Fracking: Sollte die umstrittene Methode der Erdgasförderung erlaubt werden?

Sollte die umstrittene Fracking-Methode in Deutschland für eine kommerzielle Nutzung erlaubt werden? Martin Faulstich und Mechthild Baron, Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen, kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass Fracking energiepolitisch nicht notwendig ist und keinen maßgeblichen Beitrag zur Energiewende leisten kann. Es sollte derzeit wegen gravierender Wissenslücken im kommerziellen Umfang nicht zuzulassen werden. Walter Frenz, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, weist darauf hin, dass, unter juristischen Gesichtspunkten, ein geeigneter Vorschlag für eine den Chancen und Risiken von Fracking gerecht werdende Anpassung des geltenden Rechts, insbesondere des Wasserhaushaltsgesetzes, existiert. Matthias Knauff, Universität Jena, zeigt dass der Gesetzgeber bei seinen Entscheidungen nicht völlig frei ist. Unter der Voraussetzung einer Beachtung der bestehenden Umweltschutzstandards sei Fracking eine grundrechtlich geschützte Tätigkeit, deren Untersagung nicht allein aus politischen Gründen möglich sei. Allerdings könnten die damit einhergehenden bekannten und unbekannten Risiken im Sinne des Vorsorgeprinzips eine Einschränkung rechtfertigen. Nach Ansicht von Hans-Joachim Kümpel, Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), ist Fracking eine beherrschbare Technologie, während Leon Leschus und Sven Schulze, Hamburgisches WeltWirtschaftsInstitut (HWWI), alles in allem Skepsis im Hinblick auf Fracking in Deutschland für angebracht halten

Mixtures of organic micropollutants exacerbated in vitro neurotoxicity of prymnesins and contributed to aquatic toxicity during a toxic algal bloom

Prymnesins produced by an algal bloom of Prymnesium parvum led to the death of several hundred tons of freshwater fish in the Oder River in summer 2022. We investigated effects on aquatic life and human cell lines from exposure to extracts of contaminated water collected during the fish kill. We detected B-type prymnesins and >120 organic micropollutants. The micropollutants occurred at concentrations that would cause the predicted mixture risk quotient for aquatic life to exceed the acceptable threshold. Extracts of water and filters (biomass and particulates) induced moderate effects in vivo in algae, daphnids and zebrafish embryos but caused high effects in a human neuronal cell line indicating the presence of neurotoxicants. Mixture toxicity modelling demonstrated that the in vitro neurotoxic effects were mainly caused by the detected B-type prymnesins with minor contributions by organic micropollutants. Complex interactions between natural and anthropogenic toxicants may underestimate threats to aquatic ecosystems

En frankisk Korsfibel fra 9. århundrede fra Ribe

I 1990 blev der ved en udgravning i Ribe fundet et lille korsformet smykke af forgyldt bronze, der stammer fra Karolingerriget, og som kan dateres til 9. århundrede. Man bør regne den til et af de ældste arkæologiske spor efter kristne, som allerede på dette tidspunkt kan have levet på den vikingetidige handelsplads i det sydvestlige Jylland

Kinder – von Armut und Chancenlosigkeit bedroht? Diskussion mit Mechthild Ross-Luttmann, Ekin Deligöz und Christoph Butterwegge

Textdokumentation zur Veranstaltung der Osnabrücker Friedensgespräche am 4. März 2009 im Rathaus der Stad

A Twist to the Kirby-Bauer Disk Diffusion Susceptibility Test: an Accessible Laboratory Experiment Comparing Haloferax volcanii and Escherichia coli Antibiotic Susceptibility to Highlight the Unique Cell Biology of Archaea

Archaea, once thought to only live in extreme environments, are present in many ecosystems, including the human microbiome, and they play important roles ranging from nutrient cycling to bioremediation. Yet this domain is often overlooked in microbiology classes and rarely included in laboratory exercises. Excluding archaea from high school and undergraduate curricula prevents students from learning the uniqueness and importance of this domain. Here, we have modified a familiar and popular microbiology experiment-the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion antibiotic susceptibility test-to include, together with the model bacterium Escherichia coli, the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii. Students will learn the differences and similarities between archaea and bacteria by using antibiotics that target, for example, the bacterial peptidoglycan cell wall or the ribosome. Furthermore, the experiment provides a platform to reiterate basic cellular biology concepts that students may have previously discussed. We have developed two versions of this experiment, one designed for an undergraduate laboratory curriculum and the second, limited to H. volcanii, that high school students can perform in their classrooms. This nonpathogenic halophile can be cultured aerobically at ambient temperature in high-salt media, preventing contamination, making the experiment low-cost and safe for use in the high school setting

Towards a holistic and solution-oriented monitoring of chemical status of European water bodies: how to support the EU strategy for a non-toxic environment?

Abstract The definition of priority substances (PS) according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) helped to remove many of these chemicals from the market and to reduce their concentrations in the European water bodies. However, it could not prevent that many of these chemicals have been replaced by others with similar risks. Today, monitoring of the PS-based chemical status according to WFD covers only a tiny fraction of toxic risks, extensively ignores mixture effects and lacks incentives and guidance for abatement. Thus, we suggest complement this purely status-related approach with more holistic and solution-oriented monitoring, which at the same time helps to provide links to the ecological status. Major elements include (1) advanced chemical screening techniques supporting mixture risk assessment and unraveling of source-related patterns in complex mixtures, (2) effect-based monitoring for the detection of groups of chemicals with similar effects and the establishment of toxicity fingerprints, (3) effect-directed analysis of drivers of toxicity and (4) to translate chemical and toxicological fingerprints into chemical footprints for prioritization of management measures. The requirement of more holistic and solution-oriented monitoring of chemical contamination is supported by the significant advancement of appropriate monitoring tools within the last years. Non-target screening technology, effect-based monitoring and basic understanding of mixture assessment are available conceptually and in research but also increasingly find their way into practical monitoring. Substantial progress in the development, evaluation and demonstration of these tools, for example, in the SOLUTIONS project enhanced their acceptability. Further advancement, integration and demonstration, extensive data exchange and closure of remaining knowledge gaps are suggested as high priority research needs for the next future to bridge the gap between insufficient ecological status and cost-efficient abatement measures

Enhancing Open Modification Searches via a Combined Approach Facilitated by Ursgal

The identification of peptide sequences and their post-translational modifications (PTMs) is a crucial step in the analysis of bottom-up proteomics data. The recent development of open modification search (OMS) engines allows virtually all PTMs to be searched for. This not only increases the number of spectra that can be matched to peptides but also greatly advances the understanding of the biological roles of PTMs through the identification, and the thereby facilitated quantification, of peptidoforms (peptide sequences and their potential PTMs). Whereas the benefits of combining results from multiple protein database search engines have been previously established, similar approaches for OMS results have been missing so far. Here we compare and combine results from three different OMS engines, demonstrating an increase in peptide spectrum matches of 8–18%. The unification of search results furthermore allows for the combined downstream processing of search results, including the mapping to potential PTMs. Finally, we test for the ability of OMS engines to identify glycosylated peptides. The implementation of these engines in the Python framework Ursgal facilitates the straightforward application of the OMS with unified parameters and results files, thereby enabling yet unmatched high-throughput, large-scale data analysis