Tag: universidade

Paulo Rebêlo 25 August 2004 Source: SciDev.Net [RECIFE] Inspectors from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture have destroyed twelve specimens of marine rays that had been borrowed from an institute in Spain, alleging that they lacked the necessary paperwork to be brought into the country — and refusing to postpone their action to allow such paperwork to be prepared. Similar events have occurred in the past, leading to growing concern among Brazilian researchers that such actions will make it more difficult to borrow biological samples from foreign scientists and their institutions. The specimens were rare African rays belonging to the Spanish Institute of Oceanography that had been borrowed by Marcelo Carvalho, an evolutionary biologist from the São Paulo University (USP). Three belonged to uncatalogued species. Carvalho had been attending a workshop in Spain sponsored by the Spanish government and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, at which more than 50 specialists had gathered to put together a guide of marine fauna in the African west coast. Inspectors seized the fish on Carvalho’s re-entry into Brazil, claiming that they lacked the required paperwork from Brazil’s Sanitary Department. Carvalho and friends from State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) went to the Ministry of

Paulo Rebêlo 15 July 2004 Source: SciDev.Net [RECIFE] Researchers in Brazil are attempting to create genetically modified cows whose milk could be used to produce drugs to treat blood disorders such as haemophilia, an inherited disease which results in blood not clotting properly. If successful, these would be the first transgenic animals with medical applications to have been created in Brazil. The scientists expect their first transgenic cow to be born within three years. It will carry a human gene for a protein that encourages blood clotting. This protein will then be extracted from the cow’s milk for use in drug development, a process that could take five years. “It’s much easier to extract this type of material from milk,” says project coordinator Rodolfo Rumpf. The entire process consists of three stages: embryo production, genetic modification of embryo cells, and transfer of modified embryos into cows that will act as ‘surrogate mothers’. Rumpf says he expects to obtain the transgenic embryos this year and transfer them to cows some time next year. According to José Manuel Cabral Dias, head of biotechnology and genetic resources at Embrapa, the ministry of agriculture’s research institution, the programme began eight months ago and is

Paulo Rebêlo 25 June 2004 Source: SciDev.Net Brazil has announced a programme that is intended to make it easier to import scientific equipment and materials into the country. Called ‘easy science import’ (importa fácil ciência), the programme will attempt to meet demands from researchers to reduce the amount of bureaucracy that is involved in bringing scientific equipment into the country (see Red tape on imports ‘is stifling Brazilian research’). Under the programme, scientists who register with the Council of Scientific and Technological Development will be able to take advantage of financial and administrative benefits — such as exemption from import fees and taxes — that are currently enjoyed by non-profit institutions. According to the council, any scientist attached to a research institution or centre will be eligible, and about 10,000 students holding scholarships from the council have been automatically registered. The maximum value of scientific equipment that can be imported has been raised from US$3,000 to US$10,000. And the process will be further streamlined by the fact that the postal authorities will handle the customs paperwork for imported goods, subsequently delivering equipment to the scientists who have ordered it. Brazil’s minister of science and technology, Eduardo Campos, believes that, as

Paulo Rebêlo 16 June 2004 Source: SciDev.Net Brazil has opened a DNA bank to preserve genetic material of its endangered plant life. Its goal is to help protect rare plants threatened by extinction in a country that has the world’s greatest variety of plant species. The DNA bank, which is based at the Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden) in Rio de Janeiro, employs five researchers. They plan to collect at least 1,000 plant species each year to ‘deposit’ in the bank. Samples of specimens will be dried out and have DNA samples extracted, after which they will be frozen and stored. Plants in several areas of Brazil are currently under threat. Perhaps the most dramatic decline in plant diversity has occurred along Brazil’s coast, especially in the southeast, where a large area of botanically-distinct forest — termed ‘Atlantic forest’ — once existed. After decades of mining and urban growth, only one per cent of the original forest remains. But the Amazon forest, in northern Brazil, which holds the greatest number of plant species in the country, is also threatened by deforestation. A report published last year by Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPA) says that 25,000 sq km of forest

Paulo Rebêlo 20 February 2004 Source: SciDev.Net [RECIFE] Brazilian scientists are campaigning to reduce the bureaucracy involved in bringing scientific equipment into the country. In a declaration to be presented shortly to the ministry of science and technology, more than 300 Brazilian researchers state that “countless scientists have been waiting for years to receive equipment. Customs policies produce a lot of bureaucracy just to obtain a few microlitres or a simple reagent”. The scientists call for new customs procedures that simplify and reduce the cost of bringing equipment and reagents into the country. Import taxes on scientific equipment should be abolished, and systems should be put in place to ensure that all equipment takes no more than 24 hours to pass through customs, they say. According to Stevens Kastrup Rehen of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the US-based Scripps Research Institute, delays are so severe that by the time scientists receive reagents the chemicals have often expired. “And when we get our hands on equipment, it’s already outdated,” he says. “Fees to import and store equipment aren’t cheap and, what’s worse, they are being paid with government money as part of research grants,” adds Rehen, who currently