James Randerson
- Independent Consultant, WATATAWA
Brussels
Independent consultant. Ex-Editorial Director and Managing Ed @POLITICOEurope. Also Ex-science/environment guy Guardian, New Scientist. Pic: James Ewen
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Articles by James Randerson
Climate benefit and ecological cost trade-offs for ocean iron fertilization
Abstract Ocean iron fertilization (OIF) is being discussed as a potential carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy1. Yet the trade-offs between climate benefits and ecological costs remain poorly understood2,3,4. Here we use a process-rich ocean biogeochemical model with validated representations of marine biodiversity and biogeochemistry5 to quantify fertilization potential and ecosystem impact across ten ocean biomes over 60 years.
Forest carbon protocols underestimate climate-driven carbon loss risks
Abstract Although the reduction of fossil fuel emissions remains of the utmost importance to mitigate climate change, maintaining and enhancing carbon sinks in forests have been widely promoted as nature-based climate solutions1,2,3,4. However, disturbances that could result in losses of forest carbon stocks are poorly accounted for when estimating the potential role of forests in climate mitigation5,6,7.
The Q 10 of in situ microbial soil respiration varies with mean annual temperature, precipitation, pH, and plant cover: a meta-analysis and spatial prediction of Q 10
Abstract The temperature sensitivity of soil microbial respiration, commonly quantified using the Q10 coefficient, is a key parameter in carbon cycle models. Uncovering how environmental factors affect in situ Q10 values can therefore provide critical insight into potential shifts in global carbon stocks under climate change. We collected data from previously published field experiments that measured soil microbial respiration across a range of temperatures.
Climate impacts from North American boreal forest fires - Nature Geoscience
Abstract The boreal forest biome is warming rapidly, impacting disturbance regimes and global climate. Boreal forest fires have intensified, initiating both climate warming (positive) and climate cooling (negative) impacts across spatial and temporal scales.
Multi-ignition fire complexes drive extreme fire years and impacts
Abstract Climate change is intensifying fire behavior, with the largest and fastest-spreading fires causing the greatest impacts on people and ecosystems. Yet the mechanisms driving variability and trends in large fires remain poorly understood. Using 12-hour satellite-derived fire tracking data from 2012 to 2023, we show that the merging of separate ignitions into multi-ignition complexes is a key process amplifying fire size and destructive potential across temperate and boreal ecoregions.
Somatic mtDNA mutations at intermediate levels of heteroplasmy are a source of functional heterogeneity among primary leukemic cells
Abstract Somatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are frequently observed in tumors, yet their role in pediatric cancers remains poorly understood. The heteroplasmic nature of mtDNA—where mutant and wild-type mtDNA coexist—complicates efforts to define its contribution to disease progression.
Magnetic field-enhanced vertical integration enables embodied intelligence in untethered soft robots
Abstract Embodied intelligence in soft robotics offers unprecedented capabilities for operating in uncertain, confined, and fragile environments that challenge conventional technologies. However, achieving true embodied intelligence—which requires continuous environmental sensing, real-time control, and autonomous decision-making—faces challenges in energy management and system integration.
A compact cassette tape for DNA-based data storage
Abstract DNA with high storage density can serve as an alternative storage medium to respond to the global explosion of data growth and become a powerful personal storage memory if an integrated compact device can store and handle large-scale data.
Locusts adopt IP3 as a second messenger for olfactory signal transduction
Abstract Insects, unlike vertebrates, use heteromeric complexes of odorant receptors and co-receptors for olfactory signal transduction. However, the secondary messengers involved in this process are largely unknown. Here, we use the olfactory signal transduction of the aggregation pheromone 4-vinylanisole (4VA) as a model to address this question.
Loss of PTDSS1 in tumor cells improves immunogenicity and response to anti-PD-1 therapy
Abstract PTDSS1 (phosphatidylserine synthase 1) encodes an enzyme that facilitates production of phosphatidylserine (PS), which mediates a global immunosuppressive signal. Here, based on in vivo CRISPR screen, we identified PTDSS1 as a target to improve anti–PD-1 therapy. Depletion of Ptdss1 in tumor cells increased expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ)–regulated genes, including B2m, Cxcl9, Cxcl10, and Stat1, even in the absence of IFN-γ stimulation in vitro.
End-to-end inverse design for programmable acoustic tweezers with simultaneous force and torque control by metasurfaces
Abstract Acoustic tweezers leverage acoustic radiation forces for noncontact manipulation.
CD8+HLA-DR+CD27+ T cells define a population of naturally occurring regulatory precursors in humans
Abstract Regulatory Treg cells are essential for immune homeostasis. While CD4 Treg cells are well characterized, CD8 Treg cells remain less understood and are primarily observed in pathological or experimental contexts. Here, we identify a naturally occurring CD8 regulatory precursor Trp cell at the steady state, defined by a CD8+HLA-DR+CD27+ phenotype and a transcriptome resembling CD4 Treg cells.
Investigating the know-do gap in antibiotics prescribing: Experimental evidence from India
Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is largely driven by overuse of antibiotics, which is particularly common in low- and middle-income countries. We combine provider knowledge assessments and over 2000 anonymous standardized patient visits to providers in India to examine why they overprescribe antibiotics for pediatric diarrhea and figure out how to reduce overprescribing. Seventy percent of providers prescribed antibiotics without indication of bacterial infection.
Giant KASH proteins and ribosomes establish distinct cytoplasmic biophysical properties in vivo
Abstract Understanding how cells control their biophysical properties during development remains a fundamental challenge. While macromolecular crowding affects multiple cellular processes in single cells, its regulation in living animals remains poorly understood.
Long-range PM2.5 pollution and health impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires - Nature
Abstract Smoke from extreme wildfires in Canada adversely affected air quality in many regions in 20231,2. Here we use satellite observations, machine learning and a chemical transport model to quantify global and regional PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter) exposure and human health impacts related to the 2023 Canadian wildfires. We find that the fires increased annual PM2.5 exposure worldwide by 0.17 μg m–3 (95% confidence interval, 0.09–0.26 μg m–3).
Seafloor geodesy unveils seismogenesis of large subduction earthquakes in Mexico
Abstract Based on measurements of near-trench deformations of the oceanic and overriding plates, in this investigation, we elucidate the tectonic and mechanical processes leading to the Mw7.0 (moment magnitude of 7.0) Acapulco, Mexico, earthquake in 2021. We exploit unprecedented ocean-bottom observations using ultralong-period “tilt mechanical amplifiers,” along with hydrostatic pressure, global navigation satellite system, and satellite interferometric synthetic aperture radar data.
The OsbZIP35-COR1-OsTCP19 module modulates cell proliferation to regulate grain length and weight in rice
Abstract Grain size substantially influences rice quality and yield. In this study, we identified CONTROL OF SLENDER RICE 1 (COR1), a quantitative trait locus encoding an F-box protein that enhances grain length by promoting cell proliferation. The transcription factor OsbZIP35 represses COR1 expression, while COR1 interacts with OsTCP19, leading to its degradation. Knockout of either OsbZIP35 or OsTCP19 results in increased grain length, confirming their regulatory roles in grain development.
Geospatial patterns in terrestrial organic matter reactivity across four shelf seas spanning the Eurasian Arctic
Abstract Organic matter stored in Arctic permafrost represents a key component of the carbon cycle, yet its reactivity across heterogeneous continent-scale permafrost regions remains poorly understood. Here, we leverage the four shelf seas of the Eurasian Arctic as integrative receptor systems to evaluate terrestrial organic matter reactivity, assessed by examining organic carbon preservation as a function of 14C-constrained cross-shelf transport time.
Rational assembly of 3D network materials and electronics through tensile buckling
Abstract Bioinspired network designs are widely exploited in biointegrated electronics and tissue engineering because of their high stretchability, imperfection insensitivity, high permeability, and biomimetic J-shaped stress-strain responses. However, the fabrication of three-dimensionally (3D) architected electronic devices with ordered constructions of network microstructures remains challenging.
Living with temperature changes: Salicylic acid at the crossroads of plant immunity and temperature resilience
Abstract Salicylic acid (SA) is a key defense hormone shaped by temperature. High temperatures suppress, while low temperatures enhance, SA biosynthesis and signaling, thereby influencing plant immunity and temperature resilience. This review synthesizes current understanding of how temperature modulates SA pathways and their cross-talk with other hormones to balance growth and defense.
Towards more effective nature-based climate solutions in global forests - Nature
Abstract Terrestrial ecosystems could contribute to climate mitigation through nature-based climate solutions (NbCS), which aim to reduce ecosystem greenhouse gas emissions and/or increase ecosystem carbon storage.
Global burned area increasingly explained by climate change - Nature Climate Change
Abstract Fire behaviour is changing in many regions worldwide. However, nonlinear interactions between fire weather, fuel, land use, management and ignitions have impeded formal attribution of global burned area changes. Here, we demonstrate that climate change increasingly explains regional burned area patterns, using an ensemble of global fire models.
How do we stop the burn? - Wildfires in the US: A | Newswise
How do we stop the burn? - Wildfires in the US: A Growing Concern Newswise — The recent surge in wildfires across the United States has become a pressing issue, affecting communities, ecosystems, and air quality. Wildfires' increasing frequency and intensity are alarming due to their immediate and long-term impacts. These fires pose a direct threat to human lives and properties and contribute to significant environmental and climate challenges.
The time since land-use transition drives changes in fire activity in the Amazon-Cerrado region - Communications Earth & Environment
Abstract Deforestation and climate change are expected to alter fire regimes along the Cerrado-Amazon transition, one of the world’s most active agricultural frontiers. Here we tested the hypothesis that the time since land-use transition (age of frontier) and agricultural intensification also drive changes in the region’s fire regimes by reducing fire probability in both drought and non-drought years.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Author Correction: Climate-driven changes in the predictability of seasonal precipitation - Nature Communications
Correction to: Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39463-9, published online 28 June 2023 The original version of this Article contained an error in Fig. 1, in which the vertical axes in all panels showed the cumulative distribution function (“CDF”), i.e., the fraction of land surface area with Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) below a given threshold.
Climate-driven changes in the predictability of seasonal precipitation - Nature Communications
Observations Seasonal average sea surface temperature (SST) at 1° × 1° spatial resolution was derived from the COBE-SST2 datasets. Seasonal total precipitation over land was derived from two data sets: the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP; 2.5° × 2.5° resolution) and Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC; 1° × 1° resolution). The GPCP integrates analyses from satellite and gauge measurements but is only available since 1979.
Uncertainty in US forest carbon storage potential due to climate risks - Nature Geoscience
Abstract Forests have considerable potential to mitigate anthropogenic climate change through carbon sequestration, as well as provide society with substantial co-benefits. However, climate change risks may fundamentally compromise the permanence of forest carbon storage.
The UK needs truth and reconciliation to move past Brexit
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. James Randerson is the former editorial director for platforms and innovation at POLITICO Brits are all Brexiteers now — they need to get used to it and move on. However painful it is for much of the United Kingdom — including many Brexit voters, if polls are to be believed — the country needs to get over the fact that it’s left the European Union.
Living Cities: Antwerp’s drug problem - Paris ‘Olympilanes’ - Blue space benefits
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. A conversation on what makes a livable city. By ESTHER KING and JAMES RANDERSON Send tips | Tweet @POLITICOEurope | View in your browser Happy Thursday, city-lovers, and welcome to the fourth chapter of Living Cities. This week, we spoke to Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborneabout plans to tackle the explosion of drug-related gang violence in Antwerp.
Poland and Lithuania pile pressure on Germany to supply tanks to Ukraine
A move by the German government to supply tanks to Ukraine is a “very, very, very, very needed decision,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday in Davos, arguing that German public opinion is now shifting toward supplying more military aid to Kyiv. Speaking on a panel on Europe’s defense at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Duda and his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nausėda applied sustained pressure on Berlin to send the heavy military kit.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
California Voice: Carbon-offset forests could be doing more to help curb climate change
Many companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are backing that claim by investing in vast swaths of forests to recapture carbon. It turns out this strategy isn’t working very well. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air, reducing the company’s net impact on the climate.
Qatargate: How the key players are connected
The police probe into alleged corruption in the European Parliament continues to grow, with suspicions that Qatar and Morocco have sought to influence EU democracy. Investigators have uncovered over €1.5 million in cash and charged four people in Belgium, including high-ranking Member of the European Parliament Eva Kaili. There have been further arrests in Italy. Here POLITICO maps how the key people caught up in the investigation are connected.
To oni odpowiadają za skandal w Brukseli. Oto co udało się dotąd ustalić w sprawie afery korupcyjnej
Eva Kaili Stanowisko/powiązania: była wiceprzewodnicząca Parlamentu Europejskiego z Grecji, została usunięta z tej roli we wtorek po południu. Status śledztwa: oskarżona przez belgijską policję, nadal przebywa w brukselskim więzieniu. Aleksandros Kailis Stanowisko/powiązania: ojciec Evy Kaili. Status śledztwa: aresztowany, ale zwolniony przez belgijską policję. Francesco Giorgi Stanowisko/powiązania: doradca posła Andrei Cozzolino ds. Bliskiego Wschodu i Afryki Północnej, prywatnie partner Evy Kaili.
Who’s who in the Qatar corruption scandal?
Suitcases of cash. Phones and computers seized. A senior politicians arrested. The sprawling police probe into allegations of “criminal organization, corruption and money laundering” has rocked the European Parliament and the Brussels bubble. The list of people under investigation by Belgian and Italian police continues to grow. Here’s what we know so far: Eva Kaili Position: Former European Parliament vice president from Greece, who was removed from the role Tuesday afternoon.
The Myth of Carbon Offsets
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
No Real Climate Benefit From 10 Years of Forest Carbon Offsets in California
Many of the companies promising "net-zero" emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company's carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Satellites Detect No Real Climate Benefit From 10 Years of Forest Carbon Offsets in California
Many of the companies promising “net-zero” emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company’s carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
Grim Study Shows 10 Years of 'Carbon Offsets' in California Had No Climate Benefit
Environment05 December 2022 By Shane Coffield & James Randerson, The Conversation Many of the companies promising 'net zero' emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company's carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California
Many of the companies promising "net-zero" emissions to protect the climate are relying on vast swaths of forests and what are known as carbon offsets to meet that goal. On paper, carbon offsets appear to balance out a company's carbon emissions: The company pays to protect trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The company can then claim the absorbed carbon dioxide as an offset that reduces its net impact on the climate.
British pound crashes to record low - in 5 charts
The currency markets reacted to new U.K. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget on Friday with a rapid sell-off of Sterling, leading to a slide in the pound's value against the dollar and other currencies. Markets were spooked by the government's plans to slash taxes by £45 billion without significant spending cuts. That means government borrowing will need to rise to cover state spending — although Prime Minister Liz Truss argues that the jolt to the economy will boost tax receipts.
How well has Europe done filling the gas stores before winter?
Winter is coming and Europe knows it can't be at the mercy of Russian gas supplies. With 40 percent of EU demand last year satisfied by gas controlled by the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin has an effective lever to inflict economic and political pain in Europe. A temporary shutdown of the Nordstream pipeline in July gave national governments a foretaste of the havoc the Russian leader could wreak over the winter. Flows through the pipeline were halted again indefinitely on August 31.
A visa ban won’t accomplish what Ukraine wants
Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. In 1976, the dissident Russian writer Vladimir Bukovsky arrived in London. His opposition to the Communists had started at an early age, being thrown out of school in his final year for editing an unauthorized magazine, and by the time he arrived in Britain, he’d spent more than a decade in psychiatric prison-hospitals, labor camps and jails in the Soviet Union.
Heat wave culture warriors should cool it and enjoy the sun
James Randerson is editorial director of Innovation and Platforms at POLITICO Europe. Europe is scorching, and the intense heat has Britain’s right-wing culture warriors particularly hot under the collar. It isn’t the sunshine itself that has them hot and bothered though. Rather, it’s the idea that anyone — the government, health agencies, local authorities or even the Red Cross — should dare offer advice about how to avoid severe health consequences.
Europe’s heat wave - in charts
Southern Europe is already sizzling — and yet Europe's heat wave is set to intensify in the coming days. Low early summer rainfall has already set up drought conditions across large swaths of Portugal, Spain, Italy and Central Europe. And this week a slow-moving high pressure area has brought scorching air up from North Africa. That has set temperature records tumbling in Spain and Portugal.
Human-ignited fires result in more extreme fire behavior and ecosystem impacts - Nature Communications
Abstract California has experienced a rapid increase in burned area over the past several decades. Although fire behavior is known to be closely tied to ecosystem impacts, most analysis of changing fire regimes has focused solely on area burned. Here we present a standardized database of wildfire behavior, including daily fire rate-of-spread and fire radiative power for large, multiday wildfires in California during 2012–2018 using remotely-sensed active fire observations.
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