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Molecules belonging to an almost unknown bioluminescent system found in larvae of the fungus gnat Orfelia fultoni (subfamily Keroplatinae) have been isolated for the first time by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The small fly is one of the few terrestrial organisms that produce blue light. It inhabits riverbanks in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. A key part of its bioluminescent system is a [...]

Brazilian red propolis found in beehives along the coast and mangroves in the Northeast region contains two substances with anti-cancer properties. In laboratory tests, they considerably reduced the proliferation of ovarian, breast, and brain cancer cells. In a study published in the Journal of Natural Products, researchers at the Universities of São Paulo (USP) and Campinas (UNICAMP) report their discovery of the two anti-cancer substances as well as six novel polyphenols with [...]

Black holes can expel a thousand times more matter than they capture. The mechanism that governs both ejection and capture is the accretion disk, a vast mass of gas and dust spiraling around the black hole at extremely high speeds. The disk is hot and emits light as well as other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Part of the orbiting matter is pulled toward the center and disappears behind the event horizon, the threshold beyond which neither matter nor light can escape. Another, much larger, [...]

A consortium of researchers funded by Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and FAPESP has sequenced the genome of Frieseomelitta varia, a native stingless bee (common name: marmelada). The feat extends scientists' understanding of the evolution of stingless bees (Meliponini) and paves the way for the breeding of commercially useful species. The researchers are affiliated with six Brazilian universities. The findings are published in BMC Genomics [...]

– Arthritis affects almost 2% of the world’s population, or some 150 million people, and currently, there is no completely effective treatment for this chronic disease. A new molecule developed in the laboratory has been shown to have potential therapeutic effects. Tested in mice with genetically induced arthritis, it suppressed the inflammatory process, reducing both inflammation and joint tissue wear and tear. Arthritic mice treated with the substance displayed less pain and [...]

A group of researchers from four countries, including Brazil, have worked out exactly how a pollen tube, the plant cell that emerges from a grain of pollen, grows up to a thousand-fold to reach an ovule deep inside the flower. The key to this growth is an inflow and outflow of protons that creates electrical activity at the cell membrane and makes the cell grow. The results of the study will help scientists understand an array of related phenomena, such as seed production, the growth of fungi, [...]

Photodynamic therapy can be an efficient ally to combat secondary infections in COVID-19 patients. Use of the technique, which combines light and a photosensitizing chemical substance to kill microorganisms in the respiratory tract, is advocated as a complementary treatment in a feature published in Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy and written by researchers affiliated with the Optics and Photonics Research Center (CEPOF ) in São Carlos, state of São Paulo, [...]

Artificial intelligence can increase the effectiveness of drug repositioning or repurposing research, according to a study published in Translational Psychiatry. In the study, which was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP, Brazilian researchers correlated information on genes associated with psychiatric and neurological disorders and drugs approved for use in treating other diseases that might potentially inhibit or activate these genes. The study identified 63 [...]

An optical fiber made of agar has been produced at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. This device is edible, biocompatible and biodegradable. It can be used in vivo for body structure imaging, localized light delivery in phototherapy or optogenetics (e.g., stimulating neurons with light to study neural circuits in a living brain), and localized drug delivery. Another possible application is the detection of microorganisms in specific organs, in which [...]