55 research outputs found
Global Carbon Budget 2022
Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere in a changing climate is critical to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe and synthesize data sets and methodologies to quantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and their uncertainties. Fossil CO emissions (E) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change (E), mainly deforestation, are based on land use and land-use change data and bookkeeping models. Atmospheric CO concentration is measured directly, and its growth rate (G) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The ocean CO sink (S) is estimated with global ocean biogeochemistry models and observation-based data products. The terrestrial CO sink (S) is estimated with dynamic global vegetation models. The resulting carbon budget imbalance (B), the difference between the estimated total emissions and the estimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is a measure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carbon cycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ.
For the year 2021, E increased by 5.1 % relative to 2020, with fossil emissions at 10.1 ± 0.5 GtC yr (9.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr when the cement carbonation sink is included), and E was 1.1 ± 0.7 GtC yr, for a total anthropogenic CO emission (including the cement carbonation sink) of 10.9 ± 0.8 GtC yr (40.0 ± 2.9 GtCO). Also, for 2021, G was 5.2 ± 0.2 GtC yr (2.5 ± 0.1 ppm yr), S was 2.9 ± 0.4 GtC yr, and S was 3.5 ± 0.9 GtC yr, with a B of −0.6 GtC yr (i.e. the total estimated sources were too low or sinks were too high). The global atmospheric CO concentration averaged over 2021 reached 414.71 ± 0.1 ppm. Preliminary data for 2022 suggest an increase in E relative to 2021 of +1.0 % (0.1 % to 1.9 %) globally and atmospheric CO concentration reaching 417.2 ppm, more than 50 % above pre-industrial levels (around 278 ppm). Overall, the mean and trend in the components of the global carbon budget are consistently estimated over the period 1959–2021, but discrepancies of up to 1 GtC yr persist for the representation of annual to semi-decadal variability in CO fluxes. Comparison of estimates from multiple approaches and observations shows (1) a persistent large uncertainty in the estimate of land-use change emissions, (2) a low agreement between the different methods on the magnitude of the land CO flux in the northern extratropics, and (3) a discrepancy between the different methods on the strength of the ocean sink over the last decade. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new global carbon budget and the progress in understanding of the global carbon cycle compared with previous publications of this data set. The data presented in this work are available at https://doi.org/10.18160/GCP-2022 (Friedlingstein et al., 2022b)
Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome
The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead
Identification of midgut and salivary glands as specific and distinct barriers to efficient tick-borne transmission of Anaplasma marginale
Understanding the determinants of efficient tick-borne microbial transmission is needed to better predict the emergence of highly transmissible pathogen strains and disease outbreaks. Although the basic developmental cycle of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp. within the tick has been delineated, there are marked differences in the ability of specific strains to be efficiently tick transmitted. Using the highly transmissible St. Maries strain of Anaplasma marginale in Dermacentor andersoni as a positive control and two unrelated nontransmissible strains, we identified distinct barriers to efficient transmission within the tick. The Mississippi strain was unable to establish infection at the level of the midgut epithelium despite successful ingestion of infected blood following acquisition feeding on a bacteremic animal host. This inability to colonize the midgut epithelium prevented subsequent development within the salivary glands and transmission. In contrast, A. marginale subsp. centrale colonized the midgut and then the salivary glands, replicating to a titer indistinguishable from that of the highly transmissible St. Maries strain and at least 100 times greater than that previously associated with successful transmission. Nonetheless, A. marginale subsp. centrale was not transmitted, even when a large number of infected ticks was used for transmission feeding. These results establish that there are at least two specific barriers to efficient tick-borne transmission, the midgut and salivary glands, and highlight the complexity of the pathogen-tick interaction
Imidocarb Dipropionate Clears Persistent Babesia caballi Infection with Elimination of Transmission Potential
Antimicrobial treatment of persistent infection to eliminate transmission risk represents a specific challenge requiring compelling evidence of complete pathogen clearance. The limited repertoire of antimicrobial agents targeted at protozoal parasites magnifies this challenge. Using
Babesia caballi
as both a model and a specific apicomplexan pathogen for which evidence of the elimination of transmission risk is required for international animal movement, we tested whether a high-dose regimen of imidocarb dipropionate cleared infection from persistently infected asymptomatic horses and/or eliminated transmission risk. Clearance with elimination of transmission risk was supported by the following four specific lines of evidence: (i) inability to detect parasites by quantitative PCR and nested PCR amplification, (ii) conversion from seropositive to seronegative status, (iii) inability to transmit infection by direct inoculation of blood into susceptible recipient horses, and (iv) inability to transmit infection by ticks acquisition fed on the treated horses and subsequently transmission fed on susceptible horses. In contrast, untreated horses remained infected and capable of transmitting
B. caballi
using the same criteria. These findings establish that imidocarb dipropionate treatment clears
B. caballi
infection with confirmation of lack of transmission risk either by direct blood transfer or a high tick burden. Importantly, the treated horses revert to seronegative status according to the international standard for serologic testing and would be permitted to move between countries where the pathogen is endemic and countries that are free of the pathogen
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