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At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of Brazilian researchers pioneered in showing why SARS-CoV-2 infection tends to be more severe in diabetic patients. Now, the same team, based at the Institute of Biology of the State University of Campinas (IB-UNICAMP), has discovered one of the reasons why obese people who do not have diabetes or even insulin resistance also have an increased risk of developing the severe form of the disease. “New experiments show that the molecular [...]

The most common type of malaria in Brazil is caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax. Although vivax malaria is milder than the variant caused by P. falciparum, the ability of P. vivax to produce dormant forms in the host’s liver that can be reactivated months after the end of treatment makes it very hard to control. According to the scientific literature, such recurrence may account for some 90% of cases in Brazil. In an article published in the journal Scientific Reports, Brazilian [...]

Brazilian researchers have developed functional bread with the potential to prevent asthma, a respiratory disorder responsible for some 350,000 hospitalizations per year in the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde), the nation’s public healthcare network. The formulation, for which a patent application has been filed in Brazil (BR1020210266465), is described in an article published in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition. It contains Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFMG A-905, a [...]

Chikungunya virus has caused substantial epidemics in the tropics, often with an even worse impact than dengue, but infections can also be relatively mild or even undetected. A study conducted in Brazil by researchers at the São José do Rio Preto Medical School (FAMERP) in São Paulo State shows that the virus has circulated in the city silently for years. The number of cases was initially small but gradually rose in the period analyzed (2015-19). The findings underscore [...]

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can remain in the sperm of patients for up to 90 days after hospital discharge and up to 110 days after the initial infection, reducing semen quality. The study is reported in an article published in the journal Andrology. The authors suggest that people who plan to have children should observe a period of “quarantine” after [...]

A molecule produced naturally in the gut can help prevent and even treat influenza, according to a study reported in the journal Gut Microbes by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil, and Pasteur Institut in Lille, France. Experiments with mice showed a fall in levels of the molecule indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) during infection by influenza virus H3N2. The infected animals’ IPA was supplemented with a synthetic version of the [...]

Bacteria of the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, including those of the genus Streptococcus, are the most common microorganisms found in the saliva of swine, which contains a different microbiota from swine feces and the environment in which the animals live. These were among the findings of a study by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and Pennsylvania State University in the United States. According to the researchers, this was the first study ever to [...]

Insects and microorganisms that feed on plants, cut up leaves, modify leaf tissue or produce leaf spots and other kinds of damage, are usually known as pests and considered harmful, yet interactions between plants and their natural enemies are important sources of biodiversity. In tropical forests, for example, these ‘pests’ are part of large ecological networks on which the functioning of ecosystems depends. If they decline, the entire forest may be affected, with consequences [...]

Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) who analyzed samples of flour and rice stored in homes in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, found the presence of high levels of fungal toxins (mycotoxins). The results of the study, supported by FAPESP, were published in the journal Food Research International. As the authors point out, dietary exposure to mycotoxins can trigger a range of health problems, especially in children and adolescents. [...]