Health Brazil  BRASIL 10/07/2014

Intermittent fasting deregulates the cerebral mechanism for controlling hunger

The experiment was conducted on rats by researchers at the University of São Paulo; findings were published in the journal 'Endocrinology'

Diets that alternate between cycles of prolonged fasting and regular eating are capable of preventing excessive weight gain but may also cause undesirable metabolic changes, such as deregulating the brain mechanisms that control appetite.

Una rata Wistar. Foto: UGR.
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Nutrition Colombia  ANTIOQUIA 09/07/2014

UA launches strategy to protect Uraba estuaries

Often called natural nurseries of the sea, estuaries are important natural places as they are critical for the continued survival of fish and other forms of aquatic life, birds, mammals and reptiles

Fish in their early development stages (eggs and larvae) are extremely vulnerable to predation and become food for a wide variety of aquatic species. So they are usually found in areas that provide them food and protection from predators. The Atrato River flows into the Caribbean Sea through more than 15 tributaries across the regions of Antioquia and Chocó, northwestern Colombia. “Mangroves are among the most common forms of estuarine habitats, however many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including arracachales and eneales, which are a type of grass commonly found in soft-sediment areas,” says UA biologist Tatiana Correa.

Estuario, peces y pescadores: equilibrio esencial en el delta del Atrato. Foto: cortesía grupos GEOC e Ictiología.
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Social Sciences Chile  ATACAMA 07/07/2014

Dynamical Star-Forming Gas Interaction Witnessed by ALMA

A research team led by Kazuki Tokuda and Toshikazu Onishi at Osaka Prefecture University conducted ALMA observations of a high-density gas cloud called MC27/L1521F in the constellation Taurus

Dynamical interaction of star-forming gas was found in a star-forming region by observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This is a remarkable observation result that disproves a conventional assumption that stars are formed by slow contraction of gas clouds.

Fig. 2: Ilustración del centro del núcleo de la nube molecular MC27 basada en los resultados de observación de ALMA. Créditos: NAOJ
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Social Sciences Brazil  BRASIL 04/07/2014

Astronomers develop new model to explain the formation of Mars

International study led by Brazilian researchers analyzes the density of the cloud that formed the Solar System to explain the size of the Red Planet

Models of formation of the Solar System’s rocky planets developed in the past two decades have been successful in explaining the origin of Venus and Earth, which are similar in size, as well as that of Mercury, which has only 5% of the Earth’s mass.

Marte.
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Nutrition Panama  PANAMÁ 02/07/2014

Vines choke a forest's ability to capture carbon

As abandoned agricultural land in the tropics is taken over by forests, scientists expect these new forests to mop up industrial quantities of atmospheric carbon

Tropical forests are a sometimes underappreciated asset in the battle against climate change. They cover seven percent of land surface yet hold more than 30 percent of Earth’s terrestrial carbon. As abandoned agricultural land in the tropics is taken over by forests, scientists expect these new forests to mop up industrial quantities of atmospheric carbon. New research by Smithsonian scientists shows increasingly abundant vines could hamper this potential and may even cause tropical forests to lose carbon.
 

Las lianas sofocan la capacidad del bosque para capturar carbono. FOTO: STRI.
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Health Costa Rica  COSTA RICA 30/06/2014

Psychological aspects that influence soccer players’ performance in Costa Rica

A study with elite athletes of Costa Rica, most of them soccer players, shows the importance of taking into consideration psychological and social aspects when planning the trainings

Millions of eyes are set on the soccer players who are participating in Brazil World Cup. They are very talented players with great physical qualities; however, their success depends very much on their capacity of obtaining the best performance. Definitely, Costa Rica is one of the teams which has accomplished it, because according to FIFA rank, it occupies a modest 34 position; nevertheless, it is the greatest revelation of the Cup because it occupies the first position in a group in which it had to confront Uruguay, Italy and England, three World Cup champions. Before the World Cup started, ten Costa Rican soccer players participated, with many other elite athletes, in a research about the aspects related to performance and recovery, a research which showed that not only physical questions are important but also the psychological ones.

Pruebas a un deportista en la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. Foto: Braulio Sánchez.
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Nutrition Panama  PANAMÁ 27/06/2014

Beetle Genus named for STRI'S Don Windsor

STRI’s Donald Windsor was recently placed one branch higher on the taxonomy tree with a genus named after him

Some people are honored with the name of a species. STRI’s Donald Windsor was recently placed one branch higher on the taxonomy tree with a genus named after him. In an exhaustive review of a tribe of cassidinae beetles, taxonomist Lukáš Sekerka reclassified three species in a new genus, Windsorispa.

Escarabajo del género Windsorispa. FOTO: STRI.
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Technology Spain  MADRID 26/06/2014

R+D to develop an intelligent new high performance electric motorcycle

The “intelligence” of Bultaco’s new electric motorcycle is being developed on the south side of Madrid

The “intelligence” of Bultaco’s new electric motorcycle is being developed on the south side of Madrid, in Science Park of the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), where the company has established its R + D center to work on new products and more innovative technology.

Moto inteligente. Foto: UC3M.
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Nutrition Brazil  BRASIL 26/06/2014

Research identifies new pathway in fungal metabolism

With participation from Roberto Berlinck of the University of São Paulo, the study has been published in the journal Nature

Fungal metabolism has been used by humans since pre-historic times in the making of such foods as bread, cheese, beer, and wine. However, details about the mechanisms involved in these processes have not yet been adequately studied.

Identifican en un estudio internacional una nueva vía en el metabolismo de hongos.(foto: R. Berlinck)
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Nutrition Colombia  ANTIOQUIA 25/06/2014

Described a new species of orchid in Colombia

‘Cyclopogon antioquiensis’ is the name given by scientists of the new species located in the West Andes in the Antioquia department

Scientists of the University of Gdańsk (Poland) have described a new species of orchid in Colombia that was named Cyclopogon antioquiensis. Until now, its presence has only been known in the West Andes in the Antioquia department, where it grows at about 1.350 meters of altitude above sea level.

Orquídea del género Cyclopogon. FOTO: Dalton Holland Baptista.
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Nutrition Colombia  COLOMBIA 23/06/2014

Almizclillo would be a natural antihypertensive source

According to a UNal Pharmacy Department research project

According to a UNal Pharmacy Department research project an almizclillo extract could be used as a natural source against hypertension and with cardioprotective effects. Also known as Croton schiedeanus Schltd, almizclillo has a popular tradition in Colombia, mostly in regions such as the municipality of Tocaima, in the Province of Cundinamarca, where it is commonly used for high blood pressure.

Almizclillo. FOTO: UN.
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Social Sciences Spain  BURGOS 20/06/2014

'Science' publishes study on new fossil human skulls from Spanish site

No other site in the world has yielded so many skulls of an extinct human species

The study focuses on a collection of seventeen fossil human skulls excavated from an archaeological site known as the Sima de los Huesos (Pit of the Bones) in the Atapuerca hill in northern Spain and comes 21 years after the announcement of the first three skulls from the site was published in Nature in 1993.

Cráneo número 17, la joya de la colección. Crédito: Javier Trueba.
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Health Brazil  BRASIL 20/06/2014

Study confirms how the body regulates high levels of CO2 in the blood

In experiments published in the journal Experimental Physiology, Brazilian researchers have confirmed the importance of a specific group of neurons found in the retrotrapezoid nucleus

In a recently published study in the journal Experimental Physiology, Brazilian researchers have confirmed the importance of a specific group of neurons found in a region of the brain known as the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) in detecting changes in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and in modulating the activity of the neuronal groups that control respiratory activity.

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Nutrition Spain  SALAMANCA 19/06/2014

New data about the connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic

The magazine ‘Science’ publishes the first results of a research at the Gulf of Cádiz in which José Abel Flores and Francisco Sierro of the University of Salamanca participated

Between November 2011 and January 2012, the most important oceanography research ship in the world, the Joides Resolution, sailed through Gulf of Cádiz and the coast situated in the South of Portugal searching for marine sediments which could help to explain the history of water exchanges between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, a phenomenon with numerous implications in the study of climate. Since then, scientists have been analyzing data and, as a result, the magazine Science publishes this expedition’s first results, in which José Abel Flores and Francisco Sierro, researchers of the University of Salamanca participated.

Francisco Sierro, a la izquierda, y José Abel Flores, bajan del Joides en Lisboa.
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Health Spain  VALLADOLID 16/06/2014

New methods to assess ocular optical quality developed

The Sensors, Instrumentation and Systems Development Center (CD6) of the Polytechnic University of Catalunya cooperates with IOBA in this line

The Visual Optics, Physiologic Optics Research Group or Visual Biophotonics of Sensors, Instrumentation and Systems Development Center (CD6) of the Polytechnic University of Catalunya has been working for more than10 years in its main research line, the ocular optical quality assessment. It is a multidisciplinary field of which researchers with different specializations take part, and it is dealt with different approaches.

El Grupo de Investigación de �ptica Visual, �ptica Fisiológica o Visual Biophotonics del Centro de Desarrollo de Sensores, Instrumentación y Sistemas (CD6) diseña nuevos métodos para medir la calidad óptica ocular. FOTO: Mikel Aldaba.

 

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Nutrition Brazil  BRASIL 16/06/2014

Genomes of two spiders offer new information about venom and silk production

The scientists have sequenced the genomes of a Brazilian and an African spider, data that have pharmacological applications in the case of venom, and in the field of biomaterials in the case of silk.

Danish, Chinese and Saudi researchers have sequenced the genome of two spider species: the Brazilian one called tarantula with “white knees” Acanthoscurria geniculado and the African spider called terciopelo Stegodyphus mimosarum. The data have contributed with information about genes and proteins related to venom and silk production, information which could be applied in the pharmacological field in the case of venom and in the biomaterials field in the case of silk.

Araña Stegodyphus mimosarum. FOTO: Equipo científico encabezado por Trine Bilde.
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Education Spain  ESPAÑA 16/06/2014

Only 16% of Ph.D.s work in the private sector in Spain

Half the OECD average

Spain produces Ph.D.s at levels comparable to other countries in its situation. However, a minimum percentage of these degree holders work in the private sector, which entails problems for funding research. This is one of the conclusions of the study El empleo de los doctores en España y su relación con la I+D+i y los estudios de doctorado (Employment of Ph.D.s in Spain and its relation to R+D+I and doctoral studies),carried out by professors at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and promoted by the Conference of Social Councils.

Presentación del informe sobre los doctores españoles. Foto: Agustín Iglesias/UC3M.
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Nutrition Brazil  BRASIL 16/06/2014

Fossil crocodile discovered with remains of another crocodile in its abdominal cavity

A finding made in northeastern São Paulo State indicates that the reptile may have devoured related species

A previously unknown specimen of fossil crocodile, with the remains of another crocodyliform specimen in its abdominal cavity, has been discovered in the General Salgado region of northeastern of São Paulo State. This is the first time that the abdominal contents of a fossil crocodile have been unequivocally identified, proving that these animals sometimes preyed on individuals of other species of the same group. A detailed description of the finding has been published in the scientific journal PLOS One.

El hallazgo realizado en el noroeste del estado de São Paulo indica que el reptil eventualmente devoraba individuos de especies emparentadas.
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Nutrition Panama  PANAMÁ 13/06/2014

New orchid species located in Panamá

'Lophiaris silverarum' was formally described by Germán Carnevali, a Mexico-based orchid expert

Since she was child, Katia Silvera would hike the remote forests of Panama and collect plants with her father, Gaspar, who operates a small orchid company. On one such hike about eight years ago, the father-daughter team collected an orchid that turned out to be new to science. It was just named in their honor.

Lophiaris silverarum. FOTO: STRI.
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Technology Mexico  MÉXICO 13/06/2014

Biodegradable coronary stent developed

A Tecnológico de Monterrey Engineering Sciences PhD candidate has developed an alternative for treating coronary heart disease using a stent made from magnesium, a material with biodegradable features, allowing the implant to be naturally absorbed

Erika García is working on the Coronary Stent Laser Cutting project under the guidance of Dr. Ciro Rodríguez, Director of the Monterrey Campus’ Design and Technology Center for Innovation. According to data released by the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of disability and premature death worldwide.

(De izq. a der.) Ing. Erika García López, Dr. Juansethi Ramsés Ibarra Medina, Dr. Jordi Delgado Sanglas, y Dr. Ciro Rodríguez González.
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