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A Brazilian study published in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction helps understand why obese mothers tend to have children with a propensity to develop metabolic disease during their lifetime, as suggested by previous research. According to the authors, "transgenerational transmission of metabolic diseases" may be associated with Mfn2 deficiency in the mother's oocytes (immature eggs). Mfn2 refers to mitofusin-2, a protein involved in the regulation of [...]

Tityus serrulatus, the Yellow scorpion, causes more deaths than any other venomous animal in Brazil. Its sting can induce heart attack and pulmonary edema, especially in children and the elderly. According to the Brazilian Health Ministry, more than 156,000 cases of scorpion envenomation, 169 fatal, were reported in the country in 2019. Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) have demonstrated for the first time that in severe cases of scorpion envenomation a systemic [...]

The White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) is a boar-like hoofed mammal found throughout Central and South America. These animals roam the forest in bands of 50 to 100 individuals, eating a wide variety of foods. In Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest, they prefer the fruit of the jussara palm Euterpe edulis. The jussara is very abundant in this biome, probably thanks to vast amounts of dung, urine, and soil trampling by peccaries as well as tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and other fruit-eating [...]

Researchers at Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE), in partnership with colleagues in the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa, have recorded for the first time the formation and branching of luminous structures by lightning strikes. Analyzing images captured by a super slow motion camera, they discovered why lightning strikes bifurcate and sometimes then form luminous structures interpreted by the human eye as flickers. The study was supported by FAPESP. An [...]

The abundant presence of an enzyme known as low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMWPTP) in tumor cells has long been considered an indicator of cancer aggressiveness and metastatic potential. It is also known to perform important functions in cells under normal conditions, participating both in the proliferation process and in the regulation of intracellular systems. Research continues on its role in the progression of cancer. In Brazil, a group of researchers from the Bioassay [...]

The black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) once inhabited most forest areas in the state of São Paulo, Southeast Brazil, but currently occupies only some Atlantic Rainforest remnants there. In recent years, after various studies of the endangered species, environmental NGO Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ) moved groups of these animals to areas from which the species had disappeared. Similar initiatives have now been reinforced by a group of researchers at [...]

– Treatment of depression faces two main challenges. The first is that almost 50% of patients do not respond well to existing antidepressants. The second is that conventional medications take a relatively long time – around three to five weeks – to have the desired effect. A group of researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil set out to tackle the second problem by using epigenetic modulators to try to “erase” the consequences of [...]

Animal toxins are research targets owing to their therapeutic and biotechnological potential. Researchers at the Federal University of the ABC (UFABC), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and Federal University of Ceará (UFC) in Brazil have discovered that VmCT1, an antimicrobial peptide isolated from the venom of the scorpion Vaejovis mexicanus, and its analogs kill Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Previous research has demonstrated VmCT1's [...]

A new device designed to help scientists study in detail what happens during electrochemical reactions has been developed by researchers at the Center for Innovation in New Energies (CINE) in collaboration with researchers at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), a unit of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). CINE is an Engineering Research Center (ERC) established by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) and Shell and is hosted by the [...]