From the birth of atoms to life: Iodine and caesium, angels and demons of evolutionary biology

Title : From the birth of atoms to life: Iodine and caesium, angels and demons of evolutionary biology

Abstract:

The Chernobyl nuclear accident in 26 April 1986 marked a turning point in both the history of energy production and our understanding of the relationship between human technology and the life. J. R. Oppenheimer evoked  the famous words from the Hindu scripture, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds", reflecting the profound realisation that nuclear fission represent a significant departure from the natural history of matter. Life evolved within a stable isotopic environment shaped by cosmic nucleosynthesis and long-term biological selection. Essential elements such as iodine were progressively integrated into conserved biochemical pathways, including antioxidant and regulatory mechanisms. However, nuclear fission has introduced a large-scale anthropogenic production of radioactive isotopes that were absent from this evolutionary context. The damage caused by artificial radionuclides, particularly iodine-131 and cesium-137, is now clearly visible. These isotopes are chemically mimicking essential biological elements but fundamentally differing in their radiophysical properties. By exploiting conserved molecular and cellular transport pathways, these isotopes create a mismatch between biochemical recognition and radiological behavior. These artificial radionuclides interfere with cellular signaling and cause genetic and metabolic disorders, including pancreatic cancer and diabetes, which are of significant interest to biochemists, radiobiologists and public health experts.

Biography:

Sebastiano Venturi, from the Department of Public Health, Rimini, Italy, has conducted extensive research on iodine, iodine deficiency disorders, and the extrathyroidal antioxidant role of iodine in the human body. He authored some of the earliest studies identifying associations between iodine and cancers of the stomach, breast, and salivary glands, which were presented at international congresses in Beijing and London. He also published pioneering work on the evolutionary role of iodine in primitive living cells. Between 2020 and 2026, Dr. Venturi investigated the correlation between Cesium-137 exposure and pancreatic and salivary gland cancers, as well as pancreatitis and diabetes. These findings were presented at international conferences in St. Petersburg (2022) and Singapore (2025), including experimental analyses incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI).