Veículo

• Home
• Veículos
• R&D Magazine (EUA) online

The use of solid-state refrigerators to cool appliances and electronic devices is a possible technological application for a theoretical study conducted at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo State, Brazil. Although this application is not considered in the study, which was based on computer simulations, such applications are on the horizon and could be an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to vapor-compression refrigerators, which currently dominate the [...]

Curcumin is widely used to impart color and flavor to food, but scientists have discovered that this yellow powder derived from the roots of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa) can also help prevent or combat stomach cancer. The study by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) in Brazil identified possible therapeutic effects of this pigment and of other bioactive compounds found in food on stomach cancer, the third [...]

by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo Although neglected diseases account for 11 percent of the global disease burden, they are targeted by only a small proportion of the new drugs developed every year. Between January 2012 and September 2018, a total of 256 new drugs entered the market, but only eight (3.1 percent) were designed to treat neglected diseases. This value exceeds the proportion for 1975-99, which was 1.1 percent, but falls short of the 4.3 percent mark [...]

A group of Brazilian scientists have long conducted experiments with roundworms to investigate the role of schizophrenia-linked genes in patients' response to antipsychotic drugs. The results obtained thus far point to new ways of understanding resistance to certain classes of medication. The studies are conducted by researchers in the Pharmacology Department of the Federal University of São Paulo's Medical School (EPM-UNIFESP), collaborating with colleagues at the University of Campinas [...]

by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo Cells in humans and other vertebrates, as well as invertebrates, have signaling pathways that play essential roles in embryo development, cell proliferation and tissue structuring. Dysregulation in one of these signaling pathways, known as the beta-catenin-dependent Wnt signaling pathway, can cause embryo malformation and diseases such as breast cancer and cervical cancer. Researchers at the Center for Medicinal Chemistry (CQMED) [...]

An international collaboration between researchers in the U.S. and Brazil has created a new molecule that stops the progression of heart failure while improving its capacity to pump blood. The molecule, dubbed SAMβA (selective antagonist of mitofusin 1-β2PKC association), is able to inhibit the interaction between protein kinase C beta 2 (β2PKC) in heart cells and mitofusin 1 (mfn1), which is a crucial element of mitochondria, preventing the mitochondria from producing energy and ultimately [...]

by FAPESP Current lithium ion battery technology will probably not be able to handle the coming decades' huge demand for energy. It is estimated that by 2050, electricity will make up 50% of the world's energy mix. Today that rate is 18%. But installed capacity for renewable energy production is expected to increase fourfold. This will require batteries that are more efficient, cheaper and environmentally friendly. One of the alternatives being studied today in many parts of the world is the [...]

A set of technologies that is expected to have its first results four years from now is designed to resolve one of the world's greatest oil and gas exploration challenges today: carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emission in the atmosphere. The innovation, the result of a patent deposited in 2018, consists of injecting the CO2 and CH4 that comes from wells during oil extraction into salt caverns as a way to reduce the amount of carbon gas in the emissions. The first "pilot cavern" may be [...]

While most developed countries have reduced the construction of large dams for the production of electricity in recent decades, developing countries, including Brazil, have embarked on even more massive hydropower developments. These countries have not accounted for the environmental impacts of large dams, which include deforestation and the loss of biodiversity, or the social consequences, such as the displacement of thousands of people and the economic damages they suffer. These effects [...]