public health
Infographic: Carbon & The Sea
By releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, humans are changing the global climate in ways that are affecting the marine environment in terms of weather patterns, water temperature, sea level, ocean chemistry, currents, coastal erosion and the frequency of storms.
Forests & Earth’s Temperatures
Seeing the forest through the trees is an expression you may not think of when the topic of global warming comes up. However, 31% of the earth’s surface is covered by trees and each one is working overtime to sequester carbon to combat global warming. Carbon sequestration is a natural or artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form, and it is estimated that forests absorb approximately 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon annually.
Resistance in the Limelight
Doctor Shinji Kasai’s recent publication on the combined effects of three knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations in Aedes aegypti sparked media frenzy. He demonstrated the causal relationship between specific genes & pyrethroid sensitivity in mosquitoes.
The study improved understanding of insecticide resistance evolution & opened new strategies to control mosquito populations & reduce disease spread. Kasai’s latest paper on super-insecticide-resistant dengue mosquitoes caused a stir in the media, revealing high levels of pyrethroid resistance in field populations.
Urban Africa Faces Invasive Challenge
Malaria numbers are surging in the Horn of Africa, but not in rural settings.
Djibouti is a small country of around 900,000 inhabitants on the Horn of Africa that rests on the shores of Bab al-Mandab strait, just 20 miles from the coast of Yemen and southwest Asia. Ten years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) proudly proclaimed that Djibouti was entering the “pre-elimination phase” in its longstanding battle against malaria. Pre-elimination status is reached when a country’s number of confirmed malaria cases approaches zero.
Health Impacts of Climate Change
The debate about whether climate change is a real phenomenon – and whether humankind is responsible for the alarming rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) levels – is largely a thing of the past. Three decades of research has put forth what most scientists consider incontrovertible proof that escalating levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) are a direct result of human activities ranging from deforestation to emissions from energy production, industry, and agriculture.
Malaria’s Long Tail
The impacts of severe malaria cases on children are well documented, but the effects of mild infections on child development are less understood. The statistics …
The Economics of Resistance
It would be extremely difficult to calculate, with any high degree of accuracy, the global economic impact of insecticide resistance. For starters, we must consider that insect management plays a pivotal role in a variety of sectors – agriculture, home and garden, forestry, structural applications, and vector control. Analysis of the totality of economic impacts arising from resistance in any one of these sectors quickly becomes a complicated interplay of variables that interact within that given system.
Insecticide Resistance in Arthropods
Insecticide resistance is a global problem that poses mounting challenges to human health. Insects’ ability to quickly adapt to chemical interventions renders products ineffective and undermines pest management efforts in both agriculture and public health. This compromises our capacity to produce a safe and affordable food supply while impairing our ability to safeguard society against crippling or even fatal vector-borne disease.
Resisting Resistance
In biological terms, resistance can be defined as the natural ability of an organism to withstand a damaging agent or adverse condition. Animals, plants, and microbes have all demonstrated the ability to develop resistance, with either positive or negative outcomes, depending on the interaction.
Valent BioSciences Team Brings Forth Novel Mode of Action Targeting Pyrethroid-Resistant Mosquitoes
Ten-Year Development Project Results in potential for First Mosquito Adulticide Based on Fermentation Technology An Experimental Use Permit (EUP) application has been submitted to US …