Genetic code

• The "Rare Disease Genetic Testing Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Disease Type, Offering, Specialty Type, Sample Type, Trait Type, Technology, Age Group, End User, and Country Analysis - Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
• The global market for rare disease genetic testing encompasses an array of panels and tests that excel in detecting rare diseases.
• The global rare disease genetic testing market has experienced remarkable growth, driven by the escalating demand for early detection of rare diseases.
• Moreover, a maximum number of rare disease testing is done there, due to which these regions hold the maximum share in the global rare disease genetic testing market.

• However, recent advances in DNA extraction techniques mean that biologists can study the genetic code of old museum specimens, which include extremely rare or even recently extinct species.
• We harnessed this new technology to study a snake from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe that was run over in 1982, and discovered it was a new species.
• This snake had unusual markings with red skin between its scales, creating the effect of black dots on a red background when its hood is extended.

A rare find

• A handful of specimens were observed and measured in later years, but the landscape has been drastically altered by forestry.
• The rinkhals from Zimbabwe has not been seen in the wild since 1988 and is feared to be extinct.
• This population lives 700km away from other, more southerly populations, which made us suspect it may be a separate species.

New technology

• Our study showed they represent a long-isolated population, highly distinct from the southern rinkhals populations.
• Based on their genetic divergence from the other rinkhals, we estimate that the snakes in Zimbabwe diverged from their southern relatives 7-14 million years ago.
• Hemachatus nyangensis has fangs modified to spit venom, although the behaviour was not reported from the few recorded interactions with humans.

A connection between human and snake evolution

• Similarly, the venom spitting in Asian cobras is thought to have emerged around 2.5 million years ago, which is around the time the extinct human species Homo erectus would have become a threat to those species.
• Our study of Nyanga rinkhals suggests that the third time venom spitting evolved independently in snakes may also have coincided with the origin of upright-walking hominins.
• Technological advances may be giving us incredible insights into ancient animal lineages but they can’t make up for an extinction.
• The possible relationship between venom spitting and our early ancestors is a reminder that we are part of the Earth’s ecosystem.

• For a few months now, I’ve been treating six-year-old Samuel, who has the beginnings of myopia.
• He’s very quick for his age and often asks me questions about tests I give him, and about what I see inside his eyes.
• However, as an optometrist, I can offer some insights that might help answer Samuel’s question.

Cones and rods

• The retina, the sensitive part that lines the back of the eye, has two types of photon receptors: cones and rods.
• The cones, in the centre of the retina (fovea), perceive bright light and are responsible for colour perception.
• There are three types of cones.
• The brain combines the signals emitted by each of these cones to form the colour it perceives.

And what about animals?

• For example, birds have a fourth opsin that allows them to see ultraviolet (UV) light.
• Humans cannot perceive this light because our crystalline (internal) lens filters UV rays.
• UV rays influence birds’ behavioural decisions, including foraging and their choice of a mate.
• This is an advantage when it comes to spotting prey, as they can distinguish their heat even at night.

Back to Scotch

• The vision of dogs — such as our friend Scotch — is quite different.
• As a result, dogs have a wider field of vision (250 to 280 degrees), but less simultaneous vision.
• This is equivalent to the vision of a very myopic person not wearing glasses.
• And as an added bonus, they have an extra layer of the retina, called the tapetum lucidum — or carpet.
• So it’s possible, depending on the colour of the ball, that Scotch will not see it, and as a result, will gaze up at Samuel with a lost look.

• But this range varies widely – a child raised in wealthy San Mateo County, California, can expect to live nearly 85 years.
• A child raised in Fort Worth, Texas, could expect to live about 66.7 years.
• This means that a person’s ZIP code is often a better predictor of their life expectancy than their genetic code.
• The air people breathe, the streets they walk, and their general sense of safety and happiness are all shaped by city and town plans.

Brief history of environmental justice

• Environmental justice stems from a 1980s social movement that protested toxic waste being dumped in predominantly Black neighborhoods in the South.
• The Biden administration, for example, convened an environmental justice advisory council in 2021 to track local disparities in health, environmental and economic impacts.
• But environmental justice progress ultimately depends on local work.

California’s housing policies

• Los Angeles, for example, has exclusionary zoning policies that can make it harder for low-income people to purchase homes in particular neighborhoods.
• The zoning policies require the construction of single family homes with large yards in many neighborhoods.
• For example, Inglewood’s 2020 plan adopts an inclusionary zoning policy to construct affordable housing in the same locations as market-rate housing.
• Other places in California, like the the city of Richmond, have introduced a Health in All Policies approach to combat inequality.

Analyzing California city plans

• We collected over 500 finalized California city plans from 2020 through 2022.
• Plans are required to be updated every three to eight years, but we found that some places are still running on plans drafted in the 1970s.
• City plans are often hard to find on individual city and county websites – or they are buried in the shelves of municipal libraries.
• Local communities spend years in public meetings finessing the details of city plans.

Addressing environmental justice

• We also searched for synonyms, like segregation, that address environmental justice and anti-racism.
• Through this, we uncovered the various ways that some California cities addressed environmental justice.
• Ultimately, the answer to how cities can plan to be anti-racist, address health equity or promote environmental justice rests with concerned constituents and council members crafting a feasible plan of action.