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Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals. The analysis revealed that the toxins that can act on the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and cell walls, among other functions, paving the way to the discovery of novel medications. “Tube anemones and sea [...]

Genetic factors that reduce the placenta's capacity to protect the fetus from the zika virus are described by Brazilian researchers in an article published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. According to the authors, the findings help explain why only some babies whose mothers are infected by zika virus during pregnancy are born with some kind of anomaly. Since the 2015 epidemic at least 3,500 babies have suffered from zika congenital syndrome, which includes microcephaly, brain [...]

In the absence of a vaccine or drug treatment, there is an urgent need for change in collective behaviours. Values-Based behavior under COVID-19 will be the theme of the next FAPESP COVID-19 Webinar that will be held on November 4th. The widespread polarization between compliance versus rejection of guidelines issued by health and government authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is a matter of concern. The webinar will cover relevant topics and deepen the discussions in collective [...]

Secondary forests play an important part in carbon capture because they tend to absorb a larger amount of carbon than they lose to the atmosphere. However, the size and average age of these often abandoned areas where vegetation grows back were unknown until now. In a study recently published in the journal Scientific Data, a group led by two researchers at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) quantified these variables and found that the estimated carbon uptake by [...]

Some dreams are so vivid that they can be recalled as if they were movies, full of connections and with a beginning, middle and end. Others in contrast resemble WhatsApp GIFs, or at best a script for a video clip à la TikTok, often with powerful or meaningful images, but lacking that complex storylike structure. These analogies regarding different kinds of dream report or dream narrative were provided by Natalia Mota, a neuroscientist affiliated with the Federal University of Rio Grande [...]

A new study describes a bioluminescent gene that could be the reason that so-called "sea pickles," or pyrosomes, an underwater free-floating colony of thousands of tiny animals, reverberate in blue-green light. If confirmed, the finding would be the first bioluminescent gene identified from a chordate--the group that includes all vertebrates as well as a couple types of invertebrates: sea squirts (including pyrosomes) and lancelets. The research is published today in the journal [...]

Scientists affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID http://crid.fmrp.usp.br), hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, have discovered that an enzyme involved in key metabolic processes also plays a role in immune cell differentiation and hence in the development of autoimmune diseases. The finding could contribute to the future development of new treatments and more cost-effective and resolutive medications for this kind of disease. The study [...]

Laboratory tests showed film containing silver-silica nanoparticles to be capable of eliminating 99.84% of SARS-CoV-2 particles after exposure for two minutes. An adhesive plastic film designed to protect surfaces such as doorknobs, handrails, elevator buttons, and touch screens inactivates the novel coronavirus on contact. The manufacturer of the film is Promaflex. It has nanoparticles of silver and silica built into its polyethylene structure, thanks to technology developed by Nanox [...]

The probability that an obese person will develop severe COVID-19 is high regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, and the presence of co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart or lung disease, according to a study by Brazilian researchers published in Obesity Research & Clinical Practice. The systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant data in the scientific literature focus on nine clinical studies, which in aggregate reported the evolution of 6,577 COVID-19 patients [...]