International issue | August 2018

S&T Policy

Indicators

Annual balance

FAPESP continues its pace of investment according to the institution’s 2016 report

INNOVATION

Reasons to award incentives

The IMF and the OECD suggest that governments provide tax incentives to encourage companies to conduct more research

SCIENTOMETRICS

Sleeping Beauties

To study the scientific process and perfect evaluation systems, researchers analyze innovative papers whose value was recognized only belatedly

Science

MEDICINE

Reversing Wasting Syndrome

Physical exercise can halt cachexia, the inflammation that induces unwanted weight loss and worsens cancer and other diseases

Epidemiology

Breaking boundaries

Real-time genome sequencing reconstructs the trajectory of Zika virus across the Americas

CHEMISTRY

Natural lighting

The chemical process underlying the bioluminescence of mushrooms is recyclable and flexible

Ecology

Deep sea alliances

Six species of cleaner fish from the Rocas Atoll obtain food by removing parasites from larger fish

Geology

Vestiges of primitive Earth

The depths of the Earth may contain rigid blocks spanning thousands of kilometers

PHYSICS

When vacuum is hot

Brazilian researchers propose an experiment to determine whether empty space can heat an accelerated object

Technology

AEROSPACE SYSTEMS

Green propulsion

INPE and the Brazilian Air Force develop sustainable engine and fuel for use in rockets and satellites

Biotechnology

More resistant sugarcane fields

A variety of genetically modified sugarcane developed by a company from Piracicaba is approved for planting

ENGINEERING

Wood identification

Computer vision systems identify the quality of wood boards and their tree species

Humanities

computer science

The reality emerging from an avalanche of data

Digital humanities are spreading through a variety of disciplines, influencing the training of researchers and driving public policy

Anthropology

The Bororo on screen

Researchers suggest that a film made by the Rondon Commission in 1916 may have been the first ethnographic documentary

JUSTICE

A labyrinth of inconclusive decisions

86% of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court decisions are responses to internal appeals

SOCIETY

From the factory floor to the floor of Congress

Researchers review the history of the struggles of Brazil’s feminist movements