Editorial

Letter from the editor | 286

Evangelicalism and politics

In 1872, the year of the first Brazilian census, almost the entire population of the country defined themselves as Catholic (99.7%). One hundred years later, the proportion had changed, but only slightly, to 91.8% in 1970. Since then, official statistics show, the decline has accelerated: in 1991, the total was 83.3%, and in 2010 it... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 285

Challenges in the Amazon

The debate on the Amazon’s future depends largely on how exactly we define development. Since the 1970s, several governmental initiatives—as well as many private, often illegal ones—have focused on occupying the territory for farming and mining activities, as well as using its rivers to generate electricity, even if uncontrolled logging is involved. Northern Brazil is... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 284

Journalism for science

In October 1999, the Notícias FAPESP newsletter became the Pesquisa FAPESP journal, expanding the mission for scientific dissemination begun four years earlier by the foundation from which the publication gets its name. Two decades later, the need and desire to inform the public about science produced in Brazil and in the state of São Paulo... View Article

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Letter from the editor

Fortune and chance

Science evolves in a nonlinear manner. Subject to mishaps and chance, its path is much more lively and interesting than one might presume. Frequently, there is a good story behind important discoveries. One of these stories happened one hundred years ago and had Brazil as its stage. In 1919, Albert Einstein was not yet the... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 283

Brains on the move

In 1963, a report on the emigration of scientists by the British scientific academy The Royal Society triggered what would come to be known as the brain drain debate. The origin of the term is attributed to then Minister of Science Lord Hailsham, who accused the USA of “parasitizing British brains.” Half a century later,... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 282

Technology Purchase

Five years ago, the Brazilian government signed a purchasing contract for a batch of military jets from Swedish company Saab. This month, the first model of the new generation Gripen E fighter is scheduled to take off from the city of Linköping, Sweden, to begin its flight test campaign, the last stage before delivery in... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 281

Too much plastic

Versatility is one of the many useful characteristics of plastic, which can be used in a range of applications in place of glass, wood, paper, metal, and natural fabrics, making it ubiquitous in modern society. Global plastic production was 2 million tons in 1950, and reached around 400 million tons in 2016. It is the... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 280

The horizons of science

Man’s arrival on the Moon captured the public imagination better than any other scientific or technological achievement in the modern era. The feat seemed so unattainable that, to this day, conspiracy theories abound that the entire event was faked by the US government in the midst of a space race against the Soviet Union. Believe... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 279

Brazilian paleontology on the rise

Argentina and Brazil are home to some of the oldest dinosaur fossils ever discovered. With a long history in paleontology, Argentina has thoroughly explored a geological layer in the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja that dates to the first stage of the Upper Triassic period (between 237 million and 227 million years ago),... View Article

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Letter from the editor

Brains and births

The Biobank brain collection is a direct beneficiary of the University of São Paulo’s link with the city’s postmortem investigation service. The collection, which includes over 3,000 specimens donated by relatives of people subject to an autopsy, is a valuable contribution to research on aging, enabling advances in fields such as Alzheimer’s disease. Psychiatric disorders... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 278

A Dynamic Universe

The evolution of science is much less linear and predictable, as well as more susceptible to mistakes and chance, than it might first appear. There are often interesting stories behind important discoveries that despite now seeming irrefutable, may have been controversial at the time. One such case occurred 100 years ago, and a Brazilian scientist... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 277

Complex mechanisms

Publicly funded education in Brazil is a complex institutional system. The 1988 Constitution states that the process should be jointly funded and managed by all three levels of government: municipal, state, and federal. The federal government is responsible for organizing the flow of funds and has to direct at least 18% of tax revenue to... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 276

Knowledge for all

The journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, published by the British Academy of Sciences, is the oldest scientific journal in the world. It was founded in 1665 and sold at 1 shilling per copy with the aim of presenting an overview of new discoveries in natural philosophy. Started as a personal project by the... View Article

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Letter from the Editor | 275

From neural networks to artificial intelligence

In the early 1990s, researchers from São Paulo submitted research proposals to FAPESP on artificial neural networks, a relatively unknown field at the time, in which computer systems simulate the human central nervous system. The objective is to develop algorithms that recognize patterns, allowing the machine to “learn.” Artificial intelligence (AI) first emerged in the... View Article

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letter from the editor | 274

Constitution, 30

A constitution is the maximum applicable legal framework of a state; the set of its fundamental principles. It confers powers and establishes their limits. Constitutions vary in form and content depending on the history and traditions of the nation, and they are often replaced at times of significant political change. Brazil is no exception: the... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 273

Advances in Alzheimer’s research

One of the benefits of the University of São Paulo’s link with the city of São Paulo’s postmortem investigation service is the Biobank brain collection for studies into aging. The 3,000 specimens, donated by relatives of people who were subject to an autopsy after their death, are a highly valuable contribution to research, enabling advances... View Article

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Letter from the Editor | 272

The role of museums

Images of the Brazilian National Museum in flames shocked the world. The 200-year-old institution, based in a former imperial palace, was home to plants and animals collected during nineteenth-century expeditions throughout Brazil, mummies and minerals gathered by the Portuguese royal family, prehistoric fossils and meteorites, and artifacts of extinct indigenous peoples. A collection of inestimable... View Article

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Letter from the editor

Lighting the way

In certain fields, innovative scientific discoveries are increasingly reliant on large and often multinational facilities. These projects are frequently the subject of controversy within (and outside) the scientific community due to the high costs involved, particularly in developing countries, but supporters argue that such investments are needed to stimulate qualitative advances in science. In December... View Article

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Tracking primates against yellow fever

From December 2016 to August 2017, nearly 800 people contracted yellow fever in Brazil, of whom 262 died, according to the World Health Organization. In December 2017, deaths in the metropolitan region of São Paulo showed that the outbreak remained active and had reached urban areas. The Brazilian government adopted preventive vaccination campaigns targeted at... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 271

Developments

It is not news that Brazil has a much higher number of cesarean sections than recommended by the WHO. In 2015, 1.6 million babies were born via cesarean in the country, which represents 55.5% of all births. A study by researchers from Pelotas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul shows that up to... View Article

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letter from the editor | 270

Public health challenges

An article recently published in The New York Times (“Anti-Vaccine Activists Have Taken Vaccine Science Hostage,” August 5) warns that fear of being misinterpreted has caused vaccine researchers to avoid talking about potential negative aspects of their effectiveness and safety, even minimizing results that could indicate problems related to their use. Considering the recent rise... View Article

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR | 269

A new light for science

In certain fields, innovative scientific discoveries are increasingly reliant on large and often multinational facilities. These projects are frequently the subject of controversy within (and outside) the scientific community due to the high costs ​​involved, but their supporters argue that such investments are needed to stimulate qualitative advances in science. The largest, most complex and... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 268

Self-reflection for Embraer

The current dilemma faced by Brazilian aviation company Embraer is examined in a trio of reports that make up this issue’s cover article. Embraer was founded as a state-owned company in 1969, after a long period during which the country assimilated and developed essential skills at the former Center for Aerospace Technology (1946) and the... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 267

Amazing Amazonia

“The abundance of scientific literature on the Amazon reflects the physical geography of the region: it is amazing, highly unusual, and exceedingly disjointed. Any who dare study it carefully will, at the end of that attempt, get but a small way past the threshold of a wonderful world.” This is the diagnosis made almost 110... View Article

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Identity and Zika in Latin America

A pioneering program that supports technology companies in Brazil celebrated its 20th year in 2017. The Technological Innovation in Small Businesses (PIPE) program, run by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), has backed more than 1,700 projects and invested over R$360 million in 1,100 small and medium-sized companies that want to convert scientific knowledge into... View Article

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Letter from the editor | 266

Algorithms, microchips, and the elite

In December, British newspaper The Economist published excerpts from an article based on weekly news reports written by an artificial intelligence program. The result demonstrated both the power and limitations of machine learning: the text imitated a journalistic writing style and mentioned topics often covered by the newspaper, using proper and correct grammar—but it did... View Article

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR | 265

Controversy at the dinner table

Food preservation and processing methods, perfected over thousands of years, are fundamental to our health and well-being. Preserving meat in salt allowed us to transport it over long distances, and pasteurizing milk eliminates harmful bacteria and increases its shelf life. But problems can arise when conservation is no longer the objective; when salt, sugar, and... View Article

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Letter from the editor

The science of aging

Research on aging is always an interesting read. Most of humankind is trying to some extent to outwit destiny and live longer. To find new ways to delay aging, science must understand the factors at play and how they interrelate. The cover article presents the main lines of investigation on the cellular and molecular mechanisms... View Article

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Letter from the Editor | 264

Universal and Unequal

Universal and Unequal

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Letter from the Editor | 263

Monkeys and models

Four people have died from yellow fever in the metropolitan region of São Paulo since December, with the current outbreak showing no signs of slowing down. According to data released by the World Health Organization, 779 people in Brazil were diagnosed with the disease between December 2016 and August 2017, and 262 died. Preventive vaccination,... View Article

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