SciELO Brasil remains the leader among scientific publication portals

By Elton Alisson

Agência FAPESP – Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) Brasil continues to be the leader among the largest free, open access portals of scientific information worldwide.

This title follows the release of the new Ranking Web of World Repositories, known as Webometrics, which measures the visibility of repositories of scientific information on the main internet search engines.

Source and Photo: Agência FAPESP, March 28th, 2012
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RIO+20 expected to focus on inclusive green economy

By Fábio de Castro

Agência FAPESP – The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20), to be held in Brazil this June, will not have the same legislative character as ECO-92, whose legacy permanently transformed the world’s perspective on the environment. However, RIO+20 could have a world impact of similar magnitude to ECO-92 if it manages to overcome the challenge of integrating the three pillars of sustainable development in a balanced manner. These pillars correspond to environmental, economic and social considerations.

Source and Photo: FAPESP, March 28th, 2012
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Research seeks to produce enzymes for whitening cellulose

By Flora Serra

Agência FAPESP – Enzymes are among the most remarkable biomolecules. They are proteins that possess catalytic properties to accelerate chemical reactions that occur inside and outside of organisms. Enzymes have been used extensively, including by the pharmaceutical industry, to increase the efficiency of processes or reduce the costs and environmental impacts of some chemical compounds.

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Source and Photo: Agência Fapesp, March 21st, 2012
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Productivity Is a Poor Predictor of Plant Species Richness

Science – Debate over the productivity-richness relationship (PRR) has been strongly influenced by the way that scientific motives influence how theories are evaluated. Analyses of how scientists participate in the process of theory maturation (1) point out that attachment to particular explanations can result in a tendency to overlook inadequacies and contradictions.

Source – Science, March 23rd, 2012
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Brazil Soars in Clean Energy Rankings

By Robin Yapp

Renewable Energy World – There is an old joke that says Brazil is the country of the future – and always will be. But with rapid economic growth, the government claiming that some 40 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the past decade and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on the horizon, it seems the joke is about to fall flat. Brazil’s time has arrived and the country of sun, sea and samba is keen to showcase itself to the world as a positive example of how to exploit renewable energy sources as well as how to perform on the football pitch.

Source and Photo: Renewable Energy World, September 28th, 2011
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Co-products and biomass waste are raw materials for chemicals products

Embrapa Agroenergy – – In the last years, considerable effort has been expended for the use of co-products and waste processes to convert biomass to add value to productive chains and reduce potential environmental impacts.

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Earth Warming Faster Than Expected

Science – Results of climate simulations that best match observations since 1960 (those depicted in darker shades of blue) suggest that global average temperature in 2050 will be between 1.4°C and 3°C warmer than the global average measured between 1961 and 1990.
By 2050, global average temperature could be between 1.4°C and 3°C warmer than it was just a couple of decades ago, according to a new study that seeks to address the largest sources of uncertainty in current climate models. That’s substantially higher than estimates produced by other climate analyses, suggesting that Earth’s climate could warm much more quickly than previously thought.

Source: Science, March 25th, 2012
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Agricultural biodiversity: Banking against Doomsday

The Economist – Opened in 2008, the Svalbard vault is a backup for the world’s 1,750 seed banks, storehouses of agricultural biodiversity. To illustrate the need for it, the Philippines’ national seed bank was destroyed by fire in January, six years after it was damaged by flooding. Those of Afghanistan and Iraq were destroyed in recent wars. Should the conflict in Syria reach that country’s richest store, in Aleppo, the damage would now be less. Some 110,000 Syrian seed samples are now in the Svalbard vault, out of around 750,000 samples in all. “When I see this,” says Mr Fowler, looking lovingly at his latest consignment, “I just think, ‘thank goodness, they’re safe.”

Source and Photo: The Economist, March 10th, 2012

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Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

Science (Letter) – We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular. All citizens should understand some basic scientific facts. There is always some uncertainty associated with scientific conclusions; science never absolutely proves anything. When someone says that society should wait until scientists are absolutely certain before taking any action, it is the same as saying society should never take action. For a problem as potentially catastrophic as climate change, taking no action poses a dangerous risk for our planet.

Source: Science
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American Farmers ‘Amazed’ by Brazilian Agriculture

Farm Futures – “It knocked my socks off,” says Karen Furst, who owns 4,000 acres of farmland in Colorado and Kansas. “Certainly Brazil is a force to be reckoned with in contemporary competition. I expected them to be quite a few years behind us, but they seem neck-and-neck with U.S. agriculture.”

Source and Photo: Farm Futures, February 24th, 2012
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