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A study conducted by researchers affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil shows that large mammals have a major impact on plant diversity, primary productivity and biomass in the understory of Neotropical forests. Species like the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu peccari) help keep an ecological balance in areas such as the Atlantic Rainforest with different levels of productivity, while also influencing the spatial structure of [...]

A study of the management plans for 118 conservation units in Brazil shows that 60% use unsuitable methods to detect the presence of deer, and that 38% do not even describe the method used. Conservation of these animals may be endangered as a result. Eight deer species occur in Brazil; three are red-listed as “vulnerable” by IUCN. Management plans prescribe the governance and technical aspects of the administration of protected areas in Brazil. The protected areas analyzed in the [...]

Between 118 and 138 million tons of organic waste are generated annually worldwide, with waste from the food production and distribution chain accounting for 100 million tons of the total. Only about 25% of all this biowaste is collected and recycled. The other 75% is simply thrown away, representing a huge loss of potential resources and major damage to the environment. These numbers are from a report published in 2018 by the European Environment Agency. Its statistics are the most recent [...]

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil suggests people previously infected by Chikungunya virus may develop partial immunity to Mayaro virus. The finding, presented in Journal of Virology, is based on experiments involving mice and blood serum from patients. According to the authors, this type of cross-protection may be one of the reasons for the absence of a major outbreak of Mayaro fever in Brazil. The study was supported by FAPESP. In the experiments, [...]

Researchers in Brazil and Belgium have developed a molecule of pharmaceutical interest from collinein-1, a protein found in rattlesnake venom. They used a technique called PEGylation to make the molecule, now called PEG-rCollinein-1, more stable in the organism and resistant to the immune system, obtaining a drug candidate to modulate blood clotting. An article reporting the results of the research has recently been published in the International Journal of Biological [...]

A scientific expedition in the Javari River basin on the border between Brazil, Colombia and Peru has shown use of environmental DNA sequencing to be feasible to investigate fish diversity in the Amazon. The eDNA method consists of extracting molecules of DNA present in water samples and identifying the species to which they belong by means of genetic markers. An article on the research published in the journal Scientific Reports also discusses the limitations of the technique for the study of [...]

In COVID-19 patients, obesity is the factor most associated with the development of endothelial dysfunction, a condition in which the blood vessels become unable to contract and relax adequately, increasing the risk of events such as heart attacks, thrombosis (blood clotting), and stroke. Endothelium refers to the thin sheet of cells lining the walls of arteries and veins, as well as the inside of the heart. Endothelial cells release substances that control vascular relaxation and contraction, [...]

Researchers who analyzed data for São Paulo state, Brazil, found the highest rates of newborn mortality from asphyxia in cities in the south, southeast and north of the state between 2004 and 2013. They cross-tabulated these results with economic data and detected a combination of high mortality with low per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in 31 of the cities. Neonatal asphyxia correlates highly with low-quality antenatal and postpartum care. These are the main findings of a study [...]

A water-borne fungus that has led to the extinction of several species of amphibians that spend all or part of their life cycle in water is also threatening terrestrial amphibians. In Brazil, researchers supported by FAPESP detected unprecedented mortality among a genus of tiny frogs known as pumpkin toadlets that live in the Atlantic Rainforest far from any aquatic environments. The animals were severely infected by chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which causes [...]