Cancer Research Hampered in the Amazon

Researchers and doctors rely on the abundance of Brazils Amazon forest to provide new treatments for cancer and other diseases. The forest has a lot of resources that are still undiscovered, but these scientists are held back from doing further research due to lack of funding. [Dr. Drauzio Varella, Group Leader]: "If in roughly two thousand samples we can find seventy that have some effect (against tumors), imagine what a big university with international resources and international funding could do - they could screen for an absurd amount of diseases." Research has been greatly hampered by the inability of companies to patent a natural product under legislation passed in the 1990s, leaving no incentive to invest in research. The Brazilian government is also suspicious of foreign aid. They blocked the efforts of their own scientist, Dr. Drauzio Varella, when he teamed up with the US National Cancer Institute. Their work has been regularly delayed by bureaucratic demands, once stopping their work for two years. The team hopes that the government can support and push for sustainable forest industries. [Dr. Drauzio Varella, Group Leader]: "If we define rules that preserve (Brazil's) national interests, I think we could transform a big part of the Amazon into an enormous laboratory." Preserving the rainforest and investing in research is crucial to finding a cure for cancer and other diseases. Among the natural products being used to fight cancer today is Taxol, a ...

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