YSM Issue 96.2

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NEWS Environmental Studies / Sustainability THE CHANGING LANGUAGE OF OUR CHANGING CLIMATE HOW WORD CHOICE AFFECTS CLIMATE CHANGE PERCEPTION BY PRATIKSHA BHATTACHARYYA FREE AS A BIRD SAVING BIRDS ON YALE’S CAMPUS BY MIA GAWITH IMAGE COURTESY OF FLICKR IMAGE COURTESY OF PXFUEL Researchers from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) are using a novel method to measure public opinion on climate change—studying how people react to different phrases used to describe emissions of carbon dioxide and methane. “Over the last few decades, there has been an increased interest in the terms ‘carbon emissions’ and ‘greenhouse gasses,’” said Matthew Goldberg, an author of the study and associate research scientist at the YPCCC. The team asked study participants questions about climate change, which were identical between participants apart from the specific phrase used to describe carbon emissions—either “greenhouse gas emissions,” “carbon emissions,” or “carbon pollution.” Then, the team tracked differences in responses based on the phrases used. “We were interested in getting a holistic perspective of these terms,” Goldberg said. A key finding was that different reactions to these phrases revealed more about the general associations that participants held with each term. For example, the phrases “carbon pollution” and “carbon emissions” evoked more negative reactions and correlated with a greater understanding of the environmental harms of climate change than the phrase “greenhouse gas emissions.” These insights are crucial for policymakers and environmentalists who want to effectively communicate the urgency of addressing climate change. By paying attention to how people react to the different words used to describe these crucial issues, we can gain insight into how we can best emphasize the need for action. Experts can tailor messaging to better resonate with their audience by being cognizant of widely held associations with key scientific phrases in their communication. ■ We all recognize the signs: the sickening thud on a window, the flutter of feathers hitting the ground, and the stomach-churning dread of peeking outside. As one of the top causes of bird deaths, bird-window collisions kill almost one billion birds per year. However, a new project at Yale University seeks to challenge this reality: the Yale Bird- Friendly Building Initiative, a collaboration between Yale Law School’s Law, Ethics and Animals Program, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Yale Offices of Sustainability and Facilities, and the American Bird Conservancy. Launched in the spring of 2022, the Initiative aims to mitigate bird-window collisions and adopt bird-friendly designs on Yale’s campus and beyond. The Initiative records the location, time, and cause of all reported bird deaths, preserving the bodies for future research. “If I find a dead bird or someone else brings it to me, I want to preserve it because it gives them a second life in a way, because they become imminently useful,” said Kristoff Zyskowski, collections manager at the Yale Peabody Museum. The Initiative found that designs with highly reflective, transparent glass and nearby trees create a deadly optical illusion, luring birds to their death. “Our ultimate goal, in my view, is for Yale to be the gold standard of what it looks like to be a bird-friendly campus,” said Viveca Morris, executive director of the Law, Ethics, and Animals Program. Future developments involve retrofitting Yale buildings and implementing new design regulations on campus and beyond. By saving countless birds, this project sets its sights on a new vision of wildlife sustainability. ■ 6 Yale Scientific Magazine May 2023 www.yalescientific.org
Physiology / Astronomy NEWS A NEW APPROACH TO AN OLD FOE INNOVATION IN AORTIC ANEUR<strong>YSM</strong> SURGERY BY JOHNNY YUE TAKING A PEEK AT PANDORA’S CLUSTER LOOKING UP AT SPACE WITH THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE BY IGNACIO RUIZ-SANCHEZ IMAGE COURTESY OF NAIEM NASSIRI IMAGE COURTESY OF PIXABAY Thoracoabdominal aneurysms (TAAAs) occur when the aorta—the artery carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body—balloons and weakens, which can lead to internal bleeding. Up until the past few years, TAAA surgery required highly invasive procedures with high chances of debilitating side effects, including paraplegia, or lower body paralysis. Endovascular Debranched Aortic Repair (EDAR), a new surgical technique performed at Yale, was first invented by Patrick Kelly of Sanford Health in South Dakota. Vascular surgeon Naiem Nassiri learned about the technology under Kelly’s guidance. “I built six prototypes on my breakfast table, and some took up to six hours to build,” Nassiri said. Together with Prashanth Vallabhajosyula, director of Yale’s Aortic Institute, the medical duo has implemented EDAR to treat the weakened aorta in a minimally-invasive manner. “TAAA surgery used to involve patients getting their entire chest, abdomen, and diaphragm split open, and the procedures were attached to high morbidity and mortality,” Vallabhajosyula said. But EDAR simply involves a stent that is inserted into the body through two small penetrations made in the groin using a needle. The stent, compressed in a tube, is delivered through blood vessels to the aorta. “We’ve done about sixteen cases and haven’t encountered any paraplegia cases (patient paralysis),” Vallabhajosyula said. EDAR shows tremendous promise to treat TAAAs. “What is wonderful about this platform is that at any time, you can decide to stop the operation and bring the patient back at a later date,” Nassiri said. “This minimizes the harm for the patient.” With the surgeons’ expertise, TAAA patients now have new hope for better outcomes. ■ The black background of outer space is studded with white bursts of light—some are sharp lines, while others are surrounded by a white hazy glow. In the foreground sits a star from our own galaxy, shining among a giant group of galaxies located four billion light years away from Earth: Pandora’s Cluster. After the launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, we’ve been fortunate to witness images from the distant corners of our universe, but these are the first, detailed images of Pandora itself. Scientists have been monitoring this galaxy cluster for over a decade, utilizing the most advanced technology available, mainly the Hubble Space Telescope, to get a glimpse of Pandora. However, none have achieved as much as the Webb Telescope to capture stellar pictures of the cluster, unveiling never-before-seen details. The new images were a tireless effort by the Ultradeep NIRSpec and NIRCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER) program, whose team of astronomers included several Yale scientists. The team captured thirty hours of data using Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRcam), with wavelengths capable of detecting the earliest stars in the process of formation and nearby galaxy populations. What’s even more exciting is that the telescope captured Pandora as a megacluster, meaning the combined mass of the four galaxies creates a powerful gravitational lens to expose other very large distant galaxies in the early Universe. While strikingly beautiful, these images are not just potential dorm-room posters or lock screens—this achievement could ultimately help us discover other hidden galaxies, further unraveling the mysteries of our Universe. ■ www.yalescientific.org May 2023 Yale Scientific Magazine 7
Page 1 and 2: Yale Scientific THE NATION’S OLDE
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS More articles online at ww
Page 5: The Editor-in-Chief Speaks THROUGH
Page 9 and 10: Computer Science FOCUS TEACHING MAC
Page 11 and 12: Environmental Science FOCUS THE CAR
Page 13 and 14: Geochemistry FOCUS carbon dioxide d
Page 15 and 16: Medicine FOCUS PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY
Page 17 and 18: Dermatology FOCUS Bumps, whiteheads
Page 19 and 20: Ecology FOCUS ANIMALS AGAINST RISIN
Page 21 and 22: Ecology FOCUS to sediment depositio
Page 23 and 24: Public Health FOCUS In a paper publ
Page 25 and 26: Environmental Engineering FEATURE S
Page 27 and 28: FEATURE Materials Engineering Astro
Page 29 and 30: Bioelectronics FEATURE stability, a
Page 31 and 32: Palaeogenomics FEATURE might have e
Page 33 and 34: Immunology FEATURE viruses, unlike
Page 35 and 36: ALUMNI PROFILE AMYMARIE BARTHOLOMEW
Page 37 and 38: THE DARKNESS MANIFESTO You’ve pro
Page 39 and 40: Wrought into a cycle, carbon schlep

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