ABSTRACT
Global health-whether taken as the health of the total Earth ecosystem, the health of cities and their social and economic components, or the health of
diverse human populations-has changed in more ways over the past half-century than could ever have been imagined. These major transformations include
demographic dynamics, especially involving mobility and age structure; massive and accelerating urbanization; changes in climate, land cover, and water resources; new understandings of genetics at the molecular level and manipulative technologies; the arrival of the digital age with its advances in computer technology and data acquisition; the emergence or reemergence of infectious agents, diffusion of new infectious diseases, and near-eradication of some old ones; unprecedented stresses on mental health; new forms and greater prevalence of drug addiction; and developing epidemics of cancers, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
