Virolainen, S. J., VonHandorf, A., M. F. Viel, K. C., Weirauch, M. T., & Kottyan, L. C. (2023, January 11). Gene–environment interactions and their impact on human health – Genes & Immunity. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41435-022-00192-6
This article explores the complex interplay of heredity and environment in developing human health and disease. It highlights gene-environment (GxE) interactions, which are non-linear interactions between genes and environmental variables. The review covers many situations in which these relationships increase disease risk. It goes from the independent effects of genetics and environment to known GxE interactions involving toxicants, pollutants, viruses, and sex chromosomal composition. The paper discusses the promise and challenges of investigating GxE interactions to illuminate the complicated mechanisms behind human health issues.
The article is relevant to environmental science since it discusses how our genes and the objects in our environment interact to affect our health. It illustrates how pollutants, chemicals, and viruses can work with our DNA to make some people more susceptible to illness. This is significant because it helps us understand how our surroundings can substantially influence illness transmission. It also provides scientists with suggestions on how to keep people healthier by caring for our environment. While reading it, I was confused because it’s like a puzzle where our genes and environmental factors like pollution come together to determine whether we get a disease. Genetics and environment are crucial, yet some aspects are difficult to catch.
I’m curious to see how our current pollution will affect health in the following decades (and even beyond). We have major pollutants that we come in contact with extreme regularity, including smog, microplastics, and more. This goes to show the extent to which our pollution goes, and how our actions can result in higher health risks. Environmental justice issues are also health issues. Lower-income communities have higher exposure to pollution than other groups and get asthma at higher rates. In the future, these issues will get more common and even worse the more we expose ourselves to these toxic pollutants.
Do you think people’s immune systems are stronger or weaker after covid? Also, do you think people’s immune systems are stronger today with new medical developments?