Although oil and gas (O&G) derived produced waters and drill cuttings are known to contain enhanced levels of naturally occurring radium-228 (Ra) and radium-226 (Ra), most relevant ecological impact assessments have excluded radiological hazards and focus on other important contaminants, such as hydrocarbons and metals. Also, due to restricted access to the delimiting safety zone around operational O&G platforms, the few previous radioecological risk assessment studies have been conducted using seawater samples collected far from the main discharge point and applying default dilution and transfer factors to estimate concentrations of contaminants in biota. In this case study, sediment cores were collected close to a former O&G platform, Northwest Hutton (NWH), that used to be in the UK North Sea (61.
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January 2025
Surgically remediable epilepsy of the eloquent brain poses the added challenge of preserving function while curing disease. Long-standing epileptogenic lesions have tenacious seizure networks and significant functional reorganizations. Large multilobar lesions may involve multiple functional areas, thereby challenging the limits of functional brain mapping.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReports of proteins in fossilized bones have been a subject of controversy in the scientific literature because it is assumed that fossilization results in the destruction of all organic components. In this paper, a novel combination of analytical techniques is used to address this question for an exceptionally well-preserved sacrum excavated from the Upper Cretaceous strata of the South Dakota Hell Creek Formation. Cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol) shows birefringence consistent with collagen presence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the age of big data and open science, what processes are needed to follow open science protocols while upholding Indigenous Peoples' rights? The Earth Data Relations Working Group (EDRWG), convened to address this question and envision a research landscape that acknowledges the legacy of extractive practices and embraces new norms across Earth science institutions and open science research. Using the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) as an example, the EDRWG recommends actions, applicable across all phases of the data lifecycle, that recognize the sovereign rights of Indigenous Peoples and support better research across all Earth Sciences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFailure of central nervous system (CNS) axons to regenerate after injury results in permanent disability. Several molecular neuro-protective and neuro-regenerative strategies have been proposed as potential treatments but do not provide the directional cues needed to direct target-specific axon regeneration. Here, we demonstrate that applying an external guidance cue in the form of electric field stimulation to adult rats after optic nerve crush injury was effective at directing long-distance, target-specific retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon regeneration to native targets in the diencephalon.
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