The “piramide inversa”

Comunicare in modo efficace con i media

Dal laboratorio al giornale

Normalmente un abstract scientifico presenta i seguenti punti in questo ordine:

L’argomento di cui si occupa la ricerca, in relazione al campo scientifico in cui si inserisce

I metodi utilizzati per la ricerca I risultati della ricerca

Qualche volta i risultati sono presentati in una prospettiva più ampia, nell’ambito di una certa disciplina o di specifici ambiti sociali (salute, ambiente ecc.).

Neural Correlates of Hate

Semir Zeki*, John Paul Romaya

Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, United Kingdom

In this work, we address an important but unexplored topic, namely the neural correlates of hate. In a block-design fMRI study, we scanned 17 normal human subjects while they viewed the face of a person they hated and also faces of acquaintances for whom they had neutral feelings. A hate score was obtained for the object of hate for each subject and this was used as a covariate in a between-subject random effects analysis. Viewing a hated face resulted in increased activity in the medial frontal gyrus, right putamen, bilaterally in premotor cortex, in the frontal pole and bilaterally in the medial insula. We also found three areas where activation correlated linearly with the declared level of hatred, the right insula, right premotor cortex and the right fronto-medial gyrus. One area of deactivation was found in the right superior frontal gyrus. The study thus shows that there is a unique pattern of activity in the brain in the context of hate. Though distinct from the pattern of activity that correlates with romantic love, this pattern nevertheless shares two areas with the latter, namely the putamen and the insula.

In una notizia (o un in efficace comunicato stampa o in un sommario di un report) l’ordine è invertito:

Il messaggio chiave che emerge dai risultati La prospettiva generale della ricerca: Perché è importante?

A quali domande cruciali cerca di trovare una risposta? Chi, che cosa, dove, quando, … il testo presenta la ricerca

come una storia i cui protagonisti sono delle persone I metodi, e tutti i dettagli scientifici correlati comprese le

definizioni I risultati espressi in termini tecnici.

'Hate circuit' discovered in brain28 October 2008, NewScientist.com, David Robson

The proverbs tell us that there's a fine line between love and hate, and new scans of the brain's "hate circuit" have confirmed similarities between the two powerful emotions.

But whereas loved-up partners are likely to be less rational, the new scans show hate to be colder and more calculating.Semir Zeki of University College London, UK, who has previously mapped the neural circuits involved in romantic and maternal love, and colleague John Romaya selected 17 subjects who expressed a strong hatred for an individual – typically an ex-lover or colleague.The subjects answered a questionnaire to assess the level of their hatred, and they provided the team with a photo of their nemesis, along with pictures of three other less provocative individuals.Each subject then viewed their chosen photos for roughly 16 seconds, while an MRI scanner mapped the activity in their brain. By comparing their responses to the hated face with their reaction to the neutral photos, the team could identify the neurological circuits we use when feeling intense hatred.The results showed two brain regions that our "hate circuit" shares with the "love circuit" – the putamen and the insular cortex or insula.The putamen is thought to be used to prepare the body for movement – so it's possible this be active either to provide protection of the loved one, or to prepare for an aggressive or spiteful act from the hated one. The insula is associated with feelings of distress, such as jealousy

'Hate circuit' discovered in brain28 October 2008, NewScientist.com, David Robson

The proverbs tell us that there's a fine line between love and hate, and new scans of the brain's "hate circuit" have confirmed similarities between the two powerful emotions.

But whereas loved-up partners are likely to be less rational, the new scans show hate to be colder and more calculating.Semir Zeki of University College London, UK, who has previously mapped the neural circuits involved in romantic and maternal love, and colleague John Romaya selected 17 subjects who expressed a strong hatred for an individual – typically an ex-lover or colleague.The subjects answered a questionnaire to assess the level of their hatred, and they provided the team with a photo of their nemesis, along with pictures of three other less provocative individuals.Each subject then viewed their chosen photos for roughly 16 seconds, while an MRI scanner mapped the activity in their brain. By comparing their responses to the hated face with their reaction to the neutral photos, the team could identify the neurological circuits we use when feeling intense hatred.The results showed two brain regions that our "hate circuit" shares with the "love circuit" – the putamen and the insular cortex or insula.The putamen is thought to be used to prepare the body for movement – so it's possible this be active either to provide protection of the loved one, or to prepare for an aggressive or spiteful act from the hated one. The insula is associated with feelings of distress, such as jealousy

Science 7 May 2010:Vol. 328. no. 5979, pp. 710 - 722DOI: 10.1126/science.1188021

Research Articles

A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal GenomeRichard E. Green,et al.

Neandertals, the closest evolutionary relatives of present-day humans, lived in large parts of Europe and western Asia before disappearing 30,000 years ago. We present a draft sequence of the Neandertal genome composed of more than 4 billion nucleotides from three individuals. Comparisons of the Neandertal genome to the genomes of five present-day humans from different parts of the world identify a number of genomic regions that may have been affected by positive selection in ancestral modern humans, including genes involved in metabolism and in cognitive and skeletal development. We show that Neandertals shared more genetic variants with present-day humans in Eurasia than with present-day humans in sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that gene flow from Neandertals into the ancestors of non-Africans occurred before the divergence of Eurasian groups from each other.

so what??

Neanderthal genes 'survive in us' By Paul RinconScience reporter, BBC NewsPage last updated at 18:02 GMT, Thursday, 6 May 2010 19:02 UK

Many people alive today possess some Neanderthal ancestry, according to a landmark scientific study.

The finding has surprised many experts, as previous genetic evidence suggested the Neanderthals made little or no contribution to our inheritance.The result comes from analysis of the Neanderthal genome - the "instruction manual" describing how these ancient humans were put together.Between 1% and 4% of the Eurasian human genome seems to come from Neanderthals.But the study confirms living humans overwhelmingly trace their ancestry to a small population of Africans who later spread out across the world.

Neanderthal genes 'survive in us' By Paul RinconScience reporter, BBC NewsPage last updated at 18:02 GMT, Thursday, 6 May 2010 19:02 UK

Many people alive today possess some Neanderthal ancestry, according to a landmark scientific study.

The finding has surprised many experts, as previous genetic evidence suggested the Neanderthals made little or no contribution to our inheritance.The result comes from analysis of the Neanderthal genome - the "instruction manual" describing how these ancient humans were put together.Between 1% and 4% of the Eurasian human genome seems to come from Neanderthals.But the study confirms living humans overwhelmingly trace their ancestry to a small population of Africans who later spread out across the world.

Wow!

Context

Neanderthal genome reveals interbreeding with humans19:00 06 May 2010 by Ewen Callaway How closely are Neanderthals related to us?

They are so closely related that some researchers group them and us as a single species. "I would see them as a form of humans that are bit more different than humans are today, but not much," says Svante Pääbo, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, whose team sequenced the Neanderthal genome.

The common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals lived in Africa around half a million years ago. After that, the ancestors of Neanderthals moved north and eventually made it to Europe and Asia. Our ancestors, meanwhile, stuck around Africa until about 100,000 years ago before eventually conquering the globe. Neanderthals died out around 28,000 years ago.

How did they sequence the Neanderthal genome?

Bone contains DNA that survives long after an animal dies.

Neanderthal genome reveals interbreeding with humans19:00 06 May 2010 by Ewen CallawayNew scientists How closely are Neanderthals related to us?

They are so closely related that some researchers group them and us as a single species. "I would see them as a form of humans that are bit more different than humans are today, but not much," says Svante Pääbo, a palaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, whose team sequenced the Neanderthal genome.

The common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals lived in Africa around half a million years ago. After that, the ancestors of Neanderthals moved north and eventually made it to Europe and Asia. Our ancestors, meanwhile, stuck around Africa until about 100,000 years ago before eventually conquering the globe. Neanderthals died out around 28,000 years ago.

How did they sequence the Neanderthal genome?

Bone contains DNA that survives long after an animal dies.

WOW!

so-what?

how?

I media (e in generale i non esperti) sono interessati a:

Conseguenze- perché è importante conoscere o scoprire quella determinata cosa

Novità– qualcosa che è accaduto per la prima volta o proprio adesso ecc.

Cambiamenti– qualcosa che cambia il modo di vivere, lavorare o di fare qualcosa, il modo in cui concepiamo o comprendiamo qualcosa ecc.

Conflitti– le controversie sono sempre interessanti

Rarità– l’unicità, o i record (molto grande o molto piccolo) o la difficoltà (di osservarlo, replicarlo ecc.)

Persone– tutto ciò che ha a che fare con le persone reali e con quello che fanno nella vita.

Lo stesso approccio è utile anche se non esaustivo per:

• Interviste

• Presentazioni

• Poster e mostre

• Articoli di divulgazione per riviste

•…..

1. Creare un titolo accattivante

2. Scrivere due o tre righe di sottotitolo o sommario o occhiello, che contengono il messaggio chiave

• Contestualizzare la notizia nel cosidetto “so-what context”

• Aggiungere tutti i dettagli necessari, tenendo conto della piraminde inversa dei contenuti

• Dove possibile, inserire i costi/benefici in cifre

• Usare un linguaggio semplice, e introdurre i termini scientifici solo se necessario accompagnati da spiegazioni.

Discussione degli esempi

Deep mantle diamonds from South Australia: A record of Pacific subduction at the Gondwanan margin ABSTRACT Diamonds from Jurassic kimberlites at Eurelia, South Australia, contain coexisting inclusions of ferropericlase and MgSi-perovskite that provide evidence for their deep (>670 km) lower mantle origin. Eurelia diamonds formed from mixed carbon sources, likely including subducted carbonate, as indicated by a trend toward isotopically heavy carbon compositions (13C = 0‰) and low nitrogen concentrations (<100 ppm) in highly aggregated states. The discovery of lower mantle diamonds at Eurelia extends the area of known Mesozoic kimberlites carrying sublithospheric diamonds within continental fragments of Gondwana. The alignment of the kimberlite localities with the former Gondwana subduction margin and the presence of crustal signatures in the composition of the sublithospheric diamonds provide evidence that deeply subducted remnants of the proto-Pacific plate are the ultimate source of the diamonds. The kimberlite magmatism and the widespread emplacement of Jurassic to Early Cretaceous large igneous provinces in southern Gondwana are also attributed to this subduction process. Geology, January 2009; v. 37; no. 1; p. 43–46; doi: 10.1130/G25055A

Svelata l’origine dei diamanti australiani 

È l’antica placca pacifica consumantasi a grandi profondità sotto il supercontinent Gondwana la causa della formazione dei diamanti e del magmatismo giurassico nel sud dell’Australia.

Una ricerca sui diamanti a Eurelia (sud Australia) di provenienza dal mantello inferiore traccia gli antichi margini della subduzione di età mesozoica della protoplacca pacifica sotto il supercontinente Gondwana, estendendo l’area delle kimberliti conosciute.Questo processo di subduzione antica spiega anche il magamtismo giurassico e cretacico della parte meridionale del Gondwana.

Ancient supercontinent was a diamond factory  Talk about deep, dark secrets. Rare "ultra-deep" diamonds are valuable - not because they look good twinkling on a newlywed's finger - but because of what they can tell us about conditions far below the Earth's crust.Now a find of these unusual gems in Australia has provided new clues to how they were formed.The diamonds, which are white and a few millimetres across, were found by a mineral exploration company just outside the village of Eurelia, some 300 kilometres north of Adelaide, in southern Australia. From there, they were sent to Ralf Tappert, a diamond expert at the University of Adelaide. New Scientist, January 2009; v. 37; no. 1; p. 43–46; doi: 10.1130/G25055A

Significantly warmer Arctic surface temperatures during the Pliocene ABSTRACT Temperatures in the Arctic have increased by an astounding 1 C in response to anthropogenic forcing over the past 20 years and are expected to rise further in the coming decades. The Pliocene (2.6–5.3 Ma) is of particular interest as an analog for future warming because global temperatures were signifi cantly warmer than today for a sustained period of time, with continental confi gurations similar to present. Here, we estimate mean annual temperature (MAT) based upon three independent proxies from an early Pliocene peat deposit in the Canadian High Arctic. Our proxies, including oxygen isotopes and annual ring widths (MAT = –0.5 ± 1.9 C), coexistence of paleovegetation (MAT = –0.4 ± 4.1 C), and bacterial tetraether composition in paleosols (MAT = –0.6 ± 5.0 C), yield estimates that are statistically indistinguishable. The consensus among these proxies suggests that Arctic temperatures were ~19 C warmer during the Pliocene than at present, while atmospheric CO2 concentrations were ~390 ppmv. These elevated Arctic Pliocene temperatures result in a greatly reduced and asymmetrical latitudinal temperature gradient that is probably the result of increased poleward heat transport and decreased albedo. These results indicate that Arctic temperatures may be exceedingly sensitive to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Geology, July 2010; v. 38; no. 7; p. 603–606; doi: 10.1130/G30815

I nostri antenati facevano il bagno nell’acqua calda al Polo Nord Nuove scoperte rivelano che, come nel passato, continuando a immettere CO2 nell’atmosfera, le temperature artiche aumenteranno in maniera vertiginosa.Le osservazioni sul periodo del Pliocene hanno evidenziato delle forti analogie con il presente: alte temperature per un lungo periodo (+20°) e configurazione dei continenti.

Finale

 Negli ultimi vent’anni la temperature dell’Artico è aumentata di 1 grado a causa delle immissioni antropiche ed è destinata a crescere nei prossimi decenni.

Soaring Arctic temperatures – a waring from history

 With carbon dioxide levels close to our own, the Arctic of the Pliocene epoch may have warmed much more than previously thought – and the modern Arctic could go the same way. Ashley Ballantyne at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and colleagues analysed 4-million-year-old Pliocene peat samples from Ellesmere Island in the Arctic archipelago to find out what the climate was like when the peat formed.At that time, CO2 levels are thought to have been close to current levels – around 390 parts per million – but global temperatures were around 2 to 3 °C warmer than today. It was the last warm period before the onset of the Pleistocene glaciation, and is used by climate researchers as a model for our future climate.

New Scientist, 9 July 2010, Jeff Hecht 

Managing the effects of accelerated glacial melting on volcanic collapse and debris flows: Planchon–Peteroa Volcano, Southern Andes  ABSTRACT Glaciated mountains are among the most sensitive environments to climatic changes, and recent work has shown that large-scale glacial melting, including at the end of the Pleistocene, caused a significant increase in the incidence of large volcanic sector collapse and debris flows on then-active volcanoes. With current accelerated rates of glacial melting, glaciated active volcanoes are at an increasing risk of sector collapse, debris flow and landslide. These catastrophic events are Earth's most damaging erosion phenomenon, causing extensive property damage and loss of life.This paper illustrates these effects in well-studied settings, focusing on the end-Pleistocene to Holocene glaciovolcanic growth and destruction of the cone of the active volcano Planchon–Peteroa in the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone at latitude 35° 15  S, along the border between Chile and ′Argentina. The development of the volcano over the last 14,000 years illustrates how glacial melting and magmatic activity can trigger landslides and sector collapses. Planchon had a large sector collapse that produced a highly mobile and erosive debris avalanche 11,000 years BP, and other slope instabilities during the end-Pleistocene/early Holocene deglaciation. The summit amphitheater left after the sector collapse was subject to alternating periods of glaciation and melting-induced lake formation. Breaching of the moraine dams then formed lahars and landslides originating at the western edge of the summit amphitheater, and the deposits are preserved along the western flank of the volcano. Deep incision of moraine deposits further down the western slope of the volcano indicates that the lahars and landslides were water-rich and had high erosive power. As illustrated by Planchon–Peteroa, the interplay among glacial growth and melting, magmatic activity, and slope stability is complex, but must be accounted for in volcanic hazard assessment. Planchon–Peteroa currently has the southernmost temperate zone mountain glacier in the Andes. Accelerated glacial melting at present rates of climate change could lead to a recurrence of many of these post-Pleistocene events.A framework for augmenting hazard assessments and countermeasures is also proposed based on the types of hazards presented by accelerated glacial melting. Glacial melting may lead to volcanic hazards in areas not previously considered at risk, and hence there may be a low level of preparedness. Compared to the end-Pleistocene accelerated glacial melting and sector collapses, present-day glacial melting in volcanic terrain has the potential to affect large human populations. Human settlements, hydropower production, forestry, mining and wilderness tourism are all concentrated near some glaciated volcanic areas. For example, the area covered by the debris avalanche from Volcan Planchon currently supports a rich agricultural economy in Chile.Effective risk management is needed to address the issues of changing patterns in vulnerability, the nature and redistribution of hazards, and the potential socioeconomic consequences of glaciovolcanic events. Since these events are infrequent, local communities frequently do not have a memory of past occurrences, and therefore have a low awareness of the potential effects. Systematic and structured impact assessment allows objective risk analysis, uncertainty analysis, and a framework for balancing countermeasures and contingency measures with public need and acceptance. An impact assessment approach similar to that used in land use planning is presented here, with the following major elements: (i) hazard characterization; (ii) consequence characterization; (iii) risk assessment; (iv) risk control and countermeasures; and (v) risk communication.The emphasis is on effective risk communication, supported by facts, in order to address the increased hazards posed by accelerated glacial melting on volcanic cone stability. Decision makers must then weigh societal acceptance of the risk control and countermeasures against their costs and consequences. Global and Planetary Change, doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.08.003

Vulcani di ghiaccio: le impreviste conseguenze dei cambiamenti climatici 

L’accelerazione dello scioglimento dei ghiacciai determinato dai rapidi cambiamenti climatici sta provocando un incremento di rischio in aree vulcaniche.

- Nuova sfida per I decision maker per affrontare un rischio non previsto dovuto alla concentrazione di insediamenti umani in tali aree.

A warming world could leve cities flattened  EARTH is starting to crumble under the strain of climate change.Over the last decade, rock avalanches and landslides have become more common in high mountain ranges, apparently coinciding with the increase in exceptionally warm periods. The collapses are triggered by melting glaciers and permafrost, which remove the glue that holds steep mountain slopes together.Worse may be to come. Thinning glaciers on volcanoes could destabilise vast chunks of their summit cones, triggering mega-landslides capable of flattening cities such as Seattle and devastating local infrastructure.For Earth this phenomenon is nothing new, but the last time it happened, few humans were around to witness it. Several studies have shown that around 10,000 years ago, as the planet came out of the last ice age, vast portions of volcanic summit cones collapsed, leading to enormous landslides.

 New Scientist, 15 October 2010, Kate Ravilious

A warming world could leve cities flattened  EARTH is starting to crumble under the strain of climate change.Over the last decade, rock avalanches and landslides have become more common in high mountain ranges, apparently coinciding with the increase in exceptionally warm periods. The collapses are triggered by melting glaciers and permafrost, which remove the glue that holds steep mountain slopes together.Worse may be to come. Thinning glaciers on volcanoes could destabilise vast chunks of their summit cones, triggering mega-landslides capable of flattening cities such as Seattle and devastating local infrastructure.For Earth this phenomenon is nothing new, but the last time it happened, few humans were around to witness it. Several studies have shown that around 10,000 years ago, as the planet came out of the last ice age, vast portions of volcanic summit cones collapsed, leading to enormous landslides.

 New Scientist, 15 October 2010, Kate Ravilious

Rising springs along the Silk Road ABSTRACT

Despite its extreme aridity, the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China, part of the ancient Silk Road, has recently been repeatedly flooded by rising springs, forcing ~1000 families to abandon homes. Here we use new isotopic and chemical data for waters collected from the corridor and the Qilian Mountains to investigate the cause of the rising springs. The data show that the springs may have originated from the mountain slopes where glacier melt mixes with the precipitation from a local convective system between the extensively irrigated Hexi Corridor and the Qilian Mountains. Accelerated glacier melting may have increased recharge of groundwater in the Qilian Mountains that was subsequently released by recent earthquakes from the mountains to the valley to raise the local water table. The result has potential implications for the impact of climate change on water resources and management in arid regions. Geology , doi: 10.1130/G25472A.1 

A nuoto sulla Via della SetaLo scioglimento dei ghiacchiai sconvolge la geografia sulla strada di Marco Polo. 

Le variazioni climatiche spingono le zattere di Marco Polo alla deriva nel desertoLo scioglimento dei ghiacciai cambia la vita nelle zone aride della Via della Seta

Silk Road threatened by melting glaciersThe Chinese gateway to the ancient Silk Road is being flooded – and the culprit, researchers say, is climate change. Melting glaciers sitting above the Hexi corridor in Gansu province, once an important trading and military route into Central Asia, are fuelling dramatic regional floods.

The finding illustrates a major problem for the coming century: around the world, arid regions that sit next to glaciers will suffer a spate of floods, then dry up completely when the glaciers melt away.

Once the eastern gateway to the Silk road, the Hexi corridor is sandwiched between the Qilian mountains to the southwest, and lower mountains bordering the Gobi desert to the northeast.

"This is an extremely arid area, with an average annual precipitation of about 125 millimetres," says Chi-Yuen Wang, a geologist and hydrologist at the University of California at Berkeley.

New Scientist, 14 June 2009, Catherine Brahic

Evidence for the survival of the oldest terrestrial mantle reservoir   ABSTRACT Helium is a powerful tracer of primitive material in Earth’s mantle. Extremely high 3He/4He ratios in some ocean-island basalts suggest the presence of relatively undegassed and undifferentiated material preserved in Earth’s mantle. However, terrestrial lavas with high 3He/4He ratios have never been observed to host the primitive leadisotopic compositions that are required for an early (roughly 4.5 Gyr ago) formation age1,2. Here we show that Cenozoic-era Baffin Island and West Greenland lavas, previously found to host the highest terrestrial-mantle 3He/4He ratios3–5, exhibit primitive lead-isotope ratios that are consistent with an ancient mantle source age of 4.55–4.45 Gyr. The Baffin Island and West Greenland lavas also exhibit 143Nd/144Nd ratios similar to values recently proposed for an early-formed (roughly 4.5 Gyr ago) terrestrial mantle reservoir6,7. The combined helium-, lead- and Nd-isotopic compositions in Baffin Island and West Greenland lavas therefore suggest that their source is the most ancient accessible reservoir in the Earth’s mantle, and it may be parental to all mantle reservoirs that give rise to modern volcanism. Nature, Vol 466| 12 August 2010| doi:10.1038/nature09287

Scoperta la più antica sorgente di vulcanismo della Terra  È stata individuata una “finestra” sulle parti più profonde della Terra che mostra come tutte le rocce vulcaniche possano avere un’origine comune.

Nelle lave dell’isola di Baffin e in Groenlandia studi sull’elio hanno indicato per la prima volta un’età di 4,5 miliardi di anni. L’elio dà indicazioni sul materiale primitivo dell’interno della Terra.

Hidden rocks from infant Earth hint at planet’s originA reservoir of rock that remained intact for nearly the entire history of Earth could tell us about how our planet was built. Its chemistry hints that Earth's building blocks may have had a rough time of it, losing their skins before they could unite.

The rocks were thrown up by volcanoes in the Arctic wastes of Baffin Island and Greenland only 62 million years ago, but it seems they came from a store of rock in the mantle that formed 4.5 billion years ago – just after Earth formed.

Because the mantle slowly churns and chemically alters, this comes as a surprise. "We had almost given up hope of finding anything that had survived so long," says Matt Jackson of Boston University. But Jackson and colleagues found that their samples carry isotopes of helium, hafnium and lead in ratios that would only be found in such ancient rocks.

New Scientist, 12 August 2010, Michael Marshall