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Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have described a system present in a species of opportunistic bacterium found in hospital environments that injects a cocktail of toxins into competing bacteria and completely eliminates them. This discovery can be used in the future development of new antimicrobial compounds. The study was supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP and published in PLOS Pathogens by researchers affiliated with USP's [...]

A study of six beaches in the coastal city of Guarujá in São Paulo state (Southeast Brazil) suggests that urbanization may be a source of stress not only for humans but also for mussels. Researchers affiliated with the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Santos, Brazil, and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, found a direct correlation among the degree of urbanization, contamination of the sea by metals and the possible metabolic stress [...]

The mechanism by which defense cells respond to infection by Mayaro virus has been described by a team affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases - CRID in an article published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. According to the authors, by establishing an experimental model of Mayaro fever in adult mice and identifying the processes involved in the immune response, the study provides a basis for the development of drugs against this disease. CRID is one of the Research, [...]

An international group of researchers led by Brazilian scientists has assembled the most complete genome sequence of commercial sugarcane. They mapped 373,869 genes or 99.1% of the total genome. This feat is the result of almost 20 years of research supported by São Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP and will serve as a basis for the genetic improvement of the world's largest crop in tonnage according to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO). An article describing the [...]

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always tends to increase over time until it reaches a maximum. In other words, disorganization increases without outside intervention. Even the best electrical equipment inevitably heats up, as part of the energy that should be converted into mechanical work is dissipated in the form of heat, and supposedly inanimate objects deteriorate as time progresses but do not spontaneously regenerate. However, this [...]

The burning of sugarcane, carried out to eliminate dry leaves before harvesting, for years altered the air quality in the central region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The particles launched into the atmosphere during the process were visible to the region's inhabitants and were deposited in the streets and on cars. Atmospheric pollution also caused respiratory problems among the population, impacts on biodiversity and the native vegetation, and contaminated [...]

In the 2019 harvest, members of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST), in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, commemorated a harvest estimated at 16,000 tons of organic and agroecological rice, the biggest production of its kind in the whole country. 363 families in 15 settlements work in the rice production. In the south of the state of Minas Gerais, 20 families of the Campo Grande "quilombo" community produce Guaií organic and agroecological coffee, internationally [...]

The bacteria that form the gut microbiota influence important processes of the human body, such as digestion, nutrient absorption, and defense against pathogens. The same type of relationship is present in most animals, including in the Anhopheles darlingi mosquito, the main vector of malaria in Brazil. In the case of this insect, the composition of the gut microbiota appears to determine the susceptibility to infection by Plasmodium vivax - the species responsible for 90% of malaria cases in [...]

Brazil is the world's largest producer of niobium and holds about 98% of the active reserves on the planet. This chemical element is used in metal alloys, especially high-strength steel, and in an almost unlimited array of high-tech applications from cell phones to aircraft engines. Brazil exports most of the niobium it produces in the form of commodities such as ferroniobium. Another substance Brazil also has in copious quantities but underuses is glycerol, a byproduct of oil and fat [...]