International
Scientists discover how air pollution triggers lung cancer

AFP | by Daniel Lawler and Isabelle Cortes
Scientists said Saturday they had identified the mechanism through which air pollution triggers lung cancer in non-smokers, a discovery one expert hailed as “an important step for science — and for society”.
The research illustrated the health risk posed by the tiny particles produced by burning fossil fuels, sparking fresh calls for more urgent action to combat climate change.
It could also pave the way for a new field of cancer prevention, according to Charles Swanton of the UK’s Francis Crick Institute.
Swanton presented the research, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, at the European Society for Medical Oncology’s annual conference in Paris.
Air pollution has long been thought to be linked to a higher risk of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.
“But we didn’t really know whether pollution was directly causing lung cancer — or how,” Swanton told AFP.
Traditionally it has been thought that exposure to carcinogens, such as those in cigarette smoke or pollution, causes DNA mutations that then become cancer.
But there was an “inconvenient truth” with this model, Swanton said: previous research has shown that the DNA mutations can be present without causing cancer — and that most environmental carcinogens do not cause the mutations.
His study proposes a different model.
A future cancer pill?
The research team from the Francis Crick Institute and University College London analysed the health data of more than 460,000 people in England, South Korea and Taiwan.
They found that exposure to tiny PM2.5 pollution particles — which are less than 2.5 microns across — led to an increased risk of mutations in the EGFR gene.
In laboratory studies on mice, the team showed that the particles caused changes in the EGFR gene as well as in the KRAS gene, both of which have been linked to lung cancer.
Finally, they analysed nearly 250 samples of human lung tissue never exposed to carcinogens from smoking or heavy pollution.
Even though the lungs were healthy, they found DNA mutations in 18 percent of EGFR genes and 33 percent of KRAS genes.
“They’re just sitting there,” Swanton said, adding that the mutations seem to increase with age.
“On their own, they probably are insufficient to drive cancer,” he said.
But when a cell is exposed to pollution it can trigger a “wound-healing response” that causes inflammation, Swanton said.
And if that cell “harbours a mutation, it will then form a cancer”, he added.
“We’ve provided a biological mechanism behind what was previously an enigma,” he said.
In another experiment on mice, the researchers showed that an antibody could block the mediator — called interleukin 1 beta — which sparks the inflammation, stopping cancer from getting started in the first place.
Swanton said he hoped the finding would “provide fruitful grounds for a future of what might be molecular cancer prevention, where we can offer people a pill, perhaps every day, to reduce the risk of cancer”.
Revolutionary
Suzette Delaloge, who heads the cancer prevention programme at France’s Gustave Roussy institute, said the research was “quite revolutionary, because we had practically no prior demonstration of this alternative way of cancer forming.
“The study is quite an important step for science — and for society too, I hope,” she told AFP.
“This opens a huge door, both for knowledge but also for new ways to prevent” cancer from developing, said Delaloge, who was not involved in the research but discussed it at the conference on Saturday.
“This level of demonstration must force authorities to act on an international scale.”
Tony Mok, an oncologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, called the research “exciting”.
“It means that we can ask whether, in the future, it will be possible to use lung scans to look for pre-cancerous lesions in the lungs and try to reverse them with medicines such as interleukin 1 beta inhibitors,” he said.
Swanton called air pollution a “hidden killer”, pointing to research estimating it is linked to the deaths of more than eight million people a year — around the same number as tobacco.
Other research has linked PM2.5 to 250,000 deaths annually from lung cancer alone.
“You and I have a choice about whether we smoke or not, but we do not have a choice about the air we breathe,” said Swanton, who is also the chief clinician at Cancer Research UK, which was the main funder of the research.
“Given that probably five times as many people are exposed to unhealthy levels of pollution than tobacco, you can see this is quite a major global problem,” he added.
“We can only tackle it if we recognise the really intimate links between climate health and human health.”
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
-
Central America3 days ago
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary urges Mexico to strengthen Guatemala border
-
Central America3 days ago
Panama grants Martinelli 72-hour extension to travel to Nicaragua
-
International2 days ago
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal
-
Central America4 days ago
Panama police clarifies that Interpol alert for Martinelli is still pending
-
International3 days ago
Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal
-
International4 days ago
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links
-
Sports2 days ago
Filipe Luis debuts as coach in Copa Libertadores with Flamengo
-
Central America1 day ago
Guatemalan police officer killed in mob riots over baby kidnapping
-
International2 days ago
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders
-
Sports2 days ago
Venezuela investigates 18 baseball players seeking asylum in Spain
-
International2 days ago
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join
-
International2 days ago
ICE agent’s arrest of suspect sparks controversy in Boston
-
International2 days ago
Óscar Arias: Trump’s trade policies are a step backward