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Researchers at the State University of Campinas and the University of California San Diego have discovered the mechanism that causes this rare but severe autism spectrum disorder. They reversed progression of the syndrome in laboratory models, opening up new possibilities for treatment using drugs and gene therapy.

The finding comes from a study reported by scientists from Brazil, China, Australia and Germany in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The group used a novel methodology focusing on low rainfall and severe drought.

A clinical trial involving women aged 55-70 suggests that supplementing diet with this nutrient can reinforce the organism’s antioxidant defenses and possibly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Studies with more volunteers are needed to confirm the effect.

The agreement was signed between the University of São Paulo, the state government and Pasteur Institute at an event held to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s birth and FAPESP’s 60th anniversary. FAPESP renewed and expanded its support for the Scientific Platform Pasteur-USP, which will host the new research unit.

Results of studies conducted at the Research Center for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI) have fed into a bill before the Senate to set up a legal framework on carbon capture and storage as an economic activity.

Several substances that killed antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found by Brazilian researchers in a marine sponge native to Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago off the coast of the Northeast.

A research group at the State University of Campinas proposes treating the solid waste produced by breweries with ultrasound before submitting it to the process of digestion by microorganisms. The strategy obtains larger amounts of methane, which can be used by the brewery itself to generate electricity and heat. The final waste can be used as crop fertilizer.

A startup supported by FAPESP has developed a technology based on artificial intelligence that can reduce the time to produce a diagnosis by 40%.

Brazilian researchers have discovered that PCNA, a protein present in the nuclei of human cells, interacts with the SARS-CoV-2 membrane matrix protein M. In laboratory tests, inhibition of this mechanism using a drug reduced viral replication by 15%-20%.

Grasslands are endangered everywhere on Earth, warns a group of researchers from several countries in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. The solution involves restoration and the pursuit of sustainable economic development alternatives.

In mice fed a high-fat diet, the molecule mitigated weight gain while reducing insulin resistance and liver fattiness. An article describing the results of the study by researchers at the University of São Paulo and collaborators is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Research that can increase Brazil’s access to CAR T-cell therapy, an increasingly important strategy for treating cancer, is under way at the University of São Paulo’s Center for Cell-Based Therapy (CTC) in Ribeirão Preto, and the Butantan Institute.

Advanced drug discovery methods have led to advances in the search for treatments for some neglected tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis and Chagas, but research on schistosomiasis and other diseases caused by worms remains at an early stage, according to an article in Drug Discovery Today by Brazilian researchers.

Researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed 43 scientific articles with data for some 11,500 athletes. The findings point to the need for carefully personalized assessment of athletes and sports players before a resumption of training is allowed, they warn.

The latest in the FAPESP 60 Years lecture series featured an assessment of the current social and political conditions in Brazil by Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida, a professor at the University of São Paulo. The event focused on the erosion of liberal democracy. Oscar Vilhena, Dean of Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s São Paulo Law School, also took part.

The São Paulo State Academy of Sciences presented the first chapter of a book on FAPESP’s 60 years of contributing to science for national development at the first in a series of online events that will continue until December and can be watched on Agência FAPESP’s YouTube channel.

Researchers used sophisticated quantum control methods to test the validity of the complementarity principle proposed by Niels Bohr in 1927. The results are reported in Communications Physics.

A delegation from New Zealand led by Education Minister Chris Hipkins visited FAPESP to discuss new partnerships and areas of interest shared by the two countries.

The material can be used for diagnostic testing, research on the evolution of the monkeypox virus, and development of novel treatments and vaccines.

FAPESP and 19 other research foundations will invest BRL 50 million in collaborative science projects aiming at sustainable development in the Amazon.

Brazilian researchers surveyed 900 volunteers via an online platform for five months. Most reported feeling that time passed more slowly during home confinement in the early months of the pandemic, associating this perception with feelings of loneliness and a lack of positive experiences in the period.

In the laboratory, tadpoles of the species B. ibitiguara kept in water 3 °C warmer than the highest temperature recorded in their habitat were unable to complete metamorphosis, indicating a threat to the species from climate change.

Preliminary results of trials conducted by Brazilian scientists show that the existing regulatory framework based on a protocol referenced to the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera, is too Eurocentric and may not be sufficient to guarantee the protection of native bees, which are important pollinators.

Brazilian researchers have designed a new low-cost anaerobic reactor that uses a bacterial biofilm on a sheet of polyurethane foam. The goal is to enable more wastewater treatment plants in Brazil to achieve nitrogen removal and reduce water body contamination.

One of the executive’s aims is to encourage other Brazilian entrepreneurs to invest in science- and technology-based startups.

The female patient had a genetic disease that dysregulates the immune system, impairing its inflammatory response and antibody production. The virus was eliminated after week-long ingestion of breast milk donated by a woman who had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. The case is reported in the journal Viruses by researchers at the University of Campinas in Brazil.

A protocol developed by the Brazil-UK Center for Arbovirus Discovery, Diagnosis, Genomics and Epidemiology (CADDE) was used to analyze a sample from the first Brazilian patient with a confirmed diagnosis. The technology can also be used to detect unknown emerging viruses.

The finding comes from a clinical trial by researchers at the University of São Paulo who recruited 32 male volunteers and have now published the results in Clinical and Experimental Hypertension.

Researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed data for a group of pregnant women in western Amazonia. The analysis pointed to a correlation between at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week and lower birth weight, with less risk of childhood obesity and diabetes.

A bioink developed from mouse cells can be used in a 3D printer to create a model that more closely resembles the brain than conventional ones. Researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo also obtained an adapted version of SARS-CoV-2 capable of infecting neural cells from mice.