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Five Hundred Years of Mercury Exposure and Adaptation
Joint Authors
Ali, Abdul-Mehdi
Qualls, Clifford
Lanzirotti, Antonio
Socola, Francisco
Lombardi, Guido
Appenzeller, Otto
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-10, 10 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-07-15
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
10
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Mercury is added to the biosphere by anthropogenic activities raising the question of whether changes in the human chromatin, induced by mercury, in a parental generation could allow adaptation of their descendants to mercury.
We review the history of Andean mining since pre-Hispanic times in Huancavelica, Peru.
Despite the persistent degradation of the biosphere today, no overt signs of mercury toxicity could be discerned in present day inhabitants.
However, mercury is especially toxic to the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
We, therefore, tested ANS function and biologic rhythms, under the control of the ANS, in 5 Huancavelicans and examined the metal content in their hair.
Mercury levels varied from none to 1.014 ppm, significantly less than accepted standards.
This was confirmed by microfocused synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis.
Biologic rhythms were abnormal and hair growth rate per year, also under ANS control, was reduced (P<0.001).
Thus, evidence of mercury’s toxicity in ANS function was found without other signs of intoxication.
Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of partial transgenerational inheritance of tolerance to mercury in Huancavelica, Peru.
This would generally benefit survival in the Anthropocene, the man-made world, we now live in.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Lombardi, Guido& Lanzirotti, Antonio& Qualls, Clifford& Socola, Francisco& Ali, Abdul-Mehdi& Appenzeller, Otto. 2012. Five Hundred Years of Mercury Exposure and Adaptation. BioMed Research International،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-991718
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Lombardi, Guido…[et al.]. Five Hundred Years of Mercury Exposure and Adaptation. BioMed Research International No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-991718
American Medical Association (AMA)
Lombardi, Guido& Lanzirotti, Antonio& Qualls, Clifford& Socola, Francisco& Ali, Abdul-Mehdi& Appenzeller, Otto. Five Hundred Years of Mercury Exposure and Adaptation. BioMed Research International. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-991718
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-991718