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The scenario is common. An elderly person seems to be in good health until one day they suffer a fall and from then on their quality of life begins to deteriorate. Even if there are no serious consequences such as injuries, fractures or head trauma, falls usually lead to reduced mobility and consequently to a loss of independence and autonomy. The problem is so worrisome – falls are the second leading cause of injury-related death among adults aged 65 and over in the world, according to [...]

Small shrimps of the genus Hippolyte have the ability to change color to camouflage themselves in the algae where they live and escape predators. Depending on the algae they are in, they can turn red, green, brown or transparent. A study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology shows for the first time how these crustaceans interact with invasive algae. The results also show that they can camouflage themselves in algae from other oceans with which they did not evolve together. The [...]

Using a single-cell sequencing technique, Brazilian researchers have created the first cell atlas of focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), a malformation of the cerebral cortex that leads to drug-resistant epilepsy. These cases are most common in children and adolescents, accounting for up to 50% of epilepsy surgeries in this age group. With the atlas, it was possible to characterize the different cell types present in the brain lesion and determine which ones are involved in the disease. The [...]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health worker Maria Tereza Malheiros Sapienza’s curiosity was aroused by her immunity to SARS-CoV-2: her husband, Marcelo Sapienza, a physician, was infected twice (in April 2020 and January 2022), but she remained perfectly well and asymptomatic even though she was in direct contact with him prior to both infections. This curiosity led the Sapienzas to join a study on serodiscordant couples conducted by the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research [...]

A recent groundbreaking study has unveiled that a pre-Columbian society in the Amazon, notably the Casarabe culture, developed a highly sophisticated agricultural engineering system that enabled year-round cultivation of maize. This important discovery, achieved by an international team of researchers, challenges long-held assumptions regarding agricultural practices in this region and suggests that intensive monoculture was indeed possible in these tropical lowlands. The findings were [...]

 An article published in the journal Scientific Reports describes how researchers analyzed biofilm produced by bacteria found in the El Medano hot springs, located in Chile in the central Andes, and concluded that one of its key ingredients can be used to develop natural additives for the pharmaceutical and food industries.  The biofilm ingredient in question is an exopolysaccharide (EPS), a cluster of extracellular carbohydrate polymers produced by the thermotolerant Med1 strain of [...]

Studies conducted in mice have shown that the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Medical School (FM-USP) in Brazil is safe and efficacious. The vaccine triggered a satisfactory immune response against the pathogen in the mice and protected them from infection. An article describing the results is published in the journal Scientific Reports. “Most vaccines are based on attenuated or inactivated viruses, but our next-generation strategy [...]

Glutamatergic medications show promise for OCD & related disorders, reducing Y-BOCS scores. Glutamatergic medications show promise in improving symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders , including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a recent study found. “Our findings, albeit with low certainty, indicate that these medications are associated with significant improvement in OCRD symptoms,” wrote investigators, led by David R. A. Coelho, MD, MPH, from Harvard [...]

A compound derived from Nectandra leucantha, a tree native to southern Brazil (local names canela-seca or canela-branca), has the potential to be used to treat visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease associated with poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and lack of basic sanitation.  The disease is almost always fatal if left untreated. Most cases occur in Brazil, East Africa and India, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). An estimated 50,000-90,000 new cases and [...]