Latest news with #UniversityofSãoPaulo
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Heavy Drinkers Face Higher Risk of Brain Lesions And Alzheimer's Markers
Alcohol is notoriously bad for health, and a recent study might add "long-term effects on brain health" to the growing list of ways drinking can cause harm. The research, led by scientists at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, investigated the impact of regular drinking by examining brain autopsy data from 1,781 individuals, correlating findings with their reported drinking habits. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables, like smoking and physical activity, the team found that the heaviest drinkers had a 133 percent higher risk of developing vascular brain lesions compared to non-drinkers. Those who had been heavy drinkers but since given it up had an 89 percent higher risk, while moderate drinkers had a 60 percent higher risk. Related: Heavy and former heavy drinkers also seemed to have higher odds of other neurological damage than non-drinkers. Heavy drinkers were found to have a 41 percent higher risk of tau protein tangles – a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease – while former heavy drinkers still had a 31 percent higher risk. Heavy drinkers also seemed to die 13 years earlier, on average, than non-drinkers. It's important to note, however, that the study only shows an association – it doesn't confirm that heavy drinking directly causes the kind of brain damage seen. The data was collected as part of Brazil's Biobank for Aging Studies project, which examines the brains of people post-mortem. In this case, the researchers searched for signs of brain tissue injury, including lesions from hyaline arteriolosclerosis and tau tangles from Alzheimer's disease. To determine the participants' drinking habits, their next of kin filled out a detailed questionnaire about what their alcohol consumption was like three months before their death. The researchers divided the cohort into four groups based on how many drinks they consumed per week, with one drink equaling 14 grams of alcohol. They classified 965 people as never-drinkers, 319 as moderate drinkers (seven or fewer drinks per week), 129 as heavy drinkers (eight or more per week), and 368 as former heavy drinkers. "We found heavy drinking is directly linked to signs of injury in the brain, and this can cause long-term effects on brain health, which may impact memory and thinking abilities," says pathophysiologist Alberto Fernando Oliveira Justo from the University of São Paulo. "Understanding these effects is crucial for public health awareness and continuing to implement preventive measures to reduce heavy drinking." Along with the increased risks of brain lesions and tau tangles, the team found that former heavy drinkers were more likely to have a lower brain mass-to-body height ratio, and impaired cognitive abilities as judged by their next of kin during an interview. Strangely though, these links weren't found for moderate or heavy drinkers. The researchers acknowledge the limitations of the study: being a cross-sectional analysis, it can't establish direct causality. They also weren't able to follow patients before death to get more details on their alcohol consumption and other lifestyle factors over time – the duration and changes in their drinking habits couldn't be accounted for. Still, the association adds another concern to the long list of potential health troubles that alcohol consumption could trigger, even in moderation. The stuff is already linked to higher risks of heart troubles, several types of cancer, and slower healing. The research was published in the journal Neurology. Promising New Drug For Weight Loss Works With Just One Monthly Dose Is There Thimerosal in Vaccines, And Is It Safe? Here's What The Science Says Amazonian Scorpion Venom Can Kill Breast Cancer Cells, Scientists Say
The Guardian
7 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
‘We are perilously close to the point of no return': climate scientist on Amazon rainforest's future
For more than three decades, Brazilian climate scientist Carlos Nobre has warned that deforestation of the Amazon could push this globally important ecosystem past the point of no return. Working first at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research and more recently at the University of São Paulo, he is a global authority on tropical forests and how they could be restored. In this interview, he explains the triple threat posed by the climate crisis, agribusiness and organised crime. What is the importance of the Amazon? As well as being incredibly beautiful, the world's biggest tropical rainforest is one of the pillars of the global climate system, home to more terrestrial biodiversity than anywhere else on the planet, a major influence on regional monsoon patterns and essential for agricultural production across much of South America. You were the first scientist to warn that it could hit a tipping point. What does that mean? It is a threshold beyond which the rainforest will undergo an irreversible transformation into a degraded savannah with sparse shrubby plant cover and low biodiversity. This change would have dire consequences for local people, regional weather patterns and the global climate. At what level will the Amazon hit a tipping point? We estimate that a tipping point could be reached if deforestation reaches 20-25% or global heating rises to 2.0-2.5C [above preindustrial levels]. What is the situation today? It is very, very serious. Today, 18% of the Amazon has been cleared and the world has warmed by 1.5C and is on course to reach 2.0-2.5C by 2050. How is this being felt now? The rainforest suffered record droughts in 2023 and 2024, when many of the world's biggest rivers were below the lowest point on record. That was the fourth severe drought in two decades, four times more than would have been expected in an undisrupted climate. Every year, the dry season is becoming longer and more arid. Forty-five years ago, the annual dry season in the southern Amazon used to last three to four months and even then there would be some rain. But today, it is four to five weeks longer and there is 20% less rain. If this trend continues, we will reach a point of no return in two or three decades. Once the dry season extends to six months, there is no way to avoid self-degradation. We are perilously close to a point of no return. In some areas, it may have already been passed. In southern Pará and northern Mato Grosso, the minimum rainfall is already less than 40mm per month during the dry season. Aren't those the areas where the most forest has been cleared for cattle ranching and soy plantations? Yes. Livestock grazing is a form of ecological pollution. The areas that have been most degraded by pastures are at, or very close to, a tipping point. That is all of the southern Amazon – more than 2m sq km – from the Atlantic all the way to Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Scientific studies show degraded pastures recycle only one-third or one-fourth as much water vapour as a forest during the dry season. There is so much water in the Amazonian soil. Trees with deep roots bring it up and release it into the air, mostly through transpiration by the leaves. In this way, forests recycle 4-4.5 litres of water per square metre per day during the dry season. But degraded land, like pastures, recycles only 1-1.5 litres. That helps to explain why the dry seasons are growing one week longer every decade. Why isn't an Amazonian savannah a good idea? It would be less humid and more vulnerable to fire. The tropical forest generally has 20-30% more annual rainfall than tropical savannahs in Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil. The Amazon also has fewer lightning strikes because the clouds are lower than in the savannah. But the most important difference is the fact that a rainforest has a closed canopy so only 4% of solar radiation reaches the forest floor. This means there is always very little radiated energy for the evaporation of the water so the forest floor vegetation and soil are very wet. Historically, this means that lightning strikes only start very small fires that kill only one or two trees but do not spread. In evolutionary terms, this is one reason why there is so much biodiversity in the rainforest; it is resilient to fire. But once it starts to dry and degrade, it is easier to burn. How would an Amazon tipping point affect the global climate? The forest in the south-eastern Amazon has already become a carbon source. This is not just because of emissions from forest fires or deforestation. It is because tree mortality is increasing tremendously. If the Amazon hits a tipping point, our calculations show we are going to lose 50-70% of the forest. That would release between 200 and 250bn tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2050 and 2100, making it completely impossible to limit global warming to 1.5C. Brazil is one of the world's biggest agricultural exporters. How would a tipping point affect global food security? Almost 50% of the water vapour that comes into the region from the Atlantic through trade winds is exported back out of the Amazon on what we call 'flying rivers'. I was the first to calculate the huge volume of these flows: 200,000 cubic metres of water vapour per second. My former PhD student, Prof Marina Hirota, calculated that tropical forests and Indigenous territories account for more than 50% of the rainfall in the Paraná River basin in the far south of Brazil, which is a major food-growing area. These flying rivers also provide water for crops in the Cerrado, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraguay, Uruguay, and all that northern Argentina agricultural area. So if we lose the Amazon, we are going to reduce the rainfall there by more than 40%. Then you can forget agricultural production at today's levels. And that would also contribute to converting portions of the tropical savannah south of the Amazon into semi-arid vegetation. What would be the consequences for nature and human health? The devastation of the most biodiverse biome in the world would also affect hundreds of thousands of species and raise the risks of zoonotic diseases crossing the species barrier. For the first time since the Europeans came to the Americas, we are experiencing two epidemics: Oropouche fever, and Mayaro fever. In the future, the degradation of the Amazon forest will lead to more epidemics and even pandemics. How can an Amazonian tipping point be prevented? In 2019, [the American ecologist] Tom Lovejoy and I recommended nature-based solutions, such as large-scale forestry restoration, zero deforestation, the elimination of monocultures, and a new bioeconomy based on social biodiversity. We argued that it is possible to build back a margin of safety through immediate and ambitious reforestation particularly in areas degraded by largely abandoned cattle ranches and croplands. This prompted a lot of research and new thinking. Is the Brazilian government adopting these ideas? Progress fluctuates depending on who is in power. In August 2003-July 2004, we had about 27,000 sq km of deforestation – a huge number. But the first Lula government, with Marina Silva as environment minister, brought the figure down and it reached 4,600 sq km by 2012. Later, during Bolsonaro's government, it went up to 14,000 sq km. And now, with Lula and Marina back, it is fortunately going down again and there are several beautiful new reforestation projects. This is progress, but not enough. Now I'm saying to Marina Silva, 'Let's get to Cop30 with the lowest deforestation in the Amazon ever, less than 4,000 sq km.' Who knows? But anyway, Brazil is working hard. You have warned that criminal activity is a major new risk. Why? Last year, we had a record-breaking number of forest fires in all biomes in tropical South America – from January to November 2024, the Amazon had more than 150,000. Studies by INPE (The Brazilian Space Agency) show something very, very serious is happening. More than 98% of the forest fires were man-made. They were not lightning strikes. This is very worrying. Because even when we are reducing deforestation, organised crime is making it worse. In my opinion, more than 50% of forest fires were arson. All Amazonian countries are trying to reduce deforestation. That is wonderful, but then what to do to combat organised crime? They control a $280bn business – drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, people trafficking, illegal logging, illegal gold mining, illegal land grabbing. It is all connected. And these gangs are at war with the governments. That's one of the main reasons I'm becoming concerned because I know reducing deforestation is doable, so is forestry restoration. But how to combat organised crime? How have your feelings about this problem changed? I am worried that we are not acting with sufficient urgency. Thirty-five years ago, I thought we had plenty of time to get to zero deforestation and to combat the climate problem. Back then, deforestation was 7% and global warming was a little bit above 0.5C. I was not pessimistic because I felt we could find solutions. At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, many people were saying that the world should aim for zero emissions by the year 2000. Unfortunately, nobody moved. Emissions continued to rise and they hit another record high last year. We now face a climate emergency. I am very, very concerned. Tipping points – in the Amazon, Antarctic, coral reefs and more – could cause fundamental parts of the Earth system to change dramatically, irreversibly and with devastating effects. In this series, we ask the experts about the latest science – and how it makes them feel. Tomorrow, Louise Sime talks about Antarctic tipping points Read more
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Amazonian Scorpion Venom Can Kill Breast Cancer Cells, Scientists Say
Preliminary results presented at the FAPESP Week France health conference suggest the venom from an Amazon rainforest scorpion (Brotheas amazonicus) might be able to help treat breast cancer. An aging global population, as well as greater exposure to pollutants and stressed-out ecosystems, means we are seeing increasing rates of cancer, dementia, and other diseases. So, in the endless search for more treatment options, some researchers are looking in unlikely places – like a scorpion's tail. To speed things up, a group of researchers from Brazil have been inserting potential genes of interest into a 'factory' organism's DNA to create the gene's product. They can then test the resulting proteins, like those in scorpion venom, for various medical uses. "We were able to identify a molecule in the species of this Amazonian scorpion that is similar to that found in the venoms of other scorpions and that acts against breast cancer cells," explains University of São Paulo pharmacologist Eliane Candiani Arantes. Related: Like chemotherapy drugs, the molecule, BamazScplp1, triggers necrosis – the process of cell death – in the breast cancer cells, causing the cells to rupture. It is still very early in investigating this treatment, but using this heterologous expression 'factory' method of creating molecules from genes, the researchers reported that they have also found a molecule that promotes the growth of blood vessels made from snake venom and a blood component from cattle. "This growth factor favors the formation of new vessels… with the possibility of expanding the industrial scale, since it can be obtained through heterologous expression," says Arantes. Heterologous expression can help researchers understand bioactive molecules, explore their functions, and experiment with different mutations by producing large quantities of them inside another organism. In this case, Arantes and colleagues used a species of yeast (Komagataella pastoris) as factories for their proteins of interest. Using techniques like these could help us track down more of nature's hidden treatments, as long as we don't destroy them first. An Early Warning Signal of a 'Silent Killer' Cancer May Hide in Your Poop Your Blood Type Affects Your Risk of an Early Stroke, Study Finds Has Dementia Risk Declined Over Generations? Here's The Science.
News18
7 days ago
- Health
- News18
This Rare Amazon Scorpion's Venom Can Kill Breast Cancer Cells, Say Scientists
Last Updated: Since extracting venom is impractical, scientists used Heterologous Expression to insert the gene into yeast, enabling large-scale production of the cancer-killing molecule In a groundbreaking discovery, Brazilian scientists have identified a molecule in the venom of the rare Amazon scorpion, Brotheas amazonicus, that shows promise in the treatment of breast cancer. This molecule, named BamazScplp1, has the remarkable ability to target and destroy cancer cells without harming normal cells in the body. Researchers at the University of São Paulo have drawn comparisons between BamazScplp1 and the traditional chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel, noting that initial lab tests demonstrate similar efficacy in eradicating breast cancer cells. BamazScplp1 is classified within the serine protease enzyme group, which is known for breaking down proteins and potentially disrupting the life cycle of cancer cells. The scientists observed that the molecule induces cancer cell death through necrosis, a process typically harmful to the body but potentially effective in eliminating tumours in cancer treatment. Given the impracticality of extracting venom directly from scorpions, the research team employed a biotechnological method known as Heterologous Expression. This technique involves inserting the relevant gene into a microorganism, such as yeast, to produce the molecule in large quantities. Professor Elian Arantes, the lead researcher, highlighted the use of the yeast Pichia pastoris, which is widely recognised in the biotech industry for its efficiency. This innovation allows for the mass production of BamazScplp1 without harming animals. Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2022, there were 2.3 million new cases and approximately 670,000 deaths attributed to breast cancer. Projections indicate that by 2050, these figures could rise to 3.2 million new cases and over 1 million deaths annually. The discovery of BamazScplp1 brings new hope in the fight against breast cancer. While the research is still in its preliminary stages, with extensive animal testing and clinical trials yet to come, the scientific community is optimistic about its potential. If BamazScplp1 proves to be as effective and safe in humans as it is in the lab, it could revolutionise the treatment of breast cancer. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: June 25, 2025, 18:39 IST
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Scorpion venom offers new hope for breast cancer patients: Study
Source: NFCR In a breakthrough, Brazilian scientists have found a molecule in an Amazonian scorpion venom with great potential to cure the widely spreading cancer. The research conducted by the team at the University of São Paulo and presented during FAPESP Week France details how the natural compound can lead to alternative cancer treatments. As per the research, the venom of the scorpion seems to attack and kill cancer cells with little destruction to normal tissue. This research can pave the way to hopeful prospects for the creation of new treatments from nature, promising better and less invasive therapies for breast cancer in the future. Scorpion venom molecule found to kill breast cancer cells in early tests The focus of the study is a molecule named BamazScplp1, extracted from the venom of the Brotheas amazonicus scorpion. Early laboratory tests revealed that this peptide can kill breast cancer cells like paclitaxel, one of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs. 'Through bioprospecting, we were able to identify a molecule in this species of Amazonian scorpion that acts against breast cancer cells,' said Professor Eliane Candiani Arantes, coordinator of the project. The molecule belongs to the family of serine proteases, enzymes known for their ability to break down proteins and potentially disrupt the life cycle of cancer cells. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like TVS Serene Springs | Senior Citizen Homes In OMR, Chennai. TVS Emerald Learn More Undo Tests conducted on breast cancer cells showed that BamazScplp1 induces cell death primarily through necrosis, a process in which cells break apart uncontrollably. While necrosis is often considered a damaging form of cell death in healthy tissues, in cancer therapy, it can be highly effective when used to target tumors. The response was comparable to that triggered by paclitaxel, suggesting that BamazScplp1 may offer similar therapeutic effects. 'The peptide induces cell death mainly through necrosis, an action similar to that of molecules identified in other scorpion species,' the study reported. Scientists use yeast to mass produce cancer fighting molecule Instead of collecting venom directly from scorpions, the researchers turned to a bioengineering method called heterologous expression. This involves inserting the gene that codes for the target protein into a host organism commonly yeast or bacteria which then produces the protein in large amounts. 'We intend to obtain these molecules through heterologous expression,' Professor Arantes explained. The team plans to use Pichia pastoris, a yeast strain often employed in biotechnology, to mass-produce the peptide for further research and testing. This method eliminates the need for scorpion venom extraction, making it both ethical and scalable two critical factors for future drug development. Global burden of breast cancer Breast cancer is the leading diagnosed cancer in women and the second most prevalent cancer globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A 2024 Nature Medicine study estimated that an estimated 1 in 20 women worldwide will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. In 2022 alone, there were an estimated 2.3 million new breast cancer diagnoses worldwide, and about 670,000 deaths. Most cases (71%) and fatalities (79%) were in people over the age of 50. If current trends persist, breast cancer diagnoses worldwide are likely to increase to 3.2 million a year by 2050, with more than 1 million deaths a year. Scorpion molecule could be a game-changer in breast cancer treatment Though these results are preliminary, they underscore the promise of natural products in the drug development process. Further lab work, animal testing, and eventually human clinical trials will be needed to establish if BamazScplp1 can safely and effectively be utilized in humans. If it is proven effective, the molecule has the potential to lead to a new generation of cancer treatments based on nature, bringing hope to millions of breast cancer sufferers worldwide. Also Read | Meet Jahnavi Dangeti, NASA's first Indian IASP graduate from Andhra Pradesh set for 2029 space mission
