognized by blood testing and this also applies to their underlying pathology. Our study is the first to find pathology specific biomarkers. Initially, application is likely to be in research and therapy development. But in the long term, I consider it realistic that these biomarkers will also be used for diagnosis in medical routine. However, further studies are required for this. In fact, it would be particularly important to determine how these biomarkers develop longitudinally, that is, over the course of a disease, and how early they rise in the disease course.”

The new blood test, which is based on the measurement of so-called tau and TDP-43 proteins, could provide decisive evidence for diagnosis. There is a particularly strong need for the “behavioral variant of FTD” which was investigated here. This is because the symptoms of this most common type of FTD can be due to two different pathologies – i.e. abnormal processes – in the brain, which can generally only be differentiated by analyzing tissue after death. Only in those few cases where the disease is genetic can DNA analysis provide certainty during a patient’s lifetime. The blood test now enables a precise diagnosis to be made during a patient’s lifetime, even if there is no mutation. This, in turn, is a prerequisite for testing new therapies against these various FTD pathologies in clinical trials.

To the original publication

To the DZNE press release

(Picture: DZNE / Frommann)

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Climate Change: Rising Temperatures May Impact Groundwater Quality
As the world’s largest unfrozen freshwater resource, groundwater is crucial for life on Earth. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have investigated how global warming is affecting groundwater temperatures and what that means for humanity and the environment. Their study indicates that by 2100, more than 75 million people are likely to be living in regions where the groundwater temperature exceeds the highest threshold set for drinking water by any country. Read more

The dark side of transmission X-ray microscopy
X-ray microscopes are essential for examining components and materials because they can be used to detect changes and details in the material. Until now, however, it has been difficult to detect small cracks or tiny inclusions in the images. By developing a new method, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon are now able to visualize such changes in the nanometer regime. In particular, materials research and quality assurance will profit from this development. Read more

Chandrabali Karmakar is a data scientist at the Remote Sensing Technology Institute of the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen. She researches in the field of explainable artificial intelligence with satellite images. Her research interests include application of AI in agriculture and human-AI interaction. Picture: DLR

The most exciting thing about my project is making AI learn from farmers and vice-versa. The AI model that sees over the health of crops from satellite images, also asks a feedback from the farmers. This is the very essence of human-in-the-loop AI, translated to Farmer-in-the-loop AI in these specific use-cases. This approach not only creates more digital literacy among farmers but also bridges the gap between technology and rural population. 

If money and time were no object, I would like to expand my business area to address other countries. Presently, I am only working for farmers in India and Germany. Given more resources, I would like to address agricultural issues in other countries, connect with more farmers and build a stronger network and a more robust technology. An AI model needs diverse data. Connecting to farmers worldwide would give the possibility to achieve a general AI model that can help farmers all over the world.

I would like to have a dinner with Dr. Vandana Shiva, a renowned researcher and sustainability activist. I would like to talk about conflict between climate policies and economy of farmers, and how technology can come to a rescue. Issues like carbon emission and soil health would be in discussion.

Heat waves are becoming more frequent in Germany and many other regions of the world and their intensity and duration are also increasing. Climate scientists are certain that we will experience more extremes in Germany in the future, far exceeding the previous heatwaves of the record-breaking summers of 2003, 2018 and 2022. Compared to other extreme weather events, such as floods, heat waves put many more people at risk. In Germany, several thousand people died in each of the last two heatwave summers.

Older people are particularly vulnerable, but younger people who have to work outdoors during the hot hours of the day, or who are simply active in their leisure time, also face health risks. Early warning, prevention and education are effective ways to avoid these consequences. On the one hand, early warning is about improving meteorological weather forecasts. It is important that they become more accurate and indicate heat waves much earlier than they do now. It is also important to better predict the consequences and impacts of each heat wave. This information also needs to reach stakeholders faster so they can take the necessary action: Health, labor, and disaster prevention workers. This is where we can make much greater use of artificial intelligence. In addition, there is still a great need for research into the effects of climate change.  We still know too little about the likelihood, magnitude, and consequences of possible and previously unimagined future heat waves.

The good news is that many cities are already working on heat protection plans. Such plans include, for example, opening public facilities with air conditioning as “heat shelters” and preparing hospitals. The city of Karlsruhe is also developing an app that shows cool places to go to on hot days. In the long term, we need more green roofs, more greenery in the city in general, and we should be careful not to block fresh air corridors. As a general rule, no one should work outside in the heat, or at least work should be reduced. Workers and employers should reach an agreement so that work schedules can be adjusted in response to official heat warnings. More needs to be done in terms of education. Following the American example of Hurricane Awareness Day, a Heat Wave Day could be proclaimed here in late spring. Neighborhoods could also be sensitized through social and traditional media to ensure that older single people and other vulnerable residents drink enough water during a heat wave.

In any case, the coming heat waves are one of the biggest challenges of climate change in Germany. We can already expect maximum temperatures of well over 40 degrees Celsius on several days in the summer. Time is running out for prevention, and we must act now.

(Photo: Magali Hauser, KIT)

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Published by: Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Str.2, 10178 Berlin

Editors: Sebastian Grote, Franziska Roeder, Martin Trinkaus
Questions to the editors should be sent to monthly@helmholtz.de

Photo credit: Phil Dera (Editorial)

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