tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/grand-challenges-17691/articlesGrand Challenges – The Conversation2023-03-22T12:39:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964732023-03-22T12:39:31Z2023-03-22T12:39:31ZBuilding better brain collaboration online – despite scientific squabbles, the decade-long Human Brain Project brought measurable success to neuroscience collaboration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515898/original/file-20230316-1755-h1n8e9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2101%2C1427&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bringing scientific research online can help improve collaboration to a degree. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/image-of-people-walking-in-a-high-speed-data-space-royalty-free-image/1349695388">Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent years have seen both impressive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3578">advances in computational technologies and neuroscience</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00395-3">increasing prevalence of mental disorders</a>. These forces sparked the launch of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4371">brain science initiatives</a> worldwide. In the past decade, a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-brain-race-can-giant-computers-map-the-mind-12342">brain race</a>” between Europe, <a href="https://theconversation.com/illuminating-the-brain-one-neuron-and-synapse-at-a-time-5-essential-reads-about-how-researchers-are-using-new-tools-to-map-its-structure-and-function-187607">the U.S.</a>, Israel, Japan and China has taken off with the goal of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/the-science-of-big-science">understanding human brain function</a>.</p>
<p>One of the earliest brain initiatives was the 10-year, 1 billion-euro (US$1.33 billion in 2013) <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/about/overview/">Human Brain Project</a>, which launched in 2013 as a flagship science initiative of the European Commission’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181222034306/https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/fet-flagships">Future and Emerging Technologies program</a>. The project <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqMpGrM5ECo">initially sought</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2011.12.015">simulate the entire human brain</a> in a supercomputer within a decade, continuing the work its founder, neuroscientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W3lyJF8AAAAJ&hl=en">Henry Markram</a>, started with his 2005 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1848">Blue Brain Project</a>. Not only did it seek to digitize the brain, but research and laboratory work were also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2011.12.015">designed to be completely digital</a>, with researchers distributed across Europe.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The initial goal of the Human Brain Project was to simulate the entire human brain in a supercomputer.</span></figcaption>
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<p>However, the project was rife with controversy among neuroscientists worldwide. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/482456a">faced skepticism</a> before it even started and gathered <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">heated criticism</a> and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-human-brain-project-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it/">debate</a> once funded. After over 800 neuroscientists worldwide <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160621075754/http://neurofuture.eu/">signed an open letter</a> calling for a revamp of the program, it was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/511133a">completely reorganized</a> in 2015. From then on, its aim was to develop a European digital research infrastructure to advance brain science and create “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">brain-inspired information technology</a>.”</p>
<p>Now, 10 years later, the project is coming to a close. It remains an open question whether it achieved its goals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lucyxiaoluwang.com/">We are</a> <a href="https://www.ip.mpg.de/en/persons/kreyer-ann-christin.html">economists</a> who study how <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=M0QlVjcAAAAJ&hl=en">digital infrastructure</a> can help scientists collaborate in challenging times. Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">recently published research</a> found that while the Human Brain Project experienced major changes in its structure and goals, it was able to promote collaboration through its online forum. </p>
<h2>Evolving research focuses</h2>
<p>The project was composed of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">scientists from various disciplines</a>, including neuroscience, computer science, physics, informatics and mathematics. More than 500 scientists and engineers at over 120 research institutions across Europe and beyond have <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/about-hbp/human-brain-project-ebrains/">engaged in HBP research activities</a>.</p>
<p>Although many neuroscientists view <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.03.027">brain network simulation</a> as an important step to advance brain science, many others criticized the project’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2015.18704">initial focus on computer simulations</a>. Scientists argued that simulations will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/07/human-brain-project-researchers-threaten-boycott">never be enough</a> to explain the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/511125a">function of the entire brain</a> without complementary experiments on animals or tissues. Some viewed the program as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">an IT project</a> rather than one on neuroscience. Others worried that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">other important research areas</a> would be neglected. Combined with perceived <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-human-brain-project-went-wrong-and-how-to-fix-it/">lack of transparency</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/513027a">mismatch between</a> the size of its task, time frame and setup, the reorganization the open letter called for was inevitable.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Timeline of Human Brain Project milestones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=191&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501528/original/file-20221216-23-v4jcww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Human Brain Project aimed to achieve ambitious milestones despite major restructuring and controversy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">Lucy Xiaolu Wang and Ann-Christin Kreyer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>After revamping, the project dropped its original goal of complete brain simulation to focus on advancing brain sciences with computational science. </p>
<p>The project also started hosting supercomputer-powered online research platforms <a href="https://wiki.ebrains.eu/bin/view/Collabs/the-collaboratory/">on the Collaboratory</a> for researchers to virtually collaborate in 2016. This infrastructure enabled the development of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">advanced software and complex brain simulations</a> by providing cloud-based platforms for collaboration and data storage, as well as data analytics, supercomputers and modeling tools. </p>
<p>In 2018, the platform host transitioned from the project to <a href="https://ebrains.eu/">EBRAINS</a> as an upgraded and permanent version powered by new E.U. neuroscience supercomputing centers. EBRAINS is intended to serve as the backbone for a pan-European online neuroscience research platform after the project ends. Through EBRAINS, the project’s research data, models, tools and results <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118973">will be made accessible</a> for further research.</p>
<h2>The HBP online forum</h2>
<p>To complement the research platforms, the <a href="https://forum.humanbrainproject.eu/">Human Brain Project Forum</a> was launched in July 2015 to facilitate informal collaboration and knowledge-sharing. Users discussed both project-related activities and broad neuroscience programming challenges on this public forum. All topics and discussions could be viewed freely online, and anyone could make an account to post a question or comment on an existing thread. Opening the forum to the public was intended to facilitate the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.046">exchange of results and expertise</a> with outside researchers to help achieve the project’s ambitious goals.</p>
<p>We wanted to know if the forum succeeded in its goal of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">connecting researchers</a> both within and beyond the project community. To answer this question, we examined patterns of user interaction and problem-solving on the forum from when it opened in July 2015 through March 2021. We measured user interaction by collecting data on all posted questions and replies, linked with available user information on the site or via public search. To analyze what factors facilitated collaborative problem-solving, we examined the solution status of the questions and users within each thread. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of Human Brain Project research focus areas and structure" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501529/original/file-20221216-12-gy294k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The structure of the Human Brain Project platforms and the online forum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">Lucy Xiaolu Wang and Ann-Christin Kreyer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>We found that the average interaction within each posted thread is comparable to <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/">Stack Overflow</a>, a popular Q&A website for programmers. On average, each Human Brain Project forum thread <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278402">received 3.7 replies</a> compared with <a href="https://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/50588/minimum-maximum-and-average-number-of-answers-per-post">1.47 replies per question</a> on Stack Overflow. Despite a drop in usage during early 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, forum use rose substantially in late 2020 and early 2021.</p>
<p>Questions about programming related to the project’s core research areas gathered more attention, active discussion and faster resolution. While questions that attracted users from many countries are discussed more actively, they took longer to resolve. Problems with administrator support were solved faster overall. Patterns of online interaction did not significantly differ by project affiliation status, gender or seniority level. </p>
<p>Overall, the forum appeared to be an inclusive online community that fostered collaboration.</p>
<h2>Digitizing the life sciences</h2>
<p>There is a need to partially digitize the traditionally more laboratory-based life sciences. The U.S. Department of Energy highlighted this need when it created the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/national-virtual-biotechnology-laboratory-unites-doe-labs-against-covid-19">National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory</a> in 2020, a consortium of national laboratories that uses supercomputer facilities to help scientists coordinate a united response against the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>But digitization doesn’t guarantee successful collaboration. While Europe’s Human Brain Project began with one specific goal that soon fell apart with controversy and disagreement, the ongoing U.S. <a href="https://braininitiative.nih.gov/">Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative</a> had no single vision. Following a more traditional research approach, multiple teams <a href="https://theconversation.com/illuminating-the-brain-one-neuron-and-synapse-at-a-time-5-essential-reads-about-how-researchers-are-using-new-tools-to-map-its-structure-and-function-187607">work independently on various topics</a>. The BRAIN Initiative had received <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/sites/default/files/documents/BRAIN_Initiative_Technical_Summary_Flyer_508C.pdf">over $3 billion in funding by 2022</a> – three times the amount for the Human Brain Project.</p>
<p>While the long-term impact of the project may not be fully understood, the <a href="https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/summit-2023/">Human Brain Project Summit 2023</a> from March 28 to 31 is set to provide a venue for open discussion with the broader community on what the HBP has achieved. Institutional support for neuroscience research can yield tremendous returns, but it remains unclear how to best design scientific organizations and use digitization in the process. We believe studying the science of science research could help achieve the collaboration and shared goals these initiatives seek.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The European Union’s 10-year Human Brain Project is coming to a close. Whether this controversial 1 billion-euro project achieved its aims is unclear, but its online forum did foster collaboration.Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Resource Economics Dept., UMass AmherstAnn-Christin Kreyer, Ph.D. Candidate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and CompetitionLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1876072022-08-04T12:22:28Z2022-08-04T12:22:28ZIlluminating the brain one neuron and synapse at a time – 5 essential reads about how researchers are using new tools to map its structure and function<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475765/original/file-20220725-30588-3lzyhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1960%2C1527&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. BRAIN Initiative seeks to elucidate the connection between brain structure and function.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/computer-artwork-of-human-brain-profile-royalty-free-illustration/85757401">Science Photo Library - PASIEKA/Brand X Pictures via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientists know both a lot and very little about the brain. With <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1906.01703">billions of neurons and trillions of connections</a> among them, and the experimental limitations of examining the seat of consciousness and bodily function, studying the human brain is a technical, theoretical and ethical challenge. And one of the biggest challenges is perhaps one of the most fundamental – seeing what it looks like in action.</p>
<p>The U.S. <a href="https://braininitiative.nih.gov">Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative</a> is a collaboration among the National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation, Food and Drug Administration and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity and others. Since its inception in 2013, <a href="https://braininitiative.nih.gov">its goal</a> has been to develop and use new technologies to examine how each neuron and neural circuit comes together to “record, process, utilize, store, and retrieve vast quantities of information, all at the speed of thought.”</p>
<p>Just as <a href="https://theconversation.com/genomic-sequencing-heres-how-researchers-identify-omicron-and-other-covid-19-variants-172935">genomic sequencing</a> enabled the creation of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-genome-project-pieced-together-only-92-of-the-dna-now-scientists-have-finally-filled-in-the-remaining-8-176138">comprehensive map of the human genome</a>, tools that elucidate the connection between brain structure and function could help researchers answer long-standing questions about how the brain works, both in sickness and in health.</p>
<p>These five stories from our archives cover research that has been funded by or advances the goals of the BRAIN Initiative, detailing a slice of what’s next in neuroscience.</p>
<h2>1. Mapping the brain</h2>
<p>Attempts to map the structure of the brain date back to <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/class/history13/earlysciencelab/body/brainpages/brain.html">antiquity</a>, when philosophers and scholars had only the unaided eye to map anatomy to function. New <a href="https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/golgi-staining-technique">visualization techniques</a> in the 20th century led to the discovery that, just like all the other organs of the body, the brain is composed of individual cells – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.02.053">neurons</a>.</p>
<p>Now, <a href="https://theconversation.com/mapping-how-the-100-billion-cells-in-the-brain-all-fit-together-is-the-brave-new-world-of-neuroscience-170182">further advances in microscopy</a> that make use of artificial intelligence and genomics have allowed scientists not just to see each individual neuron in the entire brain, but also to identify the connections among them and begin to ascertain their function. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Stitched high-resolution microscopy image of mouse brain." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432261/original/file-20211116-25-1vtphzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Zooming in on this high-resolution image of a mouse brain reveals rectangular lines where individual image tiles were stitched together, each colored dot representing a specific cell type.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://kimlab.io">Yongsoo Kim</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Neuroscientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WOQx1ksAAAAJ&hl=en">Yongsoo Kim</a> of Penn State likened this method to a photo mosaic, piecing together areas of the brain that haven’t been charted before. “It’s like building a Google map of the brain,” wrote Kim. “By combining millions of individual street photos, you can zoom in to see each street corner and zoom out to see an entire city.” Creating these high-resolution maps, he wrote, could help scientists develop new theories on how the brain works and lead to better treatments for brain disorders like dementia.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mapping-how-the-100-billion-cells-in-the-brain-all-fit-together-is-the-brave-new-world-of-neuroscience-170182">Mapping how the 100 billion cells in the brain all fit together is the brave new world of neuroscience</a>
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<h2>2. Brain folds and wrinkles</h2>
<p>Another fundamental question researchers have been puzzling over is how the brain develops the bumps and grooves that riddle its surface. Until roughly the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fcercor%2Fbhr053">second trimester</a> of fetal development, the human brain is completely smooth.</p>
<p>Scientists have proposed a number of theories on the mechanics of brain folding. One of them, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1740783">differential tangential growth</a>, posits that folds form because of a mismatch in growth rates between the outer and inner layers of the brain. To ease the forces compressing the outer layer and restore structural stability, the layers buckle and fold.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Harvard researchers modeled how folding reduces instability caused by differential growth rates in the brain.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Biomechanical engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ukOZ0BAAAAAJ&hl=en">Mir Jalil Razavi</a> and computer scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=r6DIjzUAAAAJ&hl=en">Weiying Dai</a> of Binghamton University <a href="https://theconversation.com/brain-wrinkles-and-folds-matter-researchers-are-studying-the-mechanics-of-how-they-form-170194">created models</a> to clarify this theory. They identified other factors that may also be at play, like the number of axons – the part of the neuron that transmits electrical signals – in a particular area. “Our brain models provide a potential explanation for why brains may form abnormally during development, highlighting the important role that the brain’s structure plays in its proper functioning,” they wrote.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/brain-wrinkles-and-folds-matter-researchers-are-studying-the-mechanics-of-how-they-form-170194">Brain wrinkles and folds matter – researchers are studying the mechanics of how they form</a>
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<h2>3. Where memories are stored</h2>
<p>Just like the RAM in a computer, memories take up physical space in the brain. Researchers have hypothesized that memories may be stored by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-2236(94)90101-5">rearranging the connections, or synapses</a>, among neurons. While this theory has largely been confirmed by observing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/37601">changes in the electrical signals</a> neurons produce after memory formation, what triggers these changes has been unclear.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Image of magenta-colored neurons in a live fish brain, with the synapses colored in green" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440053/original/file-20220110-27-14nulz7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Neurons in a live fish brain, with synapses colored green.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zhuowei Du and Don B. Arnold</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Biomedical engineer <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=z040dHgAAAAJ&hl=en">Don Arnold</a> of the University of Southern California and his colleagues took a mapping approach. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-memories-stored-in-the-brain-new-research-suggests-they-may-be-in-the-connections-between-your-brain-cells-174578">compared 3D maps of zebrafish synapses</a> before and after memory formation – namely, learning to associate a light with an unpleasant stimulus. They found that one brain region gained synapses while another’s were destroyed, indicating that associative memories may be a result of the formation and loss of connections among neurons.</p>
<p>These findings imply that it might one day be possible to treat conditions like PTSD by physically erasing the associative memory linking a harmless trigger with a traumatic experience. More research is needed, and there are obvious ethical considerations to address. “Nevertheless,” Arnold wrote, “it’s tempting to imagine a distant future in which synaptic surgery could remove bad memories.”</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-are-memories-stored-in-the-brain-new-research-suggests-they-may-be-in-the-connections-between-your-brain-cells-174578">Where are memories stored in the brain? New research suggests they may be in the connections between your brain cells</a>
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<h2>4. Seizures hijack memory pathways</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.epilepsy.com/what-is-epilepsy/understanding-seizures">Seizures</a> are sudden surges of electrical activity in the brain. People who experience temporal lobe seizures are sometimes unable to remember what happened immediately prior. This may be due to disruptions to the circuitry in the hippocampus, the part of the temporal lobe key to memory consolidation.</p>
<p>Neurology researchers <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bjrXv58AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Anastasia Brodovskaya</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nMb-pTcAAAAJ&hl=en">Jaideep Kapur</a> of the University of Virginia hypothesized that seizures can cause memory loss by <a href="https://theconversation.com/seizures-can-cause-memory-loss-and-brain-mapping-research-suggests-one-reason-why-172280">using the same pathways</a> the brain uses to process memories. They mapped the neurons of mice learning to navigate a maze and during induced seizures, finding that both cases activated the same brain circuits.</p>
<p>“Because they use the same brain pathways, seizures can disrupt the memory consolidation process by taking over the circuit,” they wrote. “This meant that seizures can hijack the memory pathways and cause amnesia.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/seizures-can-cause-memory-loss-and-brain-mapping-research-suggests-one-reason-why-172280">Seizures can cause memory loss, and brain-mapping research suggests one reason why</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. What the nose knows</h2>
<p>What the eye can’t see, the nose can for many organisms. From dogs to mosquitoes, many animals behave in ways that allow them to detect and pursue an odor long before its source comes into view.</p>
<p>Scientists <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wn_f7y0AAAAJ&hl=en">John Crimaldi</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JEi-fdoAAAAJ&hl=en">Brian Smith</a>, <a href="https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/elizabeth-j-hong">Elizabeth Hong</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GpkJjVUAAAAJ&hl=en">Nathan Urban</a> of the <a href="https://www.odor2action.org/">Odor2Action</a> research network use technology to study olfaction, or sense of smell. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-odor-to-action-how-smells-are-processed-in-the-brain-and-influence-behavior-173811">trace how the shape of an odor plume</a> informs how it will be detected, how those odor molecules are translated into electrical signals in the brain, and how these electrical signals are reformatted into useful information that influence behavior.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MyHR6a-zJM0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video from the Wachowiak Lab at the University of Utah shows the activity of the olfactory bulb in a mouse brain. Each odor the mouse is exposed to makes different combinations of neurons light up.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A better understanding of the olfactory system, they wrote, can lead to the development of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0278364908095118">electronic noses</a> that make searching for chemical weapons and disaster victims safer for people and animals. They also believe that examining the olfactory system can help advance study of the brain. “Its relative simplicity is what allows scientists like us to study it from end to end and learn how the brain works as a whole,” they wrote.</p>
<p>While a grand unified theory of the brain still remains elusive, new tools and techniques are helping researchers excavate its hidden depths. As Crimaldi and his team put it, “An exciting future in scientific and medical development, we believe, is right under our noses.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-odor-to-action-how-smells-are-processed-in-the-brain-and-influence-behavior-173811">From odor to action – how smells are processed in the brain and influence behavior</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
From figuring out where memories are stored to how sensory information translates to behavior, new technologies are helping neuroscientists better understand how the brain works.Vivian Lam, Associate Health and Biomedicine EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1464582020-10-01T12:24:37Z2020-10-01T12:24:37ZWant to solve society’s most urgent problems? Cash prizes can spur breakthroughs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360933/original/file-20200930-14-2wv59e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=352%2C262%2C5111%2C3374&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many prizes that aim to spur innovation are winner-take-all.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/students-from-t-dt-innovation-lab-of-northeastern-news-photo/1167889992">VCG for 2019 RoboMaster Robotics Competition Final Tournament via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Innovation is a critical part of tackling problems in areas as diverse as transportation, housing, public health and energy. But the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs who might generate creative solutions often investigate issues or pursue economic opportunities in other less urgent fields. Incentives for science and innovation try to steer efforts toward the most pressing societal problems.</p>
<p>Prizes – cash rewards for scientific, engineering and other achievements – are one form of incentive that has been around for a very long time. In the 18th century, for example, organizations such as the Royal Society in the U.K. <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w21375">awarded medals to scientists for their breakthrough research</a>.</p>
<p>Today, in addition to this type of scientific award, there are also prizes for solutions to diverse problems, including the invention of <a href="https://www.herox.com/TheMerlinPrize">new transportation means for disabled people</a>, the engineering of <a href="https://americanmadechallenges.org/batteryrecycling/">new battery recycling methods</a>, and even the development of <a href="https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/xTech-COVID-19-ventilator-challenge/">technologies to treat COVID-19 patients</a>. <a href="https://earthshotprize.org">A new Earthshot Prize</a>, which Prince William recently announced, will award 50 prizes worth 1 million pounds each over the next 10 years. It’s one example of a monetary prize used as incentive to develop solutions to pressing global environmental problems. There are also “open innovation” websites, such as <a href="https://www.innocentive.com">InnoCentive</a>, that companies use to source ideas and inventions from thousands of problem solvers in exchange for prizes.</p>
<p>All these prizes seek to focus creativity and investment by attracting the smartest and most creative people who, with the right incentive, might focus on the highlighted problem and in turn come up with amazing breakthroughs. Researchers like me work to determine how effective these prizes really are as drivers of innovation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="people on stage holding awards" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360931/original/file-20200930-16-u77rx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breakthrough Prize winners, onstage in 2019, are recognized for remarkable achievements in fundamental physics, life sciences and mathematics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nov-4-2019-jeffery-chen-1st-r-winner-of-the-fifth-annual-news-photo/1180015533">Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reward past achievements, motivate future breakthroughs</h2>
<p>There are two main types of prizes. Scientific awards, which include both historic medal awards and the more recent Nobel Prizes, for example, are a retrospective recognition for outstanding contributions to science rather than an incentive to embark on one specific line of inquiry. To award them, every year, a number of judges examine the achievements of the nominees and pick winners.</p>
<p>Grand prizes, in contrast, offer rewards to the first participant who achieves a particular feat that is of interest to the prize organizer. For example, in the 1990s, the Ansari X Prize offered US$10 million for the first private manned spacecraft that went to space twice within two weeks. Participants had to meet these specific criteria to be able to claim the prize, which ultimately <a href="https://www.xprize.org/prizes/ansari">sought to promote space tourism</a>. Generally, this type of prize names a single winner who takes home all the prize money. But sometimes there are smaller second and third prizes too.</p>
<p>Thanks to the Ansari X Prize and other popular competitions like the $30 million <a href="https://lunar.xprize.org/prizes/google-lunar">Google Lunar X Prize</a> for Moon exploration and the $5 million <a href="https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2014-03-13">DARPA Grand Challenges</a> for the development of autonomous vehicles (all case studies that I investigated), companies, governments and nonprofit organizations began using prizes more actively and, with help from the internet, made them more popular and exciting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C0%2C1889%2C1281&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="astronaut stands on top of SpaceShip One holding American flag" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C0%2C1889%2C1281&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360930/original/file-20200930-14-12l3b9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">SpaceShipOne took home the $10 million Ansari X Prize in 2004.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PRIVATESPACESHIP/095e52d08305403289ca900174800a20/photo?Query=spaceshipone&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=5&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Laura Rauch</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Analyzing prizes’ effects on innovation</h2>
<p>When I started <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KtaiIC8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researching how competitions work as incentives</a> back in the mid-2000s, there was little empirical evidence, even though prizes have been around for a very long time. Since then, research has helped untangle the way prizes work and their <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/technological-innovation-and-prize-incentives-9781781006474.html">potential to encourage science and innovation</a>.</p>
<p>Studies have found, for example, that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2011.00653.x">motivations to compete for prizes</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2016-5399">are as diverse as the people and teams</a> that participate. <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/documents/embed/link/LF2255DA3DD1C41C0A42D3BEF0989ACAECE3053A6A9B/file/DE517679ACAD6C1D2A4486477D3DA923E7B66B5BA900">Bigger cash prizes</a> help attract media attention and more participants, but also draw innovators with the possibility of finding a new job, the chance to learn about science and technology, or simply the opportunity to participate in a project that could help change the world.</p>
<p>Prizes compete with other more prevalent incentives for the innovators’ attention and efforts in today’s globally connected and fast-paced world. Prestige, for example, is a <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo28451565.html">very important motivation in science</a>, and <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/innovation-and-incentives">lucrative markets drive innovation</a> within companies.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/technological-innovation-and-prize-incentives-9781781006474.html">evidence also shows</a> that new grand prizes attract new investments and may also raise awareness of important problems and influence the direction of ongoing research. Engaging notable figures, leaders and partners, as the Earthshot Prize does, helps to promote the mission of the prize and attract even more interest. Participants who have no scientific or engineering experience might still contribute novel ideas and solutions in prizes that have fewer eligibility requirements and attract more diverse contributors.</p>
<p>Note that since prizes pay only for results – the winning solution – participants need to be resourceful and actively seek support from friends, family and investors.</p>
<p>So, well-designed prizes can stimulate more creativity and innovation, but whether they achieve certain goals ultimately depends on who participates and the broader economic conditions when prize competitions are held. The Google Lunar X Prize, for example, was a fairly open competition and attracted diverse participants, including some who probably didn’t have the skills and experience to complete a lunar mission. The financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath made fundraising even more difficult for them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man holding plaque beside a model of a robotic spacecraft" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360932/original/file-20200930-16-1ty73fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rahul Narayan led Team Indus in pursuit of the Google Lunar X Prize.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/team-leader-rahul-narayan-a-software-engineer-and-news-photo/626101916">Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making prizes more effective</h2>
<p>There are at least two important questions that researchers could investigate next so that companies, governments and other prize organizations have more insights into the potential of prizes to accomplish their goals and foster creativity and innovation.</p>
<p>First, how can one systematically measure the impact of prizes? The very nature of prizes <a href="https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/technological-innovation-and-prize-incentives-9781781006474.html">makes them difficult to evaluate</a>. For example, volunteers, part-time participants and indirect investments are sometimes not accounted for, which gives an incomplete picture of their true impact.</p>
<p>Second, what are the best cases in which to use prizes? Conflicting views <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3571437">in favor of</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3576481">against grand prizes for COVID-19 solutions</a> provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-012-9198-2">just one example</a> of how little is known about when it is the right opportunity to use this type of incentive. Grand prizes have helped develop space technologies, for instance, but other areas such as COVID-19 solutions, cancer research or climate change mitigation might require other types of prizes or entirely different incentives.</p>
<p>Today, prizes are just a small part of the diverse motivations of scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs to come up with new ideas and technologies. Figuring out more about how prizes fit within this ecosystem will unlock their full potential and make them more effective incentives for science and innovation.</p>
<p><em>This story was updated to include mention of the Earthshot Prize.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146458/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Kay's work on prizes has been supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 1734767 and SBE-0965103 and a research stipend from The IBM Center for the Business of Government. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or The IBM Center for the Business of Government.</span></em></p>Society has never faced more pressing challenges. Researchers are investigating how monetary prizes can help focus innovators’ attention, creativity and investment on finding solutions.Luciano Kay, Research Associate at the Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, University of California, Santa BarbaraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1271462020-01-03T06:15:25Z2020-01-03T06:15:25ZHow some corporations can have positive impact in communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303119/original/file-20191122-74593-18tdfwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dealing with grand challenges: It’s not about the rains, it’s about the drains</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What is the role of corporations in addressing <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0170840614563742">grand challenges</a>? Grand challenges are complex, pressing social and ecological problems involving diverse actors. They defy straightforward solutions.</p>
<p>Corporations contribute to such problems by, for instance, exacerbating <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amj.2015.0718">climate change</a> or <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joms.12325">social inequality</a>. But they could also contribute significant resources to developing solutions to grand challenges. This is especially if these are linked to their core corporate strategies, rather than branding or discretionary contributions to philanthropic projects. </p>
<p>There is significant research on support by corporates for social and ecological projects. There has, however, been less research on why and how profit-driven corporations invest in potential solutions to multifaceted and complex social and ecological challenges as part of their core strategy.</p>
<p>To better understand why and how corporations might do this, we <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10551-019-04345-y">studied</a> resilience building efforts in five communities in South Africa. These are supported by four corporations. We also included in our study three auxiliary company case studies. This helped us to explain better why some companies engage in such efforts and others don’t.</p>
<p>The four corporations have systematically contributed to the ability of five communities to enhance and maintain their members’ livelihoods in the face of gradual and sudden social-ecological changes. These include climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, declining food security or growing social inequalities.</p>
<p>In doing so, these corporations addressed a number of interconnected grand challenges facing the five communities. These efforts were strategic because they involved significant investments by the companies in projects that sought to address core business risks. The investments weren’t driven primarily by regulatory compliance, reputation, or philanthropic objectives.</p>
<h2>Place-specific resources at risk</h2>
<p>We <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10551-019-04345-y">discovered</a> that the investments were motivated for by managers based on their assessments that strategically important corporate resources were at risk due to social-ecological changes in the four communities.</p>
<p>For example, managers in a retail company in our sample raised concerns about growing water risks for some of the company’s important fresh produce suppliers. These suppliers were located in a particular catchment that faced a growing threat of drought in the context of growing demand. The retail company had a long-term relationship with these suppliers and could not easily shift to other suppliers. The managers thus explored what might be done about these risks. In doing this, they worked with a range of local, national, and even international organisations.</p>
<p>In another case, managers in an insurance company became concerned about increased insured losses in a particular district due to fires and floods. Redlining the area or raising premiums was not a desirable strategic option. So some other response needed to be found.</p>
<h2>Points of leverage</h2>
<p>Having identified and assessed these risks, the corporate managers identified points of leverage that were amenable to intervention. This was important because the complex nature of the social-ecological challenges needed a tangible, focused intervention. Even so, these points of leverage could generally not be influenced by the corporation itself. Managers therefore identified key actors they could collaborate with.</p>
<p>In the case of the insurance company, managers identified climate change as the root cause of the increased incidence and severity of fires and floods. The company obviously had no direct way of addressing this root cause. The managers thus focused on what they called “proximate risk drivers”. These are the diverse, local factors that translated extreme weather events into loss of life or assets. For example, how well a municipality’s drainage system is maintained is a key factor influencing whether an intense downpour leads to flooding. As emphasised by one of the researchers working with the company, “it’s not about the rains, it’s about the drains!”</p>
<p>Many of these proximate risk drivers are within the jurisdiction of local government. The company therefore partnered with the municipality. They jointly work on reducing local risks associated with fires and floods. The company contributed funds to this partnership. More importantly, it also contributed firm-specific resources, including the expertise, data, and models to appraise fire and flood risks in the landscape.</p>
<p>In the case of the retail company, managers and their NGO partners identified the spread of alien invasive vegetation as an important contributor to water risks in the catchment. The alien vegetation consumed much more water than the indigenous vegetation. There were diverse initiatives to fight this spread, but they struggled because of a lack of coordination among role-players. The company therefore paid for an intermediary person, whose task was to enhance coordination and improve trust among these role-players. Interviewees highlighted the important impact of this intermediary person.</p>
<h2>System viability</h2>
<p>Our findings have practical implications because they show under what conditions corporations are motivated to make significant contributions to community resilience. They also talk to the kind of choices managers face in designing such interventions. On the one hand, this suggests that at least some corporations have strategic incentives to address grand challenges. On the other, our analysis also cautions against too much optimism. These strategic incentives are not necessarily prominent across many corporations.</p>
<p>Our study also makes a number of theoretical contributions. One of these is to challenge the predominant emphasis of strategic management theory on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0149206310390219">competitive advantage</a> as the overriding or even only strategic priority for corporate managers. We show that in the context of climate change and social inequality, managers give increasing attention to <em>system viability</em> as a strategic concern. This expands the scope of their <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amr.2014.0238">attention</a> to broader social-ecological context. It also forces them to work with diverse role-players, and in some cases even competitors, to address shared risks and challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ralph Hamann works for the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. He received funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the UCT African Climate and Development Institute. He is affiliated to the Embedding Project, an engaged scholarship initiative, in which corporate members contribute funding and other resources to co-create practically and theoretically relevant knowledge on business sustainability challenges. Some case study companies in the research reported on in this article are members of this initiative (see journal article for details).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clifford Shearing receives funding from the National Research Foundation in South Africa.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Ziervogel works for University of Cape Town. She receives funding from an AXA grant on urban governance through her Chair in the African Climate and Development Initiative. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Zhang and Lulamile Makaula do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Companies can make a significant contribution to the resilience of communities, and they need not do so only for philanthropic or regulatory reasons. At times, it makes good business sense.Ralph Hamann, Professor, University of Cape TownAlan Zhang, PhD student, MIT Sloan School of ManagementClifford Shearing, Professor of Law and Leader of the Global Risk Governance programme, University of Cape TownGina Ziervogel, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape TownLulamile Makaula, Research analyst, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428532015-06-08T04:16:40Z2015-06-08T04:16:40ZCollaboration plan for South African scientists fails to take off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84124/original/image-20150605-8704-i2wa53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scientists have struggled to work together to provide solutions for societal challenges such as energy and climate change. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A South African government plan to encourage scientists from different disciplines to work together and help shift the country’s economy towards a <a href="http://www.oecd.org/sti/sci-tech/1913021.pdf">knowledge-based one</a> has had a slow start. </p>
<p>Academics have not managed to work collaboratively to address, for example, the need for solutions in technology and energy, and energy and climate change. </p>
<p>As a result, South African academics are unlikely to meet the goals of government’s highly ambitious <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/Global_Change_Research_Plan_-_Concise_version%20-Draft1.pdf">Global Change Programme</a>. </p>
<h2>A plan with good intentions</h2>
<p>Seven years ago the Department of Science and Technology challenged South African scientists to collaborate on the production of knowledge that could be used to drive economic growth and social upliftment. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/CPSI/UNPAN027810.pdf">plan</a> called on South African scientists to take part in trans-disciplinary research. It was hoped that their efforts would provide solutions for some of the country’s most pressing social and economic problems. </p>
<p>The plan had four major knowledge themes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Understanding a changing planet;</p></li>
<li><p>Reducing the human footprint;</p></li>
<li><p>Adapting the way we live; and</p></li>
<li><p>Innovation for sustainability.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There were also 18 key <a href="http://www.gov.za/documents/%0Aglobal-change-grand-challenge-national-research-plan">research themes</a>, and five grand challenges. These were: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Strengthening the “farmer to pharma” value chain to make South Africa a world leader in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals;</p></li>
<li><p>Ensuring that the space science and technology sector contributes to innovation;</p></li>
<li><p>Addressing energy security issues through long-term solutions for clean coal technologies, nuclear energy, renewable energy and the hydrogen economy;</p></li>
<li><p>Tackling global climate change challenges; and</p></li>
<li><p>Encouraging South African science to play a key role in stimulating growth and development.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84125/original/image-20150605-8732-daqeki.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research across scientific disciplines has not produced the desired results over the past five years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The missing links</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.sajs.co.za/sites/default/files/Volume%20111%20Issue%205-6%20%283MB%29_0.pdf">assessment</a> measured the level of research collaboration among scientists from different backgrounds using a model that calculated how often key words in research projects could be linked across themes. The projects we researched were presented at the 2014 conference on global change. </p>
<p>We used the linkages as a proxy for the extent to which the themes cut across disciplines. We found 164 linkages in 234 research projects.</p>
<p>The themes most often incorporated in the research projects were monitoring (26%), climate (10%), economics (10%), species (8%), conservation (8%), ecosystems (7%), ocean (6%), modelling (6%) and agriculture (5%). </p>
<p>But, troublingly, we found little or no links between the research topics and some of the key factors that will determine the achievement of South Africa’s objective of a knowledge-based economy. </p>
<p>For example, energy is vital for a growing economy. South Africa struggles to maintain energy security and has failed to resolve its energy shortage. This has resulted in slower economic growth and constrained investment. Energy shortages have also been found to constrain the development of <a href="http://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/38509686.pdf">sustainability initiatives</a> and the innovation required to realise a knowledge-based economy. </p>
<p>Failure to improve in this area could reflect the lack of trans-disciplinary links between technology and energy, and between energy and climate change. South Africa is a <a href="http://urbanearth.co.za/system/files/private/Urban%20Earth_SA%20Carbon%20Snapshot_0.pdf">leading carbon emitter</a> and lacks the energy technology beyond using unsustainable <a href="http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_saf.html">fossil fuels</a>. Also, South Africa lacks the know-how of <a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/energy/2013/11/07/sa-needs-more-locals-playing-the-field-in-renewable-energy">renewable energy</a> development. This also reflects a lack of <a href="http://za.boell.org/2014/02/03/great-policy-disconnect-climate-change">policy development</a> research. </p>
<p>When it comes to human development and social dynamics, South Africa has seen advancement in social development. But <a href="http://www.ngopulse.org/article/inequality-south-africa">inequality</a> and youth unemployment continue to grow rapidly. This may reflect poor linkages between the economics, transformation, education, poverty and rural development disciplines. </p>
<p>In terms of “farmer to pharma” and the bio-economy, South Africa remains a net importer with negligible pharmaceutical or other beneficiation export. There is no dedicated health theme in the plan. </p>
<h2>Grand challenges not addressed</h2>
<p>The success of the plan required researchers to go beyond the big themes in a trans-disciplinary manner. The idea was that researchers would apply their projects across several themes to solve real world problems. Their success was supposed to have been measured by tangible benefits to society. </p>
<p>With three years to go, it appears that the government’s objective will not be met. Effective research across different disciplines has not been achieved.</p>
<p>So where did it go wrong, and what can be done to address this in future?</p>
<p>Failure to realise the grand challenges can be attributed to gaps in research topics across specific big global themes.</p>
<p>This includes inadequate links between technology and energy, and energy and climate change. Linking these research areas could have solved some major crises. For example, greater links between geology and energy can lead to <a href="http://www.karooshalegas.org/">shale gas research</a>, which may diversify the energy sector and, importantly, seek safe ways of harnessing this potential energy source.</p>
<p>Another important failure has been the lack of linkages between economics, transformation, education, poverty and rural development. This could help solve problems such as South Africa’s inadequate education system, growing <a href="http://www.ngopulse.org/article/inequality-south-africa">inequality</a> and increasing numbers of <a href="http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/Faculties/humanities/NewsEvents/news/Documents/2012%20articles/A%20massive%20rebellion%20of%20the%20poor%20Prof%20Peter%20Alexander.pdf">protests</a> by local communities across the country. </p>
<p>All these issues are inter-linked. For example, education is very important for <a href="http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/know_sharing/flagship_initiatives/towards_new_policy.pdf">rural development</a>. </p>
<p>Improving South Africa’s bio-economy faces a similar challenge. Only minor emphasis is placed on research that links agriculture to technology. There is also no link between agriculture and health. </p>
<h2>Integration across disciplines needs urgent attention</h2>
<p>It is not all gloom and doom. A 2014 <a href="http://www.nrf.ac.za/sites/default/files/documents/FINAL%20ACCESS%20Review%20Report.pdf">National Research Foundation </a> review of one project, the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth System Science programme, found that interdisciplinary research networking and community-building aspects have been successful.</p>
<p>They are supporting the training and development of the next generation of science leaders by enabling researchers with common interests to pursue inter-disciplinary research in areas of their choice. Examples include water resources, ecosystems and bio-geochemistry, oceans and the coastal landscape. </p>
<p>There are pockets of strong scientific activities, but the overall science mission is still evolving and requires urgent attention. The initiative has not met its objective of making the whole greater than sum of individual contributions. Integration and true trans-disciplinary collaborations are missing.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This piece is based on an article in the May/June 2015 issue of the <a href="http://www.sajs.co.za/transdisciplinarity-within-south-africa%E2%80%99s-global-change-research-how-well-are-we-doing/taufeeq-dhansay-alon-serper-bastien-linol-sphumelele-ndluvo-lavinia-perumal-maarten-j-de-wit">South African Journal of Science</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taufeeq Dhansay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a long road to travel before South Africa’s scientists live up to the grand expectations to encourage solutions to the country’s problems and boost the economy.Taufeeq Dhansay, Associate Research Scientist, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.