AMPHIBIUM

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Alex Kuno

Many forms of heart disease are linked to chronic inflammation, and scientists are probing whether global warming has worsened this condition for people around the world, even among younger adults in northern Europe where extreme heat is infrequent.

Unlike acute inflammation, the immune system’s tool to fight infection or heal an injury, chronic inflammation is a prolonged immune response that can damage healthy tissues over time. Chronic inflammation has been linked to conditions ranging from arthritis to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other major illnesses.

“People often think heat is only dangerous when it causes heat stroke or during a heat wave, but that is probably too narrow,” said environmental epidemiologist Daniel Riggs, who is an assistant professor in the division of environmental medicine and the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville. 

Emerging evidence suggests that even routine exposure to elevated temperatures may alter biological markers linked to inflammation, immune responses, and the functioning of blood vessels.

How heat fuels inflammation

Recent studies have revealed evidence of these subtle biological changes. In Louisville, Kentucky, researchers analyzed blood samples from 624 adults and linked hotter conditions, measured using a heat metric that accounted for temperature, humidity, and wind, with signs of increased inflammation and measurable changes in the immune system.

Hotter conditions were associated with nearly 10% higher levels of some immune cells involved in the body’s inflammatory response, while levels of TNF-alpha, a molecule that helps drive inflammation, were about 7% higher.

The study did not track disease outcomes, yet the researchers say the findings raise concerns that repeated exposure to high temperatures could alter immune responses and make people more vulnerable to infections. Over time, these changes may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Riggs, who co-authored the study, found that even short-term exposure to heat appeared to affect both blood vessels and the immune system. Changes associated with inflammation included the cells lining blood vessels becoming more reactive, while immune cells were more likely to attach to vessel walls. The study also suggested that extreme heat may influence how immune cells communicate and respond to stress.

In a large Chinese study that examined some 3,000 proteins in nearly 4,000 adults, exposure to temperatures around 29.5°C (85.1°F) was associated with increases in some proteins and decreases in others, affecting the levels of 770 proteins, many of which were involved in inflammation, immune responses, and blood clotting. Many of these proteins were also linked to blood pressure and future risk of heart disease.

you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.

first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.

now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:

in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.

and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.

and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.

it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:

• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.

• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.

• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.

• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.

• journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.

• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.

and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.

what i'm asking:

if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.

if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.

india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.

we can still save her. but only loudly.