AMR in the air

A new study explores links between air pollution and premature deaths from antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and over the past month, extreme weather has devastated tomato crops in India. Biotech could provide solutions to both challenges. (586 words, 2 minutes, 55 seconds)

AMR in the air

A study published in the Lancet Monday suggests polluted air leads to premature deaths from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—highlighting the need for biotech solutions for AMR and emissions.

What we already knew: One of the deadliest air pollutants, PM2.5, carries antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes, which can cause infections when people inhale them, found a 2019 study.

What’s new: AMR from PM2.5 was associated with 480,000 premature deaths in 2018, finds the new study. 

But there’s hope: If World Health Organization (WHO) standards for reducing PM2.5 are reached by 2050, AMR-associated deaths would fall by 16.8%, the study says.

The One Health challenge: Cleaner air is key to the One Health approach, which recognizes the relationship between the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Biotech solutions like biofuels can reduce particulate pollution.

The drug development challenge: The market is broken, says everyone from BIO to the London School of Economics and Nature. Antibiotic stewardship requires these drugs to be used sparingly, making development “risky and relatively unprofitable.”

A policy solution: The PASTEUR Act, proposed legislation in which the government would “pay for consistent access to novel antimicrobials with payments that are decoupled from the volume of antimicrobials used,” explains BIO’s Director of Infectious Disease Policy,Emily Wheeler.

More Health News:

NBC: What to know about the EG.5 coronavirus subvariant, now dominant in the U.S.
“The spread of EG.5 comes as the U.S. logs its first increase in hospitalizations of the year. More than 9,000 people were hospitalized with COVID in the last week of July, up from about 6,300 at the end of June.” 

ProPublica: How we used machine learning to investigate where Ebola may strike
“We’ve spent more than a year digging into the question of what causes outbreaks and what the world can do to prevent them. And we’ve learned that while science has advanced so we’re starting to understand the complex factors that trigger an outbreak, the world is not doing nearly enough to try to head off the next big one.”

India’s tomatoes are squeezed – here’s why it matters

Extreme heat and floods have devasted a food staple in India—a sign of what’s to come for the rest of the world if we don’t help crops adapt. Biotech can provide solutions.

Tomatoes squeezed: Extreme heat in March and April, followed by recent flooding, devastated this year’s crop of tomatoes in India, The New York Times reports.

The fallout: Farmers are struggling due to loss of income, and Indian consumers, many of whom are just above poverty level, are hurting, says The New York Times—especially since the news follows a drop in wheat production due to extreme heat and rains.

The outlook: Without adaptation, wheat yields will drop 19.3% and corn yields by 23% by 2050, says India’s Ministry of Agriculture. India’s challenges in feeding its population of 1.4 billion are a harbinger for the rest of the world, says The New York Times.

Biotech will be essential to restoring food security—but you don’t have to take our word for it. (The USDA, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and global CEOs agree.)

Gene editing is already being used to enhance food—producing drought-resistant wheat, rice, and even livestock, as well as alternative proteins and prolonged crop shelf life. Now, we need to ensure these solutions get where they’re needed.

President Biden’s Wednesday: Continuing his trip to the Southwest, giving a speech on Bidenomics in Belen, NM, before flying to Salt Lake City.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are in recess through Labor Day.