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When researchers studying spiders and scorpions at the Zoological Collections Laboratory of the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, came across a few-millimeter-long spider wearing something resembling a pearl necklace, they knocked on the door of a colleague specializing in mites. Ricardo Bassini-Silva, a researcher and curator of the Acarological Collection at the same laboratory, quickly identified the "necklace" as mite larvae. Previously, there had only been one record of [...]

A shift in natural behavior by an established predator could help control an invasive fish species found in Brazilian waters. Research published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes described the intriguing activity of lemon sharks: They are now hunting a problematic freshwater fish. According to an article from FAPESP shared by Phys.org, this shark is often found in Sueste Bay, a sea inlet where fresh water from a nearby mangrove swamp meets salt water in the archipelago of [...]

An artificial saliva in the form of a mouthwash, produced with the CANECPI-5 protein extracted from sugarcane and modified in a laboratory, can aid in treating teeth in patients with head and neck cancer. In these cases, radiotherapy very close to the mouth can destroy salivary glands and compromise saliva production, which is essential for controlling bacteria and disease. According to research conducted at the Bauru School of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo (FOB-USP) in Brazil, [...]

A study by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Brazil, in partnership with University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom, concluded that the combination of abdominal fat and muscle loss increases the risk of death by 83%, compared to people without these conditions. This combination is so dangerous that it identifies an even greater problem: sarcopenic obesity. This condition is characterized by loss of muscle mass while gaining fat throughout the body. [...]

In Brazil, researchers from the Federal University of Grande Dourados (UFGD), the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and São Paulo State University (UNESP) have conducted a study that confirmed the safety and anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-arthritic properties of the Joseph's Coat plant (Alternanthera littoralis). Native to the Brazilian coast, this plant has been used in folk medicine to combat inflammation, microbial infections, and parasitic diseases. Until now, there [...]

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, when colonialism was the prevailing order, it is not surprising that scientific expeditions, specimen deposits in natural history museums, and descriptions of species from European colonies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were carried out only by naturalists from the Old World. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B by Brazilian researchers shows that this practice continues, even though the former colonies are now [...]

Hormonal fluctuations throughout a woman's life are among the factors that most influence the immune system. Like a seesaw, variations in estrogen and progesterone affect cellular levels and alter the immune and inflammatory profiles. For example, inflammatory activity is most intense in the days leading up to the menstrual period (luteal phase). During menopause, a drop in sex hormones promotes a pro-inflammatory state. Despite our understanding of the relationship between hormonal [...]

A genus of fungi previously considered a parasite of fungi associated with ants may actually have much more complex ecological functions. According to a study published in the journal Communications Biology, one piece of evidence is that they appeared 18 million years before the ants with which they are associated today. The results are based on the analysis of 309 strains of the genus Escovopsis collected in eight countries in the Americas. By observing fragments of the genomes, [...]

The world's first single-dose vaccine to prevent dengue fever has been approved for licensure in one of the largest countries affected by the disease, following 16 years of research contributions by scientists at the University of Vermont (UVM) Vaccine Testing Center, in partnership with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne disease worldwide, with nearly half the world's [...]