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Virus pandemics have happened, are happening and will happen again. In recent decades, the rate of zoonotic viral spillover into humans has accelerated, mirroring the expansion of our global footprint and travel network, including the expansion of viral vectors and the destruction of natural spaces, bringing humans closer to wild animals. Once viral cross-species transmission to humans occurs, transmission cannot be stopped by cement walls but by developing barriers based on knowledge that can prevent or reduce the effects of any pandemic. Controlling a local transmission affecting few individuals is more efficient that confronting a community outbreak in which infections cannot be traced. Genetic detection, identification, and characterization of infectious agents using next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been proven to be a powerful tool allowing for the development of fast PCR-based molecular assays, the rapid development of vaccines based on mRNA and DNA, the identification of outbreaks, transmission dynamics and spill-over events, the detection of new variants and treatment of vaccine resistance mutations, the development of direct-acting antiviral drugs, the discovery of relevant minority variants to improve knowledge of the viral life cycle, strengths and weaknesses, the potential for becoming dominant to take appropriate preventive measures, and the discovery of new routes of viral transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial respiratory chain is the main site of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the cell. Although mitochondria possess a powerful antioxidant system, an excess of ROS cannot be completely neutralized and cumulative oxidative damage may lead to decreasing mitochondrial efficiency in energy production, as well as an increasing ROS excess, which is known to cause a critical imbalance in antioxidant/oxidant mechanisms and a "vicious circle" in mitochondrial injury. Due to insufficient energy production, chronic exposure to ROS overproduction consequently leads to the oxidative damage of life-important biomolecules, including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and amino acids, among others. Different forms of mitochondrial dysfunction (mitochondriopathies) may affect the brain, heart, peripheral nervous and endocrine systems, eyes, ears, gut, and kidney, among other organs. Consequently, mitochondriopathies have been proposed as an attractive diagnostic target to be investigated in any patient with unexplained progressive multisystem disorder. This review article highlights the pathomechanisms of mitochondriopathies, details advanced analytical tools, and suggests predictive approaches, targeted prevention and personalization of medical services as instrumental for the overall management of mitochondriopathy-related cascading pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]