Brazilian researchers analyzed air pollution in metropolitan São Paulo in 2019-20 when mobility restrictions and social distancing applied in the southern hemisphere’s largest city. Even so, the daily average exceeded the World Health Organization’s air quality standard on 75 days.
Optics and Photonics Research Center
Researchers at the University of São Paulo’s São Carlos Institute of Physics developed the technique, which can be used in information processing and cell marking, among many other applications.
The event is being organized by the State University of Campinas with FAPESP’s support. About 80 applicants will be selected. Priority will be given to PhD candidates, early-career researchers, public servants with a master’s degree and Indigenous community leaders with recognized know-how in this field.
This research carried out at the State University of Campinas focused on the use of nanometric optomechanical cavities as bridges between superconducting circuits and optical fibers, with applications in computing and quantum communications.
Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center
Infection by SARS-CoV-2 can suppress the expression of mitochondrial genes involved in production of ATP cell fuel in many vital organs. The discovery paves the way to a search for strategies to restore mitochondrial function.
Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture
The Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON) is a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) supported by FAPESP and hosted by the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP). It was officially launched on November 17 and aims to make food, fiber and energy productivity part of the solution to the climate crisis.
Hosted by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), the new center will establish Agricultural Technology Districts in which to conduct research, development and innovation activities in emerging technologies. The initiative has the potential to reach 14,000 small and medium rural properties.
Center for Research and Development of Functional Materials
The device, which combines magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles, was designed at the Center for Development of Functional Materials, a research center supported by FAPESP and hosted by the Federal University of São Carlos.
Albeit less lethal than synthetic insecticides, this fungus-based substance is not detected by social insects and can spread spores to entire nests, threatening the survival of species that play a key role in pest control and pollination.
Results of tests with the substance pave the way for the development of medications or specific vaccines against zika, for which there is currently no treatment. The number of cases rose 20% year on year in the first seven months of 2023.
Scientists at the State University of Campinas analyzed samples taken at 15 points in the basin comprising the Piracicaba, Capivari and Jundiaí Rivers, and detected 45 contaminants, including compounds from agricultural, industrial and household effluents not yet regulated by Brazilian legislation.
A study conducted in Brazil analyzed marine sediments to investigate gas exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere in the recent past. The researchers concluded that a rise in the temperature of the South Atlantic caused a release of CO2 trapped at the bottom of the Southern Ocean.
Technology developed by a startup supported by FAPESP has been used to improve the performance of athletes like soccer goalkeeper Ederson, who plays for Manchester City and Brazil’s national side, and to reduce the number of accidents caused by human error in the petrochemical and meatpacking industries.
The study by researchers at the University of São Paulo also shows that genetic engineering techniques need to be improved in order to increase ethanol production without expanding crop acreage, a strategy considered crucial to the effort to cope with climate change.
Called SpiNTec, the vaccine can induce a more lasting immune response and should be more effective than vaccines currently available in Brazil against variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to the leader of the local vaccine development project, who took part in the FAPESP 2023 School in Exact and Natural Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
