Issue # 93 _ November 2003
S&T Policy
genetic engineering
The battle of the transgenics
Controversy about RR soybeans heats debate about biotechnology
By Claudia Iziqueimportation
Positive balance
Bitter measures in 2002 have allowed FAPESP to resume investments in 2003
By Maria da Graça MascarenhasScience
Epidemiology
Antivirus Fortresses
High security laboratories give the country autonomy in research into emergent diseases
By Carlos Fioravantiastrophysics
Before the storm
Ultrarapid radiation pulses precede gigantic particle jets launched by the Sun
paleontology
Wings from the past
Fossils of a mini-condor and a giant bird reconstitute the prehistory of winged beings in Brazil
By Marcos Pivettaenvironment
Hidden wealth in the backlands
Diversity of specific species and particular phenomena are undoing prejudices about the Caatinga
By Verônica Falcãoethology
The webs of intelligence
Capacity for memorizing information enables spiders to perfect their instinctive hunting habits
By Ricardo ZorzettoTechnology
Physics
Radical sterilization
Microorganisms are eliminated with plasma-based equipment at a low temperature
By Samuel Antenortelecommunications
Fibers under examination
Company produces equipment that monitors optic network devices for the foreign market
By Samuel AntenorEnergy
The force of the current
Hydraulic turbine takes electricity to isolated riverine communities
Humanities
History
Chica da Silva without an X
Book shows that the myth of the slave-queen hides the hypocrisy of Brazilian racial democracy