To protect the health of humans, save other species. That鈥檚 the message from Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein from Harvard Medical School in Boston, who say that human health depends crucially on biodiversity.
While plenty of investigations have focused on the sociological and economic impact of species dying out, few have considered the impact on human health. Chivian and Bernstein hope to change this by drawing together the ideas of leading thinkers on the subject in Sustaining Life: How human health depends on biodiversity, to be published by Oxford University Press in May. Due to be launched at the UN headquarters in New York as New 杏吧原创 went to press, the book includes contributions by such heavy-hitters as the sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson and former UN chief Kofi Annan.
The impacts on health from loss of biodiversity can be complex and unexpected, says the book. Chivian gives the example of polar bears, which are threatened by pollution and global warming. Unlike most mammals, they can both gain and shed fat very rapidly with no health consequences. 鈥淲hen we lose polar bears we may be losing the single best research model for understanding obesity-related diseases,鈥� he says.
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鈥淚n polar bears we may be losing the best model for obesity-related diseases鈥�
What鈥檚 more, changes in predation patterns can lead to the emergence and spread of diseases. Chivian says such problems are difficult to predict: 鈥淚t is important to understand what we are losing when we lose biodiversity.鈥�
Endangered species 鈥� Learn more about the conservation battle in our comprehensive special report.
