Unabashedly proud of their country, Brazilians are always quick to offer insight on the global importance of their greatest natural treasure to anyone who asks. The Amazon Rainforest, also the world's largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest, has only had a mere one fifth of its estimated 23,000 flower-bearing plant species identified to date. Their contributions to the outside world, however, have been hugely important. Most prominently, biological material from the Amazon has had a massive impact in medicine. About 25% of all active ingredients in cancer fighting drugs are derived from natural compounds found in the Amazon, and medicines for malaria and high blood pressure have also been conceived from substances originating in the depths of the dense rainforest. Bearing these precedents in mind, scientists around the world agree that there is a very real possibility of finding a cure for modern life-threatening diseases amongst the plant life. Amongst these scientists is experienced oncologist Drauzio Varella, who has been working closely with San Paolo's Paulista University in an innovative project since 1995. Their aim is to find the medicines of the future while simultaneously providing economic alternatives to those that once destroyed the Amazon. The work they do is a prime example of the sustainable forest industry they are trying to promote; retrieving samples that may potentially help create a life-saving drug for cancer and other diseases by cutting a small piece or branch that will regrow within a year. One kilogram of samples from a plant that weighs a ton is enough to last 10 years. So far they have taken and tested some 2,000 extracts from plants and trees, over 70 of which have shown impact on tumor cells, and over 50 on bacterial infections. Yet despite these phenomenal results, there is little incentive for international companies to invest in research. A deep fear of bio-piracy coupled with a le