Catfish prevents the spread of diseases, maps earthquakes and students who have difficulties learning mathematics

The Office of Science and Technology compiles a weekly summary of interesting and influential publications and research developments at Stanford University. Read the latest news in this week’s research report.

Exploring African catfish as a sustainable solution to prevent the spread of disease

Giulio Di Leo, professor of oceans and Earth systems at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, aims to reduce schistosomiasis transmission by reducing the numbers of freshwater snails in rice fields.

Schistosomiasis, a debilitating waterborne disease that causes skin rashes, flu-like symptoms, and eventually gastrointestinal or nervous problems, poses a particular risk to rice farmers in Senegal. The disease spreads when people step into water, such as rice fields, that are infected with the parasite. The parasite then burrows into the skin, lays its eggs in the intestines and liver, and leaves the organ in feces or urine. It then hatches in the water and infects freshwater snails.

With funding from the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Acceleration, De Leeuw and other contributors selected the African catfish as the optimal snail predator to release into rice fields. The researchers hope that the catfish, which are native to the region, will not only eat parasitic snail hosts, but also potentially serve as additional sources of income for farmers to sell.

Early results of the study appear to show lower snail numbers, higher rice productivity and higher farmer incomes. The researchers have reached out to local organizations, which will help enhance agricultural operations and improve management of the rice fields. “With the guidance of our partners in Senegal, we are demonstrating a proof of concept to scale adoption,” De Leeuw said.

A mantle earthquake can highlight the dangers of near-surface earthquakes

Researchers from Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability have developed the first-ever global map of earthquakes in the Earth’s mantle. The data, according to Shiqi “Axel” Wang, Ph.D. ’25, former Ph.D. student in geophysics professor Simon Klemperer’s lab will highlight the different ways rare earthquakes strike the mantle.

While mantle earthquakes generally do not cause shaking or hazard, it is unclear why earthquakes occur at certain locations and times. By studying mantle earthquakes, researchers hope to better understand the risks from earthquakes along the Earth’s crust, which are more frequent and closer to the surface.

The data used to develop the map consisted of more than 46,000 earthquakes documented since 1990. Of the 46,000 earthquakes, only 459 were identified by their wave types as mantle earthquakes — a conservative estimate, researchers say, due to a lack of sensors in remote areas where mantle earthquakes are likely to be found.

“Continental mantle earthquakes may be part of an inherently interconnected seismic cycle, both from the crust and the upper mantle as well,” Wang said in an interview with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “We want to understand how these layers of our world function as a whole system.”

Understanding the impact of mathematics learning difficulties on problem-solving techniques

Recent research from Stanford University School of Medicine published in the journal Neuroscience on February 9 found that students with math learning difficulties have different ways of approaching math problems, even when they get the same score.

In the study, which focused on second- and third-graders, 87 children were analysed, 34 of whom had mathematics learning difficulties, defined as those in the bottom quartile of scores on a standardized test. Researchers found that students with difficulties learning mathematics have different levels of activity in areas of the brain that enable them to focus attention and help students slow down checking for errors.

“Our findings suggest that interventions should target not only basic number sense, but also metacognitive processes, such as performance monitoring – how do you adapt when you notice an error?” Lead researcher Vinod Menon, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said in an interview with Stanford Medicine News Center.

According to Menon, individuals who feel they are not doing well in mathematics can lose interest and motivation while also experiencing increased anxiety. This research can help teachers, parents and others support children with mathematics learning difficulties more effectively by targeting children with help building cognitive skills.

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