Publisher Correction: Imagined otherness fuels blatant dehumanization of outgroups
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Human neural dynamics of real-world and imagined navigation
The ability to form episodic memories and later imagine them is integral to the human experience, influencing our recollection of the past and envisioning of the future. While rodent studies suggest the medial temporal lobe, especially the hippocampus, is involved in these functions, its role in human imagination remains uncertain. In human participants, imaginations can be explicitly instructed and reported. Here we investigate hippocampal theta oscillations during real-world and imagined navigation using motion capture and intracranial electroencephalographic recordings from individuals with chronically implanted medial temporal lobe electrodes. Our results revealed intermittent theta dynamics, particularly within the hippocampus, encoding spatial information and partitioning navigational routes into linear segments during real-world navigation. During imagined navigation, theta dynamics exhibited similar patterns despite the absence of external cues. A statistical model successfully reconstructed real-world and imagined positions, providing insights into the neural mechanisms underlying human navigation and imagination, with implications for understanding memory in real-world settings.
Virtual contact improves intergroup relations between non-Muslim American and Muslim students from the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia in a field quasi-experiment
Given the current polarized climate in many parts of the world, finding effective interventions to address psychological factors that drive conflict is critical. Direct, face-to-face contact has the demonstrated potential to stem the tide of intergroup antipathy. However, modern socio-political conflicts often span great physical distances, making direct contact difficult, costly and rare. Programs for “virtual contact” have emerged in recent years, combining text-based computer-mediated communication with live video to extend intergroup contact’s benefits to broader audiences. While compelling, studies of such programs are typically conducted in laboratory settings, focusing only on change in outgroup attitudes. The current research tests how a semester-long virtual contact intervention that brings together non-Muslim US American students and Muslim students from the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia shapes varied intergroup processes, across two large-scale field quasi-experiments (combined N = 2886). Compared to before the intervention and a control group, participants who engaged in virtual contact showed greater self-outgroup overlap, improved outgroup attitudes, and less outgroup dehumanization and meta-dehumanization. This research provides evidence that virtual contact can be an effective tool for promoting better intergroup relations.
Diversity of biomass usage pathways to achieve emissions targets in the European energy system
Biomass is a versatile renewable energy source with applications across the energy system, but it is a limited resource and its usage needs prioritization. We use a sector-coupled European energy system model to explore near-optimal solutions for achieving emissions targets. We find that provision of biogenic carbon has higher value than bioenergy provision. Energy system costs increase by 20% if biomass is excluded at a net-negative (−110%) emissions target and by 14% at a net-zero target. Dispatchable bioelectricity covering ~1% of total electricity generation strengthens supply reliability. Otherwise, it is not crucial in which sector biomass is used, if combined with carbon capture to enable negative emissions and feedstock for e-fuel production. A shortage of renewable electricity or hydrogen supply primarily increases the value of using biomass for fuel production. Results are sensitive to upstream emissions of biomass, carbon sequestration capacity and costs of direct air capture.
Demand-side strategies enable rapid and deep cuts in buildings and transport emissions to 2050
Decarbonization of energy-using sectors is essential for tackling climate change. We use an ensemble of global integrated assessment models to assess CO2 emissions reduction potentials in buildings and transport, accounting for system interactions. We focus on three intervention strategies with distinct emphases: reducing or changing activity, improving technological efficiency and electrifying energy end use. We find that these strategies can reduce emissions by 51–85% in buildings and 37–91% in transport by 2050 relative to a current policies scenario (ranges indicate model variability). Electrification has the largest potential for direct emissions reductions in both sectors. Interactions between the policies and measures that comprise the three strategies have a modest overall effect on mitigation potentials. However, combining different strategies is strongly beneficial from an energy system perspective as lower electricity demand reduces the need for costly supply-side investments and infrastructure.
Power price stability and the insurance value of renewable technologies
To understand if renewables stabilize or destabilize electricity prices, we simulate European power markets as projected by the National Energy and Climate Plans for 2030 but replicating the historical variability in electricity demand, the prices of fossil fuels and weather. We propose a β-sensitivity metric, defined as the projected increase in the average annual price of electricity when the price of natural gas increases by 1 euro. We show that annual power prices spikes would be more moderate because the β-sensitivity would fall from 1.4 euros to 1 euro. Deployment of solar photovoltaic and wind technologies exceeding 30% of the 2030 target would lower it further, below 0.5 euros. Our framework shows that this stabilization of prices would produce social welfare gains, that is, we find an insurance value of renewables. Because market mechanisms do not internalize this value, we argue that it should be explicitly considered in energy policy decisions.
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