Issue # 205 _ March 2013
S&T Policy
EDUCATION

They enjoy science and challenges
Brazil’s progress in science Olympiads motivates secondary school students and helps train new researchers
By Fabrício MarquesHuman Resources

A Controversial Change
The scientific community expresses concern over the law that changes the career plan for faculty members at federal universities
By Bruno de PierroMedia

A more open science
Editor in chief of Nature and a director of the Royal Society meet at FAPESP to discuss the challenges and limitations of open access to scientific data
By Bruno de PierroScience
Ecology

Amazonia in three dimensions
Three-dimensional maps show details of forest structure and aid monitoring of the impacts of fragmentation on native vegetation
By Carlos FioravantiSPECIAL BIOTA EDUCATION I

Amid challenges, ideas and threats
Biologists give teachers and high school students an overview of the effects of fragmented ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity in Brazil
By Rodrigo de Oliveira AndradePaleontology

The tapeworm and the shark
Fossilized feces of fish 270 million years old found in Rio Grande do Sul contain tapeworm eggs
By Marcos PivettaBrian Schmidt

Brian Schmidt: The dark energy enigma
Nobel Laureate says new methods are needed to measure the composition of most of the Universe
By Marcos PivettaA GATHERING OF NOTABLES

Five Nobel Laureates at a Single Symposium
Event in São Carlos honors American physicist and brings together a quintet of Laureates
By Marcos PivettaPhysics

The secrets of the Lençóis Maranhenses
Clockwork variations between wind and rain guarantee the beauty of the dunes and ponds of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
By Igor ZolnerkevicTechnology
Industry

More sophisticated ceramic tiles
Technological developments adopted by manufacturers of ceramic wall and floor tiles propel Brazil to the rank of world’s second largest producer
By Yuri VasconcelosChemistry

Glucose battery
Pacemakers and other implanted devices will run on electricity obtained from the blood
By Evanildo da SilveiraNew materials

Imitation of nature
Brazilian researchers in Switzerland develop a way to connect plastic to ceramics just like muscle to bone
By Evanildo da SilveiraENGINEERING

Ozone to be used to treat mining waste
A São Paulo company plans to clean the water and soil contaminated by heavy metals at a uranium mine
By Dinorah Ereno