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Through the consultation and analysis of epidemiological data from Mexico collected during the years 2015-2021, the present study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the registration of new cases of non-communicable diseases in recent years, causing a setback in the healthcare system efforts to maintain an epidemiological surveillance of diseases that impact the quality of life of Mexicans, as well as the country’s economy. Epidemiological surveillance is a fundamental practice for monitoring and controlling diseases that affect the world’s population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglia are highly dynamic cells that have been mainly studied under pathological conditions. The present review discusses the possible implication of microglia as modulators of neuronal electrical responses in physiological conditions and hypothesizes how these cells might modulate hypothalamic circuits in health and during obesity. Microglial cells studied under physiological conditions are highly diverse, depending on the developmental stage and brain region. The evidence also suggests that neuronal electrical activity modulates microglial motility to control neuronal excitability. Additionally, we show that the expression of genes associated with neuronmicroglia interaction is down-regulated in obese mice compared to control-fed mice, suggesting an alteration in the contact-dependent mechanisms that sustain hypothalamic arcuate-median eminence neuronal function. We also discuss the possible implication of microglial-derived signals for the excitability of hypothalamic neurons during homeostasis and obesity. This review emphasizes the importance of studying the physiological interplay between microglia and neurons to maintain proper neuronal circuit function. It aims to elucidate how disruptions in the normal activities of microglia can adversely affect neuronal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay attempts to demonstrate that human culture has been under a process of continuous evolution in which the mechanisms that drive biological evolution are also evident in cultural evolution. To this end, the mechanisms that are known to influence the evolution of species were reviewed to identify points of analogy with the changes that have occurred in the different cultures that have existed in our history. Thus, the origin of the wide cultural variability is better understood. Furthermore, it is suggested that the loss of cultural variability may represent a risk for the survival of our species in a similar way to the risk represented by the loss of biological diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]