New COVID-19 variant identified in Brazilian Amazon spreads faster
A new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, identified in Brazil, is likely more transmissible than its parent strain because of mutations in the spike protein, according to researchers.
The P1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, found in the city of Manaus, has a number of mutations compared to the B.1.1.28 lineage, especially in the spike protein region, says Esther Sabino, one of the researchers involved in its genetic characterization.
This would lead to an increase in its transmissibility, although it is not known currently whether it would also lead to an increased risk of severe infections, researchers say.
COVID-19 variant found in Brazil ‘spreads faster’
Vaccines against COVID-19 arriving in Manaus. Rapid mass vaccination is the best way to prevent the virus from mutating, experts agree. Copyright: Dhyeizo Lemos/Semcom/Fotos, Creative Commons 2.0
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Researchers believe new variant spread from Brazil to Asia
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The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) recently announced a list of research projects selected in a call for proposals to receive R$50 million in funding for COVID-19 research. Of this amount, R$30 million will be drawn from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) for research into treatments, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and the pathogenesis or biological mechanism of the disease. The other R$20 million will be contributed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for use in projects around prevention, containment and healthcare (
see article). The overwhelming response to the call for projects shows that the scientific community in Brazil is eager to advance research about the disease, more than the government can afford. A total of 2,219 project proposals were submitted. If all were approved, these projects would involve R$1.7 billion in funding, 34 times more than available. An evaluation committee recommended a
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Education Bachelor in Romance Languages and Literature from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (1959), PhD from the Paris-Sorbonne University (1968)
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Shall we start by talking about your time as a student? There are three years at the start of my career that I consider decisive for the development of my intellectual and teaching approach: 1960, 1961, and 1962. In 1948, when I was 12, my family moved to Belo Horizonte, where I obtained my degree in romance languages from UFMG [Federal University of Minas Gerais] in 1959. At that time, there were no master’s and PhD programs in Brazil. Generally speaking, you would apply to become a professor at a university and, if approved, you then received the title of doctor. Therefore, if you wanted to continue your training, you had to leave the country. I was interested in French literature and culture and got a CAPES [Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education] scholarship fo
Brazilian Scientists Count Carbon in Amazon Rainforest
January 14, 2021
Forestry student Mateus Sanquetta observes as day laborer Ilandio Pereira da Silva cuts down a tree in the Amazon to measure its carbon levels in Itapua do Oeste, Rondonia state, Brazil November 4, 2020. (REUTERS/Jake Spring)
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A small group of scientists carried
machetes through the Amazon Rainforest. They cut through dense plant life as the mid-morning temperature rose above 38 Celsius.
The group of men and women cut into trees. They dug into the soil and painted words across tree parts.
“It’s destructive, but we only do it for a few trees,” said Carlos Roberto Sanquetta. He is a forestry engineering professor at the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil.