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Biologists Laura Carolina Leal and Felipe Passos have performed a series of experiments to determine how plants with extrafloral nectaries interact with ants in Brazil's Northeast region—specifically, in the interior of Bahia State, where the semiarid Caatinga biome predominates. Extrafloral nectaries are nectar-secreting glands not involved in pollination, which provide carbohydrates to insects in exchange for defense against herbivores. The nectar attracts predatory insects that [...]

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 [...]

Flexible electronics is one of the most important trends in technology today. The market is growing so fast that it is expected to double in value in the next decade. Extremely light and even bendable optoelectronic equipment that supplies, detects and controls light will become commonplace in the near future. A great deal of research is progressing in this direction, as exemplified by a paper recently published in Scientific Reports. The paper describes an experimental and theoretical study [...]

Repercussão de notícia produzida pela Agência FAPESP sobre um método que acrescenta um novo parâmetro na seleção e preservação da variabilidade genética em uma população de gado. Além do valor genético, associado ao potencial de um animal produzir leite, gordura e proteína, entre outros, a nova abordagem considera também a chamada variância da diversidade gamética, que determina a capacidade de um indivíduo transmitir suas características às próximas gerações. Publicado no Journal of Dairy Science, o trabalho é resultado de Bolsa de Pós-doutorado no país e de Bolsa Estágio de Pesquisa no Exterior de pesquisador da Unesp de Jaboticabal em colaboração com colegas da Universidade de Maryland

The origin of the virus responsible for the ongoing yellow fever epidemic in Brazil, the worst for 40 years, has just been identified by scientists affiliated with two Brazilian institutions: Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL) and the University of São Paulo (USP). By means of a molecular study of yellow fever viruses found in dead monkeys and in mosquitoes, the group discovered that the strain behind the current epidemic originated in Pará State in North Brazil in 1980. The virus [...]

Researchers have found bullfrog tadpoles with clear signs of infection by ranavirus in Brazil. The specimens were collected from two ponds in the city of Passo Fundo, South of the country (state of Rio Grande do Sul), in November 2017. Ranavirus causes skin ulcerations, edema and internal hemorrhage. It does not affect humans but can be lethal to amphibians and fish. This is the first infection of wild amphibians detected in Brazil. "The discovery causes concern, as it's the first [...]

Heat flows from hot to cold objects. When a hot and a cold body are in thermal contact, they exchange heat energy until they reach thermal equilibrium, with the hot body cooling down and the cold body warming up. This is a natural phenomenon we experience all the time. It is explained by the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the total entropy of an isolated system always tends to increase over time until it reaches a maximum. Entropy is a quantitative measure of the disorder in a [...]

Brazilian and German scientists have completed a collaborative project to sequence and analyze the whole genome of Arapaima gigas, a giant freshwater fish known in Brazil as pirarucu and elsewhere as arapaima or paiche. Its growth rate is the fastest among known freshwater fish species. Its natural distribution covers most of the Amazon River basin in Peru and Brazil. The research led to discoveries that help determine sex at an early stage, facilitating the separation of female and male fry [...]

Some fungi and bacteria live in symbiosis with tree roots in forest soil to obtain mutual benefits. The microorganisms help trees access water and nutrients from the atmosphere or soil, sequester carbon, and withstand the effects of climate change. In exchange, they receive carbohydrates, which are essential to their development and are produced by the trees during photosynthesis. More than 200 scientists from several countries, including 14 from Brazil, collaborated to map the global [...]