Issue # 216 _ February 2014

Cover

Energy for neurons: Stimulation with low-intensity electrical current has matured as a promising technique for treating depression

S&T Policy

Collaboration

A step forward

Partnership between FAPESP and NSF brings together researchers from Brazil and the United States to learn more about the processes that affect biodiversity in Brazil

Dissemination

A tunnel to the future

German exhibit arrives in São Paulo with scientific discoveries that could change the world in the years to come

Science

ECOLOGY

Protection net

Mangroves gain importance in the face of climate change

Paleontology

Passage to the Caribbean

Catfish fossils suggest that the Amazon River flowed through northern Venezuela and Colombia some 2.5 million years ago

Physics

Disaster tamers

Brazilians help test theory on the prediction and control of global financial crises

GENETICS

One mutation, several defects

Brazilian researchers have discovered the gene responsible for a rare syndrome that causes malformation of the jaw and larynx

Biochemistry

Treatment for bee stings

In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, two compounds that reduce the effects of bee venom are undergoing initial tests

Technology

Sanitation

Hydro-innovation

Sabesp establishes a technology center and forges partnerships to develop new products and systems

HEALTH

Advances in diagnostics

New sensors developed in Brazil for clinical analysis of dengue are more sensitive and able to provide earlier detection

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Laboratory webs

Brazilian scientists produce synthetic fibers that mimic spider silk

CORPORATE RESEARCH

Competence in biofuels

Bosch Brazil became a world leader by launching the flex fuel system and the starter that runs on heated ethanol instead of gasoline

Humanities

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Social Movement Mobility

Network analysis of organizations in civil society challenges the theory of “NGO-ization”

CLASSICAL LITERATURE

The theater of deception

Unicamp researcher explores the comedies of the Roman playwright Plautus, a model for Shakespeare, Molière, Camões, and Suassuna

Heritage

Other faces of the sertão

A study uncovers 19th century rural architecture in the inland Northeast