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Variety of Saudi Initiatives Aim to Break Coronavirus Isolation

Streets are deserted in Jeddah amid curfew in Saudi Arabia over the coronavirus. (SPA)
Streets are deserted in Jeddah amid curfew in Saudi Arabia over the coronavirus. (SPA)
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Variety of Saudi Initiatives Aim to Break Coronavirus Isolation

Streets are deserted in Jeddah amid curfew in Saudi Arabia over the coronavirus. (SPA)
Streets are deserted in Jeddah amid curfew in Saudi Arabia over the coronavirus. (SPA)

The majority of Saudi families are abiding by the lockdown, despite precautions being eased in light of new developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. With a near-total suspension of all activities, the lockdown has provided most people with ample free time, and this has pushed many to think of productive, useful and entertaining ways to keep themselves busy, such as learning, sports and other activities.

The increased free time due to the lockdown has led to a rise in on-demand broadcast programs and video game purchases. Also, universities, vocational schools and several Saudi educational and government bodies have set up remote workshops and tutorials to make use of the lockdown. Since the Saudis started the lockdown more than one month ago, several remote workshops were launched by universities and vocational schools and even some institutions and companies specialized in certain sectors. These were not limited to Saudis as a substantial portion of them was open to the public all over the world.

The workshops and tutorials were diverse in what they taught, including technical, administrative, journalistic, legal, economic and business workshops in addition to self-development and language courses, among others. The workshops tackled cybersecurity, cybercrimes, legal proceedings, preparing media campaigns, management and executive planning.

The Saudi Ministry of Culture launched several competitions under the lockdown, such as Literature of Isolation that was launched by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission to encourage creativity. The initiative aimed to allow writing enthusiasts to share creative works, such stories, novels, diaries and poems, that they had written on during the lockdown.

Last week, the Saudi Human Rights Commission launched, in collaboration with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, an online workshop to develop young leaders in the domain of human rights. The ten-day program was prepared by a team of young leaders who are qualified to introduce the culture of human rights and implement sophisticated volunteering initiatives to serve humanity in several countries, in addition to developing skills in modern communication.

These workshops went on to provide sessions in different domains and did not stop after precautionary measures to prevent gatherings were put in place. Instead, they converted them into online workshops with remote attendees delivered by different government bodies and research institutes.

The Saudi initiatives were not limited to educational programs and literature competitions, but also included sports activities. The Saudi Sports Union launched the Your Home is Your Gym initiative, described by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, the President of the Union, as the Saudis’ weapon against the coronavirus, as it aims to build a healthier and more active society.

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Varieties

Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
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Scientists Seek Miracle Pill to Stop Methane Cow Burps

A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
A cow that's part of study on reducing methane emitted by cow burps stands in an exclosure at UC Davis in Davis, California on October 23, 2024. (AFP)

A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and down to the stomach of Thing 1, a two-month-old calf that is part of a research project aiming to prevent cows from burping methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Paulo de Meo Filho, a postdoctoral researcher at University of California, Davis, is part of an ambitious experiment aiming to develop a pill to transform cow gut bacteria so it emits less or no methane.

While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, cattle farming has become a major climate concern due to the sheer volume of the cows' emissions.

"Almost half of the increase in (global) temperature that we've had so far, it's been because of methane," said Ermias Kebreab, an animal science professor at UC Davis.

Methane, the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent.

"Methane lives in the atmosphere for about 12 years" unlike carbon dioxide which persists for centuries, Kebreab said.

"If you start reducing methane now, we can actually see the effect on the temperature very quickly."

Filho uses the tube to extract liquid from Thing 1's rumen -- the first stomach compartment containing partially digested food.

Using the rumen liquid samples, the scientists are studying the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which is not digested by the cow but instead burped out.

A single cow will burp roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of the gas annually.

- 'Social critters' -

Thing 1 and other calves receive a seaweed-supplemented diet to reduce methane production.

Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that soak up hydrogen, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source.

However, the team proceeds cautiously.

"We can't just simply cut down methane production by removing" methane-making bacteria, as hydrogen could accumulate to the point of harming the animal, warned Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab.

"Microbes are kind of social critters. They really like to live together," he said.

"The way they interact and affect each other impacts the overall function of the ecosystem."

Hess's students test different formulas in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce microorganisms' living conditions in a stomach from movements to temperature.

- More productive cows -

The project is being carried out at UC Davis as well as UC Berkeley's Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).

IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe -- the one they hope to genetically alter to supplant methane-producing microbes.

The modified microorganisms will then be tested at UC Davis in the lab and in the animals.

"Not only are we trying to reduce methane emissions, but you also increase the feed efficiency," said Kebreab.

"Hydrogen and methane, they are both energy, and so if you reduce that energy and redirect it to something else... we have a better productivity and lower emissions at the same time."

The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, since most cattle graze freely and can't receive daily supplements.

The three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough.

Kebreab has long studied sustainable livestock practices and pushes back against calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet.

While acknowledging this might work for healthy adults in developed nations, he pointed to countries like Indonesia, where the government is seeking to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth.

"We can't tell them to not eat meat," he said.