Editor’s picks: Highlights of 2024

Armaroli et al use stable isotopes to understand the mobility of moose across Sweden using both historical and modern antler samples. Creating this database and then using a machine learning approach they produce first strontium isoscape for Scandinavia, which contributes to furthering understanding of moose movement and a methodology that could be extended to other animals.

Clear data visualization is vital for the communication and understanding of results, but the role of color selection in figures can be overlooked as a factor in accessibility. In this short communication, Nelli presents an open source tool to aid in color palette selection that presents simulations of how figures will appear to people with different types of color blindness.

Trust in scientific research hinges on the ability to replicate findings, which in turn ensure reliability and validity. In this study, Muradcharian et al., assess whether meta-analyses can be used effectively as a measure of replication success. By simulating data under varying conditions, the authors evaluate how well meta-analytical methods align with actual replication outcomes. The findings reveal that meta-analyses performed poorly as a replication success metric, especially keeping in mind publication bias and heterogeneity of datasets. In fact, in some cases, using meta-analytic methods indicated that the replication was a success, regardless of the actual results of the replication study. These results underscore the limitations of meta-analyses as standalone indicators for replication robustness, emphasizing the need for cautious interpretation.

Dziobak et al present evidence from bottlenose dolphins examined during catch-and-release health checks in Florida and Louisiana suggesting that they are inhaling microplastics when they come up for air. Additional research into the extent of inhaled microplastics and their impact on health are still required.

Climate change is one of humanity’s greatest challenges, but not all news is bad news. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the progress of EU countries in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and reveals that most EU countries have seen a decade of progress towards their clean energy goals.

Bayne et al presented MTSviewer, a novel R/Shiny database for profiling all mitochondrial targeting proteins across human and yeast mitochondrial proteomes. MTSviewer investigated the mutational space, targeting sequences, proteolysis, and 3D structures of mitochondrial proteins. With minimal bioinformatics training, users can rapidly generate variant lists, investigate structural consequences, compare the results of various mitochondrial prediction tools, and dissect potential cleavage sites.

The WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) provides a standardized approach to the collection of surveillance data on antimicrobial resistance. Ajulo and Awosile use the GLASS database to investigate the association between antimicrobial consumption and resistance. They find a significant correlation between the consumption of beta-lactam/cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and the resistance of bloodstream E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, highlighting the importance of understanding antimicrobial consumption in the context of global antimicrobial resistance policy development.

The period of austerity politics from 2012 to 2018, in which public spending was reduced in many areas including welfare, social care and local government, is associated with increases in frailty with age compared to pre-austerity times, with higher frailty for women compared to men and for the poorest compared to the richest.

Despite its prevalence, diagnosis of endometriosis is impacted by severe delays. Balogh and colleagues have presented a study protocol to analyze the patient profiles of 10,000 women across Europe, with or without an endometriosis diagnosis. By collecting real-world, self-reported information through monthly questionnaires, they aim to develop phenotypic descriptions of the disease to help achieve earlier detection and reduce the current diagnostic delay.

Microplastics are an increasingly concerning environmental and public health concern, with bioaccumulation demonstrated in a number of food sources, impacting human health. Witsø et al demonstrate the formation and persistence of bacterial biofilms on microplastics in water, along with their resistance to water treatments which may pose a risk to human health by providing a novel vector for bacterial transport. This study highlights the need to reduce and remove microplastics from water sources, and improve water treatments to reduce bacterial survival on these particulates.

Salmon is the most commonly consumed fish in the United States. In this study, Garcia et al genetically barcoded Salmon from 67 grocery stores and 52 sushi restaurants, and used cytochrome oxidase C gene sequencing to identify the fish species. They identified high levels of Salmon fraud, with 18% of salmon samples from both grocery stores and sushi restaurants being mislabelled. They also showed that sushi restaurant salmon misidentifications resulted in customer financial loss by providing the customer with a less expensive salmon species.

Earlier this year, the WHO reported that one in eight people are living with obesity. Overweight and obesity during childhood can significantly affect physical health and well-being throughout the life course. The Generation Healthy Kids intervention uses a whole-systems approach to address multiple determinants of health. The intervention targets not only the school setting, but also the family and local community, and focuses on four behavioral components including diet, physical activity, screen media use, and sleep habits. In this protocol, Thomsen and colleagues report the methodology for the main Generation Healthy Kids study, a cluster-randomized trial in Danish children aged 6-11 years. The primary outcome is healthy body composition as measured by fat mass in the intervention group compared with the control. If effective, the authors hope to scale the intervention through collaboration with local and national partnerships.