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Compounds based on palladium, a metal belonging to the same group as platinum, have been developed by researchers from Brazil, the UK and Italy. In vitro tests show action against tumor cells that are resistant to treatment currently used in clinical practice A group led by a researcher affiliated with the University of São Paulo's São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC-USP) in Brazil has developed a novel palladium compound that acts against ovarian tumor cells without [...]

Researchers describe two pre-programmed strategies used by the human organism to combat infection: resistance to pathogens by means of fever; and temporary tolerance promoted by controlled hypothermia. A combination of these two mechanisms could afford an alternative approach to studying and treating severe conditions such as sepsis. Credit: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay The human immune system uses two pre-programmed strategies to tackle infection. One is fever, a resistance mechanism that tries to [...]

Experiments performed by Brazilian scientists showed that Zika virus inhibits tumor cell proliferation even when inactivated by high temperature; the study was supported by FAPESP and published in Scientific Reports In experiments with a human prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (PC-3), the scientists found that Zika inhibits tumor cell proliferation even when inactivated by high temperature. Results of their research, which is supported by São Paulo Research Foundation – FAPESP, [...]

A Brazilian study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence shows that cannabis smoked recreationally does not work as a harm reduction strategy for crack and cocaine addicts undergoing rehabilitation. Instead of reducing their craving for cocaine, whether nasally insufflated in powder form or smoked in the form of crack crystals, cannabis use made the patients' clinical condition worse. The patients were evaluated for six months after discharge from a voluntary inpatient [...]

Researchers have identified a genetic signature with prognostic value for certain kinds of breast cancer. The discovery also contributes to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pathological angiogenesis, the aberrant proliferation of blood vessels that occurs during cancer and other diseases. The research, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, combined a study of the genes involved in retinopathy, as a model of angiogenesis, with analysis of transcriptomic gene expression [...]

Using an experimental model of multiple sclerosis, the scientists found that the sympathetic nervous system can limit the generation of effector responses by inhibiting the action of the cells that attack an antigen taken as a threat by the immune system The results of a study conducted in Brazil suggest that the sympathetic nervous system – the part of the autonomous nervous system that controls responses to danger or stress – can modulate the action of defense cells in patients [...]

The mechanism by which defense cells respond to infection by the Mayaro virus has been described by a team affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases (CRID) in an article published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. According to the authors, by establishing an experimental model of Mayaro fever in adult mice and identifying the processes involved in the immune response, the study provides a basis for the development of drugs against this disease. CRID is one of the Research, [...]

Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have developed a strategy for treating the most aggressive type of brain cancer in adults that combines a photoactive molecule and a chemotherapeutic agent—both encapsulated in protein-lipid nanoparticles. Results of the research, supported by São Paulo Research Foundation—FAPESP, were presented during the FAPESP Week France symposium, by Antônio Claudio Tedesco, of the Center for Nanotechnology, [...]

More than half the world's population runs the risk of contracting infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in the next few years. With climate change, these so-called arboviruses—once a problem concentrated in the planet's tropical regions—appear to also be occurring in places with a temperate climate. "Recent studies indicate that the bacteria present in the intestine of vector mosquitoes contribute to the adaptive potential of these insects. It is [...]