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Fossil remains of a novel species of lizard that lived more than 130 million years ago have been found in the north of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It has been named Neokotus sanfranciscanus and is the oldest representative of the order Squamata ever found in South America. Squamates are the largest reptile group, comprising lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians (worm lizards). The discovery shows that scaled lizards were present on the continent at least 20 million years earlier than previously [...]

Researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo’s Ribeirão Preto Medical School (FMRP-USP) in Brazil have demonstrated the potential of a leukemia drug, arsenic trioxide, to treat medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer most common in children. When they tested arsenic trioxide on cells taken from one of the most aggressive subgroups of this type of tumor, they obtained promising results in terms of tumor cell death. The drug also made the tumor cells more sensitive [...]

An international group of researchers have discovered that inhibiting AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor), a protein with roles in regulating immunity, stem cell maintenance and cellular differentiation, enables the immune system to combat replication of zika virus in the organism far more effectively. In experiments performed at the University of São Paulo’s Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP) in Brazil, the antiviral therapy proved capable of preventing the development of [...]

Aspergillus latus, a species of fungus previously found only in soil or plants, has been found for the first time in a hospital environment by an international group of researchers. The group sequenced its genome and discovered that it is actually a hybrid and is up to three times more drug-resistant than the two species from which it derives. An article on the study is published in Current Biology and coauthored by researchers from Brazil, the United States, Portugal and Belgium. The research [...]

A study conducted by scientists at São Paulo State University's Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences (IGCE-UNESP) in Rio Claro, Brazil, has identified 19 asteroids of interstellar origin classified as Centaurs, outer Solar System objects that revolve around the Sun in the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. An article on the study titled "An interstellar origin for high-inclination Centaurs" is published in the Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly [...]

Researchers affiliated with the Genomics for Climate Change Research Center (GCCRC), hosted by the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have discovered a protein involved in corn's resistance to dry weather, high temperatures, and fungal invasion. This finding paves the way for the development of more drought-resistant plants and products that reduce losses in production at a time when global climate change threatens crop yields around the world. An [...]

A protein derived from the saliva of the tick Amblyomma sculptum has been successfully used by researchers at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, to treat skin cancer (melanoma) in horses. The results of the study are described in the journal Scientific Reports. The principal investigator for the project is Ana Marisa Chudzinski-Tavassi, who leads the Center of Excellence in New Target Discovery (CENTD), an Engineering Research Center (ERC) established at the Butantan Institute [...]

The adverse side effects of the social isolation measures implemented to combat COVID-19 include an increase in sedentary behavior and physical inactivity, which can contribute to a deterioration in cardiovascular health even in the short term. Older people and people with chronic diseases tend to be most affected. The warning comes from a review article published in the American Journal of Physiology by researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Medical School (FM-USP) in [...]

Researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Araçatuba, Brazil, have developed a computational tool that acts like a "COVID-19 accelerometer," plotting in real time the rate at which growth is accelerating or decelerating in more than 200 countries and territories. Available free of charge online, the application automatically loads the most recent notified case numbers from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), updated daily, and [...]