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A research group led by scientists at the University of São Paulo (USP) in São Carlos, Brazil, has identified a number of bioactive compounds in a marine sponge collected on Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago about 400 km off the coast of Brazil's Northeast region. Some of the substances proved capable of killing bacteria that are resistant to currently available antibiotics, paving the way to development of new drugs. The study was supported by FAPESP and reported in an [...]

Weak muscles and abdominal fat are a dangerous combination for older people who have difficulty walking. A study conducted by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with colleagues at University College London (UCL) in the UK, points to a significant loss of gait speed in older people with these two physical traits. A slower gait is a natural outcome of the aging process, but mobility problems can result if [...]

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have demonstrated for the first time that in COVID-19 patients an immune mechanism known as the inflammasome participates in activation of the inflammatory process that can damage several organs and even lead to death. An article reporting the findings of the study, which was supported by FAPESP, has just been published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. According to the authors, the findings support the use of [...]

Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have developed a strategy for treating the most aggressive type of brain cancer in adults that combines a photoactive molecule and a chemotherapeutic agent—both encapsulated in protein-lipid nanoparticles. Results of the research, supported by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP, were presented during the FAPESP Week France symposium, by Antônio Claudio Tedesco, of the Center for Nanotechnology, [...]

Computational tools applied to biology are revolutionizing the study of what happens inside cells during an infection, helping scientists to understand disease mechanisms and contributing to the identification of potential therapeutic targets. An example is a study published in PLOS Pathogens describing how Brazilian researchers analyzed blood cells from patients infected with chikungunya virus. With the aid of techniques such as complex network analysis, artificial intelligence and machine [...]

Commercial antidepressants typically take two to four weeks to have a significant effect on a depressed patient. They are also ineffective in approximately 40 percent of cases. Finding new, fast-acting drugs for depression with longer-lasting effects is the goal of research conducted by Brazilian scientists in São Paulo State in collaboration with Danish colleagues. Their study found that a single dose of cannabidiol in rats with symptoms of depression was highly effective, eliminating [...]

The effects of more than 60 minutes of moderate daily physical exercise, such as walking, accumulate throughout life and are associated with a 39% reduction in the risk of advanced adenomatous polyps, a precursor of colorectal cancer, the third most frequent type of cancer in Brazil. This is the main finding of an epidemiological study published in the British Journal of Cancer. The study was conducted by researchers in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of [...]

The promise of new treatments for sickle cell disease, a group of inherited red blood cell disorders, has never been so great, but it will only be realized if there is constant investment in health policies such as programs for screening newborns, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where most cases occur. This point is made in a comprehensive review of the main research findings regarding sickle disease published in Nature Reviews Disease Primers and signed by experts affiliated with [...]