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Saudi Arabia Honors Best National Media Productions

Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) CEO Joumana Alrashid honors social media influencer Thawab Alsubaie with his prize. (Asharq Al-Awsat) 
Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) CEO Joumana Alrashid honors social media influencer Thawab Alsubaie with his prize. (Asharq Al-Awsat) 
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Saudi Arabia Honors Best National Media Productions

Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) CEO Joumana Alrashid honors social media influencer Thawab Alsubaie with his prize. (Asharq Al-Awsat) 
Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) CEO Joumana Alrashid honors social media influencer Thawab Alsubaie with his prize. (Asharq Al-Awsat) 

In partnership with the Saudi Tourism Commission, the Saudi Ministry of Media, represented by the Government Communication Center, celebrated the winners at the 3rd edition of the Media Excellence Award for national day 2022.   

Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi announced the expansion of the forthcoming edition of the award, which will become an annual event known as the “Media Excellence Award”. It will celebrate the national creative works throughout the year, and allow the participation of more creators from across Saudi Arabia.  

This year’s event saw 30 finalists out of 1,000 participants compete for prizes in nine media categories. 

The best media campaign prize was awarded to the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority; the best photograph prize went to photographer Hamad al-Okaili for his photo “Falcon and the Falcons”; and the best video from the private sector prize went to the Half Million company.  

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation (MiSK) won the best video from the non-profit sector prize for its production “Watan Hader Lak”.  

Social media influencer Thawab Alsubaie won the best creative work in the social media for individuals prize.  

The Riyadh Newspaper bagged the best media coverage prize for its production “Riyadh Capital of the Universe…History was Made Here.” 

The Saudi Broadcasting Authority won the best TV production for its documentary “The Saudi Ardah”. The best broadcast and podcast prize went to the “Qafilah Podcast” for its episode “Flag…Symbol of Pride and Honor”.  

Aramco’s “Ithra” initiative won the best national song prize for its song “We Sing for our Home Country”. 

The tourism film prize went to the Tourism Development Fund for its production “People of Tourism”. 

This year’s edition of the Media Excellence Award for national day dedicated a special tribute to figures who had major contributions in media and culture in Saudi Arabia. The honored personalities are composer of the national anthem, late poet Ibrahim Khafaji; singer Mohammed Abdu; photographer Bandar Al-Jaloud; and French photographer Tchékof Minosa. 

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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.