Issue # 247 _ September 2016

S&T Policy

Institutions

A university without departments

UFABC celebrates its 10th anniversary, with 15,000 students and a consistent research history

Indicators

Ongoing investment

2015 FAPESP Annual Activity Report highlights establishment of applied research centers and an increase in the number of scholarships abroad

Bioengineering

Ready to compete

Student club prepares teams to take part in international competition in synthetic biology and grapples with inadequate funding

Science

Neurology

Deaths shrouded in mystery

Groups in Brazil and abroad work to identify causes behind sudden unexpected death in people with epilepsy

PUBLIC HEALTH

Why scorpions are now more worrisome

The number of cases involving poisonings has increased 600% in the last 15 years

ZOOLOGY

The foxes of the Americas

Deforestation promotes encounters between different species and leads to the emergence of hybrids

NANOTECHNOLOGY

The secret of the memoristor

Researchers try to demonstrate the mechanism behind memoristors’ ability to process and store data

PHOTONICS

An unconventional laser

Variable-intensity light reveals unexpected connections between areas of physics and promises clearer microscopic images

PHYSICS

Very malleable solids

Computer simulations help explain the flexibility of helium crystals

Technology

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Simulators for medicine

Dolls that mimic babies and reproductions of human body parts produced by 3D printers are changing how surgery is taught and planned

Energy

Films capture energy from the sun

Production of organic solar cells, flexible in comparison to traditional photovoltaic panels, is beginning on a small-scale in Brazil

Corporate Research

Better control in the skies

New air traffic management technologies from Atech reduce delays and improve flight safety in Brazil

Petroleum Industry

Solutions for the pre-salt layer

In partnership with Petrobras, research institutions develop equipment to operate in ultra-deep waters

ENTOMOLOGY

Aedes caught in real time

Intelligent trap catches insects and identifies the species by their wingbeat frequency

Humanities

MENTAL HEALTH

Atelier Juquery

Sculptures and paintings reflect the work of physician Osório Cesar, who championed the role of art in psychiatric hospitals

FAMILY PLANNING

Laws in the feminine form

A study on the activities of a women’s clinic recalls the history of reproductive rights in Brazil

Education

Children and the world

Research associates reflections by Hannah Arendt on education with concepts from her political writings