A new study by an international team of scientists reveals that ecosystem fragmentation and changing rainfall patterns have increased the risk of infectious diseases being transmitted from animals, mosquitoes and ticks to humans.
According to the study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers conducted the largest assessment of the environmental drivers of emerging infectious diseases to date, as they analyzed data on nearly 60,000 outbreaks that included 32 diseases in 169 countries. The research team focused on outbreaks of zoonotic diseases such as coronaviruses, Ebola, monkeypox, and diseases transmitted through vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas, such as dengue fever, Lyme disease, and malaria.
The researchers found that the risk of disease outbreaks was generally higher in areas where humans and livestock lived near highly fragmented and forested ecosystems; An example of this is a forest that has been divided into smaller forest areas separated by human settlements or farms where humans live alongside animals. This is partly because animals that thrive in such areas are more likely to carry diseases and are more likely to come into contact with humans.
The authors of the study point out that they have observed a clear “human fingerprint” on the global geographic distribution of emerging infectious diseases in humans, and that the factors causing the spread of these diseases differ fundamentally from one disease to another.
“There is no single 'ecological recipe' that can predict where infectious disease outbreaks will occur,” said the study's lead researcher, Dr. Rory Gibb of the People and Nature Laboratory at University College London in England.
He added in a statement on Wednesday: “The transmission of diseases from animals to humans is common in human-modified habitats around the world, and the human activities that lead to disease outbreaks vary depending on the type of disease,” explaining that “this means that improving people’s access to health care and strengthening disease surveillance systems is crucial; To help ensure early detection and containment of any disease outbreak before it turns into an epidemic or global pandemic.”
Increasing human impact
With regard to vector-borne diseases, there is clear evidence that human influence is increasing; Fragmented ecosystems and regions experiencing long-term declines in rainfall due to climate change have seen increased risks of outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and Zika.
As for zoonotic infections, which are those transmitted directly from animals to humans, including many diseases that threaten to cause global pandemics, the effects of factors such as deforestation, global warming, and the intensification of agriculture have varied greatly depending on the type of disease.
Researchers stress the need for data specific to each disease and each region to monitor potential outbreak risks. The study also shows that access to health care plays a vital role in determining where disease outbreaks are detected, and that apparent disease “hot spots” often reflect areas with the strongest existing disease surveillance and health care systems, not necessarily areas where infections are more common.
The researchers stress the need to adopt a more proactive and comprehensive approach to preventing epidemics and pandemics, combining health systems strengthening, global coordination of disease surveillance, and the application of ecosystem-based interventions to deal with important diseases.
The study’s co-researcher, Professor Sadie Ryan from the University of Florida, said: “Disease outbreaks resulting from transmission from animals to humans have multiple causes and are shaped by the social-ecological system. This highlights the need for an integrated One Health approach in the areas of surveillance and intervention, as there is no single intervention strategy that is suitable for all cases.”
A South Korean street performer did not know that the man who suddenly joined him in central London to sing “Viva La Vida” was Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay.
Ahn Ji-hoon, who performs under the name "Honey Johnny," was performing in Trafalgar Square when the audience chose "Viva la Vida" as the show's finale. As the song began, a man wearing a stylish hat and sunglasses approached him and joined him in singing.
Hani Johnny did not find this strange, as he was accustomed to including audience members in his performances. But when the man started singing, his voice caught his attention.
He told CNN: “When he sang the first line, I thought to myself: Wow, his tone of voice is amazing.” "He looks remarkably like Chris Martin." But he did not believe for a moment that the man was Martin himself.
He added, laughing: “What are the chances that Chris Martin will suddenly appear next to you on a London street, at the very last moment of your song?” “I thought things like this only happened in movies.”
After the song ended, Martin quietly left, while the audience surrounded the musician, and one of them asked him: “Do you know who that was?”
When Hani asked Johnny: “Who?”, he replied: “It’s the real Chris Martin.”
The musician posted a clip of the moment on Instagram, writing: “I still can’t believe this happened.” Thank you, Chris, for the most unforgettable moment of my life.”
A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Nottingham in England revealed that the Earth's magnetic field may affect how the body's cells produce energy, physical performance, and even the lifespan of the organism.
The findings, published Wednesday in the aging research journal Aging, provide new insights into how this invisible force interacts with basic biological processes in the body, which may have important implications for our understanding of the aging process and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
The researchers attributed these effects to mitochondria, which are tiny structures inside cells responsible for generating a large portion of the energy needed for life. Energy metabolism in mitochondria changed when the magnetic field was reduced, as did levels of superoxide, a highly reactive molecule produced by mitochondria.
Researcher Jacob Reed, a doctoral student at the University of Nottingham, said: “Research in this field is rare, as it mostly focuses on preparing humans for spaceflight. However, we still know very little about why living organisms need a magnetic field. This project combined expertise in physics, engineering and biology, and innovative and highly specialized techniques and equipment, to study physiological and pathological aspects as well.”
He added in a statement on Wednesday: “This work opens new potential horizons for a non-surgical therapeutic approach targeting mitochondria to treat several diseases.” “We hope that this research will contribute to highlighting the importance of magnetic fields for life.”
Blocking the magnetic field
The research team studied what happens when the Earth's magnetic field is almost completely blocked. Using a specially designed magnetic shielding system, the researchers reduced the magnetic field surrounding the fruit fly to near zero. They compared healthy flies with those carrying a defect in the PINK1 gene, which is linked to early-onset hereditary Parkinson's disease in humans.
The researchers found that isolating flies from the Earth's magnetic field led to changes in the functions of mitochondria, which are the centers of energy production in the cell, lifespan and physical performance, with a striking difference in effects depending on the health status of the flies' mitochondria.
According to them, the results were remarkable; Blocking the Earth's magnetic field from flies carrying a mutation in the "PINK1" gene increased their average lifespan by about 20 percent, despite a decline in their physical performance. In contrast, the response of healthy flies was completely different; Although the length of his healthy life was affected, his movement improved.
Scientific research is conducted on the fruit fly because it provides a quick and simple living model that shares a large percentage of its basic genes with humans, and about 60 to 75 percent of the genes that cause diseases, including neurological diseases. The fruit fly has a very short life cycle of no more than two weeks, which allows scientists to monitor the effect of genetic mutations across several generations in a short time.
The results of these experiments show that the magnetic environment surrounding an organism can affect basic biological processes, including energy production, physical performance, and life expectancy.
Professor Lisa Chakrabarti, Professor of Mitochondrial Biology at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, commented: “We live our entire lives in the presence of the Earth’s magnetic field. “It penetrates our bodies, our cells, and every living thing on the planet. However, we know little about whether and how this invisible force influences how our cells work.”
She added: “Our results raise an interesting possibility, which is that the Earth’s magnetic field forms part of the biological environment to which life has adapted over the course of evolution,” explaining that “understanding how cells sense and respond to magnetic fields may ultimately reveal new ways to control mitochondrial functions in aging and disease.”
