Division of Renal Medicine, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
School of Molecular Biosystems, Davidson Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Feb 15;328:116981. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116981. Epub 2022 Dec 9.
Planetary health embraces the concept that long-term human welfare depends on the well-being of its ecological systems. Current practices, however, have often ignored this concept and have led to an anthropocentric world, with the consequence of increased greenhouse gas emissions, heat stress, lack of clean water and pollution, that are threatening the environment as well as the health and life of Homo sapiens and many other species. One consequence of environmental stressors has been the stimulation of inflammatory and oxidative stress that may not only promote common lifestyle diseases, but the ageing process. Despite the harshness of the current reality, treatment opportunities may exist 'in our backyard'. Biomimicry is an emerging field of research that explores how nature is structured and aims to mimic ingenious solutions that have evolved in nature for different applications that benefit human life. As nature always counteracts excesses from within, biodiversity could be a source of solutions that have evolved through the natural selection of animal species that have survived polluted, warm, and arid environments - i.e. the same presumptive changes that now threaten human health. One example from the emerging science suggests that animals use the cytoprotective Nrf2 antioxidant pathway to combat environmental stress and this may be a case example that we can apply to better human health. Learning from nature may provide opportunities for environmental management and solutions to the most challenging issue that face the future of the planet.
行星健康包含这样一个概念，即人类的长期福祉取决于其生态系统的健康。然而，当前的实践往往忽视了这一概念，导致了以人类为中心的世界的出现，其结果是温室气体排放增加、热应激、清洁水和污染的缺乏，这些都在威胁着环境以及智人和许多其他物种的健康和生命。环境胁迫的一个后果是引发了炎症和氧化应激，这不仅可能促进常见的生活方式疾病，还可能促进衰老过程。尽管当前的现实很残酷，但治疗机会可能就在“我们的后院”。仿生学是一个新兴的研究领域，它探索了自然界的结构，并旨在模仿自然界中为不同应用而进化出的巧妙解决方案，这些应用有益于人类生活。由于自然界总是从内部对抗过度，生物多样性可能是一种解决方案的来源，这些解决方案是通过在污染、温暖和干旱环境中生存下来的动物物种的自然选择而进化出来的——即现在威胁人类健康的同样假定变化。新兴科学中的一个例子表明，动物利用细胞保护 Nrf2 抗氧化途径来对抗环境压力，这可能是一个我们可以应用于改善人类健康的案例。向大自然学习可能为环境管理和解决未来地球面临的最具挑战性的问题提供机会。
