Veículo

• Home
• Veículos
• Daily Science (Tokelau)

A new material with antifungal and antitumor properties has been developed by researchers at the Center for Development of Functional Materials (CDMF), one of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) supported by FAPESP. CDMF is hosted by the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in São Paulo State, Brazil. The compound was obtained from a sample of pure silver tungstate (a-Ag2WO4) irradiated with electrons and laser light in pulses lasting a few [...]

One research groupcomprising Brazilian and Japanese scientists have discovered how luciferase produced by the railroad wormPhrixothrix hirtusemits red light. Luciferase is an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin in fireflies, producing oxyluciferin and enabling fireflies to emit light. Differences in the molecular structures explain the different colors of this bioluminescence in different species. This discovery has the potential for new biotechnological applications, such as the [...]

Left to right: different species of harvestmen of subfamily Sodreaninae – S. glaucoi, S. leprevosti [photos: Glauco Machado], S. inscripta and S. Sodreana Credit: Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha In the southern Atlantic Rainforest remnants between Rio de Janeiro State in Southeast Brazil and Santa Catarina State in South Brazil, there are some 600 species of harvestmen (Opiliones), arachnids that live in caves and humid forests. The number of species is considered high even for this well-known [...]

Corn starch, an abundant, cheap and biodegradable raw material, is the basis for a novel larvicide developed by researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo State, Brazil. The material is used in microcapsules for storage and controlled release of active compounds to kill larvae of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue, zika, yellow fever and chikungunya. A patent application has been filed via UNICAMP’s innovation agency (Inova). The methodology is [...]

Brazilian and European researchers have demonstrated exactly how a nanotechnology-based compound delivers an oral vaccine against hepatitis B to the immune system. When particles containing silica and an antigen combine, even though they are different sizes, they reach the intestine without being destroyed by the acidity of the digestive system. A compound of nanostructured SBA-15 silica and HBsAg, the hepatitis B surface antigen, was submitted to different types of X-ray imaging in European [...]

São Paulo State University (UNESP) collaborating with colleagues at the University of Maryland and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have developed a dairy cattle breeding method that adds a new parameter to genetic selection and conserves or even improves a population’s genetic diversity. The study, which ispublishedinJournal of Dairy Science, was funded by the FAPESP and USDA. Besides genetic value associated with milk, fat and protein yields, the new method [...]

Fluorescent molecules (first sequence) or charges (second sequence) enable liposomes to transmit light or electrical signals. Magnetic particles added to the material allow transmission to be controlled by means of magnets . Credit: Royal Society Open Science Liposomes are small spherical vesicles with walls comprising two layers of lipids and containing an aqueous core. These artificial structures have been developed for drug delivery or as carriers of active substances in cosmetic products. [...]

A new version of equipment developed in Brazil—the Solar-T—will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to measure solar flares. It is estimated that the sun-THz, the new photometric telescope, will be launched in 2022 on one of the missions to the ISS and will remain there to take consistent measurements. The photometric telescope works at a frequency of 0.2 to 15 THz, which can only be measured from space. In parallel, another telescope, the HATS, will be installed in [...]