SMC Spain

US Department of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr's proposal to let bird flu spread in turkeys and chickens to identify surviving animals would be "dangerous and unethical", a group of scientists warns in a policy forum article published by Science. In addition to the suffering of infected animals, allowing a highly lethal, rapidly evolving and contagious virus to follow a natural course of infection "would prolong exposure for farmworkers, which could increase viral adaptation and transmission risks for poultry, other peridomestic animals, and humans," they warn.

Two people have died in a fire that has burned more than 5,500 hectares in the province of Lleida. Firefighters from the Catalan government declared it under control last night, after 29 hours. Salvador Illa, president of the Catalan regional government, called for ‘maximum caution’ from the public, warning that ‘today's fires are not like those of the past, they are extremely dangerous,’ according to RTVE.es. Why is this fire considered extreme? What should you do when a fire breaks out? How can more fires be prevented? In this article, we have compiled explanations and basic recommendations with the help of expert sources.

The brain can become habituated to the deterioration of democracy, warn a neuroscientist and a law expert in an editorial published in Science Advances. "When democratic norms are violated repeatedly, people begin to adapt,’ they explain, calling for a "dishabituation" to democratic decline. This requires "see[ing] things not in light of the deterioration of recent years, but in light of our best historical practices, our largest ideals, and our highest aspirations.

Although tobacco consumption is declining in many parts of the world, there appears to be an increase in the number of lung cancer cases among non-smokers. One of the possible causes of this increase is air pollution. Now, researchers in the US, with Spanish participation, have analysed the genomes of 871 lung tumours in people from various locations who had never smoked. The results, published in the journal Nature, indicate that greater exposure to pollution is linked to an increase in the number of mutations, including those commonly associated with tobacco.

A research team from Murcia has found several types of microplastics in 69% of follicular fluid samples from 29 women and 55% of seminal fluid samples from 22 men, according to a presentation at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), being held from 29 June to 2 July in Paris, France. The most frequent polymer in both types of samples was polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The abstract of the research is published in the journal Human Reproduction.

An international study with 72 participants has found that greater connectivity between certain brain areas is associated with greater mathematical computational ability. In addition, weak electrical stimulation in a particular area was associated with improved computational learning in volunteers with lower connectivity. The results are published in the journal Plos Biology.  

Aging is associated with an increase in chronic inflammation, a phenomenon known as inflammaging that is related to different diseases and that was considered universal. Now, an international team has analyzed data on 19 inflammation-associated proteins in four different populations: two industrialized (from Italy and Singapore) and two non-industrialized (the Tsimane population of the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli population of Malaysia). The results show that, at least according to this form of measurement, in the non-industrialized populations there is no increase in inflammation with age, which questions whether this is a biological imperative and indicates that it would depend on lifestyles and social and cultural factors. The paper is published in letter format in Nature Aging. 

From 2014 to 2023, one in six people in the world suffered from loneliness, according to a World Health Organisation report, which outlines the causes of this phenomenon and its multiple impacts: on physical and mental health and mortality, as well as on work and the economy. The report estimates that loneliness is linked to more than 871,000 deaths per year and highlights a higher incidence among young people and in low- and middle-income countries.

With the summer holidays approaching, questions arise about how to prepare for trips to other countries, including health recommendations. In this guide, we explain the basics of how to protect yourself and others.

An analysis published in the medical journal The BMJ points out that lifestyle changes recommended by doctors to people with obesity, focusing on calorie restriction and increased physical activity, have little effect on long-term weight loss, fail to significantly reduce cardiovascular risks and, yet, can lead to discrimination, stigmatisation and eating disorders. The authors also point out that weight alone is an inadequate measure of a person's health, as reflected in recent clinical guidelines, and propose a ‘health for all sizes’ approach with effective, patient-centred care.