Author: Begoña Pérez Cabezas

The study, carried out by researchers from CIIMAR and the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto, was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and identifies “for the first time” the emergence of long-term adverse effects related to the combined consumption of lithium and microplastics.

The researchers analyzed a planktonic crustacean (Daphnia magna), commonly known as the water flea, and concluded that long-term exposure to concentrations of lithium and mixtures of lithium and microplastics decreased its reproduction “up to 93% and 90% less”, respectively.

At the same time, exposure to lithium reduced the growth rate of water flea populations by 67%, and exposure to mixtures of lithium and microplastics by 58%.

The researcher Lúcia Guilhermino adds that the results are “worrying” and that the effects of the reduction in zooplankton can have “very serious consequences for ecosystems”.

“These organisms [zooplankton] represent the base of trophic chains, in addition to being essential for maintaining the quality of the water we all depend on, by filtering it while they feed,” observes the coordinator of the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Ecology of ICBAS.

Lúcia Guilhermino also points out that the water flea has a “very developed” nervous system, allowing the results obtained in the study to be “extrapolated” to other animals, including mammals.

The study also serves as an “alert to the effects that may be having on the human population, especially in regions rich in lithium, areas with high population density and heavy use of electronic devices, and industrial areas or areas that receive electronic waste”.

“Despite its natural origin, lithium is a very reactive element from a biological point of view”, stresses Lúcia Guilhermino, noting that this element can cause “toxicity in various systems and organs, such as the nervous system, liver, kidneys and the reproductive system, through mechanisms that are not yet completely described”.

Also regarding microplastics, the researcher points out that these materials can “act like sponges and bind other contaminants, such as lithium, altering their incorporation, accumulation and toxicity”.

“All living organisms are simultaneously exposed to many pollutants throughout their lives, and the interaction between these chemical agents can lead to different toxic effects, altering the previously established safety limits”, adds Lúcia Guilhermino.

At the moment, researchers are developing studies to assess the consequences resulting from global climate change on the long-term effects of lithium, microplastics and their mixtures.

This work, which had the collaboration of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Porto and CESPU — Cooperativa de Ensino Superior Politécnico e Universitário, was co-funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the Compete 2020 program and the North program 2020.

Source: Sapo Lifestyle

The aim is that owners find “credible, accurate and useful” information. There are also data about dog breeds with a greater predisposition to the development of tumors and ways to detect them early.

Professors and researchers from the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) and the Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP) launched an online platform for the owners of companion animals with cancer, which aims to provide “credible” information and characterize risk factors associated with the development of the disease.

Speaking to Lusa, Kátia Pinello, Professor at ICBAS and researcher at ISPUP, clarified that the website, entitled ‘Pet-OncoNet’, arises from the logic of the ‘One Health’ concept and the need to fill a "knowledge gap in this area”.

“We feel that tutors feel lost when dealing with the diagnosis of cancer in their animal companions”, said the researcher, who is one of the project coordinators. 

Launched to provide "credible, accurate and useful" information about companion animals, the digital platform includes, for example, data on dog breeds with a greater predisposition to the development of tumors, ways to detect cancer early in pets, and also information on ongoing clinical trials and procedures to support the animal during treatment.

“Our goal is to create a community that studies and shares information about veterinary oncology in all aspects", referred.

The website shows that in Portugal, the main tumors in pets are located in the skin, followed by mammary tumors.

In addition to providing information, the platform's objective is also to characterize the risk factors associated with the development of cancer in animals and humans.

"Increasingly, animals are active members of the family. This change in attitude towards animals makes them good research models and considered 'sentinels' for cancer, since they are closer and share the same environment as humans", indicated. 

In order to make it possible to proceed with the characterization of risk factors, the researchers are inviting all tutors and owners of companion animals – cats and dogs – to respond to an epidemiological inquiry, which will be available on the website until the end of October.

The results obtained in the context of the survey will later be published on the initiative's website.

The researchers also want to create a “psychological support group” to help guardians deal with animal grief, an issue that “is not yet very well accepted”. 

“Animal grief has implications for public health”, he noted, adding that “it is important to know how to face animal grief”. 

In order to continue the project, however, the researchers need financial help, which is why it is planned to open a crowdfunding campaign on the Pet-OncoNet website.

The site, developed in partnership with Oncowaf and financed by the Belgian fund for animals with cancer, is one of the interfaces of the network Vet-OncoNet, launched in December 2019, with the aim of gathering information on neoplasms present in companion animals and creating an animal oncological registry at national level.

With the collaboration of veterinarians and diagnostic laboratories that joined the project, researchers have been able to create an animal oncology registry. The objective now is to involve owners in this network, in order to better understand the common risk factors for development of cancer in animals and humans.

Source: CNN Portugal

With the aim of promoting and disseminating the One Health concept throughout the community and civil society, the 'Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar' of the University of Porto (ICBAS), together with the 'Instituto Português de Fotografia' (IPF), organized the Photography Contest ‘Perspective(s) on One Health’.

In the context of this contest, Teresa Nunes, photographer at IPF, wrote the following text, in order to frame and defend photography as a cultural tool:

‘Artivism’ – photography as a cultural tool

Art has always worked as a reflection of society, following reality over time, recording it, but also acting as an instrument of change. It is called “artivism”, a portmanteau [1] coming from the junction of the words “art” and “activism”. There is an extensive range of artists, in the most diverse artistic disciplines, who assume themselves as artivists, advocating for the most different causes.

Naturally, Photography is no exception, appearing as fertile ground for artivists. In a first analysis, it can be assumed that photographers related to artivism will be linked to documentary photography and photojournalism, but this is a reductive view. Although, effectively, this area of photography, which strives for the representation of the real without manipulations or alterations, is quite prone to artivism, other photographers, who depart from the canons of photojournalism, also fit into the concept. Whatever the area of photography, currently photographers are mobilized by the ability of photography to show the public and political agents issues in which the intervention and awareness of society is necessary.

Anthony Luvera, who was recently in Porto to speak at the lecture “Photography and Social Activism”, within the scope of the 'Encontros do Olhar' conversation cycle “Fragility – Transitoriedade”, organized by the Portuguese Institute of Photography, works with individuals and groups of marginalized people by inviting them to talk about their experiences, creating with them collaborative projects in areas such as mental health, addictions, homelessness and the LGBTQ+ community.

Eduardo Leal, with his series “Plastic Trees”, portrays pollution in the Bolivian Altiplano, demonstrating his concern for environmental issues. The author opted for an aestheticization of pollution as an alternative to traditional means of reporting, photographing plastic bags, one of the most used consumer items and which ends up becoming one of the biggest sources of pollution worldwide. With this work, he intended to draw attention to the problem of pollution, focusing on an area where thousands of bags wander with the wind until they end up stuck in the bushes, damaging the landscape.

Von Wong, known worldwide for his hyper-realistic works, staged and assembled with the help of his team and a multitude of volunteers who join the artist in each project. This one starts by setting up grandiose scenarios for his photographs that are always designed to raise awareness of issues such as pollution and excessive use of plastic, recycling and animal welfare, among others.

We can see that many authors fight for different causes with which they identify and that, to the most inattentive eyes, may seem disconnected and with no apparent reason to be the target of attention of the same people, however, it is increasingly commonly accepted that we all live on a planet in which everything is interconnected and issues of human, animal and environmental health are interconnected, explaining relationships that could, at first glance, seem almost unreasonable, is, after all, the One Health.

It is therefore to be concluded that photography can and should be understood as a cultural tool capable of communicating a message of awareness and inducing changes. In an era where civic participation is increasingly necessary to encourage changes in the society we live in, it is increasingly common to see photographers joining these causes in order to make use of their greatest tool to support them. 

[1] Palavra fantasista formada por elementos de outras duas (Dicionário infopédia de Inglês – Português [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora. Disponível em https://www.infopedia.pt/dicionarios/ingles-portugues/portmanteau)

During the celebrations of 47th anniversary of ICBAS, held on May 5, 2022, the institution took the opportunity to announce the winners of the contest

Honorable mention:

Third prize:

Second prize:

First prize: