-
Forests: A Map of Global Changes
By The Editors This map — based on data from the NASA-U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 7 satellite — shows the worldwide forest cover, as well as the loss and gain of forest cover occurring over a period of 12 years (2000 – 2012). During this period, 888,000 square miles (2.3 million square kilometers) of forest were lost, and 309,000 square miles (800,000 square kilometers) were gained. It’s one of the maps resulting from a new study published online in the scientific journal Science on November 14, 2013. The study is entitled “High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change” and involves a team of 15 universities, Google and government researchers. To view…
-
Preterm Birth and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants
By Roberta Attanasio “Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer” – these are the words of Professor Joy Lawn, Director of the MARCH Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Senior Health Advisor to Save the Children. Professor Lawn is one of the co-editors of a 2012 seminal report entitled “Born too soon: the global action report on preterm birth.” Globally, more than 15 million babies are born prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) each year, with over a million neonatal deaths from complications of preterm birth. To reduce the global staggering numbers of preterm births, it is necessary to find ways to help…
-
Genetically Modified Crops: Caterpillars versus Aphids
By Roberta Attanasio To label or not to label? The debate is still on — despite the defeat of the ballot initiative in Washington state that would have required special labels for foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. A year ago, a similar measure was defeated in California. Why? One of the reasons is that there is no scientific evidence to support the notion that genetically modified organisms (GMO) are dangerous — to our health. The danger here is that “no need for labeling” could be thought of as “no reason to worry”. Even if we should not worry that much about the health risks of GMOs, there are other worrisome…
-
Skin Lightening Cosmetics and Mercury Toxicity
By Roberta Attanasio Skin lightening cosmetics are popular in many regions of the world — they’re used to lighten darker skin because of their ability to inhibit production of melanin, the substance that gives the skin its color. The active ingredients in some of these cosmetics often include toxic chemicals, as for example hydroquinone, fluorinated corticosteroid and inorganic mercury. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides interesting facts about the global use of skin lightening cosmetics. In India, 61% of the dermatological market consists of skin lightening products. In Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Togo, 25%, 77%, 27%, 35% and 59% of women, respectively, are reported to use skin lightening products on a…
-
A Small Molecule Repairs the Damage Caused by Nuclear Radiation
By Roberta Attanasio Invisible and often dangerous, nuclear radiation is all around us. It comes at low levels from natural sources – radon gas, the earth’s radioactive elements and cosmic rays – as well as from human activities. Testing of nuclear weapons, nuclear waste disposal and accidents at nuclear power plants increase our exposure to radiation – sometimes at very high doses. Nuclear disasters such as those at Chernobyl and Fukushima generate global fear and profound emotional responses, while radiation’s medical applications raise safety concerns despite their beneficial use. Because of our fear of all things nuclear, we might welcome a recent discovery. A group of researchers has shown that a small molecule protects from death…
-
Unsafe Medical Care: Global Burden and Policy Needs
By Roberta Attanasio Accurate and meaningful information deriving from scientific evidence is essential to drive international health policy and improve global public health. However, in many instances and for a variety of reasons, translating health data into policy results problematic. To overcome these challenges, in the 1990s the Harvard School of Public Health, the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a new concept – the Burden of Disease – to describe death and loss of health due to diseases, injuries and risk factors for all regions of the world. The Global Burden of Disease model is run by WHO and uses disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure…
-
Arsenic Contamination of Drinking Water in India Impairs Kala-Azar Treatment
By Roberta Attanasio Visceral leishmaniasis, known in India as kala-azar or black fever, is a parasitic disease that kills an estimated 500,000 people a year, 90 percent of them in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brazil and Sudan. In India, the disease is endemic in the northeastern Indian State of Bihar – the epicenter of kala-azar in the region – and in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It manifests with irregular bouts of fever, substantial weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anemia. Left untreated, kala-azar is almost always fatal, especially in children, According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Leishmaniasis is a poverty-related disease. It affects the poorest…
-
The Great Global Die-Off: Frogs and Lymphocytes
By Roberta Attanasio Frogs and other amphibians – salamanders and caecilians – have been declining worldwide during the past few decades at an alarming rate. According to a June 2012 assessment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), about 41 percent of amphibian species are at risk of extinction, and some are already extinct. Like many other inhabitants of our planet, amphibians have been hit hard by climate change and habitat loss – and not only. Amphibians have also been decimated by the spread of chytridiomycosis, which is defined by the IUCN as the single most devastating infectious disease of vertebrate animals. In a…
-
Sentinel Bottlenose Dolphins: Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
By Roberta Attanasio Bottlenose dolphins – the playful, intelligent and sleek swimmers frequently seen in warm and shallow waters along coastlines – are important biological indicators or sentinels. As coastal dwellers, they are exposed to pollutants deriving from human activities and, as predators at the top of the food web, they can help evaluate the overall health status of their ecosystems. In 2011, two teams of researchers published results from their studies on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) as indicators of persistent organic pollutants in coastal ecosystems. Persistent organic pollutants are toxic chemicals recognized as a global threat to human health and the environment. Because they can be transported by wind…
-
Air Pollution: The Most Widespread Environmental Carcinogen
By Roberta Attanasio Exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer in humans – this is the conclusion drawn by leading experts after thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature. The same experts evaluated particulate matter separately and reached a similar conclusion. Therefore, particulate matter is now classified as carcinogenic to humans. These conclusions apply to all regions of the world as they are based on findings from large epidemiologic studies that include millions of people living in different continents. The experts were convened by the IARC Monographs Programme. IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) is the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO). The IARC Monographs…
