Planeación y movilidad como promotores de ciudades saludables en España y México

De acuerdo con la Organizacíon Mundial de la Salud, cambiar el uso de los vehículos privados por transporte público, caminar y montar en bicicleta puede brindar enormes beneficios para la salud. Sin embargo, es poco común encontrar estos hábitos de movilidad en la mayoría de las ciudades occidentales ¿Qué razones ponen de manifiesto las personas que caminan o van en bicicleta al trabajo o a sus estudios? Algunos factores que influyen en la decisión de utilizar este tipo de trasporte son morfológicos, mientras que otros tienen componentes económicos y sociales. La diversidad, intensidad y proximidad de usos de suelo promueven urbes inclusivas, seguras y resilientes. Así pues, el planeamiento urbano en clave de reducción de los viajes y que busca incrementar la calidad del entorno urbano es una manera vanguardista de enfrentar los problemas de salud. En la actualidad, las soluciones de movilidad activa están cada vez más en la agenda política. Esos modos se han convertido en un objetivo de la política pública tanto en los países desarrollados como en los países en desarrollo, porque suelen ser más asequibles para los usuarios y para los gobiernos. Desde esta perspectiva, la promoción de ciudades saludables se sostiene en los tres pilares de la Nueva Agenda Urbana: el planeamiento urbano (conocimiento) , las políticas (regulación) y el financiamiento (fondeo). Esta comunicación se centra en el primero de dichos pilares.According to the World Health Organization, shifting the use of private vehicles by public transport, walking and cycling can provide enormous health benefits. However, it is rare to find these mobility habits in most occidental cities. What induces people to walk or ride to commute work or study? Some factors that influence the decision to use those active modes of transportation are linked to the urban form, while others are economic and social. The diversity, intensity and proximity of land uses promote inclusive, safe and resilient cities. Therefore, urban planning in terms of reducing travel and seeking to increase the quality of the urban environment is a smart way of dealing with health problems. Currently, active mobility solutions are increasingly on the political agenda. These modes have become an objective of public policy in both developed and developing countries, because they tend to be more affordable for users and for governments. Therefore, the promotion of healthy cities is based on three pillars of the New Urban Agenda perspective: urban planning (knowledge), policies (regulation) and financing (funding). This communication addresses the first of those pillars

Paleogenomic insights into the red complex bacteria <i>Tannerella forsythia</i> in Pre-Hispanic and Colonial individuals from Mexico

The ‘red complex’ is an aggregate of three oral bacteria (Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola) responsible for severe clinical manifestation of periodontal disease. Here, we report the first direct evidence of ancient T. forsythia DNA in dentin and dental calculus samples from archaeological skeletal remains that span from the Pre-Hispanic to the Colonial period in Mexico. We recovered twelve partial ancient T. forsythia genomes and observed a distinct phylogenetic placement of samples, suggesting that the strains present in Pre-Hispanic individuals likely arrived with the first human migrations to the Americas and that new strains were introduced with the arrival of European and African populations in the sixteenth century. We also identified instances of the differential presence of genes between periods in the T. forsythia ancient genomes, with certain genes present in Pre-Hispanic individuals and absent in Colonial individuals, and vice versa. This study highlights the potential for studying ancient T. forsythia genomes to unveil past social interactions through analysis of disease transmission. Our results illustrate the long-standing relationship between this oral pathogen and its human host, while also unveiling key evidence to understand its evolutionary history in Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Mexico. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'