Issue # 279 _ May 2019

Cover

The First Land of the Dinosaurs: Many of the oldest known fossils of these reptiles, which lived 230 million years ago, have been found in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, on the border of Argentina
Max Langer: How prehistoric life forms are classified: Paleontologist explains what makes a reptile a dinosaur and explains why the origin of these animals is so hotly debated

S&T Policy

Public Health

The end of the AIDS epidemic?

The US government wants to reduce new cases of AIDS by 90% by 2030, but faces the challenge of reaching vulnerable groups

Shared facilities

Faster access to equipment and facilities

USP and UNICAMP create portals to expand shared use of core research facilities

Research funding

Demand-side innovation

Newly released guidance aims to expand public technology procurement in Brazil

University policy

Embracing differences

New management at UNICAMP will bring together initiatives for the promotion of human rights among students, professors, and employees

INTERVIEW

Marcelo Knobel: Learning from autonomy

For the chancellor of UNICAMP, stable funding and liberty in management boosted the quality of universities in the state of São Paulo

Science

Cosmology

Visibility limit

International radio telescope array produces the first image of a black hole

Physics

Particle super-cooler

São Carlos research group develops simpler method for producing ultracold molecules

Heritage

Likely origin of the fire

Report names overloaded air-conditioning system and electrical failures as cause of National Museum fire

Ecology

Stingless and highly sensitive

Native bee larvae are shown to be less resistant to insecticides than the European honeybee Apis mellifera

Oncology

Mapped-out risk

Study identifies the genetic profile of Brazilian patients with a rare disease that causes a specific type of thyroid cancer

New materials

New energy applications for gold and platinum

Platinum-coated gold nanoparticles could enhance the efficiency of fuel-cell catalysts

Technology

Water engineering

Removing salt from water

Ceará plans to build Brazil’s first large-scale desalination facility as new and more cost-effective technologies emerge in Brazil and abroad

TEXTILE ENGINEERING

The fine hair of goats

Cashmere fiber produced from Brazilian goats has superior quality to that sold on the international market

Humanities

SURVEY MANAGEMENT

The imaginary lands of Pará

The 22.7 million hectares of private land and 18.5 million hectares of public land that only exist on paper

ARCHITECTURE

My House, My Life in academia

Bibliographical review by researchers shows low impact of studies about the social housing program

VISUAL ARTS

Rediscovered archives

Collection located in a São Paulo museum reveals that an etching served as a platform for circulating North American art in Brazil