Science

ENVIRONMENT

Contamination beyond the mine

Areas of the Amazon flooded by dams can raise mercury levels in fish consumed by local residents

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EVOLUTION

Male or female? The mystery unfolds

Amazonian frog species has more sex chromosomes than any other vertebrate

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NEUROLOGY

Signs of Epilepsy

International study of brain scans suggests a link between the disease and cerebral atrophy

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Five years later

Study spanning 71 countries shows that survival rates for prostate cancer rose and pediatric cancer fell in Brazil

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ASTRONOMY

Hard and lifeless

Even though they resemble Earth, the crusts of some rocky exoplanets may be too rigid to be habitable

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Electronics Engineering 

Chip for particle collisions

Brazilian researchers develop and test a device to be installed in the Large Hadron Collider at Cern

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Physics

Quantum trickster

A Brazilian group controlled the heat generated by atomic nuclei

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Paleontology

Shelter for giants

Extinct for 10,000 years, ground sloths and giant armadillos may have built the largest paleoburrows ever discovered on Earth

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Neuroscience

Hunting circuits

Two neural pathways that originate in the brain’s amygdala control the aggressive behavior of predators

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Physiology

Weight across generations

Among rats, the effects of excessive or insufficient feeding can be transmitted to children and grandchildren

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physics

Devouring stars

Survey shows that Milky Way cannibalized eleven neighboring galaxies

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ASTROPHYSICS

Fireflies around Saturn

A Brazilian research team proposes a model to explain the origin of a tenuous ring around the second largest planet in the Solar System

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physics

Heated up by the cold

Cold particles transfer heat to hotter ones in quantum experiment, reversing the thermodynamic arrow of time

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ECOLOGY

A sea of fry

A survey finds two-thirds of fish off Brazil’s coast are of small body size

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ECOLOGY

The gears of the forest

The loss of more than 60% of native vegetation within a region leads to profound changes in how it operates

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ZOOLOGY

Solitary sand spiders

Isolated Sicarius populations inhabit Brazil’s Caatinga (semi-arid scrublands) and desert areas of Argentina, Peru and Chile

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NEUROLOGY

Adolescent depression

Heightened reward-related brain activity may predict an increased risk for developing the disorder

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Examining the yellow fever vaccine

Scientific evidence indicates that the fractionated dose produces a protective effect, but there is no consensus about its duration

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physics

When light attracts light

Brazilian researchers show that two photons can couple, exhibiting similar behavior to electron pairs in superconductors

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PHYSICS

The effects of quantum turbulence

Disturbing a cloud of cold rubidium atoms produces a wave phenomenon similar to light

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ENTOMOLOGY

Invisible moths

These very small Insects spend most of their lives as larvae inside stems and leaves

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Botany

Colonization via water

Group of carnivorous plants recognized for being aquatic species originated in Brazil, indicates phylogenetic study

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GENETICS

Accelerated DNA deterioration

Brazilian researchers test male hormone’s ability to alleviate symptoms of rare disease that affects blood cell production

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Health

Another possible cause of autism

Inflammation reduces connections in neurons generated in the lab using cells from the teeth of children with the neurological disorder

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GENETICS

Fighting citrus diseases

Transgenic orange plant is resistant to Xylella fastidiosa

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EPIDEMIOLOGY

From monkeys to people

FIOCRUZ team suggests a sixth form of malaria

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Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer: In favor of reason

American science communicator fights irrational thinking and fundamentalism

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SCIENTIFIC DISSEMINATION

Dancing for science

Brazilian researcher wins Science magazine’s “Dance Your PhD” contest

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CHRONOBIOLOGY

A clock that works in the dark

Researchers come together to reveal the circadian rhythms of tuco-tucos

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GEOLOGY

China and Brazil may once have been neighbors

Graphite-rich rocks suggest that areas of China and Brazil were joined together

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