November 15, 2024: Vaccines have saved more lives than any other intervention. Plus, this is where time came from, and the Arecibo message turns 50. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Baby the cat has a genetic mutation that makes his tail curl over his back in a spitz-like position. Erica Hudson | | | • A genetic mutation makes some cats' tails curl over their back, giving them something akin to an accent when they communicate with other kitties. | 3 min read | | | • Wastewater in 15 sites across the country has recently tested positive for bird flu. But that doesn't necessarily mean there's a risk to human health, experts say. | 7 min read | | | In a study published this year in the Lancet, researchers used statistical modeling to estimate the impact of vaccines against 14 common pathogens in the past 50 years. The scientists determined that vaccines saved 154 million lives since 1974—at a rate of six lives every minute. Of those saved lives, 95 percent of which were children under five years old. The same estimates showed that vaccines have cut infant mortality by 40 percent globally, and by more than 50 percent in Africa. The smallpox vaccine totally eradicated the illness in 1977. And other severe illnesses like polio, measles and rubella are eliminated in some countries, or at record lows globally.
In all of human history, vaccines have saved more lives than almost any other intervention.
First line of defense: Vaccines are usually the primary line of public health defense in communities with no health care. Poverty, malnutrition, underlying health conditions, overcrowding, human conflict, displacement, and lack of access to medical care, hygiene or sanitation—all of these are risk factors for infectious disease, says Kate O'Brien, director of the WHO's immunization, vaccines and biologicals department. Vaccines reduce disease in these settings and free up health care resources for other public health projects. Vaccines also reduce disability and long-term morbidity, and prevent loss of labor and the death of caretakers.
What the experts say: "We say vaccines are one of humanity's great achievements in terms of having furthered the lifespan and life quality for humanity in the past 50 years," says Aurélia Nguyen, chief program officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Deaths averted since 1974:
Measles: 93,712,000
Tetanus: 27,955,000
Pertussis: 13,155,000
Tuberculosis: 10,902,000
Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB): 2,858,000
Poliomyelitis: 1,570,000
| | | Jen Christiansen (styling); Source: "Contribution of Vaccination to Improved Survival and Health: Modelling 50 Years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization," by Andrew J. Shattock et al., in Lancet, Vol. 403; May 25, 2024 | | | Humans have likely lived by some version of the clock for a very long while. The ancient Egyptians invented the first water clocks and sundials more than 3,500 years ago. In 1194 China, Sung Dynasty official Su Song built a 40-foot-tall mechanical clock powered by a water wheel that worked much like the mechanical clocks that would be invented in Europe some 200 years later.
Why this is interesting: Modern timekeeping is based on the 24-hr clock, but ancient peoples around the world operated with a more complex system–some dividing the light portion of the day into 12 segments and the night into 12 segments. Such "seasonal hours" were different lengths from day to night and across the year.
What the experts say: Seasonal hours coexisted with universal hours until the 15th century in Europe and up until the 19th century in Japan, says David Rooney, a historian of technology. "We used to live with a much more complex—and rich and diverse—temporal culture." | | | If you're enjoying all the science we cover in this newsletter, dive deeper with a subscription to Scientific American. You'll have access to all our articles and will be supporting crucial science journalism. | | | • Coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht, the term solastalgia describes the emotional distress caused by environmental change to our home or local environment. It's a combination of nostalgia for what once was and a profound sadness for what has been irretrievably altered, writes Queen Essang, a writer and science activist in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. Solastalgia motivated Essang to get involved in local environmental projects, like aiding in clean-up efforts of the Ibeno Lake and in implementing climate change action within the FCT's department of forestry. "Solastalgia serves as a poignant reminder of the stakes involved. It is an invitation to cherish our homes, to advocate for their protection and to cultivate a deep-rooted sense of responsibility for the world we inhabit," she says. | 5 min read | | | How well did you keep up with science news this week? Test your knowledge on today's science quiz. Also, here's today's Spellements puzzle. Remember to send any science words that are missing from the puzzle to games@sciam.com. This week, Jen, Amir and Frank all saw dugong (a species of marine mammal in the same order as manatees). Well done, readers! | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • Consciousness Might Hide in Our Brain's Electric Fields | 4 min read | • The Lucy Fossil's Extraordinary Journey to Becoming an Icon of Human Evolution | 6 min read | • How Geometry Revealed Quantum Memory | 6 min read | | | • Last week, a ferret gave birth to two kits at a zoo in Virginia. The mother ferret, named Antonia, was one of three cloned sister black-footed ferrets born between 2020 and 2023. They were the first endangered species in the U.S. to ever be successfully cloned. All three came from the same cryogenically preserved cell line obtained in the 1980s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has embarked on a major project to cryogenically store tissue from every endangered species in the U.S. Authorities at the agency told the Washington Post that the birth of the two kits (from a natural mating) is an exciting research achievement in efforts to preserve endangered animals. | 5 min read | | | Black-footed ferret clone Antonia.Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (CC BY 4.0) | | | In 1956, Elvis Presley, backstage before appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show, got the polio vaccine in the arm, flashing his charming smile for cameras. In the next six months, vaccination rates among American youth skyrocketed to 80 percent. Social researchers have found that the most effective behavioral change campaigns involve social influence (from people in prominent positions), social norms (the feeling that everyone is doing it) and vivid examples (like Elvis's charisma). Campaigns aside, we have indisputable data showing that vaccines are perhaps the most staggering human health achievement of all time. | Thank you for reading Today in Science this week. I welcome your feedback, suggestions, and thoughts: newsletters@sciam.com. Have a great weekend! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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