Issue # 282 _ August 2019

S&T Policy

S&T policy 

The race for excellence

Strong performance in international rankings and against benchmarks reflects a drive for research impact at state universities in São Paulo

Scientific publications

Increasing research visibility

Universities are encouraging researchers to store copies of their articles in institutional repositories available to the public

Public policy 

When science shapes action

A study assesses Brazilian politicians' interest in academic research, and how the results of research influence the decision-making process

Science olympics

A place for girls in mathematics

A girls-only competition seeks to create a more welcoming environment for female talent in the subject

INTERVIEW

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: Innovation driven by ambition

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, president of the European Research Council, discusses the case for funding high-risk projects and the need to help society understand the transformative power of science

Science

Paleoanthropology

Diaspora 2.5 million years ago

Chipped stone artifacts found in Jordan may be evidence of archaic humans leaving Africa 400,000 years earlier than previously thought

Archaeology

Homo sapiens in the Peloponnese

A 210,000-year-old skull fragment found in southern Greece may be the oldest evidence of the presence of modern humans outside Africa

Interview

Paola Marcella Camargo Minoprio: A new front against emerging diseases

The Pasteur Institute in Paris, USP, and FIOCRUZ start partnership under coordination of São Paulo biomedical scientist

Epidemiology

Health in the balance

Spending cuts in primary care could curb decline in premature mortality, modeling shows

Oceanography

Revelations from a submerged archipelago

Beaches, rivers, and mangroves covered a mountain range that was above sea level 40 million years ago

Geography

The dance of the dunes

Researchers collect precise data on the movement of sand dunes in Lençóis Maranhenses

Technology

Systems engineering

Border surveillance

Expected to be fully operational by 2035, SISFRON will monitor nearly 17,000 kilometers of Brazil's terrestrial borders with 10 countries

Agronomy

Rainforest coffee

Ten new robusta coffee cultivars could triple production in the Amazon region

Biomedical engineering 

Affordable treatment

Brazilian-developed software aims to expand access to radiation therapy in developing countries

Humanities

Social sciences

An effective model

CEBRAP celebrates its 50th anniversary with a multifaceted research pipeline and a diversified funding structure

Education

Leveraging knowledge

Laboratory schools affiliated with higher education institutions put scientific knowledge to use in addressing education challenges

PHILOSOPHY

Hidden thinkers

Initiatives in Brazil and abroad aim to recover the work of female philosophers and investigate female underrepresentation in this field of knowledge