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Gluten is a protein complex found in cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. It is responsible for the elastic texture of dough so that loaves and rolls can be baked into different shapes while remaining flexible and crusty. It also lengthens the shelf life of bread at room temperature, when associated with preservatives. Gluten intolerance, however, has become a global epidemic, and gluten-free products are increasingly popular. The problem is that most of those available on the market are far [...]

Pure quantum systems can undergo phase transitions analogous to the classical phase transition between the liquid and gaseous states of water. At the quantum level, however, the particle spins in states that emerge from phase transitions display collective entangled behavior. This unexpected observation offers a new avenue for the production of materials with topological properties that are useful in spintronics applications and quantum computing. The discovery was made by an international [...]

  A 50% rise in the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere could reduce rainfall in the Amazon as much as or even more than substitution of the entire forest by pasture. The rise in CO2 would reduce the amount of water vapor emitted by the forest, leading to a 12% annual drop in the volume of rainfall, while total deforestation would reduce rainfall by 9%. These estimates are presented in a study published in Biogeosciences by scientists affiliated with the [...]

Mathematical models that describe the physical behavior of magnetic materials can also be used to describe the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in Brazil by researchers affiliated with São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Rio Claro and Ilha Solteira and reported in an article published in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. The study was part of a project led by Mariano de Souza, a professor at [...]

Rainfall associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the belt of converging trade winds and rising air that encircles the Earth near the Equator, affects the food and water security of approximately 1 billion people worldwide. They include about 11% of the Brazilian population, concentrated in four states of the Northeast region—Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí, and Maranhão. Large swaths of these states have a semi-arid climate, and about half of all [...]

A study conducted in the Una Biological Reserve in the state of Bahia, Brazil, shows that in a habitat with high hunting pressure the risk of predation has such a significant impact on the behavior of the Yellow-breasted capuchin monkey Sapajus xanthosternos that it even avoids areas offering an abundant supply of plant biomass and invertebrates, its main sources of food. An article reporting the findings of the study is published in the American Journal of [...]

The fungus Fusarium verticillioides is one of the causes of red rot, the most serious sugarcane disease. Losses average around USD 1 billion per harvest in Brazil alone. The traditional approach to the etiology of this disease is that it is triggered by Diatraea saccharalis, a moth usually referred to as the sugarcane borer. In the caterpillar stage, this insect bores into the stem of the plant, which is later infected opportunistically by the fungus. However, a study [...]

Albeit very small, with a carapace width of only 3 cm, the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab Leptuca thayeri can be a great help to scientists seeking to understand more about the effects of global climate change. In a study published in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Brazilian researchers supported by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) show how the ocean warming and acidification forecast by the end of the century could affect the lifecycle of these [...]

Most cities in São Paulo state (Brazil) have low potential capacity to adapt to climate change in terms of the ability to formulate public policy that facilitates the revamping of their housing and transportation systems, for example, to account for the impact of climate change. This is the main conclusion of a study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in partnership with colleagues at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the Federal University of [...]