Considering that light is the driving force behind the growth and productivity of reef ecosystems, scientists are interested in understanding the relationship between primary productivity and varying light conditions. In a recent PLoS ONE paper, postdoctoral researcher Yvonne Sawall and her advisor, associate scientist Eric Hochberg (both at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences) present evidence that reefs optimize their photosynthetic capacities to prevailing environmental conditions, such as general availability of light, nutrients, and temperature.

Scientists from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro explored mRNA and protein public databases to unravel hidden meanings of the genetic code. Using a metric derived from mRNA codon composition, they found out how gene sequence choice can predict different aspects of protein synthesis, such as protein production efficiency. The study, published in Nucleic Acids Research, could help the development of new biotechnological applications of genes and proteins.

The exceptional climate-altering capabilities of cattle are mainly due to methane, which they blast into the atmosphere during their daily digestive routine. Cattle urine is a lesser-known climate offender. It produces nitrous oxide (N2O), which has warming power far greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main driver of global warming. A study conducted by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and partners shows that these N2O emissions can be significantly curbed by healthy cattle pastures.

Physically active men who are not overweight but who have a relatively high waist-stature ratio are more likely to develop heart disorders, according to a study by Brazilian researchers.

One of the most important aims of contemporary scientific research is finding out what makes the production of entropy predominate. This aim explains the current interest in studying mesoscopic systems, which are not as small as individual atoms but nevertheless display well-defined quantum behavior.

Brazilian researchers are the first to demonstrate the action of the synthetic compound PRIMA-1 (p53 reactivation with induction of massive apoptosis-1) against amyloid aggregates of mutant p53 protein, structure found in more than half of malignant tumors.