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| Open AccessRegional variation in health is predominantly driven by lifestyle rather than genetics
Health-related traits are known to vary geographically. Here, Amador and colleagues show that regional variation of obesity-related traits in a Scottish population is influenced more by lifestyle differences than it is by genetic differences.
- Carmen Amador
- , Charley Xia
- & Chris S. Haley
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Article
| Open AccessTrade-driven relocation of air pollution and health impacts in China
International and domestic interprovincial trade of China are entangled, but their health impacts have been treated separately in earlier studies. Here Wang. quantify the complex impacts of trade on public health across China within an integrative framework.
- Haikun Wang
- , Yanxu Zhang
- & Michael B. McElroy
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Article
| Open AccessCommon variants in ZMIZ1 and near NGF confer risk for primary dysmenorrhoea
Primary dysmenorrhoea, the most common gynaecologic complaint, remains genetically and pathophysiologically elusive. Here, Li and colleagues identify common variants inZMIZ1 and near NGFconferring risk for primary dysmenorrhoea using genome-wide association study in a Chinese population.
- Zhiqiang Li
- , Jianhua Chen
- & Yongyong Shi
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Article
| Open AccessExercise contagion in a global social network
Some argue that health-related behaviours, such as obesity, are contagious, but empirical evidence of health contagion remains inconclusive. Here, using a large scale quasi-experiment in a global network of runners, Aral and Nicolaides show that this type of contagion exists in fitness behaviours.
- Sinan Aral
- & Christos Nicolaides
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Article
| Open AccessIntestinal microbiome is related to lifetime antibiotic use in Finnish pre-school children
The impact of antibiotics on the microbiome and health of children is poorly understood. Here, Korpela et al. study the gut microbiome of 142 children and show that the use of macrolides, but not penicillins, is associated with long-lasting shifts in microbiota composition and increased risk of asthma and overweight.
- Katri Korpela
- , Anne Salonen
- & Willem M. de Vos
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| Open AccessExome-wide association analysis reveals novel coding sequence variants associated with lipid traits in Chinese
An important risk factor for coronary artery disease is the level of blood lipids. Here the authors conduct an exome-wide association study in Chinese cohorts and identify three novel loci associated with lipid levels as well as three Asian-specific variants in known loci.
- Clara S. Tang
- , He Zhang
- & Wei Gao
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| Open AccessGenome-wide association study identifies new susceptibility loci for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Chinese girls
The authors perform a genome-wide association study of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients of Han Chinese descent, and identify 3 new loci for disease susceptibility.
- Zezhang Zhu
- , Nelson Leung-Sang Tang
- & Jack Chun-Yiu Cheng
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| Open AccessGenome-wide association of polycystic ovary syndrome implicates alterations in gonadotropin secretion in European ancestry populations
Polycystic Ovary Sydrome is a highly heritable, complex reproductive disorder with unknown underlying genetic factors. Here Hayes and Urbanek et al. identify three loci in European women strongly associated with neuroendocrine changes and disease susceptibility.
- M. Geoffrey Hayes
- , Margrit Urbanek
- & Andrea Dunaif
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Identification of myopia-associated WNT7B polymorphisms provides insights into the mechanism underlying the development of myopia
Myopia is a significant and increasing public health concern. Here Miyake et al. conduct a genome-wide association study and identify WNT7Bas a susceptibility gene across different ethnic groups, suggesting a possible role in the development of myopia.
- Masahiro Miyake
- , Kenji Yamashiro
- & Nagahisa Yoshimura
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Genome-wide association study identifies a new susceptibility locus for cleft lip with or without a cleft palate
Cleft lip is one of the most common congenital birth defects with substantial impairments to quality of life. Here, Sun et al. identify a new locus associated with cleft lip in diverse Chinese populations.
- Yimin Sun
- , Yongqing Huang
- & Yinxue Yang
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Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions
Scrapie, a form of prion disease that affects sheep and goats, is believed not to be transmissible to humans. Using transgenic mice expressing human prion protein as a model of cross-species prion transmission, the authors show that ovine scrapie may possess potential to be passed on to humans.
- Hervé Cassard
- , Juan-Maria Torres
- & Olivier Andréoletti
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A chemo-centric view of human health and disease
Forecasting unwanted interactions between drugs and chemicals in human body is an important but yet unmet need. Here the authors build networks that can predict comorbidities and drug side effects, by analysing the existing database that compiles effects of drugs and chemicals on human conditions.
- Miquel Duran-Frigola
- , David Rossell
- & Patrick Aloy
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Respiratory transmission of an avian H3N8 influenza virus isolated from a harbour seal
Avian influenza viruses constantly threaten human health as evidenced by the outbreaks of human H7N9 infections. Here, Karlsson et al. show that an avian H3N8 virus isolated from harbour seals has the potential to infect, cause disease and transmit in mammalian models of influenza virus infection.
- Erik A. Karlsson
- , Hon S. Ip
- & Stacey Schultz-Cherry
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African origin of the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax
Plasmodium vivax, the leading cause of human malaria in Asia and Latin America, is thought to have an Asian origin. Here, the authors show that wild chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa are infected with parasites that are closely related to P. vivax, indicating an African origin for this species.
- Weimin Liu
- , Yingying Li
- & Paul M. Sharp
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Real-time influenza forecasts during the 2012–2013 season
Our ability to accurately predict the spread of infectious diseases is still in its infancy. Here, Shamanet al.develop a model framework that produces accurate real-time forecasts of influenza peak timing for over a hundred cities in the USA.
- Jeffrey Shaman
- , Alicia Karspeck
- & Marc Lipsitch
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Article
| Open AccessHuman gut microbiota community structures in urban and rural populations in Russia
The structure of the human gut microbiota has been shown to vary between populations. Tyakht et al.analyse the gut microbiota assembly from Russian individuals living in urban and rural areas, and compare these with previously studied populations.
- Alexander V. Tyakht
- , Elena S. Kostryukova
- & Vadim M. Govorun
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Article
| Open AccessFactors determining the occurrence of submicroscopic malaria infections and their relevance for control
Malaria can persist at levels that escape detection by standard microscopy, but can be detected by PCR. Okell et al.now show that rates of submicroscopic infection can be predicted using more widely available microscopy data, and are most epidemiologically significant in areas with low malaria transmission.
- Lucy C. Okell
- , Teun Bousema
- & Chris J. Drakeley
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| Open AccessEstimating the potential public health impact of seasonal malaria chemoprevention in African children
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention can lower the incidence of malaria in areas where transmission is highly periodical. Combining data on rainfall, population and malaria endemicity, Cairnset al. identify geographical areas in sub-Saharan Africa where this intervention is likely to be effective and cost-effective.
- Matthew Cairns
- , Arantxa Roca-Feltrer
- & Brian M. Greenwood
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Isoniazid resistance without a loss of fitness in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The treatment ofMycobacterium tuberculosis with drugs such as isoniazid often results in drug resistance, but the mechanisms leading to the resistance are not fully known. In this study, an M. tuberculosisstrain lacking the sigma factor I is shown to be resistant to isoniazid.
- Jong-Hee Lee
- , Nicole C. Ammerman
- & William R. Bishai
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Location-specific patterns of exposure to recent pre-pandemic strains of influenza A in southern China
Population demographics affect influenza transmission at large spatial scales. Here, influenza immunity is shown to vary spatially in a way unexplained by differences in demographics, suggesting that there are aspects of locations that drive influenza transmission other than individual and household risk factors.
- Justin Lessler
- , Derek A.T. Cummings
- & Steven Riley
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Long-term projections and acclimatization scenarios of temperature-related mortality in Europe
The sensitivity of human populations to rising global temperatures is not yet fully understood. The authors describe the link between temperature and daily mortality in over 200 European regions and calculate projections of mortality from climate models under greenhouse gas scenario simulations.
- Joan Ballester
- , Jean-Marie Robine
- & Xavier RodĂł
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| Open AccessA quantitative analysis of transmission efficiency versus intensity for malaria
Recent work has shown that the transmission of malaria from mosquito to human is inefficient. In this study, an analysis of published literature is used to understand this inefficiency, which is likely due to heterogeneous biting, where 20% of people receive 80% of the bites.
- David L. Smith
- , Chris J. Drakeley
- & Simon I. Hay