One of the main challenges of second-generation biofuel production is identifying enzymes produced by microorganisms for use in a “cocktail” of enzymes to catalyze biomass hydrolysis, in which the enzymes act together to break down the carbohydrates in sugarcane trash and bagasse, for example, and convert them into simple sugars for fermentation. A group of…

Following the isolation of graphene in 2004, a race began to synthesize new two-dimensional materials. 2D materials are single-layer substances with a thickness of between one atom and a few nanometers (billionths of a meter). They have unique properties linked to their reduced dimensionality and play a key role in the development of nanotechnology and…

The use of particle accelerators is not confined to basic research in high-energy physics. Large-scale accelerators and gigantic devices, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), are used for this purpose, but relatively small accelerators are used in medicine (diagnostic imaging, cancer treatment), industry (food sterilization, cargo scanning, electronic engineering), and various types of investigation…

Production of second-generation (2G) ethanol from sugarcane requires enzymatic hydrolysis, in which enzymes from microorganisms act together to break down and convert the carbohydrates in sugarcane straw and bagasse into sugars capable of undergoing fermentation. Understanding the genetic mechanisms that regulate the control and production of hydrolytic enzymes by microorganisms is considered fundamental to improving…

Since the pioneering description made in 1758 by Swedish naturalist and father of taxonomy Carl Nilsson Linnaeus (1707-1778), there was officially one single silky anteater species. This short-snouted, pigmy-sized anteater would then be known for its scientific name, Cyclopes didactyla, after its inclusion on the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Linnaeus’ magnum opus responsible for describing…