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utlh [2025/03/04 20:22] 62.192.174.214 |
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| - | Gifted by an emperor, Ethiopia’s iconic Africa Hall has been renovated for a new era | + | Salmon migration affected by drug pollution in water from antianxiety medication |
| - | [[https://uniteto.live/es|UTLH]] | + | [[https://uniteto.live/|UTLH]] |
| - | Only 26 African countries had achieved independence when, in February 1961, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ascended a sloping staircase to inaugurate Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, which he gifted as the new headquarters for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). | + | Hatched in quiet streams and rivers, salmon undertake a perilous journey to reach the open ocean where they become mature adults. Over millions of years, generations of young salmon have migrated great distances, in some cases traveling hundreds of miles from freshwater systems to the sea. However, modern salmon face a hurdle that was unknown to their ancient ancestors: pharmaceutical pollution that changes their migration behavior. |
| - | A dominating presence in the heart of the Ethiopian capital, adorned with a sweeping 150-square-meter (1,614-square-foot) stained-glass window, the structure, designed by Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi, had taken just 18 months to build. Fittingly then, it didn’t take long before the building became the site of a landmark event in the story of modern Africa. | + | Recently, researchers discovered that when a drug called clobazam accumulates in salmon’s brains, migrating fish reach the ocean sooner and navigate dam obstacles faster. On the surface, this change might seem helpful to salmon. However, any deviation from normal animal behavior through human activity — particularly when psychoactive substances are involved — is a red flag, and the full extent of how drug pollution may alter salmon health, behavior and reproduction is still unknown, scientists reported April 10 in the journal Science. |
| + | Clobazam, which is commonly found in wastewater, belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines, which depress the central nervous system. The drug is used to prevent epileptic seizures, for short-term treatment of anxiety and to treat anxiety-related sleep disorders. But because neural wiring in fish resembles that of mammals, fish are highly susceptible to the effects of drugs that tweak human neurochemistry, said Dr. Christopher C. Caudill, a professor in the department of fish and wildlife sciences at the University of Idaho. | ||
| - | Just over two years later, Selassie once again made the climb to welcome the founding members of the newly formed Organization of African Unity (OAU) to their home — a meeting place intended to foster cooperation, drive economic progress and eradicate colonialism across the continent. | + | “Humans share a large amount of biological architecture with fishes — our physiology and anatomy are remarkably similar. Thus, it is intuitive that psychoactive drugs alter the behavior of both fishes and humans,” Caudill, who was not involved in the research, told CNN in an email. |
| - | Addressing representatives of the then-32 independent African states, Selassie declared that the continent was “at midcourse, in transition from the Africa of yesterday to the Africa of tomorrow.” | + | Prior research showed that benzodiazepines could alter behavior in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), but they did so under conditions unlike those experienced by wild salmon, said study coauthor Dr. Marcus Michelangeli, a lecturer in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. |
| - | “We must act to shape and mold the future and leave our imprint on events as they slip past into history,” he continued. | + | “Those studies were largely conducted in laboratory settings, only tracked movement over short distances — less than 100 metres (328 feet) — or used drug concentrations much higher than what salmon would typically encounter in the wild,” Michelangeli said via email. |
| - | More than 60 years later, Selassie’s message has come full-circle: Africa Hall has been shaped and molded anew. | + | |
| - | Last October marked the completion of a decade-long renovation across the entirety of the 12,800 square-meter site, commissioned by the ECA in 2013 with a $57 million budget to revitalize the landmark as a world-class conference and cultural venue. | + | “Our study took a different approach. We followed the entire river-to-sea migration of juvenile salmon in a natural river system, using drug concentrations that match what fish are actually exposed to in the environment.” |
| - | Australian design practice Architectus Conrad Gargett was entrusted with leading the re-design, giving project architect Simon Boundy a mission with dual themes — modernization and conservation. | + | The field investigation’s findings highlight the growing risks pharmaceutical pollutants pose to wildlife populations across the globe, according to Michelangeli. |
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| - | “The two go hand-in-hand with projects like this,” Boundy told CNN, “Where you’ve got an aging asset, but if it doesn’t get used, it falls into disrepair.” | + | |
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| - | “It’s about bringing the building back to life, making it accessible to the public and celebrating the story of the building for future generations.” | + | |
utlh.1741137771.txt.gz · Last modified: 2025/03/04 20:22 by 62.192.174.214
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