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Brazilian scientists have discovered that the strong odor released by some amphibian species is produced by bacteria and that attracting a mate is one of its purposes. The bacteria in question are a noteworthy example of symbiosis as they assist in the animal's mating process. A paper recounting the discovery of this role of microorganisms isolated from the skin of frogs has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "Frogs emit a pungent odor. [...]

A group of researchers based in Brazil and the United States have developed a molecule that halts the progression of heart failure and improves the heart's capacity to pump blood. Rats with heart failure were treated for six weeks with the molecule, called "SAMßA." The disease not only stabilized, as it usually does in response to conventional drug therapy, but actually regressed, thanks to an improvement in the contractile capacity of the cardiac muscle. Heart failure may result from [...]

Malignant melanoma can be a particularly dangerous form of cancer, and more therapeutic options are needed. Now, researchers report in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters that a bacteria from seawater has inspired promising leads for an entirely new way to treat the disease. In melanoma, cancer cells form in melanocytes, the cells that color the skin. While new cases of most types of cancer are declining, those of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- continue to climb, according to the [...]

Canadian researchers, working in partnership with Brazilian colleagues, have developed 13 bioluminescence sensors for use in testing the effectiveness of new medical drugs in the laboratory. The study, published in the journal Science Signaling, paves the way for new drugs to be tested and characterized. The biosensors are based on the action of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are membrane-bound proteins involved in communication between cells. The researchers did not choose to [...]

Brazilian researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary history of amoebae and demonstrated that at the end of the Precambrian period, at least 750 million years ago, life on Earth was much more diverse than suggested by classic theory. The study, which was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP , revealed eight new ancestral lineages of Thecamoebae, the largest group in Amoebozoa. Thecamoebians are known as testates because of their hard outer carapace or [...]

Materials that are hybrid constructions (combining organic and inorganic precursors) and quasi-two-dimensional (with malleable and highly compactable molecular structures) are on the rise in several technological applications, such as the fabrication of ever-smaller optoelectronic devices. An article published in the journal Physical Review B describes a study in this field resulting from the doctoral research of Diana Meneses Gustin and Luís Cabral, both supervised by Victor Lopez Richard , [...]

People who suffer from obesity and type 2 diabetes are more likely to become victims of infectious diseases. Both conditions affect the immune system and hence increase the risk of infections. Scientists have long sought a deeper understanding of the mechanism underlying this weakness in the immune system of obese and diabetic individuals. A study performed at the University of São Paulo's Biomedical Science Institute (ICB-USP) in Brazil has now demonstrated that the propensity of people with [...]

A land of giants. This is the best definition for Lake Pebas, a mega-wetland that existed in western Amazonia during the Miocene Epoch, which lasted from 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. The Pebas Formation was the home of the largest caiman and gavialoid crocodilian ever identified, both of which were over ten meters in length, the largest turtle, whose carapace had a diameter of 3.5 meters, and rodents that were as large as present-day buffaloes. Remains of the ancient biome are [...]

With herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, insectivores, frugivores, scavengers and decomposers, Earth's ecosystems function within a vast web of interactions among plants, animals, insects, fungi and microorganisms. A fundamental part of this web resides in the equilibrium of the food chain that links predators to herbivores and regulates plant production on our planet. Equilibria between predators and plant-feeding prey may be disrupted by future climate change, according to a study published [...]