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A study conducted in Brazil by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) and the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) shows that if 25% of an Atlantic rainforest fragment that is approximately 1 hectare is deforested, then the local temperature will increase by 1 °C. Clear-cutting the entire fragment would increase the local temperature by as much as 4 °C. The findings are published in the journal PLOS ONE. "We were able to detect the warming effects of the climate due [...]

It is estimated that as many as 80% of advanced-stage cancer patients may develop cachexia, a potentially fatal metabolic syndrome characterized by extreme weight loss and muscle wasting, but scientists do not yet fully understand why it is more frequently associated with certain kinds of tumor than others, or why not all cancer patients develop it. Tumor genetics could provide an answer. Researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil analyzed 12 types of cancer and [...]

Only two days after Latin America’s first case of coronavirus was confirmed in São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city, researchers at Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL), the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and the University of Oxford in the UK have published the complete genome sequence for the virus, which they call severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The report was published on February 28 on Virological.org, a forum for discussion and data [...]

One of the strategies used for biological control of the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus is sterilization of males by X-ray or gamma-ray irradiation. The aim of the procedure is to bring about a decrease in the wild population of these insects. A. fraterculus is a major crop pest in the South Region of Brazil, mainly affecting apple and peach orchards. Sterilization is considered an affordable alternative to the use of insecticides and toxic bait. Before irradiation, the pupae [...]

Experiments with rats indicate that brain cells submitted to several forms of hypoxia underwent alterations to their energy production mechanism. Such condition may affect the fetus in pregnant women who have developed pre-eclampsia The lack of oxygen in the period antipating child birth – a condition that may affect children of pregnant women subjected to a high blood pressure disorder called pre-eclampsia – has been pointed as was one of the causes of schizophrenia. In an article [...]

In addition to helping us chew and swallow, keeping the mouth moist and protecting us against germs, saliva can also be used for early detection of the risk of developing diseases associated with surplus body fat. Researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil performed a study in which they used the level of uric acid in saliva to predict body fat percentages in teenagers and identify those with surplus fat even if they [...]

Crotoxin, extracted from the venom of the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus, has been studied for almost a century for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities and as an even more powerful muscle paralyzer than botulinum toxin. However, the toxicity of crotoxin limits its medicinal use. A new study, published by Brazilian researchers in the journal Toxins, shows that crotoxin's therapeutic effects can be enhanced and its toxicity reduced when it is [...]

Sugarcane bagasse and other kinds of agricultural waste biomass can be used as raw materials for the manufacturing of fine chemicals. To this end, however, it is necessary to develop technologies that are competitive with the processes currently used by the petrochemical industry to obtain these high-value compounds for specialized applications. A group of researchers affiliated with institutions in Brazil and the United Kingdom has succeeded in advancing in this direction by developing a [...]

In an article published in the journal PLOS ONE, a group of researchers supported by FAPESP has updated the description of the Ghost knifefish Tembeassu marauna, a Neotropical electric fish species found only once in the wild. The study, conducted in Brazil, was based on an analysis of external anatomy and, above all, on internal details that could be seen thanks to an advanced, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) technique that revealed characteristics of the fish’s bones without [...]