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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s behavior everywhere. Fear, apprehensiveness, sadness, anxiety, and other troublesome feelings have become part of the daily lives of many families since the first cases of the disease were officially recorded early last year. These turbulent feelings are often expressed in dreams reflecting a heavier burden of mental suffering, fear of contamination, stress caused by social distancing, and lack of physical contact with others. In addition, [...]

A test that detects antibodies to the novel coronavirus in 10 minutes and costs only a fifth of the market average has been developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC-USP) and Brazilian startup Biolinker, with São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP’s support. The device works similarly to the rapid tests available now in pharmacies. It analyzes a drop of blood, and two red LEDs light up if it detects the [...]

A paper by a multidisciplinary team of scientists affiliated with various Brazilian institutions, including the University of São Paulo (USP) and the National Cancer Institute (INCA), shows that people of African descent are less likely to find a donor in the National Register of Voluntary Bone Marrow Donors (REDOME) than people with predominantly European ancestry. The paper is published in Frontiers in Immunology. REDOME is the world’s third-largest bone marrow bank, with [...]

The hormone acts as a barrier against SARS-CoV-2, blocking the expression of genes that encode proteins in cells serving as viral entry points, according to a study by researchers at the University of São Paulo. Melatonin synthesized in the lungs acts as a barrier against SARS-CoV-2, preventing expression of genes that encode proteins in cells such as resident macrophages in the nose and pulmonary alveoli, and epithelial cells lining the alveoli, all of which are entry points for the [...]

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 [...]

Brazil has more than 286,000 community health workers integrated into the national primary healthcare program. These professionals form a broad network serving 75% of the population, especially low-income families who lack medical insurance and are the most adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Back in March, researchers at Imperial College London noted Brazil’s network of community health workers as a valuable asset that could assure an effective response to the pandemic. [...]

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 [...]

There are more than 70 species of flavivirus, and many cause diseases in humans and animals, including dengue, Zika, and yellow fever viruses. A novel flavivirus identification test that is both fast and sensitive has been validated in Brazil by Mariana Sequetin Cunha and collaborators at the Adolfo Lutz Institute, a leading epidemiological surveillance laboratory that reports to the São Paulo state government. An article on the topic has been published in Archives of Virology. The [...]