Air Pollution Linked to 2,000 Children’s Deaths Daily
Subject: GS III: Environment and Ecology
Context: The fifth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) report provides an extensive analysis of air quality and its health impacts across the globe for the year 2021.
State of Global Air Initiative:
- Collaboration: A joint effort between the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease project, in partnership with UNICEF.
- Data Source: Derived from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD 2021) by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
- Research Collaboration: Involves over 10,000 researchers worldwide, providing globally comparable estimates on the impact of 88 environmental, behavioral, and dietary risk factors on health across 204 countries and territories.
Key Findings:
- Global Deaths: In 2021, air pollution was responsible for 8.1 million deaths globally, including 2.1 million in India, making it the second leading risk factor for death, especially among children under five.
- Noncommunicable Diseases: Nearly 90% of the disease burden from air pollution is due to noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Chronic Diseases: Beyond fatalities, millions live with chronic diseases caused by air pollution, straining healthcare systems, economies, and societies.
Impact on Children Under Five:
- Child Mortality: Over 700,000 deaths in children under five were linked to air pollution in 2021, accounting for 15% of global deaths in this age group.
- Health Issues: Exposure to air pollution is linked to pneumonia, responsible for 1 in 5 child deaths globally, and asthma, the most common chronic respiratory disease in older children.
Air Pollution and Climate Change:
- PM 2.5: More than 90% of global air pollution deaths, approximately 7.8 million, are attributed to PM2.5 pollution from both ambient and household sources. These fine particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream, affecting various organ systems and increasing the risk of noncommunicable diseases in adults.
- NO2: For the first time, the report includes data on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure and its health impacts, including the development of childhood asthma. NO2, primarily from traffic exhaust, is prevalent in densely populated urban areas.
- Ozone: In 2021, long-term ozone exposure contributed to an estimated 500,000 deaths globally, with approximately 14,000 ozone-related COPD deaths in the United States, higher than in other high-income countries.
Progress and Positive Developments:
- Reduced Child Mortality: Death rates in children under five have dropped by 53%, largely due to increased access to clean cooking energy, better healthcare, improved nutrition, and greater awareness of household air pollution’s harms.
- Air Quality Initiatives: Regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Asia are seeing measurable improvements in air quality and public health through initiatives like air pollution monitoring, stricter air quality policies, and the adoption of hybrid or electric vehicles.
Iberian Lynx’s Status Update
Subject: GSII: Environment
Context: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently upgraded the status of the Iberian lynx from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ due to significant conservation successes.
Recent Developments:
- 2001 Status: In 2001, the Iberian lynx population was critically low, with only 62 mature individuals.
- Population Growth: By 2022, the population of mature lynxes had risen to 648.
- Current Population: Including young lynxes, the total population now exceeds 2,000.
About the Iberian Lynx
- Scientific Name: Lynx pardinus
- Description: The Iberian lynx is a cat species with males being larger and heavier than females. It is recognized for its long legs, pointy ears, and leopard-like spotted fur.
- Distribution: This species is primarily found in Spain and Portugal.
Key Conservation Strategies
- Enhancing Prey Population: Efforts to increase the population of its primary prey, the endangered European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
- Habitat Protection and Restoration: Protecting and restoring Mediterranean scrub and forest habitats.
- Habitat Expansion: The lynx’s habitat has expanded from 449 km² in 2005 to at least 3,320 km².
- Reintroduction Programs: Over 400 Iberian lynxes have been reintroduced into various regions of Portugal and Spain since 2010.
- Minimizing Human-Caused Fatalities: Efforts to reduce deaths caused by poaching, road accidents, and other human activities.
- Genetic Diversity and Breeding Programs: Improved genetic diversity through translocations and ex-situ breeding programs.
Ex-Situ Breeding Programs
- Purpose: Protect endangered species outside their natural habitat by relocating part of the population to controlled environments such as zoos or wildlife sanctuaries.
- Significance: These programs help increase genetic diversity by selecting mating pairs from different regions, playing a crucial role in boosting the Iberian lynx population.
Remaining Threats
- Virus Outbreaks: The European rabbit population, essential for the lynx’s diet, is susceptible to virus outbreaks.
- Diseases: Lynxes are at risk of diseases from domestic cats and face new health challenges due to climate change.
- Other Risks: Poaching, illegal hunting, and road accidents continue to pose significant threats to the species’ survival.
Conservation Success in India
- Eurasian Lynx in India: Found in the frozen cold desert of Ladakh, demonstrating successful conservation strategies can be adapted and applied to other lynx species globally.
The concerted efforts in conservation strategies, habitat restoration, and population management have led to the successful recovery of the Iberian lynx, marking a significant milestone in wildlife conservation. However, ongoing vigilance and adaptive management are essential to ensure the species’ continued survival and stability.
Methanol Poisoning
Subject: GS III: Science and Technology
Context: In Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, the consumption of spurious liquor laced with methanol resulted in 34 deaths and severe injuries to numerous individuals.
Background Information
Tamil Nadu Regulations:
- Liquor sales are state-controlled through approximately 5,000 outlets.
- Manufacturing, trading, storing, and selling methanol require licenses under the 1959 Rules.
About Liquor:
- Production: All alcoholic beverages are created by fermenting sugary brews into ethanol and CO2.
- Distillation: This process increases alcohol concentration by separating alcohol from the fermented mixture through evaporation and condensation, resulting in high alcohol content over 38% ABV.
- Examples: Rum, vodka, brandy, tequila, whisky, and gin are liquors, unlike beer (5% alcohol) and wine (12%).
Previous Incidents:
- In Chengalpattu and Villupuram districts, 20 people died from consuming spurious liquor.
- Police investigations revealed that arrack sellers had purchased industrial-grade methanol and sold it to victims.
Spurious Liquor or Hooch:
- Definition: Poor quality alcohol, often homemade, mixed with methanol to enhance intoxicating effects or increase volume.
- Production: Crude distillation methods are used, employing basic setups like vats and pipes to produce potent alcohol.
Methanol Overview
- Chemical Formula: CH3OH
- Production: Combining carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of copper and zinc oxides as catalysts at 50-100 atm pressure and 250°C.
- Applications: Used industrially as a precursor to acetic acid, formaldehyde, aromatic hydrocarbons, solvent, and antifreeze.
Regulations:
- Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations 2018: Specifies the maximum permissible methanol quantity in various liquors.
- Hazardous Chemical Rules 1989: Lists methanol in Schedule I.
- Quality Standard: Indian Standard IS 517.
- Packaging Rules: Tamil Nadu Denatured Spirit, Methyl Alcohol, and Varnish Rules 1959.
Methanol Poisoning Details
- Concentration: Methanol can remain in the body for about 48 hours with 33% still present.
- Metabolism: ADH enzymes metabolize methanol in the liver, producing formaldehyde and then formic acid, leading to metabolic acidosis.
- Acidification: Metabolic acidosis causes the blood’s pH to drop below the normal 7.35, leading to acidaemia.
Health Risks:
- Optic Neuropathy: Methanol consumption can damage the optic nerve, leading to vision impairment or blindness.
- Cerebral Edema and Hemorrhage: Severe methanol poisoning can result in brain swelling, bleeding, and death.
Alcohol Prohibition in India
- Article 47: The state aims to prohibit intoxicating drinks and drugs.
- 7th Schedule: Alcohol regulation is a state subject.
- Current Status: Liquor bans exist in Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, and Nagaland, with partial bans in Lakshadweep and Manipur.
Treatment of Methanol Poisoning
- Competition: Ethanol competes with methanol for ADH enzymes, preventing methanol from metabolizing into formaldehyde.
- Antidote: Fomepizole slows ADH enzyme activity, aiding in methanol excretion.
- WHO Essential Medicines: Both fomepizole and folinic acid are essential medicines.
- Folinic Acid: Promotes the breakdown of formic acid into carbon dioxide and water.
- Dialysis: Removes methanol and formic acid from the blood, protecting the kidneys and retina.
Ethanol Overview
- Chemical Formula: CH3CH2OH or C2H5OH
- Characteristics: A volatile, flammable, colorless liquid with a wine-like odor.
- Psychoactive Drug: Ethanol is a depressant that reduces neurotransmission, causing intoxicating effects.
- Production: Naturally produced by fermentation of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes like ethylene hydration.
- Metabolism: Metabolized in the liver and stomach to acetaldehyde and then to acetate by ADH and ALDH enzymes, respectively.
- Applications: Used as a general anesthetic, antiseptic, disinfectant, solvent, and antidote for methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning.
Genomes Reveal Legacies of Human Sacrifice
Subject: GS III: Science and Technology
Context: Recent studies using archaeogenetics and evolutionary medicine have uncovered aspects of the inner lives and beliefs of the Mayan people.
Genomes Overview
- Definition: A genome includes all the chromosomes of an organism, containing DNA and genes that make up the complete set of genetic information. A gene is a sequence of nucleotides within DNA or RNA and is the fundamental unit of heredity.
Key Findings of the Study
- Genetic Analysis: All juvenile individuals found in the cenote were genetically male and closely related through familial ties.
- Revisiting Colonial Narratives: Contrary to previous beliefs of young female sacrifices, the study identified two sets of identical twins among the remains.
- Symbolism and Diets: Twins were revered in Mayan culture, associated with the underworld. Isotopic analysis revealed that individuals related by genetics shared similar diets, suggesting they were from the same household.
- Ritual Sacrifices and Agricultural Rituals: The genetic and isotopic resemblances indicated these individuals were chosen for specific roles, likely related to ensuring abundant maize growth and appeasing rain deities.
Benefits of the Study
- Genetic Immunity Selection: Comparison of ancient and modern genomes from Mexico revealed signs of natural selection in genes linked to immunity, particularly resistance to enteric fever caused by Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C, associated with the 16th-century cocoliztli epidemic.
- Genomic Insights: Studying ancient genomes alongside modern counterparts helps debunk old hypotheses, unravel longstanding mysteries, and guide future discoveries.
Practice of Burying
- Ancient Burial Practices: Deliberate burial of modern humans dates back over 100,000 years, with evidence found in a cave in Israel.
- Evolution of Burial Practices: Burial practices have evolved, with elaborate mausoleums like the pyramids of Egypt and the Taj Mahal in Agra symbolizing the human inclination to honor the deceased.
Ancient Mayan Genomes
- Chichén Itzá: An ancient Mayan city in present-day Mexico known for its impressive architecture and ceremonial temples, constructed between 800 and 1000 AD.
- Rituals and Sacrifices: Human sacrifices were offered at these temples, with remains found in the ‘Sacred Cenote’ indicating ritual significance related to water and rainfall.
Genome Sequencing
- Definition: Involves identifying the precise sequence of base pairs in an individual’s DNA strand.
- Composition: DNA consists of long chains of nucleotides, each comprising a sugar molecule, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing base (Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), Thymine (T)).
- Human Genome: Contains about 3.2 billion nucleotides and approximately 23,500 genes.
Significance of Genome Sequencing
- Prenatal Screening: Detects genetic disorders in fetuses.
- Cancer Diagnosis: Early detection through liquid biopsies.
- Pharmacogenetics: Studies gene influence on drug responses to prevent adverse reactions.
- Advancement in Predictive Diagnostics: Facilitates the development of customized drugs and gene therapies tailored to individual genetic profiles.
- Enhancing Advanced Analytics: Integrates advanced analytics and AI to understand genetic disease factors and develop treatments.
- Understanding Viral Mutations: Aims to comprehend how specific mutations enhance virus infectivity and impact vaccine effectiveness.
- Agriculture: Enables breeding of crops and livestock with desirable traits, such as higher yield and disease resistance.
- Forensics: Used in forensic analysis for identifying victims and comparing DNA from crime scenes with suspects.
- Bioengineering: Supports the design and development of synthetic biological systems and biomolecules for diverse applications.
- Insight into Evolution: Reveals interbreeding between early humans and other hominins like Neanderthals and Denisovans.
By uncovering the genetic legacies of the Mayan people, these studies shed light on ancient practices and beliefs, enhancing our understanding of human history and genetic evolution.