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In the Cerrado, topography explains the genetic diversity of amphibians more than land cover
Publicado em 23 de novembro de 2020
The savanna tree frog Bokermannohyla ibitiguara is about 4 cm long and is found only in gallery forest along streams in the Serra da Canastra mountain range in the state of Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil. In this watery forest environment, it can grow, feed, mate, and lay eggs without needing to range very far throughout its life cycle, according to a study published in Diversity and Distributions.
According to the Brazilian and US researchers who conducted the study, topography rather than [...]
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Adipose tissue may be the source of inflammatory factors that aggravate COVID-19
Publicado em 20 novembro 2020There is growing evidence that adipose tissue plays a key role in the aggravation of COVID-19. One of the theories under investigation is that fat cells (adipocytes) act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 and increase viral load in obese or overweight individuals. Scientists also suspect that during infection fat cells release into the bloodstream substances that boost the inflammatory reaction triggered by the virus in the organism. These hypotheses are being investigated by researchers at the [...]ver notícia -
Study confirms contribution of bioenergy to climate change mitigation
Publicado em 18 novembro 2020That biofuels can contribute to a cleaner global energy mix is widely accepted, but the net benefits of bioenergy in terms of mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG) are moot. Some argue, for example, that biofuels are not sustainable because the conversion of non-agricultural land to grow energy crops could lead to a significant initial decrease in carbon storage, creating what is known as a "biofuel carbon debt". A study by a cross-border group of researchers published in Proceedings of [...]ver notícia -
Non-hereditary mutation acts as natural gene therapy in patient with rare disease
Publicado em 17 novembro 2020Researchers affiliated with the Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CTC (http://ctcusp.org/rationale-2/presentation)) in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, have identified for the first time a non-hereditary mutation in blood cells from a patient with GATA2 deficiency, a rare autosomal disease caused by inherited mutations in the gene that encodes GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2). GATA2 regulates the expression of many genes that play a key role in developmental processes and cell renewal. The [...]ver notícia -
Discovery of protein's 'Achilles heel' paves way for novel class of anti-HIV drugs
Publicado em 16 novembro 2020All these drugs have led to remarkable progress in terms of reducing AIDS morbidity and mortality, but viral resistance and the drugs’ side effects require a non-stop search for new ways of combating the virus. Some 38 million people were living with the virus worldwide in 2019, including 1.8 million children aged 14 or less, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), which also says 67% had access to antiretroviral therapy. In Brazil, the Health [...]ver notícia -
Two anti-inflammatory compounds shown to be capable of accelerating recovery from COVID-19
Publicado em 13 novembro 2020Two independent clinical studies – one by researchers at the Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CTC) in Ribeirão Preto, state of São Paulo (Brazil), on the monoclonal antibody eculizumab, and the other by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (USA) on an experimental drug called AMY-101 – observed a significant anti-inflammatory effect that contributed to a faster recovery by severe COVID-19 patients. The results of the two studies, which set out to [...]ver notícia -
Research produces intense light beams with quantum correlations
Publicado em 12 novembro 2020The properties of quantum states of light are already leveraged by such highly sophisticated leading-edge technologies as those of the latest sensitivity upgrades to LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, deployed to detect gravitational waves since September 2015, or the encryption keys used for satellite on-board security. Both solutions use crystals as noise-free optical amplifiers. However, the use of atomic vapors has been considered a more efficient alternative [...]ver notícia -
Studies detail impact of mammal species decline in Neotropics
Publicado em 11 novembro 2020Mammal defaunation—the loss of mammals to extinction, extirpation and population decline—in the Neotropics and its adverse effects is the focus for two scientific papers produced recently by a group of scientists led by Juliano André Bogoni, an ecologist at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. The Neotropical realm extends south from the Mexican desert into South America as far as the Sub-Antarctic zone. In the first paper, published in August in Ecosystem [...]ver notícia -
Diabetes epidemic detected among Xavante indigenous community in Central Brazil
Publicado em 10 novembro 2020The Xavante, one of the indigenous communities most vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil, are suffering from an epidemic of diabetes, a "silent" disease considered a risk factor for severe COVID-19. A group of researchers affiliated with the Federal University of São Paulo's Medical School (EPM-UNIFESP) and the University of São Paulo's Ribeirão Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP) examined the retinas of 157 individuals before the COVID-19 pandemic and found a [...]ver notícia -
Atrophy can be combated by boosting expression of an enzyme produced in muscles
Publicado em 06 novembro 2020Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that stimulating expression of a protein naturally produced by the human body can be a strategy to combat loss of skeletal muscle mass, which happens normally with aging but can intensify in cases of neurodegenerative or inflammatory disease, or in patients who spend long periods in intensive care units (ICUs). Ten days in an ICU are estimated to result in the loss of up to 20% of muscle mass in the [...]ver notícia