With the planet facing a ‘polycrisis’, biodiversity researchers uncover major knowledge gaps
A scientific review has found almost no research studying the interconnections across three major threats to planetary health, despite UN assessments suggesting…
A scientific review has found almost no research studying the interconnections across three major threats to planetary health, despite UN assessments suggesting one million species are at risk of extinction, a global pandemic that resulted in over six million excess deaths, and a record-breaking year of global temperatures.
Credit: Isidora Silva-Valderrama, University of British Columbia
A scientific review has found almost no research studying the interconnections across three major threats to planetary health, despite UN assessments suggesting one million species are at risk of extinction, a global pandemic that resulted in over six million excess deaths, and a record-breaking year of global temperatures.
“When we began to look into it, we had suspicions the number of studies would be low, but not that low,” says Dr. Jonathan Davies, a researcher with University of British Columbia’s Biodiversity Research Centre who led the study, published today in The Lancet Planetary Health.
“There are misperceptions in the research community that more work in this area has already been done—but when you look for studies investigating the mechanisms linking the three crises, there isn’t much there at all.”
“I believe the majority of people would prefer to live in a more sustainable and biodiverse world, and empirical data show that people are healthier and have an increased feeling of well-being when closer to nature.”
In a review of over 1.8 million research articles published over the last decade, Dr. Davies and his team uncovered only a minuscule number of studies—128— investigating inter-connected drivers across infectious disease spread, biodiversity loss and climate change.
Human malaria was cited as a prime example of an emerging poly-crisis being super charged by overlapping pressures — climate change impacting mosquito distributions, development and vectors in ways that aren’t straightforward to predict.
The paper analysed research studies investing either infectious disease spread, biodiversity loss or climate change. While roughly 40,000 studies considered two of the areas in conjunction, only 505 combined research on all three areas. And only 128 actually investigated the mechanistic links connecting all three threats. And in those cases, the studies are overly focused on just three areas: infectious disease in amphibians, forest health, and Lyme disease.
The research team outlines how scientists and policy makers can better study the links and feedbacks between the crises—making it possible to identify pathways with win-win-win outcomes and also avoiding unintended consequences of only taking action in one area, and ignoring others.
“Greater effort needs to be made to search for solutions with cross-benefits,” adds Dr. Alaina Pfenning-Butterworth, who conducted the study while at UBC Botany.
“For example, planting huge numbers of new trees in order to sequesters carbon can appear like a solution to climate change, but may lead to unanticipated consequences —such as loses of native diversity and monoculture forests that are at increased risk of disease outbreaks.”
The paper also argues that despite the best efforts of the research community and funding agencies, scientists from different disciplines need to work together more closely, including veterinary schools, medical schools, ecologists, conservation biologists, and computer scientists.
“I believe the majority of people would prefer to live in a more sustainable and biodiverse world, and empirical data show that people are healthier and have an increased feeling of well-being when closer to nature,” says Dr. Davies.
“But there’s broad scientific consensus that ‘business as usual’ is unsustainable, and we risk approaching a planetary tipping point beyond which reversing course will become exponentially more difficult. We have a valuable window of opportunity to decide how our future looks.”
Journal
The Lancet Planetary Health
DOI
10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00021-4
Method of Research
Literature review
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Interconnecting global threats: Climate change. Biodiversity loss, and infectious disease
In the post-pandemic period of Covid, there’s now a concerted effort to comprehend and explain the damage that was caused by our capitulating to the hysterical overreaction and overreach of the ‘experts.’ There’s a long list of policy failures to examine; mask mandates were a disaster that accomplished absolute nothing of value, but instead led to tremendous harms, many of which continue today.
Children were forced into masks for years on end, millions of people still wear masks when traveling or inside stores and restaurants, permanently convinced of the deliberate falsehood that masks are effective prevention tools. Perhaps most disturbing is that healthcare workers in blue cities are often still required to mask. Some hospitals have required masking continuously since 2020, while others are now enforcing rolling mandates based on the delusions of administrators and expert authorities.
Research into the economic cost of many of our Covid policies and mandates is still ongoing, but a new, extremely detailed report on school closures has created a horrifying context for just how damaging Anthony Fauci’s advocacy was during the pandemic.
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 17: Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
All of Our Covid Policies Failed
The research begins with an obvious acknowledgment of the failures which occurred due to Covid mandates. Despite wildly different policies, there was virtually no difference in outcomes between countries.
“From the available evidence, it is difficult to identify the specific responses to the pandemic that led to better outcomes,” they write. “Countries clearly responded to the challenges in very different ways, from essentially no school closures (Sweden) to multiple years of closures (Uganda and Indonesia). Yet, simple statistics such as the length of school closures or overall health policies cannot explain much of the variance in outcomes.”
Lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccine passports…none of it mattered, nor does it explain the variance in outcomes between countries. Why? The obvious answer is that none of these policies had the slightest chance of preventing transmission of a highly infectious respiratory virus.
Instead, the likely explanation for variance in outcomes comes down to differences in accounting for Covid cases and deaths, underlying health and age demographics, or pre-existing immunity from exposure to similar coronaviruses, which was almost certainly the reason why countries in Asia performed much better than Western countries during the early part of the pandemic, but was conveniently ignored in favor of “experts” maintaining the wishful thinking that “mask culture” was responsible.
Regardless of the explanation, the fact that there is no consistent factor to attribute better outcomes to is in itself an indictment of our Covid policies and mandates. If it’s impossible to define why a country did better or worse than another country, there should be no justification for continued restrictions. If only someone had told Fauci or his allies in the public health establishment in 2020-2021, but instead they forcefully criticized any opposition who understood the reality, such as Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
School Closures Caused Unimaginable Harms
The researchers spent most of their time attempting to assess the many harms caused by one of the pandemic’s most inexcusable policies: school closures. And the results of their estimates are jaw-dropping.
“Based on the available research on lifetime earnings associated with more skills, the average student in school during the pandemic will lose 5 to 6 percent of lifetime earnings,” they found. “Because a lower-skilled workforce leads to lower economic growth, the nation will lose some $31 trillion (in present value terms) during the twenty-first century. This aggregate economic loss is higher than the US GDP for one year and dwarfs the total economic losses from either the slowdown of the economy during the pandemic or from the 2008 recession.”
That’s not a misprint: $31 trillion.
Teachers unions, Fauci, the CDC, and politicians have all ensured that the American economy will be decimated in the next century because they refused to admit they were wrong about all of it. As cost of living skyrockets thanks to rampant inflation, also caused by our incompetence and malicious, purposeful ignorance, children forced to learn under school closures will be irreparably set back, which will cost them hundreds of thousands if not millions of earned income throughout their lives.
It’s easy to suggest that maybe these harms may be erased or mitigated over time. The researchers addressed that too, yet they failed to provide much hope for the future.
“Finally, we provide a few observations about recovery from the learning losses. History suggests that these losses are likely to be permanent unless the schools become better than they were before the pandemic,” they conclude.
With wholly incompetent political activists like Randi Weingarten controlling schools, disgraceful DEI policies infiltrating every aspect of public education, the lack of acknowledgment from Fauci and other organizations that Covid mandates were a failure, and the complete ideological capture of the education system, it’s impossible to reasonably expect that schools will ever “become better than they were.”
The damage they caused is locked in – forever.
Once Again, Florida Provides the Alternative
Importantly, the results of school closures varied per region. In far-left states such as California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, school closures persisted well into 2021.
But Florida was one of the few states, and perhaps the only large one, to make reopening schools a priority, despite the objections of teachers unions and media outlets that attempted to label the governor as “DeathSantis.”
And it’s going to pay off, relatively speaking. A figure presented in the research shows that Florida’s economic state loss in GDP is nearly equal to Pennsylvania, despite a population that’s nearly 75% bigger than Pennsylvania. And California’s estimated losses, roughly $1.3 trillion, are more than 116% higher than Florida, much larger than the population difference. Similarly, New York’s economic losses far exceed Florida’s, despite a smaller population.
DeSantis followed the actual science, listened to competent outside expert advisors, and as a result, when compared to other major states, Florida is set to massively benefit in the future. It is yet again another clear indictment of the blue states that chose to follow the Fauci blueprint into economic disaster.
And make no mistake, this is a disaster.
No Accountability for Failure
The researchers compared the learning loss train wreck to the 2008 recession, showing that the Covid response is responsible for substantially more damage than even that economic cycle.
“The lopsided attention to the business-cycle losses from the 2008 recession and from the pandemic is startling once we see the comparable pandemic learning loss figures,” they wrote. “The economic losses from the loss of human capital are fully six times the total losses from the 2008 recession, which was labeled the largest recession since the Great Depression.”
This is staggering. Six times the total losses from the 2008 recession, already considered one of the worst in modern economic history. All because Fauci and his band of “experts” seized an opportunity to enforce their agenda of control onto a compliant society. And also because they refused to admit failure when many were desperately trying to expose them.
It’s an inexcusable, historic set of decisions with lasting consequences both in soft cultural terms and harder economic ones. A $31 trillion loss is the loss of GDP exclusively from school closures. That doesn’t even account for the loss of business income, the years-long setback in terms of new business, or the loss of GDP from adults who gave up on career plans or other pursuits out of despair or lack of opportunity.
The damage the “experts” caused is incalculable. But the attempts to calculate it has resulted in absolutely horrifying estimates.
And not one of those responsible is willing to acknowledge it.
Whether you're a health and wellness enthusiast or just starting out, you've probably considered purchasing a wearable tracker at some point in your journey.
In fact, there's probably a good chance you're wearing one right now.
That's because nowadays, wearable devices that track one's fitness, personal goals, sleep, and other health markers are more popular than ever before. Thanks to dozens of newly available devices at relatively consumer-friendly prices, the market for wearables is one of the fastest growing corners of the tech space.
It's no surprise, then, that approximately one in three Americans wears a fitness tracker to map their wellness. And there are so many to choose from.
One of the most popular devices is the Apple (AAPL) Watch, and for good reason. The Watch, first launched in 2015, comes out with a relatively new iteration annually and can be used to trace metrics like:
Altitude and depth measurements
Sleep estimates and measurements
Heart rate
Medication reminders
Mindfulness reminders
Cycle tracking
Step count
Calories burned
Email, iMessage, and phone call capabilities
One of its main competitors, the Oura Ring, is owned and operated by a much smaller, Finnish company but focuses more of its attention on holistic well-being, offering users insights into the following:
Heart rate variation (HRV)
Respiratory rate
Blood oxygen levels
Sleep quality
Body temperature
Recovery
Activity
Mindfulness and stress levels
Oura tests a new feature
It's only natural that Oura and Apple Watch would be trying to outdo each other, constantly releasing new features to tempt potential users away from one ecosystem and into their own.
Most recently, Oura unveiled its latest feature available on its app –meaning it would be compatible for both its legacy Heritage ring as well as its newer Horizon ring models.
The app features a new section launched on Wednesday called Oura Labs, which users can utilize to track their health using Oura's newly minted Symptom Radar. The Symptom Radar uses inputs from the Oura ring to distinguish tiny bodily changes which might indicate a user is under the weather or at risk for getting sick.
Oura says it will detect these changes using the following metrics:
Temperature range
Respiratory rate
Resting heart rate
Heart rate variability
Oura already measures these data points, but adding them together as a part of a new tracking feature is what's brand new.
If the Symptom Radar does encounter a significant change, it will alert a user alongside his or her readiness score, which indicates how prepared and recovered a user is for the day ahead. Oura maintains that the report isn't a "diagnostic feature," and is not meant to outright detect disease or illness, and users should still listen to their body for cues about their own health.
Once a user is alerted to a potential change in their wellbeing, they can then activate a Rest Mode feature or adjust their daily fitness goals as they work to recover and get back to optimal fitness levels. It's important to note, however, that the feature is not foolproof, and a litany of other variables, like poor nights of sleep, a hard workout, or alcohol consumption may skew the report.
The feature is also still in testing mode, which allows users to give Oura feedback on their unique experiences with the new product. Oura will then ostensibly tweak and improve its product based on user testimonials – or remove the feature altogether – if the company deems it compelling enough.
Apple Watch doesn't currently have outright wellness monitoring, though the feature has been something of a highly-sought-after golden goose for most wearable companies, particularly since the onset of the covid pandemic.
Apple Watch does, however, offer insights into irregular or unusual heart rates, heart rate variability, VO2 max (depending on what model you have), and body temperatures.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of people in Japan suffering with the rare but dangerous bacterial condition, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). According to reports, cases of this potentially fatal strep A illness have more than tripled in Tokyo compared with this time last year.
While experts aren’t entirely certain why cases have risen so sharply to record levels, many believe it could be due to people being less vigilant about protecting themselves from infection after COVID measures were dropped.
Many countries, including the UK, have seen a similar increase in illnesses caused by strep A bacteria in the post-lockdown period – highlighting the continued burden that these bacteria have on public health.
Group A strep
STSS is caused by group A streptococcal bacteria, whch are quite common. Between 5% and 20% of healthy adults have these bacteria living inside them without any symptoms. But even when they don’t cause illness, group A streptococcal bacteria can still be spread to other people unknowingly through touch, coughs and sneezes.
Strep A bacteria are commonly spread through close contact with an infected person. This means that people who spend time in crowded places – such as schools or dormitories – may be at greater risk of catching these bacteria. Even people who aren’t ill can be colonised by them, as they are well adapted to grow in healthy human hosts.
But strep A bacteria can shift gears from being symptom-free and harmless into the source of numerous diseases. Infection may be triggered by larger numbers of the bacteria, mutation to a more aggressive strain, or perhaps some reduction in host defences. Most often, this will cause localised, short-lived infections – such as strep throat, tonsillitis or impetigo on the skin.
However, strep A bacteria can also ambush patients a few weeks after these milder infections, causing severe, lifelong complications – including rheumatic heart fever or inflammation of the kidneys. These complications are more common in certain populations, such as those who are homeless or living in poverty, or people with drug and alcohol use problems.
Strep A bacteria can also cause more severe illnesses, including scarlet fever, sinusitis, pneumonia, cellulitis, bone and blood infections.
In rare cases, strep A bacteria can spread from cuts and wounds deep into soft tissues and muscle, leading to necrotising fasciitis or “flesh-eating disease”. And streptococci can in some situations release immune-activating toxins that activate the immune cells in tissues, triggering STSS.
Toxic shock
STSS patients often complain initially of fevers, muscle aches and nausea, before becoming confused or drowsy. Low blood pressure follows, leading to cold hands and feet, a rapid heart rate and breathing too. Without the blood pressure they need to function, organs then begin to fail, usually 24 to 48 hours after the symptoms emerged.
STSS has a high mortality rate – ranging from 5% in younger patients who have been admitted quickly to intensive care, to up to 70% in the elderly.
Treatment for suspected STSS should be delivered as rapidly as possible. Patients will require oxygen, intravenous fluids and even cardiac support, alongside antibiotics and intravenous immune antibodies to deactivate strep A toxins. Even if referral and treatment is given quickly, it may still take patients many weeks to recover from the physical effects.
STSS is more common in people who have a poor immune system– including the elderly, people taking steroid medications, people recovering from a recent illness (particularly chickenpox), those with type 2 diabetes, and people with drug and alcohol problems. The elderly are a large and growing component of Japan’s population, which may explain why cases of STSS are particularly high there.
The rise in STSS cases is probably also a consequence of fewer COVID restrictions in this post-lockdown period. Public health measures such as mask wearing, washing and disinfecting hands and social distancing all helped to reduce the spread of strep A bacteria. People were exposed to larger numbers of bacteria when these controls were lifted.
Fortunately, strep A bacteria remain responsive to penicillin, although resistance has been identified in some strains. This means that strep A – and STSS – remain treatable.
Researchers are also working on developing a protective vaccine against strep A bacteria. If successful, this would not only protect against milder illnesses caused by streptococci, but also against rheumatic fever and perhaps the more acute severe illnesses such as STSS.
Strep A bacteria are estimated to contribute to more than half a million deaths globally each year. While relatively few of these are the consequence of STSS, this number highlights a need to better monitor group A streptococci, their evolution and the diseases they cause.
Protecting yourself against strep A bacteria remains relatively simple. Many of the practices we followed during the height of the pandemic – such as wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowds – can help us avoid strep A too.
Colin Michie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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