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A group led by a researcher affiliated with the University of São Paulo's São Carlos Chemistry Institute (IQSC-USP) in Brazil has developed a novel palladium compound that acts against ovarian tumor cells without affecting healthy tissues. Palladium is a silvery white metal belonging to the same group as platinum. The molecule acts more selectively and powerfully in vitro than cisplatin, a platinum-based chemotherapy medication that is used to treat several types of cancer [...]

The human immune system uses two pre-programmed strategies to tackle infection. One is fever, a resistance mechanism that tries to eliminate a pathogen by raising the body's temperature. The other works in the opposite direction, cooling the body down in a controlled manner to permit temporary tolerance of the invader while protecting organs and systems. These two mechanisms act as alternatives according to the intensity of the attack and the overall state of the patient's health. This [...]

People usually start gradually graying in their thirties. Once crossing the age of 50, one will be hard-pressed to successfully disguise one's white hair crown without paying monthly visits to a hairdresser. However, medical reports suggest the process of hair color loss, which scientists call canities or achromotrichia, can be greatly accelerated by persistent acute stress or severe trauma. Some historians have speculated that Marie Antoinette's hair turned white when she heard she [...]

The study was led by Rodrigo Ramos Catharino, a professor in UNICAMP's School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. In experiments with a human prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (PC-3), the scientists found that Zika inhibits tumor cell proliferation even when inactivated by high temperature. Results of their research, which is supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP, have been published) in Scientific Reports. "The next step in the investigation involves tests in animals. [...]

A Brazilian study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence shows that cannabis smoked recreationally does not work as a harm reduction strategy for crack and cocaine addicts undergoing rehabilitation. Instead of reducing their craving for cocaine, whether nasally insufflated in powder form or smoked in the form of crack crystals, cannabis use made the patients’ clinical condition worse. The patients were evaluated for six months after discharge from a voluntary inpatient [...]

Researchers at Sao Paulo State University identify groups of asteroids created by rotational fission inside collisional families. Billions of years ago, asteroid collisions resulted in the ejection of fragments hundreds of kilometers across and sharing similar orbits. The resulting groups are known as asteroid families. Other asteroid groups formed as a result of rotational fission, which happens when a rapidly spinning body reaches critical rotation speed and splits into relatively small [...]

Researchers have identified a genetic signature with prognostic value for certain kinds of breast cancer. The discovery also contributes to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of pathological angiogenesis, the aberrant proliferation of blood vessels that occurs during cancer and other diseases. The research, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, combined a study of the genes involved in retinopathy, as a model of angiogenesis, with analysis of transcriptomic gene expression [...]

Technique developed at Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center, funded by FAPESP and hosted by the University of São Paulo, produced hepatic tissue in the laboratory in only 90 days and could become an alternative to organ transplantation in future Using human blood cells, Brazilian researchers have succeeded in obtaining hepatic organoids (“mini-livers”) that perform all of the liver’s typical functions, such as producing vital proteins, storing vitamins, and [...]

Leafcutter ants such as Atta sexdens or Acromyrmex lobicornis face two major challenges when they leave the safety of the nest to forage: choosing the best plants from which to collect leaves and avoiding being surprised by strong winds or heavy rain, which would prevent them from carrying out their task. A study by researchers at the University of São Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Brazil shows that leafcutter ants are capable of predicting adverse [...]