50 Years FAPESP | May 2012

Fifty Years of FAPESP and the Development of Science in São Paulo

Half a Century of FAPESP

Permitted Violence

The authoritarian bias of the Brazilian mindset is one of the concerns of the USP Center for the Study of Violence

A theory endures

A lizard from the Amazon region studied by Vanzolini reinforces a German geologist’s position on forest refuges

The Brazilian Galapagos

Lizards from the sand dunes of the São Francisco River – some resembling snakes – express their own evolutionary histories

The pioneers of South America

Skunks and other Brazilian marsupials came before Australian kangaroos on the evolutionary scale

Faithful gardeners

Ants help seeds to germinate in the Atlantic Forest and cerrado regions

Natural radiator

The toucan’s beak, nearly the size of its entire body, is an efficient heat sink

São Paulo in the Amazon region

Teams from São Paulo and Pará collaborate to prepare new researchers and studies on the poisonous species of the north

In a Climate of Mobilization

Researchers from various disciplines, from the natural sciences to the humanities, are joining together to advance knowledge of global change

Cosmic Rays, Still an Enigma

Analysis of the origin and identity of highest-energy particles moves forward and poses further difficult questions

Atomic jewelry

A handful of gold and silver particles can form intriguing nanometric jewels

Birth of a Continent

Pioneering laboratory helps reconstruct the geological history of South America by determining the age of rocks

Tropical statement

Brazil's pioneering foray into genomics unveiled its capacity for scientific production and is generating knowledge to this day

Mapping sugarcanes

The Genome Project paved the way for the development of new varieties of the plant

The battle against a worm

Genes identified by a method created in Brazil are promising targets for new drugs against schistosomiasis

Subtle damage from the sun

Sensor detects gene lesions caused by solar radiation

To understand proteins

Network brought together 20 groups that defined the structure and function of 200 molecules that are essential to organisms

The essence of molecules

Crystallography facilitates drug development

Gatekeeper to the cells

Cellular prion protein, the healthy version of the molecule that causes mad cow disease, controls the entry of chemical commands into neurons

The dystrophy center

Research group in São Paulo identifies new genes and new forms of neuromuscular disease in Brazil

Unexpected supporting actors

Normal cells like fibroblasts can facilitate tumor growth and hamper treatment

A metropolitan area undergoes a real transformation

The Center for Metropolitan Studies discovers the many faces of São Paulo

There is more to rural Brazil than just agriculture

The Rurbano Project shows that following the model of developed societies, Brazil is reducing the historical gap between the countryside and cities

Rebuilding the Past

Memories of tenant farmers shed light on the final days of the sugar plantation settlements

Permitted Violence

The authoritarian bias of the Brazilian mindset is one of the concerns of the USP Center for the Study of Violence

For a More Effective Agenda

Analyses of US policies regarding South America show that they are more reactive than proactive

Presidential Government Makes its Move

The legislative power of the executive branch serves to assuage the image of a government marked by clientelism and corruption

Autonomy without Discussion

The legislature’s involvement in the future of the Armed Forces is still marginal

Luzia’s America

Excavations at Lagoa Santa reinforce an alternative theory of the peopling of the continent

The Invention of Brasilian Indians

An analysis of the ethnographies produced by Salesian missionaries dismantles the notion of anthropologists as translators

On the shoulders of magic giants

The process of transforming alchemy into chemistry was longer and smoother than is commonly thought

Brazil seen from the farm

Studies about Monteiro Lobato reintroduce the complexity of the writer in all his contradictions

A promising forecast

Researchers count on the development of an effective Brazilian drug to combat Chagas disease in the medium term

Dancing genes

Incor teams reduce from 2,000 to 80 the number of DNA fragments capable of explaining the origin of hypertension.

When the body destroys itself

We now have a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of sepsis, a deadly inflammatory reaction caused by the immune system

The mystery behind diabetes

Over the course of twenty years, project unravels the link between diet and insulin resistance in the body

Cellular disharmony

More than 300 genetic and functional alterations are now associated with schizophrenia

From the genome to the factory

The Bioen Program helps to promote knowledge about sugarcane and biofuels

In Search of Safety and Comfort

Universities and Embraer are creating a knowledge base to improve commercial and military aircraft

Useful and non-polluting

Plastic made from sugarcane breaks down in the environment in one year, thanks to the action of the bacteria used in its production

The memory of the future

Very thin layers of ferroelectric film may replace ferromagnetic films in computers

Fragility Overcome

Using controlled crystallization, a team from the city of São Carlos develops glass-ceramics for telescopes, computers and ear bones.

Versatile Diamonds

Synthetic diamonds are used in dental drills, drilling for offshore oil and as a bactericide

Deep-water challenges

Studies of platform and pipe dynamics facilitate advances in oil exploration on the high seas

Refined Methods

Program that can process data in sequence using several computers helps improve refinery production

A Thousand and one Applications

FAPESP collaborative projects enable new uses for computer science in energy, health, design, anthropology and other fields

Thinner Wires

Physicists develop optical fibers that will be able to connect circuits in the computers of the future

Idéia or ideia?

Tools compatible with current versions of the Office Suite are licensed by Techno to Microsoft.

The clone's heritage

Identification of cellular reprogramming error in Penta the heifer redirects animal reproduction studies

Early maturity

Breeding, management and molecular biology get cattle ready for slaughter in 15 months

Let loose the wasps on the orange groves

Insect is used to eliminate transmitter of greening, one of the worst diseases of citrus

Telling an exemplary tale

Luiz Hildebrando Pereira da Silva: Reversing the course of malaria

A promising forecast

Researchers count on the development of an effective Brazilian drug to combat Chagas disease in the medium term

Dancing genes

Incor teams reduce from 2,000 to 80 the number of DNA fragments capable of explaining the origin of hypertension.