That Proved Relativity

WWW.REVISTAPESQUISA.FAPESP.BR/EN 2019_ISSUE 3 

2019_ISSUE 3 PESQUISA FAPESP

THE ECLIPSE THAT PROVED RELATIVITY One hundred years ago, changes in the path of starlight recorded in Brazil and Africa during a total eclipse of the sun proved Einstein’s famous theory for the first time

Archaeological Drauzio Varella The Butantan Wind power Researchers sites in Maranhão defends the Brazilian dengue vaccine in Brazil could challenge show evidence health system leads to an potentially supply stereotypes of ancient stilt- and discusses his international triple the current regarding health -house villages media work partnership energy demand and migration DECEMBER 2019

Eclipse record of 1919

3 Letter from 26 Study looks at why 48 Dry and wet forests 70 Motor and the editor Brazil is less innovative naturally regenerate generator company and creates fewer patents in different ways WEG manufactured than other countries electromagnets COVER 51 Study supports for the Sirius Project 30 USP and UNICAMP theory on how dense 4 The 1919 phenomenon use the internet to share matter interacts was also observed by research infrastructure with strong HUMANITIES expeditions from Brazil gravitational fields and the USA 34 New efforts to 74 One thousand highlight women’s 52 Analyses show how years ago, an ancient 10 Astrophysicist Daniel contributions to science Portinari created and tribe lived in stilt Kennefick discusses the modified his paintings houses in the importance of the event, lowlands of present- as seen from Sobral SCIENCE 56 Gold nanoparticles -day Maranhão in the state of Ceará coated with 38 Pharmaceutical platinum could 80 Criminal giant MSD strikes a deal improve fuel-cell investigations and INTERVIEW worth up to US$ 100 efficiency lawsuits help fight million with Butantan corruption 14 Oncologist Drauzio Institute for its Varella uses every dengue fever vacine TECHNOLOGY 84 Multidisciplinary means available to teams challenge answer health questions 43 São Paulo-based 58 Brazilian wind stereotypes institute manufactures power could provide surrounding health 100 million doses of nine three times as much and migration S&T POLICY vaccines each year energy as the current national demand 22 Initiatives encourage 44 Brazilian biologist knowledge exchange Alexandre Antonelli 64 The myths and COVER programs among named Director misunderstandings A solar eclipse seen from Brazil Brazilian scientists of Science at surrounding and Africa 100 years ago helped prove the theory of relativityZ in the USA Kew Gardens, UK niobium metal LETTER FROM THE EDITOR SÃO PAULO RESEARCH FOUNDATION

PRESIDENT Marco Antonio Zago

VICE-PRESIDENT Ronaldo Aloise Pilli

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Carmino Antonio de Souza, Ignácio Maria Poveda Velasco, João Fernando Gomes de Oliveira, Liedi Legi Bariani Bernucci, Fortune and chance Marilza Vieira Cunha Rudge, Mayana Zatz, Mozart Neves Ramos, Pedro Luiz Barreiros Passos, Pedro Wongtschowski, Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani

EXECUTIVE BOARD Alexandra Ozorio de Almeida PRESIDENT DIRECTOR Carlos Américo Pacheco EDITOR IN CHIEF SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Fernando Menezes de Almeida

cience evolves in a nonlinear man- The oncologist Drauzio Varella is, ISSN 1519-8774 ner. Subject to mishaps and chance, without a doubt, the best-known doc- S its path is much more lively and tor in Brazil. Starting in radio in the EDITORIAL BOARD Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz (President), Caio Túlio Costa, interesting than one might presume. Fre- 1980s, Varella went on to television, Eugênio Bucci, Fernando Reinach, José Eduardo Krieger, Luiz Davidovich, Marcelo Knobel, Maria Hermínia Tavares de quently, there is a good story behind im- where millions of viewers all over the Almeida, Marisa Lajolo, Maurício Tuffani and Mônica Teixeira portant discoveries. One of these stories country watch his reports on Sunday SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Luiz Henrique Lopes dos Santos (President), happened one hundred years ago and evenings. Varella also developed a pas- Américo Martins Craveiro, Anamaria Aranha Camargo, Ana Maria Fonseca Almeida, Carlos Américo Pacheco, had Brazil as its stage (page 4). sion for writing. The doctor has a weekly Carlos Eduardo Negrão, Douglas Eduardo Zampieri, Euclides de Mesquita Neto, Fabio Kon, Francisco Antônio Bezerra In 1919, Albert Einstein was not yet column in the press and is the author Coutinho, Francisco Rafael Martins Laurindo, Hernan Chaimovich, José Roberto de França Arruda, José Roberto the renowned physicist that he would of many novels, including a bestseller Postali Parra, Lucio Angnes, Luiz Nunes de Oliveira, Marco Antonio Zago, Marie-Anne Van Sluys, Maria Julia Manso Alves, become. In 1905 and 1915, he published on his work in Carandiru, an infamous Paula Montero, Roberto Marcondes Cesar Júnior, Sérgio Robles Reis Queiroz, Wagner Caradori do Amaral and Walter Colli his special and general theories of rela- prison in São Paulo city, which was de- SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR tivity, respectively. Up until then, physics molished in 2002. Luiz Henrique Lopes dos Santos treated the tridimensionality of space Using various media channels, Varella EDITOR IN CHIEF Alexandra Ozorio de Almeida as independent of time, as unidimen- talks mainly about health-related issues, MANAGING EDITOR Neldson Marcolin sional. Einstein brought all four dimen- without shying away from controversial

EDITORS Fabrício Marques (S&TPolicy), sions together, creating the nondivis- topics. The thread that links all his work Glenda Mezarobba (Humanities), Marcos Pivetta (Science), Carlos Fioravanti and Ricardo Zorzetto (Special editors), ible spacetime model. Gravity, according is the respect for scientific knowledge. Maria Guimarães (Website), Yuri Vasconcelos (Assistant editor) to Einstein’s proposal, is a geometrical Varella’s arguments are based on data REPORTERS Christina Queiroz, Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade property of spacetime. In addition, the from scientific research, complemented COPYWRITERS Jayne Oliveira (Website), Renata Oliveira do Prado (Social media) presence of a body with great mass, such by his ample experience as a doctor. Va- ART Claudia Warrak (Editor), Alexandre Affonso (Infographics as the Sun, bends the fabric of space- rella, 76 years old, runs a private clinic, editor) Felipe Braz (Digital designe), Júlia Cherem Rodrigues and Maria Cecilia Felli (Assistants) time. That effect causes light to change works in a hospital and has been a vol- PHOTOGRAPHER Léo Ramos Chaves its path when passing by the Sun. unteer worker in the state penitentiary IMAGE DATABASE Valter Rodrigues A total eclipse was a perfect opportu- system for the last 25 years. This issue TRANSLATORS Tom Jamieson, Peter David Hunrichs, Kim Jacob, Tiago Van Rheenen nity to prove the bending of light by grav- brings an extensive interview with Va-

COORDINATION AND REVIEW Ricardo Cunha Lay ity proposed by the theory of relativity. rella on many topics, including his pio-

CONTRIBUTORS Ana Paula Campos, Augusto Zambonato, After a few unsuccessful attempts, which neering work in Brazil on the first cases Carla Aranha, Domingos Zaparolli, Eduardo Cesar, Fabio Otubo, Luísa Destri, Mayumi Okuyama, Rafael Garcia, Rômolo, involved an astronomer being arrested as of HIV (page 14). Zé Vicente a suspected spy, among other difficulties, The current issue of Pesquisa FAPESP PRINTER Eskenazi in May 1919, a team of astronomers in So- covers articles published from January bral, Northeastern Brazil, measured the until May 2019 in the Portuguese edition THE REPRINTING OF TEXTS, PHOTOS, ILLUSTRATIONS AND INFOGRAPHICS IN WHOLE OR IN PART, position of stars during a five-minute long of the magazine. Highlights include fea- IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION total eclipse. Another team, sent to the tures on wind farming in Brazil and nio- African island of Principe, experienced bium, an interview with Alex Antonelli, ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT FUSP – FUNDAÇÃO DE APOIO À UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO a cloudy sky. The validation of Einstein’s the Brazilian who is the new scientific PESQUISA FAPESP Rua Joaquim Antunes, no 727, 10o andar, CEP 05415-012, Pinheiros, São Paulo-SP theory opened up a vast area of research director of Kew Gardens, and a feature FAPESP Rua Pio XI, no 1.500, CEP 05468-901, and revealed a dynamic universe where on the success rate of the judiciary in Alto da Lapa, São Paulo-SP spacetime expands, collapses in black combatting corruption. All articles pub- holes and creates waves—the existence lished by Pesquisa FAPESP are available DEPARTMENT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY of gravitational waves, predicted by the in English on our website: www.revista- SÃO PAULO STATE GOVERNMENT physicist, was verified in 2016. pesquisa.fapesp.br/en.

PESQUISA FAPESP | 3 Townsfolk gathered at the Patrocínio plaza in Sobral, northeastern Brazil, ahead of the eclipse

o solar eclipse has been as momentous in the from possible surprises, the expeditions assumed that history of science as the one that occurred on one of three possible results would occur: the path of May 29, 1919. That year, two separate expe- light would be uninfluenced by gravitation, it would be N ditions of British astronomers were sent to deflected as predicted by calculations based on Isaac photograph the eclipse and take measurements: one Newton’s (1643–1727) law of universal gravitation, or it expedition voyaged to Sobral, an inland town in north- would bend according to Albert Einstein’s (1879–1955) eastern Brazil, and the other travelled to the island of general theory of relativity by approximately double Príncipe, then a Portuguese possession, off the coast of the amount calculated with Newtonian mechanics. Six West Africa. Their mission was to determine whether months later, photos and calculations published by the starlight is bent as it traverses a region with a strong British astronomers proved Einstein right. gravitational field, in this case the limb of the Sun, and The expeditions provided the first experimental evi- to measure the angle of any detected deflection. Apart dence for the general theory of relativity that Einstein

4 | DECEMBER 2019 COVER

When light BENT

Observations of the 1919 solar eclipse from Brazil and Africa provided the first experimental proof of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity

Marcos Pivetta and Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade

PUBLISHED IN APRIL 2019

had published four years prior, which suggested that on Newton’s theory of gravity. For decades, however, matter and energy cause warps in the spacetime fabric astrophysicists, physicists, and historians of science and that they could also deflect the path of light travel- debated whether the data from the 1919 observations ing through it. In lending support to Einstein’s ideas, were sufficiently robust to endorse Einstein’s ideas, as the results from the eclipse expeditions gave humanity indeed they eventually proved to be. Some critics argued a new understanding of the universe. They also helped that the measurements had not been accurate enough make the German physicist one of the most respected to decide which of the two theories was right; others and celebrated scientists of the twentieth century. contended that British astronomer Arthur Stanley Ed- Today, one hundred years after the 1919 eclipse, there dington (1882–1944), the then director of the University

NATIONAL OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE OBSERVATORY NATIONAL is a consensus in the scientific community that gen- of Cambridge Observatory who headed up the Príncipe eral relativity more accurately predicts the trajectory expedition, had deliberately discarded the data from the

PHOTOS (deflection) of starlight than the calculations based Sobral observations that appeared to support Newton’s

PESQUISA FAPESP | 5 Chasing stars The first decades of the twentieth century saw several attempts by astronomers to capture the deflection of starlight, largely without success

1916

The Argentine Observatory managed to record a solar eclipse in Tucacas, Venezuela, but no photograph was usable for 1911 1912 1914 proving Einstein’s ideas

German astronomer Erwin Researchers from the The outbreak of Finlay-Freundlich Argentine Observatory led by World War I thwarted attempted to measure the Charles Perrine planned to Finlay-Freundlich’s deflection with record a solar eclipse from the second attempt to ZÉ VICENTE ZÉ photographic plates of a vantage point of the Serra da record an eclipse, this solar eclipse taken at the Mantiqueira highlands in Minas time in Crimea, Russia Lick Observatory in the US Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Bad weather prevented them from taking any photographs ILLUSTRATION

theory. “Eddington was not only an enthusiast Daniel Kennefick, of the University of Arkansas, of Einstein’s ideas, but was keen to experimen- also dismisses claims that Eddington skewed tally verify his theory as a gesture toward a rec- the data in Einstein’s favour. “Not only was Ed- onciliation between the United Kingdom (UK) dington not in Sobral and therefore not person- and Germany after World War I [1914–1918],” ally involved in taking the measurements, but says physicist Luiz Nunes de Oliveira of the São he also had no hand in analysing the data from Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of that end of the expedition. Those analyses were São Paulo (IFSC-USP). “But there is no evidence done by Frank Dyson [1868–1939] and his assis- that the data was fudged.” tants at the Greenwich Observatory in London,” Irish astrophysicist and historian of science argues Kennefick, who is launching a book on ANA PAULA CAMPOS PAULA ANA

WHY LIGHT BENDS INFOGRAPHIC

NIGHT ECLIPSE MEASUREMENT

Apparent Apparent position position Arcsecond Deflection Deflection 1,75

EARTH True EARTH True EARTH True position position position

MOON MOON MOON SUN SUN

Starlight travels in a straight line During an eclipse, starlight is deflected as it passes Einstein predicted that light would bend at across the universe until reaching the near the Sun. According to Einstein’s general theory an angle of 1.75 arcseconds, roughly twice Earth, so a star photographed at of relativity, the Sun’s sheer mass causes the the amount that other physicists had night will be seen at its true position spacetime fabric to curve around it, and a light ray predicted using Newton’s law of gravity crossing this region will shift its course century. However, during the course of the nine- teenth century, it was established that light was SOBRAL PRÍNCIPE a form of an electromagnetic wave. “When light came to be understood as a type of wave, rather than matter, it became completely uncertain whether it would be affected by gravity,” says Daniel Vanzella of the São Carlos Institute of Physics at USP (IFSC-USP). “That remained an open question for more than 100 years.” Einstein began to make a name for himself in the scientific community when he introduced a 1918 1919 1922 new conception of space and time in 1905. “With the publication of his special theory of relativ- The Lick Observatory The path of the Photographs of a solar ity, space and time ceased to be understood as team was unable to eclipse that confirmed eclipse made on absolute,” explains astronomer Reinaldo Ramos photograph a solar eclipse Einstein’s predictions Christmas Island in the US because its crossed over the corroborated the data de Carvalho of the Brazilian National Institute equipment had been held equator. The eclipse obtained years earlier for Space Research (INPE) in São José dos Cam- up in Russia since 1914 was observed from at Sobral pos. Einstein posited that space could deform, Sobral and the island shrink, and even collapse, forming black holes, of Príncipe, off the West coast of Africa and that time could expand. However, the initial and incomplete version of his theory still yielded the same value for light deflection as Newtonian SOURCE EARMAN, J. & GLYMOUR, C. RELATIVITY AND ECLIPSES: THE BRITISH ECLIPSE EXPEDITIONS OF 1919 AND THEIR PREDECESSOR gravitation: 0.87 arcseconds. It was only after publishing his theory of general relativity in 1915 that Einstein took his ideas a step further. He proposed that gravity was not a force exert- ed between masses, as Newton described it, but the 100th anniversary of the eclipse (see inter- rather the effect of a property of energy: that of view on page 10). deforming spacetime and everything that moves Star fields—the name astronomers give to dis- across it, even waves, such as light. “Space as crete areas of the sky populated by stars—are con- described by Newton was flat. But in Einstein’s tinually shifting in space. However, the relative general relativity, spacetime is curved near bodies position between individual stars is always the possessing significant energy or mass,” explains same on a small time scale of, say, a few months. physicist George Matsas of the Institute for The- “If we take a photo today and another in three oretical Physics at São Paulo State University months’ time, the stars in a given field line up (IFT-UNESP). After factoring in the assumption perfectly,” explains astronomer Augusto Damineli of spacetime curvature, Einstein’s figure for light of USP. “But around a solar eclipse, the stars will deflection virtually doubled to 1.75 arcseconds. appear to be slightly offset in relation to a photo of the same star field taken at night. The closer a THE WORLD’S EYES ON SOBRAL star is to the Sun, the more its light rays are bent When general relativity was unveiled, astrono- during an eclipse.” This was the predicted but mers from around the world were eager to test not yet experimentally observed effect that the the theory through observation of solar eclipses, British expeditions were able to confirm. which would provide the opportunity to photo- In his book Opticks, first published in 1704, graph stars near the Sun’s corona and determine Newton also suggests that light is bent by grav- whether their light would be deflected due to ity, but provides no calculations for the angle of proximity to the Sun. However, because of bad deflection. According to Newton, gravity is a force weather or difficulties stemming from World War acting between point masses that is proportional I, none succeeded in obtaining data that could to their mass and inversely proportional to the substantiate Einstein’s ideas until the eclipse of square of their separation distance. In Newton’s 1919 (see the timeline on page above). time, the nature of light was unknown. There In mid-1918, researchers at the Brazilian Na- were then two competing hypotheses: that light tional Observatory in Rio de Janeiro, who were consisted of corpuscles (particles) or that it was anticipating an eclipse the following year, deter- a type of a wave. Assuming light to be corpus- mined that Sobral, a small town approximately cular, British astronomer John Michell (1724– 200 kilometres from Fortaleza, would provide 1793) and French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace optimal geographical conditions for observation. (1749–1827) independently calculated the effects Astronomer Henrique Charles Morize (1860– of gravity on light near the end of the eighteenth 1930), the then director of the institution, pre-

PESQUISA FAPESP | 7 of Belém, Pará, where they waited a few weeks as Henrique Morize from the Brazilian National Observatory made arrangements for their arrival in Sobral. By courtesy of the Brazilian government, their gear was waved through customs without inspection, as reported by the British researchers in an article later published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Davidson and Crommelin brought two astro- graphic telescopes coupled to mirror systems known as coelostats, which are mounted such that they can track the Sun’s movement across the sky and reflect the Sun’s image back to the telescope. The main telescope brought from the Royal Greenwich Observatory offered a very wide field of vision, in theory allowing them to photograph a large number of stars around the Sun during the eclipse. The telescope had a 13-inch The 13-inch telescope used by the Sobral expedition to document the eclipse aperture and was mounted to a 16-inch coelostat. A smaller telescope was borrowed from the Brit- ish Jesuit astronomer Aloysius Cortie (1859–1925) pared a detailed report on the region and sent it as a kind of backup, with a 4-inch to scientific institutions around the world, includ- aperture and 8-inch coelostat. ing the Royal Astronomical Society in London. The scientists arrived in Sobral Frank Dyson, president of the society, had been on April 30, 1919, and were wel- exposed to Einstein’s theories through Arthur Although a comed by the then mayor, Jácome Eddington, the institution’s secretary. Edding- de Oliveira. “They then met Colo- ton was then a rising star in the European as- source of nel Vicente Saboya, who offered tronomical community, says historian Matthew controversy, the foreign visitors one of his hous- Stanley, a professor in the Department of His- es,” says physicist Emerson Fer- tory of Science at Harvard. “His work in statis- Eddington’s and reira de Almeida of Vale do Acaraú tical cosmology had established his reputation State University, in Sobral. “The as a creative and talented scientist, and his later Dyson’s observations would be made at work in stellar structure was a crucial element the town’s Jockey Club.” Two oth- in the development of theoretical astrophys- conclusions er expeditions with more modest ics as a field,” Stanley wrote in an article in the were proven equipment, one Brazilian and the journal Isis in 2003. “Both Eddington and Dyson other American, joined the Eng- knew that the May 1919 eclipse would be special,” correct in later lish astronomers a few days later says Oliveira. “The Sun would pass across a large in Sobral, although their measure- cluster of stars in the constellation of Taurus, so decades ments were neither intended nor there would be plenty of bright lights to observe.” later used to verify the validity of The eclipse would provide a window of only a Einstein’s theory of relativity (see few minutes to photograph stars near the Sun’s article on page12). edge, 150 light-years away from Earth (a light- Across the Atlantic, Eddington and his team year equals 9.5 trillion kilometres). had arrived at the port of Santo António in Prín- cipe on April 23, 1919. In their baggage, they car- EYES ON THE SKY ried a telescope borrowed from the Cambridge To determine which theory—Newton’s or Ein- Observatory, similar to the larger one sent to stein’s—was correct, the Royal Astronomical So- Sobral. The day of the eclipse was marked by ciety organized expeditions to regions providing poor weather, and the overcast sky compromised ideal observation conditions. Eddington led an the quality of the images. On some plates, the expedition to the island of Príncipe, 300 kilo- stars appeared clearer, while on other plates they metres off the coast of Africa. The other team, disappeared in the cloudy sky. “That day also consisting of two members of the Greenwich dawned cloudy in Sobral,” says astronomer Car- Observatory—Charles Davidson and Andrew los Veiga of the Center for Astronomy and As- Crommelin—went to Sobral, with Dyson coor- trophysics at the Brazilian National Observatory. dinating the expedition from overseas. “But the clouds gradually began to thin, and the The Greenwich team arrived in Brazil on sky cleared.” Shortly before 9:00 a.m., the moon’s March 23, 1919. They disembarked at the port disk began to slide over the Sun’s, completely

8 | DECEMBER 2019 obscuring it within minutes. The eclipse lasted At Príncipe, due to bad weather, the images of exactly 5 minutes and 13 seconds. many stars were either lost in the diffuse halo cre- The Greenwich team would remain in Sobral ated by the Sun’s light, or they were covered by until July to photograph the same star field at the moon’s disk. Atmospheric turbulence further night without the influence of the Sun’s gravita- compromised the quality of the photographic tional pull. Eddington returned from Príncipe to plates. Despite their suboptimal conditions, Ed- England ahead of the Sobral team and produced dington was able to analyse the eclipse plates images of the same star field in the Oxford sky, and compare them with check plates he took although the comparison plates would have best of the same star field in Oxford. The result was been taken at the site where the eclipse plates a deflection of 1.61 arcseconds, with a margin had been captured. of error of 0.30 arcseconds, slightly lower than Einstein’s prediction. “The greatest weight must DIFFERING RESULTS be attached to those obtained with the 4-inch The astronomers produced three sets of pho- lens at Sobral. From the superiority of the im- tographic plates to measure the deflection of ages and the larger scale of the photographs, it starlight near the Sun’s limb. At Sobral, the main was recognized that these [results] would prove telescope recorded 12 stars and the backup tele- to be the most trustworthy,” Dyson, Eddington, scope recorded 7. The telescope used at Prínci- and Davidson announced in a written statement pe captured five stars. The plates from all three during a meeting of the Royal Astronomical So- revealed some degree of deflection during the ciety in London, on November 6, 1919, declaring eclipse, confirming both Newton’s and Einstein’s that Einstein’s prediction had been confirmed. ideas. However, each of the three instruments While their findings became a source of contro- captured different deflection figures, with -dif versy, Dyson’s and Eddington’s conclusions were ferent error margins. Two agreed with Einstein’s ultimately proven correct. Several other eclipses calculations, but one instrument was closer to were observed over the following decades, and the Newtonian prediction. the resulting measurements consistently pointed The most reliable calculations were derived to a deflection close to Einstein’s. Confirmation from the clearest images of the eclipse—ironi- of his theory helped open new and wide avenues cally, these were obtained with the smaller tele- of research in fields such as physics, astronomy, scope at Sobral. Back in the UK, the team analysed and cosmology. “The German physicist’s ideas the plates and calculated the deflection to be 1.98 found especially fertile ground in Soviet physicist arcseconds (with 0.12 arcseconds of error), more Alexander Friedmann [1888–1925], who, building than Einstein’s figure. All images produced by the on Einstein’s theory, proposed that galaxies were larger telescope at Sobral were blurred or out of moving away from us because spacetime, that focus. “This may have been caused by the effect is, the universe, was expanding,” says Carvalho. of the Sun’s heat on the mirror array,” suggests General relativity also provided the ground- USP physicist Ramachrisna Teixeira. The Sobral work for important concepts in astrophysics, in- team was still able to analyse these poorer-quality cluding black holes (extremely compact regions Photographic plates plates and arrived at a deflection of 0.86, consistent in spacetime where gravity is so strong that not produced by the with predictions based on Newton’s law of gravity. even light can escape it) and gravitational waves— Brazilian team for However, the poor quality of the images led the spectroscopic disturbances in the curvature of spacetime that observations of the British astronomers to discount the larger tele- propagate as waves. Gravitational waves would Sun’s corona scope’s deflection values from their final analysis. only be confirmed in early 2016.n NATIONAL OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE OBSERVATORY NATIONAL

PHOTOS

PESQUISA FAPESP | 9 Members of the eclipse expeditions to Ceará (from the 3rd left): the American Wise, the Brazilian Morize, and In the British the British astronomers Davidson and Crommelin expedition’s shadow ing the Sun and the positions of stars near its edge. Some of the plates were The Sobral eclipse was also observed by scientific recovered and restored by researchers at the Brazilian National Observatory in expeditions from Brazil and the US 2015. The plates, measuring 24 by 18 and 9 by 12 centimeters (cm), were coated with an emulsion consisting of light- sensitive silver salts. They were found in boxes in storage at the Brazilian Na- tional Observatory. After being restored, wo lesser-known expeditions for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the they were digitized and placed on the joined the British team in re- Brazilian National Observatory. internet (bit.ly/2D2hxlW). cording the solar eclipse at So- The Brazilian astronomers set up “Unfortunately, no meaningful conclu- T bral on May 29, 1919. One team their equipment at a plaza in front of sions could be drawn from the images was formed by Brazilians, among them the church of Patrocínio, a distance from produced by the Brazilian team,” says Lélio Gama, Domingos Fernandes da the spot reserved for the British team. Veiga. Astronomy was then incipient Costa, Allyrio Hugueney de Mattos, and The square is now home to an Eclipse as a field in Brazil. “The Brazilian team Teófilo Lee. The team, led by astronomer Museum that opened on May 29, 1999, was unable to derive any relevant infor- Henrique Charles Morize, then director amid celebrations of the 80th anniver- mation from the plates they produced, of the Brazilian National Observatory sary of the eclipse observations in So- and in the end, their contribution was in Rio de Janeiro, arrived in Sobral on bral. The facility has been closed since limited to providing logistical support May 9 that year. The expedition’s ob- 2014 for repairs but was due to reopen in to the English team and making climate jective was to conduct spectroscopic early May, in time to celebrate the 100th observations,” said the researcher. observations of the Sun’s corona by anniversary of the eclipse. The museum The other expedition to observe the producing photographic plates similar features replicas of planets and natural eclipse at Sobral was formed by the sci- to those taken by the expedition from satellites in our solar system, as well as entists Daniel Maynard Wise and Andrew Greenwich. “Morize also saw an occa- photos of the 1919 eclipse and videos Thomson of the Department of Terres- sion to demonstrate the competence of with content on science and astronomy. trial Magnetism at Carnegie Institution, Brazilian scientists and of the institu- The Brazilian team took several pho- Washington. They studied the effects of tion of which he was director,” explains tographic plates in succession using the eclipse on the Earth’s magnetic field

astronomer Carlos Veiga of the Center cameras attached to telescopes, captur- and atmospheric electricity. n R.O.A. ARCHIVE OBSERVATORY NATIONAL

10 | DECEMBER 2019 INTERVIEW DANIEL KENNEFICK

The importance of Sobral

An astrophysicist and science historian reports that without the observation of the eclipse in the city of Ceará, the experimental results of 1919 would probably have been inconclusive

The researcher is launching a book on the eclipse

n the early 2000s, Irish astrophysicist and island of Príncipe), had been a great supporter science historian Daniel Kennefick, now at of Einstein’s ideas and would have therefore the University of Arkansas, joined the team deliberately favored the interpretation that the I at the Einstein Papers Project, an extensive light of stars curves according to the calcula- endeavor that began in 1986 and that is still tions predicted by the theory of relativity and underway today. Coordinated by research- not as Newton’s theory of gravity predicted. ers at the California Institute of Technology Kennefick became interested in this ques- (Caltech), the Project concerns the publication, tion and, along with his work as a theoretical with commentary, of thousands of scientific physicist in the area of gravitational waves, and nonscientific writings, such as letters and decided to investigate it in depth. In recent other documents, written by Albert Einstein years, he has visited British archives to con- No shadow of (1879–1955). Kennefick joined the project dur- sult the writings and letters of the time. The a doubt Daniel Kennefick ing the editing of the volume for 1919, the year result of this work is the book No Shadow Princeton of the total solar eclipse that provided the first of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed University Press, experimental proof that the general theory of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which will be 416 pages relativity was correct. Upon seeing the docu- released in English by Princeton University US$20.00 ments from the era, he noticed that from time Press at the end of April. In this interview, the to time an author would make a claim that astrophysicist relates the details of the two Kennefick had heard before but had not paid expeditions, refutes the thesis that Eddington much attention to: namely, that British astrono- was biased towards Einstein, and points out mer Arthur Eddington (1882–1944), who co- that without the Sobral data, the 1919 eclipse ordinated one of the two British expeditions would not have been useful in confirming the

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS that observed the 1919 eclipse (on the African predictions of general relativity.

PESQUISA FAPESP | 11 Why does Eddington’s work analyz- sity of Cambridge. They were in posi- ing the 1919 eclipse data still generate tions that allowed them to mount their some controversy, especially in aca- own expeditions. Dyson didn’t travel demic circles? with his expedition to Sobral; he sent Eddington was a supporter of the theory two assistants. Eddington took part in of relativity in the United Kingdom and Subsequent the expedition to Príncipe. Because his eventually became the most famous sci- assistants had died in World War I, he entist associated with the 1919 eclipse expeditions also took a watchmaker who had worked observations. Some astrophysicists and were unable on the instruments in the lab. historians imply that he would have deliberately favored Einstein’s ideas when to improve on Why didn’t Dyson take part in any of analyzing the eclipse data. Fortunately, the expeditions? this kind of allegation didn’t gain much the 1919 He never said why he didn’t participate, traction among nonspecialist audienc- but there are two likely explanations. es. However, one can read comments measurements The most likely reason is that there was on the Amazon website from lay read- in any a very important meeting in the summer ers regarding various works that reit- of 1919 that founded the International erate this type of criticism of Edding- significant way Astronomical Union, which to this day ton. Moreover, the role of Frank Dyson is the leading international organization [1868–1939], who was the Royal Astrono- of astronomers. He attended the meeting mer of the United Kingdom and the main and became one of the principal leaders organizer of the expeditions, has been in the field. Dyson wanted to be at this unfairly neglected. Eddington wasn’t in- meeting. In addition, there were few volved in any way with the Sobral data. people at the Greenwich Observatory In addition to not having been in Brazil from 1914 to 1918 because of the war, and and therefore not having participated he didn’t think that he could go away. in the production of these records, he Yes. Dyson and Eddington got along well It was probably a combination of both. didn’t analyze the data from this expe- and had a friendly relationship. For a dition. This was handled by people from time, before 1919, Dyson was Eddington’s Are the reasons given for discarding the the Greenwich Observatory, basically boss when he worked at the Greenwich data from the larger telescope used in Dyson, who was the director, and his Observatory. Both knew the importance Sobral reasonable? subordinates. of the 1919 eclipse. They organized the I think so. It’s not true that they only studies, but the expeditions acted sep- discarded the data from that telescope Is it correct to say that the two Brit- arately. In 1919, each of them was the after having obtained a result for the de- ish expeditions, one to Sobral and the director of an English observatory: Dy- flection of the light that didn’t match up other to Príncipe, acted independently, son was at Greenwich, and Eddington with Einstein’s theory. I consulted Da- although they were coordinated? directed the observatory at the Univer- vidson’s notes, who was Dyson’s assistant in Sobral. They were written a day 1 or two after the eclipse. Davidson said that they had examined the plates from the larger telescope and that they looked horrible, that they couldn’t extract much data from them. Right away, they knew something had gone wrong with the observations with that instrument. They were disappointed, and this problem served as the basis for their later deci- US LIBRARY US OF CONGRESS 3

sion to discard these measurements.

And the data obtained on Príncipe? How much weight did they have in the final verdict? Those data were used but weren’t considered good. In this case, the problem INSTITUTION SMITHSONIAN wasn’t due to a malfunctioning telescope but due to the presence of clouds at the LUIZ QUEIROZ 2 QUEIROZ LUIZ

time of the eclipse. They wouldn’t have 1 been able to make any confirmations

An aerial view of the Eclipse Museum in Sobral, inaugurated in May 1999 and closed since 2014 with a serious impact if they had needed PHOTOS

12 | DECEMBER 2019 Eddington and Dyson, the British coordinators of the expeditions to Príncipe and Sobral

2 3

to rely solely on the Príncipe data. With- the data; I believe they thought that the What did you see as interesting in the out Sobral, they wouldn’t have been able measurements needed to be confirmed archives from the British expeditions? to reach a conclusion. by other studies. This is typical behav- I’ve read the letters that Eddington sent ior in science, which mustn’t simply ac- to his mother’s house and notes from the Can the fact that Eddington went to cept someone’s word about something. committee meetings that organized the Príncipe, rather than Sobral, be inter- Under normal circumstances, scientists expeditions. However, what was most preted as an indication that the African immediately try to replicate a result that important was obtaining access to the expedition was seen as more important is so important. However, in the case of data analysis produced by the Dyson than the expedition to Sobral? Einstein’s theory, we had to wait for the team. They kept records of the data and The British were afraid of bad weath- occurrence of another eclipse to try to do of their calculations. Thus, I was able to er. Therefore, they planned on going to that. This particularity made that situa- see how they did the analyses and came two places to minimize that risk. That tion special. It was necessary to wait for to their important conclusion of reject- way they would increase the project’s years to try to make new measurements. ing the data from the larger telescope chances of success. I think that’s basi- This added a certain drama to the situa- used in Sobral. cally what led them to choose two loca- tion. Although they confirmed the data tions. They probably would have come to from Dyson and Eddington, subsequent Was this kind of data unavailable from Brazil anyway. They had trouble finding expeditions failed to significantly im- Eddington’s expedition to Príncipe? a place to observe the eclipse in Africa. prove the accuracy of the measurements. Unfortunately, for some reason I’m un- The greater part of the continent where aware of, no data from this expedition the eclipse would be visible was in the Einstein really didn’t interfere in Dy- has survived. The photographic plates jungles of the Congo and inaccessible son and Eddington’s final conclusions? were lost. I’ve talked to many archivists to them. In 1912, Eddington observed He didn’t communicate with any of the and no one knows what happened. The an eclipse in Brazil. Sobral was one of English astronomers, not even Edding- loss must have occurred more than 50 the few places in the eclipse’s path that ton, whom he later came to know rea- years ago. The plates from Sobral sur- had a relatively dry climate, which in- sonably well. Through the media, Ein- vived and were used in a reanalysis of creased the chances of experiencing stein knew that the British scientists had the eclipse data, which was done by oth- good weather there. gone on an expedition to try to prove his er researchers in 1979. However, I’ve theory. Einstein wasn’t an astronomer never seen them. I talked to some as- Why did the data from the 1919 eclipse and was never involved in this kind of a tronomers about this. They say that af- take years to be fully accepted by sci- measurement. However, he encouraged ter 1979, the Sobral plates were moved entists? people to take on this kind of an enter- and no one could tell me exactly where I wouldn’t say that other scientists— prise and even helped raise money for a they are. They must be mixed in among especially astronomers—didn’t believe German expedition before 1919. other plates. n

PESQUISA FAPESP | 13 INTERVIEW Antônio Drauzio Varella

The doctor’s MESSAGE

The oncologist who treated the first AIDS cases in Brazil uses every media platform to clarify the issues he considers important regarding public health

Alexandra Ozorio de Almeida and Neldson Marcolin

PORTRAIT Léo Ramos Chaves | PUBLISHED IN MAY 2019

n 1983, during an internship at Sloan Kettering Memorial AGE 76 Hospital in New York, Drauzio Varella realized that AIDS SPECIALTY would hit hard in Brazil. Although he already had more Oncology than ten years of experience in oncology and was accustomed to seeing seriously ill patients, the HIV-positive INSTITUTION Ipatients Varella saw in the United States made an impression Member of the on him. These patients were all young people, many of them clinical staff of the artists and intellectuals. “I was very touched by the experi- Sírio-Libanês Hospital, ence,” Varella recalls. “I had the unmistakable feeling that a São Paulo tragedy was about to happen.” Varella began to study the sub- EDUCATION ject. When he returned to Brazil, he was the only oncologist Medical degree from with experience in disseminated Kaposi’s sarcoma, a rare type the University of São of cancer common in AIDS patients. Because infectious disease Paulo (1967) specialists had little experience with the new illness, Varella began to treat AIDS cases himself at the Hospital do Câncer, PRODUCTION in São Paulo. The patients came from around the country. 16 scientific articles Two years later, during a medical conference in Stockholm, and 16 books, including Sweden, upon leaving a major discussion about the AIDS epi- Estação Carandiru demic, the oncologist found himself thinking about another aspect of the disease, prejudice, and how to deal with it. “At

14 | DECEMBER 2019 PESQUISA FAPESP | 15 that time, the ignorance was brutal. This Objetivo private schools and UNIP. I had is happening in Brazil and nobody’s go- only occasional contact with him, but Di ing to say a thing?” Thus, Varella began Genio has one characteristic, he perceives a journey that would make him the best- when things are interesting, and you do known doctor in the country, first over In the research not need to do much explaining. “How the radio, followed by television, print do you want to do it?” he asked. First we journalism, books, and the internet. conducted need to learn, I explained. I contacted While Varella describes it as an edu- Gordon Cragg, head of the natural prod- cational project effected through the ve- ucts sector at the National Cancer Insti- hicles of mass communication, his com- with tute [NCI], which has the world’s largest munication work covers a multitude of cancer screening project. I went there, themes and subjects, which sometimes Amazonian and Cragg said that they had lost interest extend beyond healthcare. Varella does in Brazil because of the biopiracy charges. not shy from controversy. At age 76, con- plants, we However, he did offer technical support; scious that life is finite, he gives himself we could send people to NCI for training. permission to say what he thinks. In his found five We would have to learn to do the extrac- writing and public appearances, Varella tions, and then it would take rigorous tax- speaks out on abortion rights, decrimi- onomy work because if there is any error nalizing drugs, and the ineffectiveness of extracts with in plant classification, everything is lost. mass incarceration as a policy for com- The most respected researcher in the field bating violence. intense of Amazonian plant taxonomy, Douglas Married to actress Regina Braga since Daly, worked at the New York Botanical 1981, the father of two daughters from his antineoplastic Garden. I left the NCI and went to New first marriage, and a grandfather of two, York to meet him. I found an American the São Paulo oncologist divides his time speaking Portuguese with the accent of among patients, communication, and activity, which a backwoods Amazonian: “Rapaaaaiz...” writing, which is a source of happiness [Duuude..] Daly was passionate about for him. In this interview, Varella tells us are under Brazil and had an ongoing project with about his research activities, complains the Federal University of Acre. We set about the lack of importance Brazilians study up an herbarium and sent a young wom- attribute to the Unified Health System an who had recently graduated from the (SUS), and talks about his communica- University of São Paulo [USP], Ivana Su- tion work and his strong relationship fredini, who learned all the technical as- with the prison world, where he learned pects of extraction. Sufredini came back to appreciate cachaça [Brazilian rum]. here and set up the lab and then returned “What if I took these people there?” And to NCI to test the extracts on medical tu- Among all your activities, your work Bukowski replied, “With that you could mor lines that NCI gave us. related to scientific research is cer- get whoever you want, even Robert Gal- tainly the least well-known. How did lo.” Gallo, at that time, was deservedly at What was that experience like? your work with plants from the Ama- the top of AIDS research. We conducted It was epic. To collect the plants, we zon come about? the course with more than 20 guests— needed a permit from the Brazilian In- On the weekend of the Carandiru mas- including Gallo, and it was broadcast to stitute of Environment and Renewable sacre in October 1992, we organized a 20 auditoriums in a variety of cities by Natural Resources (IBAMA). At that course on biotechnology in AIDS and EMBRATEL and sponsored by UNIP, time, it was a tragedy. We would deliver cancer at a hotel in São Paulo. Biotech- with which I had an informal connection. the project paperwork, which fell into a nology was just beginning; it was the black hole. It went on like that for years. hottest area in biology. Brazil had very And from that trip a project was born? We collected everything we could. UNIP little biotechnology development, and From the boat you cannot see a single today has the largest extract collection we wanted to bring the top people here plant that is like any other on the shore. from the Amazon forest, 2,200 extracts. to draw attention to the field. I talked Observing this biodiversity, Gallo asked, We found five extracts that demonstrate to a friend at the Cleveland Clinic, Ron “From the biological point of view, do you more intense antineoplastic activity, Bukowski, about organizing a course. He have any screening studies being done which are being studied. It is a very in- told me: “Brazil is off the beaten track, in- here?” He wanted to know if plant ex- teresting research project, which also ternationally. If you want to bring people tracts were systematically analyzed and depends on FAPESP funding. We have there, you need to offer a tour, a week- tested for treating diseases. This ques- produced and published a lot. end at the beach...” Since UNIP [Paulista tion remained in the back of my mind. University] had a boat on the Amazon, As we had the necessary infrastructure, How did you choose oncology? the Escola da Natureza (Nature School), we could start up a project. I went to talk I graduated from USP in 1967. I started a typical Amazon riverboat, I thought, to [João Carlos] Di Genio, owner of the a residency in public health, but I got

16 | DECEMBER 2019 tific demonstrations of well-studied case, including images—that demonstrated that it was possible to stimulate the immune system and provoke tumor rejec- PERSONAL ARCHIVE PERSONAL tion at a distance. That is how I became an oncologist.

How did the shift from oncology to AIDS come about? At the end of 1981, Joe Burchenal, the head of oncology at Memorial, was in Brazil. At lunch one day, he commented that there were cases of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia that had appeared in New York in apparently nonimmunocom- promised young men. At the same time, in San Francisco, cases of Kaposi’s sarcoma were appearing in young men who were, UNIP’s boat Escola da Natureza, which was used to collect plants in the Amazon coincidentally, homosexuals, as those patients in New York were. I read the case descriptions in the Morbidity and Mor- discouraged; it was very theoretical. I Modern immunology was making great tality Report from the CDC [Centers for wanted to get my hands dirty, to work strides in the early 1970s. Alois Bianchi, Disease Control and Prevention, in the in a health clinic. I studied parasitology the greatest pediatrician we have ever United States] and became very interest- with Luis Rey, one of the greatest Brazil- had, invited me to give an immunology ed. Here, we had a disease caused by an ian authorities in malaria. Rey was kicked class at the Hospital do Câncer. I went, infectious agent, probably a virus, which out of the university in 1964 along with and I ended up staying. caused immune deficiency, opportunis- Erney Plessmann de Camargo and Luiz tic infectious diseases, and cancer—dis- Hildebrando Pereira da Silva. I had much What did you start working on there? seminated Kaposi’s sarcoma—in young admiration for the three of them. I cre- At that time, I began an experiment with homosexuals. I went to Memorial in 1983 ated a movement, and we chose Luiz Hil- the use of BCG [the tuberculosis vaccine] and stayed for three months. There was debrando as our commencement speaker. for the treatment of malignant melanoma. a researcher there, Susan Krown, who As the college’s board had declined to When I gave that class, the medical staff was working with interferon in Kaposi. attend the graduation, it was unofficial. came to ask for help. It was a new thing; I was shocked because the patients were Rey returned to Brazil in 1969 and was nobody knew anything about cancer im- all young, mostly intellectuals, writers, hired by the Faculty of Public Health, munology. As I had already been read- journalists, and painters. I started study- but he needed to get a public health de- ing up on it, I said that when there was ing like crazy. When I returned to Brazil, gree, so he was my colleague. I thought, a melanoma case, I would like to see it. I was the only oncologist who had expe- “A world-renowned guy is sitting here I started going one morning a week and rience with disseminated Kaposi. I began taking this course. I don’t want this to received some cases of melanoma. One of to treat the first cases. Infectious disease be my future.” The Secretary of Health these cases was a man who had melano- specialists had little experience with it. I had created the position of public health ma on his arm and was beginning to have treated people from all over Brazil at the official, but the salary was the same as nodules in various places. I proposed to Hospital do Câncer. I was consumed by my rent—and I was already married. It try to treat him with oral BCG and see the AIDS epidemic. was the era of the dictatorship; I would what happened. The lesions began to red- teach in a college prep school at night and den. I photographed and removed one of Was that when you started your health go out and meet with the staff of Jornal them. After a while, the lesions began to communication work? da Tarde [an important daily newspaper turn very red and regress. A few months At that time, the ignorance was brutal. at the time] and stay up talking into the later, the lesions completely disappeared People called it a gay plague, which im- wee hours. One day, I met Vicente Amato and left a white halo in their place, which plied that women, heterosexuals, and Neto, an infectologist my class thought is characteristic of melanoma rejection. I people using intravenous drugs were very highly of. I told him I was lost, and was fascinated. After we had seen other not at risk. In New York, I realized that Amato suggested that I study MI [infec- cases, we published a paper in the journal a tragedy was about to happen in Brazil. tious diseases] because I had a connection Cancer in 1981, which was the first Brazil- with public health. He invited me to do ian research in the magazine. I present- What did you do? an internship at the Public Employee’s ed these results twice at the Memorial I was good friends with Fernando Vieira Hospital. At Amato’s suggestion, I be- Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New de Mello [1929–2001], director of Jovem gan to take more interest in the immu- York, which was the mecca of the world Pan radio, who was an excellent journal- nological aspects of infectious diseases. of oncology. It was one of the first scien- ist. He said, “You have to give an inter-

PESQUISA FAPESP | 17 Varella interviews residents of Acre State about malaria for the national weekly television program Fantástico, in 2018 PERSONAL ARCHIVE PERSONAL

the biggest problem was at the São Pau- lo Detention Center, Carandiru, which had more than 7,000 people, and nobody wanted to work there. I went to talk with the director, Ismael Pedrosa [1935–2005]. My thinking was as follows: “First, we need to demonstrate what’s happening here, how many people in here are infected.” Based on that number, we can define what should be done.

How did you begin? I proposed to conduct a survey with the people who received conjugal visits. It was a significant sample; there were 1,500 view on the radio, it is no use just talk- college. My father had four children and people enrolled in the program. I got a doing to me.” I resisted quite a bit. At that two jobs; I couldn’t go to college without nation of test kits, and the collection work time, a doctor who spoke on mass media working. Objetivo [a network of private could be done by the users in the prison, was viewed negatively. I gave the inter- schools], which I helped to found and the “mainliners,” who know how to find a view; it was long, and he broke it up in- which I named, eventually had 25 classes vein better than anyone. I spoke with the to segments that were inserted into the of 400 students. We gave the same class director, and he brought me five prison- program schedule. I complained, “You 25 times a week. Teenagers do not quiet ers. I asked, and they had experience. “We can’t do things like that, I’m going to have down, even at the movies; you have to can get a vein with a crooked needle, with problems with my colleagues; I’m sup- keep their attention. It was a long pro- this equipment of yours it’s child’s play,” posedly a serious doctor.” Mello replied, cess. It is not talent; it is training. one of them replied. We collected blood “Do you want to be on good terms with from 1,492 people. We tested it, and 17.3% your colleagues or get this information From working with AIDS, how did you of them were infected. Of the transgender out to the people?” That question swayed wind up at Carandiru [an infamous people imprisoned there for more than six me. I returned to the station after a few prison in São Paulo, now demolished] ? years, 100% were infected. I started using days and asked what I needed to do. Mel- Because of the radio broadcasts, I was these data to talk to the authorities. At a lo explained that the messages transmit- asked to make a video about AIDS. We minimum, we needed to distribute con- ted on the radio must be short and should did it with a professional producer who doms for the conjugal visits and alert the not exceed two minutes. You have to in- shot it on Indianópolis Avenue, in São women and send them to health clinics. troduce yourself and direct your message Paulo, a transvestite hangout in the red- No one wanted to hear about it. to the group you are trying to reach; it light district, and in the prison. In Brazil, is no use talking to everyone. “I am Dr. we have conjugal visitation, and no pre- However, you insisted... Drauzio Varella talking to those of you caution was taken to help those women, Jail is the right place to spread this kind who are young and homosexual; to you to inform them. We filmed at the state of information. Where do 7,000 crimi- who take intravenous drugs.” For each penitentiary, and I spent the day there. nals get together? They spend time in jail, group, different language is necessary. In the infirmary, there were people dy- they go back on the streets, they spread ing from cachexia [a wasting condition]; throughout the entire city, and then they And your colleagues? it was a tragedy. The experience made a go back to jail. The information transmit- No one ever said anything to me. I was deep impression on me. Ever since I was ted inside can be disseminated through- sure that this kind of communication a kid, I have liked prison movies. There out the city to a group that is unreach- was important. I would see people talk- are people who are attracted to this enable outside the prisons. I proposed to ing about it on the street, talking to me, vironment, I have met other people like the director that I give lectures on AIDS. ordinary people. I thought, “That’s what that. I spent the next few days thinking UNIP donated the big screen and the mi- I want to do.” If anyone thinks I just like about the prison; my wife said she had crophone. I did two or three and realized the attention, it is their problem, not never seen me so quiet. After a few weeks, it was not going to work. I wanted to do mine. To this day, I hear people saying I went to the head of the medical depart- a systematic job, to reach the whole pris- that I was born for this job—it is not true. ment of the São Paulo penitentiary sys- on. Then, Valdemar Gonçalves, a prison It is training. I gave classes at prep school tem, Manoel Schechtman, and offered to guard, appeared and organized it so that for 20 years, beginning in my first year of do volunteer work. Schechtman said that each session would be seen by one floor

18 | DECEMBER 2019 of each cellblock. At 8 a.m., the prison transgender people, etc. There is repres- would open these cells first, and then, sion embedded in the discussion, a fail- the prisoners would come down and see ure to speak clearly, and a fear of offend- the lecture. This occurred before opening families. Eleven thousand people die ing the other floors; otherwise, the oth- The Unified every year in Brazil as a result of AIDS, ers would have mingled in. We held a and we are worried about prejudice? meeting with the prisoners who were the Health chief custodians of each cellblock. At the It is similar to abortion. time, there was no PCC [First Command It is the same thing. I once attended a of the Capital, a large organized crime System, SUS, meeting with the teacher Mario Sérgio gang throughout the state prisons], and Cortella and a young rabbi from Rio, the chief custodians were in charge of the was the Nilton Bonder. When it was the rabbi’s prison. The custodians were watching turn, he was asked: “How do you see the people die; the epidemic was not theo- greatest abortion question?” Bonder said, “In Ju- retical for them. We explained that we daism life begins when the child is born.” wanted to pass along information, but revolution in Period. Some people think that life begins there could be no incidents. If someone when the sperm enters the egg. One can died, it would end our work. The custodi- also think that human life is characterized ans said, “You can rest easy, nothing will Brazilian by the functioning of the central nervous happen.” Another problem was getting system. What you cannot do is impose the prisoners out of bed at 7:50. Delin- healthcare your way of thinking on others. Women quents do not wake up early for anything. lose their lives having unsafe abortions. Then, Valdemar had the idea of showing history. There a pornographic film. After the lecture, we What is the most difficult issue to -re would leave the room, “so as not to lose solve in Brazilian public healthcare? their respect,” and they showed the film. is nothing Organization. We have the basic health- It was a package deal: you come in, the care units [UBS] and a public health pro- door closes, and you stay until the end. It comparable gram that is cited as one of the ten best worked beautifully. I did those lectures in the world, which is the Family Health for approximately ten years. Strategy. There are community health agents who live in the districts, earn a sal- Then, you went from giving those lec- ary, and are responsible for the families tures to being an attending physician? under their jurisdiction. There is also a When I finished a lecture, people would nurse’s aide, a nurse, and a doctor. To- stop me in the corridors. “Uh, doctor, day, this program covers just over 60% look at this...” They would line up; it guards would take one out and transfer of the Brazilian population, but it should looked like a cour des miracles. I began another in, and they were able manage cover 100%. When a local resident has a attending one day a week. This state of things like that. Cellblock 8 had 1,200 problem, this team usually resolves it. It affairs lasted until 2002, when the prison repeat offenders, and five or six employ- is a bit like my experience in the prisons. was shut down. ees watched over them. The guards have There are no laboratories or X-ray ma- a very impressive knowledge of human chines there. Even so, I resolve approxi- Is your relationship with the prison nature. After the massacre, in 1992 [when mately 90% of the cases myself. still strong? over one hundred inmates were killed Carandiru was an unforgettable prison. It by the police], the relationship changed. That many? is not just me: the guards, who I still meet When something such as that happens, it Yes, if a basic drug kit available. Usually, with even today, agree. I took a particular is pretty clear that it would not happen the problems are simple. How often do liking to walking around in it alone, go- again. No one was going to send in the we become seriously ill? Once or twice ing into the cells, and being respected in Military Police again, a week later. The in our lives, for relatively normal people. that environment due to the exercise of prisoners began to thrive, to take over. Most of the time, things get resolved in my profession. This was not respect for The state was forced to retreat, to let up, primary care. We know today that a hos- my own personal value. The social in- and the power vacuum did not remain. pital with less than 100 beds is techni- teraction was lasting, direct. The prison Immediately, the factions began to take cally and economically infeasible. How- guards stood by, went up, and entered the control. It was the beginning of the PCC. ever, hospitals with 50 beds comprise the cells. There were always factions, and the majority of hospitals in Brazil. Building guards’ function was to keep them from Back to the topic of AIDS, what is the these hospitals is easy. Then, you have uniting. A guard once told me, “Their role of the media today? to equip them and hire the doctors. The business is to grab power in jail; ours is to The media have to specifically target at- size of the hospital is very expensive for throw a monkey wrench in the works.” If risk populations. There cannot be, at this such a low patient-care capacity. This the prisoners started getting together, the point in time, bias against homosexuals, approach is not feasible.

PESQUISA FAPESP | 19 What is the solution? tilizes people. Taking care of one’s health Transform the small hospitals into out- is a duty of the citizen, primarily. This patient centers. If there are 12 cities rel- responsibility must be attributed cor- atively close to each other, the biggest rectly. When citizens fall ill and cannot one is the one that should have a hos- I love doing treat themselves, patients can be treated pital with 100 beds or more, which all by the state. In Brazil, everyone has this the municipalities and the state should these projects right. The system is a hybrid since we collaborate on. Those who truly need also have paid supplementary healthcare. the hospital would go there. In general, This system serves approximately 47 we have a health structure that is ready on the million people. The rest, approximately to go in Brazil. What does it need? In 160 million people, depend on SUS. The addition to organization, it needs more internet, with investment of private and public sys- money because the total invested is small tems is similar. The difference is that compared to what is necessary. texts and one serves 47 million and the other 160 million. Even if I have a private health How should healthcare be organized? videos, plan, I can still be taken care of by the Brazil has no public health policy. In the public system. In Chile, for example, you last ten years, we have had twelve health opt for one or the other. SUS is the larg- ministers because the position is used as because they est income distribution program in the political currency among the political history of Brazil. The bolsa família (the parties. In state and municipal govern- reach an federal Family Allowance) program is a ments, we find the same problem. How timid project compared to SUS. A citizen do you organize and establish health audience that may be living under a bridge, and if he policy under these conditions? In the or she needs a liver transplant, they can ministry and in the state and municipal get it at Hospital das Clínicas for free. secretariats, there are very competent is inaccessible How much would they spend in a pri- people. When the Minister of Health vate hospital? It is a system that reduces goes down in Germany, he or she takes otherwise social inequality. No one sees this other seven or eight assistants with him; they aspect of SUS. rise and fall with him. The minister’s role is to establish policies to direct the How does your work as a writer hap- public health system. In Brazil, the min- pen? How do you prepare? ister brings a multitude of people into I read all the time. It is much easier to- positions of trust and swaps all the lo- day; we take in information from every cal government and hospital directors. SUS was the greatest revolution in Bra- direction. I became increasingly involved Here, we cannot even show society the zilian healthcare history. There is noth- with writing. I wrote Estação Carandiru, importance and relevance of SUS. ing comparable to it. I was a resident which was published in 1999. When it at the Hospital das Clínicas of the USP came out, that book was number one on What is the relevance? Medical School. At that time, there was the bestseller list for four years and has There is not another country in the world the INPS [the National Institute of So- sold more than 500,000 copies to date. with more than 100 million inhabitants cial Welfare]. Only workers with formal, I think the book had the merit of bring- that has dared to offer free public health- registered employment were entitled to ing the reality of a highly representative care to all. Not one. We are the only one. INPS benefits. Those who did not have prison such as Carandiru out of the jail- People do not know this. In regard to this right were classified as indigent. It house for the first time by a person who SUS, it is often said that “It’s shameful; was not a theoretical supposition; that was not involved in that world. That is there are gurneys in the hallway, and chil- status would be written on their medi- when I discovered a passion for writ- dren being attended to in chairs in the re- cal record. The self-employed and all the ing. Journalism is also a very interest- ception area.” This is because SUS is not field workers were dependent on soci- ing exercise. You have to write within working at the primary care level. Just ety’s charity, such as the Santa Casa de the allotted space, under deadline; you look at the lines at emergency rooms. If a Misericórdia [Holy House of Mercy, a cannot be too fussy, and you must have a doctor examines all these people, 80% to centuries-old healthcare charity]. In 1988, beginning, middle, and end. Unlike writ- 90% will be released. The people go there the new Constitution included the idea ing a book, where one wanders and often because they cannot get care at their UBS. that “Health is a right of all and a duty loses oneself in the writing, journalism At the emergency ward of the hospital, of the State.” Although, I do not like this gives you a goal, and I started to enjoy it. the patient knows that they will be taken slogan very much. care of, one way or another. Does writing have a therapeutic effect Why not? for you? Most of these people are cared for by First, the slogan does not include where Think about this: I sit facing a wall, with SUS. the money comes from. Second, it infan- a computer, and I write. I have an idea,

20 | DECEMBER 2019 In Carandiru, in 2001, with the rap group Comunidade Carcerária [Prison Community] (left), PERSONAL ARCHIVE PERSONAL 2

and during a meeting with prison guard friends in 2018 (right) CAIO GUATELLI / FOLHAPRESS / CAIO GUATELLI 1

PHOTOS 1 2

and I sit there putting down words, and The videos receive many comments... the internet because they reach an audi- suddenly—sometimes this happens—I There are all sorts of comments. There ence that is inaccessible otherwise. The find a connection that works well in the are taboo subjects, such as talking about other day, I was in a movie theater with text, and I feel happy. I achieved this abortion. It is a matter of public health my wife, and there were some kids there. happiness alone while staring at a white and not a religious question. When I talk Suddenly, a girl placed her phone in front wall. Such happiness does not exist in about abortion, the reactions are ter- of my face with a photo and said, “Are the world around us. With a small lap- rible. I am 76 years old; I am starting you this guy here?” “I am,” I said. “Can top in hand, one can arrive at that point. to see things with a closer horizon in we take a picture with you?” These are Once you have experienced that degree mind. I cannot be worried about people kids, 12 and 13 years old, who I can talk to of happiness, you never stop writing. cursing me out. We have to put forward using the internet but not on television. ideas that have social relevance. Every So, writing is not a long-suffering pro- time the ignorant take power, during Are you working on a new book? cess? dictatorships, for example, what do they I am, but it is still very early on. The book For me it never was. On Saturday morn- do? The subtext is always “lower the is basically about my memories, but the ing, I go to the hospital, visit the sick, culture.” At these times, the important format is not well defined. I resisted the run back to the house, and write. It is thing is to maintain an open dialogue, project for a long time. We go about do- a huge pleasure. Before lunch, I drink a multiplicity of ideas. Self-censorship ing things in life, and some work out, a cachaça to “improve” the work... I cannot take root. and some do not. Many of the outcomes learned about cachaça from the folks depended on me, on my work, on some at Carandiru. Before cachaça, I drank Does this also apply to taboo subjects? good decisions I made. Other outcomes beer. Then, a guard said, “Doctor, you I am an atheist. The religious think and depended on opportunities. have to drink cachaça because if you get act as if they have a monopoly on hu- drunk, they’ll say you’re a drinker. If man generosity. We know that there is You worry about turning chance events you spend money drinking champagne, generosity in chimpanzees and goril- into personal merits... they’re going to say you’re a drinker. las—who do not pray. What is the basic Exactly. In addition, when you appear on Beer, when it’s hot out, you drink one principle of all religions? Belief, you have television, you become famous. Television bottle after another, and by the time to believe. What is the basic principle of is full of foolish people because they think you feel it, you’ve already drank too science? You cannot believe in anything that all that recognition is based on their much. With cachaça, you know who that is not associated with experiments personal merit. These people do not real- you’re dealing with.” It is true; it is eas- and results that can be reproduced. Only ize that if it were someone else, the same ier to control. from the basis of experimentation can thing would happen. It is very mediocre we draw conclusions. Science is not the to reach a mature age and still be looking With cachaça or without it, you became only way to see the world. There are oth- at yourself in the mirror. There are other a writer... er ways. However, I do not see how we things that are more interesting. I did follow that career path. I have my can reconcile these other worldviews two columns, in the Folha de São Paulo because they are antagonistic. Is there something you would like to do newspaper and in CartaCapital mag- and have not done yet? azine. For the internet, I take the text Do you have a team that writes for the When I got yellow fever, I was 61 years I write for Folha and summarize it in site and records videos? old. There was a moment, technically, two minutes on YouTube, where I have There is a group that started making re- when I saw the exams, and I thought I a channel. Sometimes, it takes even in cordings with me and set up their own was going to die. I thought, “What do you less time to transform the piece. So far, agency, Uzumaki, which now provides have left to do?” Well, there were many 350,000 people have already watched. services for the site. These languages things to do. Now, at this point in my life, I I have one video with almost 2 million change very quickly; we have to try to have done everything I needed and want- views. It is another world. keep up. I love doing these projects on ed to do, but of course, I can do more. n

PESQUISA FAPESP | 21 S&T POLICY INTERNATIONALIZATION y

razilian researchers and students who live or spend time in the Long distance United States have found a way Bto keep in touch and encourage collaboration: they participate in networks that promote regular meetings connections to exchange professional, scientific, and entrepreneurial experiences. The first such initiative was launched in 2010. The initiative is called PUB Boston, an Initiatives that promote networking and acronym for Brazilian Researchers and University Students in Boston, and is knowledge exchange among Brazilian a network created to engage scientists researchers in the United States are on the rise and scholars from Brazil residing in the New England region. More than 50 institutions for research and higher educa- Fabrício Marques PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2019 tion are located in the area, such as the Members of PUB Boston participate at a meeting which brought together more than 80 Brazilian researchers and students on December 2018

who are creating startups. There is also thousands of students abroad. At the last space for presenting socially oriented or meeting, on December 14, there was a science communication-focused initia- special event with presentations from tives. One particularly rewarding part of five master's and doctoral students from the meetings is the “happy hour,” where various areas of study at US universi- the audience can converse and interact. ties, which was attended by the Brazil- These happy hours are stocked with Bra- ian consulate general in Boston, Glivânia zilian savory snacks and sweets, which de Oliveira. are provided by sponsors or thanks to the Through a Facebook group, the net- organizers' small collection box. work can mobilize 3,700 Brazilians who The audience consists of students, have spent time in Boston. "It's not un- postdoctoral interns, visiting professors, common that out of these presenta- young professionals, and scientists estab- tions—and the debates that take place lished in the United States. "The high- before and after them—there emerge sci- light of the meetings is the possibility entific and professional collaborations," of learning what Brazilian colleagues says computer scientist Vitor Pamplona, Massachusetts Institute of Technology from different areas are producing here coordinator of the SciBr Foundation, an FREEPIK FREEPIK (MIT) and Harvard in Boston as well as and of opening doors for professional NGO created in 2014 that, among other Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown. PUB Bos- and personal contacts. But, of course, tasks, coordinates and helps dissemi- ton stays active by promoting monthly we can't underestimate the interest that nate these networks. "Among various ILLUSTRATION interdisciplinary meetings, and at least the coxinhas [deep-fried chicken cro- examples, I remember a biologist and an ten relationship networks with a similar quettes] and brigadeiros [truffles] arouse engineer who met at PUB Boston and be- format have emerged in other US cities in Brazilians who have been away from gan to work together on creating a new

VITOR PAMPLONA VITOR such as San Francisco, New York, Hous- home for a while," says nutritionist Ra- research device," says Pamplona, who ton, Seattle, and New Haven—as well as chel Freire, a postdoctoral fellow at Har- traded Porto Alegre for Boston in 2009,

2, 3 AND 4 in Montreal, Canada. vard Medical School and the current where he did a part of his doctorate at

The meetings, mostly held in Portu- leader of PUB Boston. MIT. Seven years ago, he created an op- guese, usually take place in auditoriums, In the case of the New England group, tical equipment company, EyeNetra, in where the participants in the networks monthly meetings are always held on the city of Cambridge. attend lectures by Brazilian research- Fridays. The attendance ranges from The PUB Boston meetings inspired ers from a variety of fields and hear re- 60 to 80 people—and it was even higher some of the group’s members to recreate ports from professionals based in the until three years ago, when the Science a program in Brazil that was developed

PHOTOS 1 ANDPHOTOS 5 LARISSA SPINELLI United States who work in companies or Without Borders program was sending in Mexico by Mexican researchers from

PESQUISA FAPESP z 23 Harvard. The researchers call this program "science clubs," which are week- long workshops for high school students and beginning undergraduates, delivered by scientists and instructors educated in the United States. The initiative has already been carried out twice in Bra- zil, with both sessions held on the campus of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The selection process was rigorous, with more than 1,000 entries for 80 vacancies at each conference. "The idea is to motivate young people to pursue a scientific career. They get some hands-on experience and focus on frontier issues like gene editing and stem cells. On the last day, they present what available on the Internet. Written by the region and also from the Brazilian they've produced to the public and their various members, the manuals include consulate in San Francisco to create a families," says biomedical researcher tips on how to find housing, obtain docu- network," says Tatiana Hochgreb, leader Bruna Paulsen, currently a postdoctor- ments, or use public transport. A guide of the initiative. "We held the first meet- al fellow at Harvard University's De- written by members of PUB Philadel- ing at the consulate itself in 2014, which partment of Stem Cell and Regenera- phia, for example, provides the addresses attracted more than 100 people to sign tive Medicine and one of the program's of good supermarkets and warns of the up." The network has evolved, and to- organizers, along with biologists David dangers of turning off the central heating day, PUB-Tech-SF has a schedule of four Soeiro and Rafael Polidoro, and adminis- in homes and apartments during win- meetings each year, hosted in Stanford, trator Marcos Bento. In addition to Bra- ter—the pipes cannot be simply thawed San Francisco, Berkeley, and Silicon Val- zil and Mexico, the project is also being out once they freeze. ley. "There's a mix of regional scientists implemented in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, A very productive network emerged and business professionals among the Paraguay, and most recently, in Spain. four years ago in San Francisco on the speakers—we've had talks by profes- The networks have also developed outskirts of the local University of Cali- sionals from LinkedIn and Canon, for strategies for welcoming newcomers, fornia campus (UCSF). "There had been example." The meetings feature short such as the dissemination of manuals demands from Brazilian researchers in presentations about social impact proj-

Mapping the diaspora

By 2020, the networks of Brazilian Brazil’s science can benefit from the researchers in the United States will be temporary and permanent residence mapped through a project commissioned of highly qualified Brazilians in the the Brazilian diaspora in the United by the Center for Public Policy Studies United States," she states. The group Kingdom. The meeting will take place at the University of Campinas (NEPP- will also conduct interviews with on February 14 during a FAPESP Week UNICAMP) and by the Embassy of Brazil researchers based in the United States London seminar and will bring together in Washington. "We're going to do a to understand the dynamics of the international talent experts to survey of who these Brazilians are, so-called "diaspora networks" and raise discuss how Brazil can leverage the where they are, and what they're doing," initiatives that the researchers deem benefits of having researchers working says sociologist Ana Carneiro da Silva, a important for increasing connections at institutions in Britain. "It's known researcher at NEPP-UNICAMP. She with Brazilian science. that in many places diaspora networks coordinates the project with partners The project started being developed don't cause brain drain but do create such as Flavia Consoni, from the at the end of 2017 during a workshop advantageous connections for Brazil's Department of Science and Technology on the Brazilian diaspora held in scientific community, since science Policy at UNICAMP, and Elizabeth Washington, in which the NEPP group increasingly works through Balbachevsky, from the Center for participated. Recently, the Brazilian international networks," says engineer Public Policy Research at the University Embassy in London approached Euclides de Mesquita Neto, a of São Paulo (NUPPS-USP). "The UNICAMP with a similar request. As a professor at UNICAMP and adjunct objective is to do an analysis and result, Ana Carneiro and Flavia Consoni coordinator of special programs and propose policies to understand how the are helping to organize a workshop on research collaborations at FAPESP.

24 z DECEMBER 2019 searcher at the Center for Public Policy Studies at the University of Campinas (NEPP-UNICAMP). At the request of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, the center will be mapping the "diaspora Students networks" of Brazilians in the United participate in States (see inset) and their role in pro- Science Club in Belo Horizonte, moting research collaboration. a project organized by BRIDGES FOR COLLABORATION Brazilian scientists A survey released by the Brazilian Em- at Harvard bassy in Washington showed that while PUB networks are based on the exchange of knowledge, other initiatives are dedicated to establishing bridges for collaboration with Brazil. Three such cases are BayBrazil, which promotes exchange between Brazilian companies and Silicon Valley; the Brazilian Expert Network, formed by Brazilian researchers based in the United States and interested in partnerships with Brazil; and Brascon, a contact platform between the Brazilian scientific community in the United States and companies, universities, public agencies, and research ects, such as an initiative that was look- The community institutes in Brazil. ing for volunteers to organize science The SciBr Foundation, which links workshops with the Projeto Histórias of Brazilian the PUB networks, seeks to increase the e Cantigas (Stories and songs project), researchers connections between Brazilian research- which holds library events aimed at Bra- ers in the United States. "Our initial pro- zilian children. "One Brazilian scientist in the United posal was to mobilize scholarship stu- from Stanford spent an afternoon with dents from the Science Without Borders the children conducting experiments States is a program and assess whether additional and talking about density," recalls Ta- scholarships for researchers with high tiana Hochgreb. well-connected potential could create greater scientif- Educated in molecular science at network, says ic impact, but this has lost momentum USP [University of São Paulo], Hoch- with the dismantling of the program," greb went to the United States in 2005 sociologist explains Vitor Pamplona, director of Sci- to do a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF, Br. The organization works to connect later moving to the California Institute Ana Carneiro Brazilian researchers with companies of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena to in the United States. "We receive com- work in the field of developmental biol- panies from Brazil that want to set up ogy. She ended up staying in the United offices or branches in the United States States for family reasons, and in 2015, and present them with researchers who she decided to change careers. She now could work for them," he says. works at the Lemann Center at Stan- outside academia who are interested in Pamplona observes that most partici- ford University on an education project science go to the meetings, which are pants in the networks maintain their in- whose ambition is to redesign curricula open and free." Approximately 70,000 terest in returning to Brazil after a peri- to improve science education in Brazil- Brazilians with higher education live in od of study or work. "They almost always ian schools. In her view, the goal of PUB- the United States, according to data from return, due to family issues or an interest Tech-SF is to discuss high-level topics the 2010 US Census. Part of this contin- in establishing a career in Brazil. It's not and "put a variety of people together" to gent, which includes researchers and trivial to pursue a career at a company in get to know each other. "The idea is to highly qualified professionals, works at the United States, where there's strong spread knowledge in an accessible way, universities and technology companies. competition with professionals from all demystify science, and raise the level of "There's a large number of Brazilian re- over the world." Pamplona estimates

CLUBES DE CIÊNCIA BRASIL the dialogue. People are glad to partici- searchers in the United States and it's a that in recent years, SciBr has been able pate in interesting conversations. Many community that's well-connected," says to refer approximately 40 Brazilians to

PHOTOS students and, indeed, many people from sociologist Ana Carneiro da Silva, a re- vacancies at US companies. n

PESQUISA FAPESP z 25 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY y

Mapping out the roadblocks

A study looks at why Brazilian industry is not very innovative and suggests that academic publishing and patent counts are two sides of the same coin

PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2019

paper released in December by a group in developed countries, that share is typically of economists paints a troubling pic- held by industry. Patent applications also take ture of the innovation and intellectual an unreasonably long amount of time to be pro- A property landscape in Brazil and the cessed—10 years on average—and are growing impact it has had on development. The study, at a slower rate than those in other emerging commissioned by the Brazilian Intellectual Prop- countries. Between 2000 and 2016, the number erty Association (ABPI), shows an entrenched of invention patent applications worldwide more pattern in which Brazilian companies generally than doubled, from 1.4 million to 3.1 million. In innovate little, while foreign companies have Brazil, applications rose from 17,258 in 2000 to filed growing numbers of patent and trademark 25,658 in 2017. applications in Brazil, indicating both the im- “We’re increasingly lagging behind coun- portance of intellectual property protection tries competing directly with our industries in and its still limited use by local industry. It also the global marketplace,” says Antonio Marcio underlines the challenges faced in correcting Buainain, a professor at the University of Campi- long-standing distortions. Public universities nas (UNICAMP) Institute of Economics. He co- and individual inventors continue to claim the authored the paper—titled “Propriedade intelec- lion’s share of patent counts in Brazil, whereas tual, inovação e desenvolvimento: Desafios para

26 z DECEMBER 2019 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATISTICS

Patent applications worldwide and in Brazil

Invention patent Patent applications worldwide applications in Brazil

n Annual growth rate (%) n Applications

3,500,000 50

3,000,000 40

2,500,000 20,178 17,445 12,543 14,408 25,921 25,577 14,389 18,094

30 23,925 2,000,000 20 1,500,000 9.2 6.1 8.2 7.6 8.1 8.8 7.7 8.3 10 1,000,000 5.8 5.2 4.6 4.5 2.8 3 n Nonresidents 500,000 0 -0.9 n Residents

-3.8 3,439 3,861 4,047 4,193 4,262 4,705 4,955 4,640 5,480 0 -10 2011 2011 2017 2013 2013 2012 2014 2001 2010 2001 2015 2015 2016 2007 2007 2003 2003 2002 2004 2005 2005 2008 2009 2009 2006

SOURCE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO) SOURCE BRAZILIAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INSTITUTE (INPI)

o Brasil” (Intellectual property, innovation, and and focus on practical innovation and patents. development: Challenges facing Brazil)—with “In fact, our results show that more academic Roney Fraga Souza, a professor in the School researchers are precisely the ones filing the most of Economics at the Federal University of Mato patent applications and that there is no tradeoff Grosso (UFMT). “We’re gradually regressing into between publishing and patenting. This should a commodity-based economy, while we clearly come as no surprise as, after all, researchers’ have the socioeconomic and demographic condi- patents draw precisely on the knowledge and ex- tions to do otherwise,” says Buainain. The situa- perience they have gained from their research,” tion is even more dramatic when comparing Bra- says Buainain. “Our findings dispel an argument zil’s performance to other emerging economies: often made by backward forces opposed to clos- in the late 1970s, Brazil was filing three times as er links between universities and industry: that many US patent applications as South Korea; by researchers will end up focusing their efforts 2013, the Asian country was filing 43.5 times as on personal gain rather than knowledge for the many as Brazil. common good,” he says. Voices against university- But the findings from a survey that Buainain industry collaboration will often be heard, notes and Fraga Souza conducted on 4 million aca- the economist, among professors’ associations ANA PAULA CAMPOS PAULA ANA demic résumés on the Lattes platform are more and some researchers in discussions about the optimistic. There were 15,607 researchers who new science, technology, and innovation frame- reported intellectual property protection activ- work introduced last year. INFOGRAPHIC ity: they filed a total of 27,837 patent applications, The survey also estimated the impact of papers of which 10,552 were approved and issued as authored by researchers with patents to their patents. The survey found that 84.5% of these name and found that they generate five times researchers were academically prolific, with an more citations than papers by researchers with average of 27 published articles. According to no patents. Only a handful of these talents, how-

JAMIE JONES / GETTY IMAGES the study, these researchers represent evidence ever, are in industry. Less than 10% of researchers

against the stereotypical view that puts scien- work in an R&D capacity at companies, 73% work tists into two groups: the academic types versus at universities, and 15% work at public or private

ILLUSTRATION the pragmatists who work closely with industry research institutes. “Researchers at universities

PESQUISA FAPESP z 27 and higher learning institutions in Brazil account A SNAPSHOT OF INNOVATION IN BRAZIL for approximately two-thirds of the country’s Percentage growth in the number of innovative patents, even though many of these universities lack institutional support for the patenting pro- companies and the type of innovation effort, cess,” says Roney Fraga Souza. according to the Innovation Survey (PINTEC) But Marcelo Pinho, of the Center for Exact Sci- ences and Technology at the Federal University n Innovation rate (total) of São Carlos (UFSCar), observes that previous n Product innovation rate research done in 2013 by researchers from the n Process innovation rate Ribeirão Preto School of Economics, Manage- ment, and Accounting (FEA-RP) at the University % of São Paulo (USP) had already looked for—but 45 did not find—a cause-and-effect relationship be- 40 tween publishing and patenting among a group 35 of 316 researchers in the fields of exact and earth sciences. “Although researchers who interact 30 more with companies are clearly more prolific 25 publishers, this does not necessarily mean that 20 scientific productivity is itself a result of interac- 15 tion with industry,” he explains. “It is more likely 10 that the most competent researchers perform 5 better both in scientific research and in collabo- 0 rations with industry.” 2000 2003 2005 2008 2011 2014 SOURCE PINTEC/IBGE

look at the origin of Brazilian patents reveals a strong linkage to traditional indus- A tries, such as construction and machinery for the oil and gas, electric power, and agribusi- ness sectors, but not to frontier areas. “Brazil ap- role of the university is to generate and facilitate pears to be on the sidelines of the new economy the dissemination of knowledge and technology. and is yet to claim a significant position in any Practical innovation is the role not of universi- of the key areas of industry 4.0, in which manu- ties but of industry.” facturing is heavily automated and linked to the Biologist Antonio Carlos Marques, coordina- internet,” says Buainain. Marcelo Pinho of UFS- tor of the USP Agency for Innovation, believes it Car says that patent patterns in Brazil reflect the is unfair to say that NITs alone can account for country’s industrial fabric and its foreign trade. the exaggerated focus on patent applications. He notes that Brazil’s high-tech industry is not “Patents are a highly weighted metric through- only dwarfed by other countries but also typi- out the system—whether one is applying for a cally focused on the domestic market and less productivity-based grant from CNPq [the Bra- technology-intensive nodes in the value chain. zilian National Council for Scientific and Tech- “And the companies with dominant positions in nological Development] or looking to improve these sectors are multinationals producing most a graduate program’s rank—and they get lots of of their R&D outside Brazil. So it is hardly sur- media attention,” he says. “Our focus should be on prising that Brazil lacks a strong patent position the effectiveness of the innovation process. Out in the new economy,” he says. of the total number of patent applications, how The study found a notable increase in intel- many are successful and benefit society through lectual property protection within universities licensing agreements? To what extent does each thanks to the growing number of innovation cen- patent effectively provide a socioeconomic or enters (Núcleos de Inovação Tecnológica, or NITs) vironmental benefit for Brazil? By way of analogy, created to identify research findings with poten- a patent application is comparable to a manu- tial commercial applications and license those script submitted to a scientific journal, and an technologies to companies. Universities have issued but unlicensed patent is comparable to a been especially active in certain states follow- paper published in an indexed journal that has ing the creation of innovation centers in San- never been cited.” ta Catarina, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Bahia, and Antonio Marcio Buainain notes that universi- Ceará, although 70% of patent applications in ties and companies in Brazil engage in innovation 2017 were in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas on separate, parallel paths that rarely converge. Gerais, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul. Buainain “Universities generate patents at their intellec- sees these efforts as somewhat exaggerated: “The tual property offices and offer them to compa-

28 z DECEMBER 2019 Distribution of innovation expenditure not the kind of innovation that will among innovative companies (%) put Brazilian industry in any position of leadership or autonomy in the international marketplace.” SOURCE PINTEC/IBGE The UNICAMP economist ex- 49,2 46,9 Brazil is not plains that aversion to risk is a ra- 40,2 prepared to tional strategy that makes sense for 31,5 the business environment in which 29,8 Brazilian companies operate. “The 24,5 exploit open Real Plan [a set of measures taken innovation, to stabilize the Brazilian economy in 1994] provided only limited eco 9,1 7,7 7,1 8 - 5,7 2,7 4,7 2,8 5,8 4,2 4 4,4 the study nomic stability,” he says, alluding to 2,1 2,6 2,6 1 2,2 1,2 the exchange-rate fluctuation and 2008 2011 2014 shows changes in the regulatory frame- works for the oil and gas and power n Industrial design and other engineering sectors over the last 20 years. “Even n Introduction of technological innovations in the local market inflation has been five times higher n Training than the average for more developed countries,” n Acquisition of machinery and equipment he explains. “Brazilian entrepreneurs are skilled n Software n Cross-border knowledge transfers at coping with crises and surviving in an environ- n External R&D ment of uncertainty and instability, but averse to n Domestic R&D the inherent risk of innovation.”

ut intellectual property protection has been rendered less important now than in the past FOREIGN-TRADE PERFORMANCE B by the advent of open knowledge networks, in which knowledge and technology are developed Share of Brazilian exports in global in an open and collaborative environment, and the exports (%) speed at which innovations are developed and then

SOURCE MDIC superseded by others makes patenting effort dis- pensable. “The value of digital-age businesses like Uber or Airbnb lies not in their patent portfolios 1,43 1,35 1,35 but in their accumulated knowledge and in their 1,32 1,25 1,25 1,23 1,21 1,16 1,17 1,15 1,16 ability to create applications that competitors are 1,08 1,10 0,99 0,97 0,96 0,96 0,95 0,92 unable to easily reproduce,” he explains. Brazil is 0,90 0,88 0,86 not currently prepared to exploit open innovation, the paper shows. “Open innovation relies on an environment of high-density knowledge flows between academia and industry—an environment which in Brazil remains underdeveloped—and substantial investment in venture capital.” 2011 2017 2013 2012 2014 2001 2010 1997 2015 2016 2007 1995 1998 1999 1996 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 The study is optimistic about the new science, technology, and innovation framework and the legal certainty it provides for collaboration between universities and businesses (see Pesquisa nies, occasionally attracting their interest in some FAPESP issue no. 265). In addition to better oper- form of arrangement, but not collaboration,” he ating conditions at the National Institute of Indus- explains. At universities and public research in- trial Property (INPI), which has long struggled to stitutes, according to the paper, there has been process patent applications efficiently, the authors progress in recent years largely thanks to the suggest that a greater focus is needed on trade- education system’s expansion since the 1990s marks and their underutilization by companies in and its growing number of active researchers. Brazil and on geographical indications—intellec- The private sector, however, has its own pecu- tual property instruments used in many countries liar ways. As Buainain explains, “Brazilian com- to link attributes such as the origin or the history panies generally innovate by buying technology. or culture of a region to a product. Last year, the They typically incorporate innovations already INPI received only 49 applications for geographi- in use in local and global markets—new only to cal indications for products such as coffee, cheese, the companies adopting them. This is certainly wines, and spirits. n Fabrício Marques

PESQUISA FAPESP z 29 SHARED FACILITIES y

FASTER ACCESS to equipment

30 z NOVIEMBRE DE 2019 A Magneton 7T MRI nternet portals recently created by scanner at USP's the University of São Paulo (USP) School of Medicine and the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) to catalog the research equipment available to university Iand nonuniversity users, including companies, are helping to facilitate shared access to high-cost instruments—from electron microscopes to mass spectrometers and sequencers. The new portals are also helping to raise awareness of a fundamental part of the mission of public research laboratories and facilities: to serve as many researchers as possible to maximize the impact and quality of scientific research in Brazil. Most of this infrastructure has been funded by development agencies based on a com- mitment to dedicate a portion of facility time to other interested researchers. Ho- wever, because the available equipment is poorly and not centrally cataloged, it can often be difficult for users to find what they need. “It’s not that there have been complaints about barriers to access, but it’s clear that our facilities would be used more if more people knew about them,” says Watson Loh, a professor at the Institute of Chemistry (IQ) at UNI- CAMP and head of the Core Equipment Program (EMU) at FAPESP. The UNICAMP Core Equipment and Services Portal (www.prp.unicamp.br/ pt-br/ces/site/) gives users access to the medium-sized and large instruments available across university campuses, which they can locate using a keyword USP and UNICAMP create search. Users are not required to know the model or the specific type of machi- portals to expand ne they require; they can simply indicate the shared use of core what task the equipment is needed for. If any equipment fitting the description is research facilities available, the user is referred to the relevant laboratory. A total of 140 pieces of equipment are currently cataloged.

FREEPICK “We hope to see this figure rise subs- PUBLISHED IN MAY 2019 tantially in the future,” says Munir Skaf, a professor at IQ and associate dean for

ILLUSTRATIONS research at UNICAMP. New functiona- lity has also been created for facilities managers, such as a web kit that allows each education and research institution to build a dedicated website to advertise LÉO RAMOS CHAVES LÉO its equipment and a system for schedu-

PHOTO ling equipment time.

PESQUISA FAPESP z 31 1

The Core Laboratory for High-Performance Technologies (LaCTAD) at A genetic UNICAMP sequencing center at the São Paulo State Cancer Institute

The UNICAMP portal began opera- currently offers access to two labora- university plans to issue a request for ting in March and has already seen a sur- tories at the Polytechnic School and 17 proposals for preventive maintenance ge in equipment requests. At the Gleb pieces of equipment at different units. but will wait a few months until addi- Wataghin Institute of Physics (IFGW), The number of core facilities and avai- tional units are placed on the platform. user searches have grown between 30% lable instruments is expected to grow “This will allow time to determine which and 50%, depending on the instrument. over the coming months, with 25 core facilities are used most and to prioritize For example, a particle size distribu- facilities and laboratories currently being them in our maintenance investment,” tion analyzer at an IFGW laboratory was cataloged and at least another 100 with says Canuto. “This will also inform new recently booked by researchers from the potential to be placed in the network. vacancies for technicians at facilities that another UNICAMP unit. “This was our The platform offers equipment manage- are high in demand.” first request for this piece of equipment ment tools that are centralized within in quite a while,” says physicist Pascoal the Support Foundation of the University aving technicians available for Pagliuso, who heads the institute. Three of São Paulo (FUSP). “These tools are support is important for expan- requests were received concurrently for designed to streamline laboratory rou- Hding the use of available instru- the decharacterization and disposal of tines and spare laboratory managers the ments. “Access to equipment is often X-ray machine heads—another service need to handle bureaucratic tasks,” says limited to certain days of the week or offered by IFGW on the portal—com- Sylvio Canuto, a professor at the Insti- to hours of the day in which technicians pared with the previous average of only tute of Physics and associate dean for are available,” says Watson Loh. There is one request per year. “The machines and research at USP. Facilities can be booked another case to be made for shared facili- services were already available on our online, and users receive clearance after ties: the revenue from these services can website, but the new portal appears to payment involving barcoded pay slips be used for maintenance. “Often, a R$1- have increased their visibility on the that are automatically generated by the -million piece of equipment will remain web,” says Pagliuso. In addition to the system. In general, laboratories charge out of service for long periods of time 12 instruments available at IFGW's Core lower fees for researchers from host uni- until funding is available to buy parts Laboratory (LAMULT)—including mi- versities and higher fees for users from costing, say, R$10,000,” says Munir Skaf. croscopes, spectrometers, and diffrac- other institutions and companies. USP The integration of researchers in dif- tometers—the institute offers access to is seeking to organize its shared facili- ferent fields around shared, or core, la- approximately 50 instruments at other ties to better manage expenses related boratories can also create new opportu- research laboratories and departments. to maintenance and hiring technicians, nities for research. “Organizing research Created last year, the USP Core Fa- for which there is significant demand teams to work at shared facilities enables cilities Center (uspmulti.prp.usp.br/) from researchers and departments. The interaction among people who approach

32 z DECEMBER 2019 2

research from different angles, suppor- (CRUESP). “We’ve been discussing ways ting the development of multidisciplinary A confocal microscope to catalog available facilities across the solutions to research problems,” says Ro- available from the Core state to increase utilization,” says phy- Research Facilities ger Chammas, head of the USP School Center at the Institute sicist Carlos Graeff, associate dean for of Medicine’s Premium Network, a core of Biomedical Sciences research at São Paulo State University facilities program that in 2005 launched (UNESP) and a professor at the School a one-stop website for equipment avai- of Sciences of Bauru. With campuses in lable at different university laboratories. 24 municipalities in São Paulo, UNESP In recent years, USP and UNICAMP plans to launch a platform this year of- have each independently set up robust fering 200 pieces of equipment, expan- shared core facilities where available ding its core facilities at the Institute of equipment has been or will soon be inte- Chemistry in Araraquara. grated together. Examples include USP’s other researchers to be made available Débora Chad, a professor at USP’s Premium Network and its Core Research for shared use. The websites operated Institute of Biosciences and assistant Facilities Center (CEFAP) at the Institute by laboratories and research institutes to the associate dean for research at USP, of Biomedical Sciences, which since 2014 in the state of São Paulo where Foun- believes that individual university core FREEPICK has provided users across the state with dation-funded equipment is available facilities could be a steppingstone to- sequencing, live-cell imaging, mass spec- are listed at www.fapesp.br/emu/. The ward a platform aggregating all available trometry, and other service offerings—FA- list is sorted by type of instrument, ins- research equipment in the state of São ILLUSTRATIONS PESP provided US$4 million in funding titution or city. “This listing shows only Paulo. As a case in point, she cites the to purchase equipment. The initiatives equipment purchased with funding from UK, where equipment located at uni- at UNICAMP include the Core Labora- FAPESP; other agencies, such as FINEP, versities across the country has been tory for High-Performance Technologies also fund core facilities and have their cataloged on a single portal (equipment. (LaCTAD), a facility opened in 2013 to own listings. That is why it is important data.ac.uk) operated by the Engineering support research in genomics, bioinfor- to have central portals cataloging all fa- and Physical Sciences Research Council matics, proteomics, and cell biology. cilities available at a given institution,” (EPSRC). “This is something worth re- FAPESP, which provides funding for says Munir Skaf of UNICAMP. plicating in São Paulo. USP researchers research infrastructure through regular The need to provide greater visibility resident in noncapital cities could find

LÉO RAMOS CHAVES 2 AND 3 EDUARDO CESAR RAMOS CHAVES LÉO loan facilities and as part of the EMU around available core equipment has the equipment they need closer by, ins- 1 program, requires medium-sized and long been on the agenda at the Council of tead of having to go to São Paulo City,”

PHOTOS large instruments that are of interest to Deans of State Universities in São Paulo says Chadi. n Fabrício Marques

PESQUISA FAPESP z 33 GENDER y

Visible women

Initiatives that aim to increase recognition of female researchers and their contributions to science

Carla Aranha

PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2019

n October 2018, Canadian scientist British physicist Donna Strickland from the Univer- Jessica Wade has a network of sity of Waterloo, Canada, became colleagues who the first woman in 55 years to win suggest the the Nobel Prize in Physics for her names of notable Iwork on generating high-intensity, ultra- female short laser pulses. She shared the prize researches with two other physicists. Interestingly, 1 it was easier for Strickland to earn recognition from the Nobel judges than from Wikipedia, which had no profile on the physicist among its 5.8 million pages in English until after the awards. prize and even included references to a initiatives aimed at combating gender In March 2018, seven months before the paper that she wrote in 1988. bias: one of these initiatives is led by the prize winners were announced, a draft Strickland's case is typical of a long- British physicist Jessica Wade, 30, and profile page for the researcher that had standing issue highlighted by many fe- specifically targets Wikipedia. A post- been written by an unidentified Inter- male researchers: underrepresented in doctoral researcher at Imperial College net user was deleted by the Wikipedia many scientific fields, women are ste- London who specializes in polymers, editors because the references given did reotyped as less capable than men and Wade began writing Wikipedia biog- not justify her having a page—her biogra- often need to work harder than men raphies for female researchers in 2017, phy on the Optical Society website was to receive public recognition for their after discovering that 90% of the ency- deemed insufficient. A page was quickly work. Concrete evidence supporting this clopedia's editors are men and that only created after Strickland was awarded the assertion has resulted in a number of 17% of profiles relate to women. "That

34 z DECEMBER 2019 Female scientists who now have profiles on Wikipedia Some of the researchers of various nationalities who have Wikipedia profiles thanks to the efforts of the British physicist Jessica Wade

2 3 4

KOTCHAKORN VORAAKHOM Thai architect known for designing parks and gardens ALICE BUNN in Bangkok that are British doctor of metallurgy, capable of absorbing large international director at the AZITA EMAMI-NEYESTANAK volumes of water and UK Space Agency, and Vice Iranian engineer based mitigating the effects of floods Chair of the Council of in the United States the European Space Agency who created microdevices to monitor healthe

GERTRUDIS DE LA FUENTE is an overall percentage. In terms of bi- Spanish biochemist who ographies of scientists, the proportion specialized in enzymology and who helped is even smaller," she says. combat a syndrome So far, she has published more than caused by poisoning in PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGE 4 400 biographies, raising awareness of Spain in the 1980s contributions made by women, such as those of the American climatologist Kim Cobb, 45, who leads a group that studies that promote inclusion and diversity in editors, who do a great job," says Wade. RYAN LASH / TED RYAN 3 the effects of climate change on the Pa- science, such as 500 Women Scientists, She consults researchers in advance to cific Ocean, and the Spanish biochemist which is composed of more than 2,000 see whether they are interested in hav- Gertrudis de la Fuente from the Com- female researchers from over 100 coun- ing a page on the online encyclopedia. plutense University of Madrid, who spe- tries. She is one of a number of scien-

BRIANA TICEHURST BRIANA cialized in enzymology and toxicology tists working as a “Wikipedian in Resi- SOLITARY QUEST and who was well known in Spain. Her dence”—people who facilitate the pub- Jessica Wade's mission was instigated by profile was approved five months after lication of Wikipedia entries related to personal experience. When she began her death at 95 years of age. their institutions or fields. She maintains her PhD thesis at Imperial College on Wade uses a set of criteria to choose frequent contact with these networks, macromolecules involved in the emission which scientists to profile—they must whose members propose new profiles, of LED light, she was the only woman in

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 2 1 AND COMMONS 5 WIKIMEDIA have earned recognition in academia debate the importance of those recom- her research group. "I was surrounded and have a level of notability among their mended, and suggest references. "The by testosterone and started to feel very

PHOTOS peers. Wade also participates in groups final texts are reviewed by the Wikipedia lonely," she says. "I realized that we need

PESQUISA FAPESP z 35 1 TAMSIN MATHER 3 Researcher at the University of Oxford, UK, who studies the environmental effects of gases emitted during volcanic eruptions

FATOUMATA KÉBÉ KIM COBB French astrophysicist Oceanographer at the who specializes in space Georgia Institute of debris and who created Technology and leader a program to offer of a research group that astronomy classes for investigates the effects people with low income of climate change on the Pacific Ocean

to encourage more women to participate one years ago, the cosmetics company in science." In addition to creating Wiki- L'Oréal launched the For Women in pedia profiles for female researchers, she Science award, which offers a scholar- also gives talks at schools and universities ship of US$100,000 to five internation- to stimulate interest in science among ally recognized female researchers. In girls and young women. 2006, the company also began awarding Wade has not yet profiled any Brazil- ogist Ruth Nussenzweig (1918–2018). a specific Brazilian prize in partnership ian scientists, but her efforts have been Other scientists are rarely mentioned, with UNESCO and the Brazilian Acad- recognized in the country. "Science is such as botanist Graziela Maciel Bar- emy of Sciences, through which seven still an area of power that is dominated roso (1912–2003), who was a professor young female researchers each year by men. Initiatives like Jessica Wade's, at the Federal University of Rio de Ja- win R$50,000. More than 80 scientists which highlight the work of female neiro (UFRJ), the Federal University of have already been awarded the prize, scientists, are essential to making girls Brasília (UNB), and the University of together receiving a total of approxi- aware that science is a career possibil- Campinas (UNICAMP). She was one of mately R$3.5 million in research incen- ity for them," says economist Hildete the most prolific plant taxonomists in tives. "Our goal is to stimulate scientific Pereira de Melo, a researcher at Flumi- Brazil—a number of Brazilian plant spe- research by women, who are often less nense Federal University and author of cies have been named after her, includ- acknowledged than their peers and who the book Pioneiras da ciência no Brasil ing Dorstenia grazielae, Diatenopteryx need to work twice as hard to earn rec- (Pioneers of science in Brazil), released grazielae, and Bauhinia grazielae. "She ognition," says Danielle Nunes, head of 3, 4, 5 AND COMMONS 6 WIKIMEDIA in 2006. Conceived in partnership with was internationally renowned in the L'Oréal's For Women in Science program Ligia Rodrigues from the Brazilian Cen- scientific world, but few people among in Brazil. Applications for consideration ter for Physics Research (CBPF), the the general public know about her," says this year, which are open until the end of book, which is being updated and re- Hildete Pereira de Melo. "We need to April, can be submitted at https://www. launched this year, contains profiles of publicize the work of these researchers paramulheresnaciencia.com.br/. scientists who have conducted essen- and show girls that a career in science is One of the 2018 winners was the bio- tial research in fields such as physics, not a male privilege," she adds. medicine and pharmacology researcher / WIKIMEDIA PYLE DAVID COMMONS chemistry, agronomy, and botany. Some Sabrina Lisboa, 36, from the Ribeirão of the scientists are known by the gen- YOUNG RESEARCHERS Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences eral public, such as agronomist Johanna In Brazil, various initiatives are striv- at the University of São Paulo (USP). JESSICA 2 WADE 1 Döbereiner (1924–2000), psychiatrist ing to highlight female scientists and She studies the mechanisms involved

Nise da Silveira (1905–1999), and biol- the importance of their work. Twenty- in posttraumatic stress processes in ro- PHOTOS

36 z DECEMBER 2019 4 5

Female presence in science

In 2016, the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC) launched the website Science and Women (www.cienciaemulher.org.br), which publishes articles and JACQUELINE DE ROJAS reports on scientific discoveries, Former UK software executive studies, and collaborations involving who now leads a digital skills female researchers. "Today, the development program website is one of the largest sources of news regarding women in Brazilian science," says Helena Nader, honorary LAUREN ESPOSITO president of the SBPC and founder of A researcher who specializes in the website. "Women are still a scorpions and who is Assistant minority in high-ranking academic Curator of Arachnology at the positions at research institutions, California Academy of Sciences despite being a majority among students. About 60% of Brazilians with PhDs are women. The topic is always discussed at our meetings and lectures," says Helena Nader. The SBPC held a new event for the first time this year that addressed the quest for equality in science and the challenges faced by female scientists. The seminar "SBPC and girls and IJEOMA UCHEGBU women in science" took place Nigerian pharmacist on February 11 at the organization's who founded a headquarters in São Paulo. The company in the UK that highlights included projects that uses nanotechnology to produce drug encourage girls to pursue careers in 6 delivery solutions science and initiatives designed to increase gender equality. Last year, the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological dents. One of her key objectives is to un- prize represents a seal of approval for Development (CNPq) issued a call for derstand the changes that occur in the your work, which helps to open doors," proposals to encourage girls in public human brain in response to past trauma, she says. She plans to use the money to high schools to follow scientific careers. such as kidnappings, childhood abuse, fund further studies this year. As another The initiative, which was started as and armed conflict and to discover what beneficial consequence, Lisboa was in- part of the Women and Science influence drugs and chemicals may have vited to give a series of lectures at Brazil- program created by the agency 13 on this process. "The aim is to improve ian universities. "These events help put years ago, received 78 proposals, treatment options, which today are not scientists in the spotlight and increase including for projects designed to fully effective and often have side ef- awareness of their research. They can increase the number of girls studying fects," she explains. "It is estimated that also help inspire girls and women at- technology and computing and about 8% of the world's population suf- tending the lectures to pursue a career participating in mathematics fers from some kind of posttraumatic in science," she says. She highlights an- competitions. A total of R$6 million was stress, which can be caused by a number other positive point. Interacting with awarded. "The goal is to continuously of factors and events, so it is an impor- L'Oréal executives and other winners of increase the number of women in tant issue that needs more research." the award has helped her develop a net- science," says sociologist Maria Lucia She says the award was a significant work of female scientists in Brazil who Braga, one of the program coordinators. incentive to continue her research. "The exchange ideas and discuss their work. n

PESQUISA FAPESP z 37 SCIENCE HEALTH y

Partnership for a DENGUE VACCINE

Butantan produces 100 million doses of nine different types each year

Rafael Garcia

PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2019

n December 12, the Butantan Insti- to share data and experiences so that the prod- tute signed a collaboration agree- ucts developed by the two partners—one pub- ment regarding an innovative mod- lic and one private—can be rapidly delivered to el that promises to speed up the the people. development of its US-patented Under the agreement, Butantan will receive Odengue vaccine, which is now in final Phase 3 a US$26 million upfront payment from MSD— trials in volunteers in Brazil. In a country that whose own dengue vaccine candidate is in an is accustomed to buying foreign scientific tech- early stage of development—in exchange for nology and services, the new agreement with US access to the São Paulo Institute’s dengue vac- pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck Sharp cine trial and development processes. MSD has & Dohme) will be a game changer, promoting also agreed to pay an additional US$75 million foreign investment while providing a platform over the next 24 months. Butantan could also Vaccines being packaged at the Butantan plant receive royalties if the company meets vaccine has achieved world-class excellence in develop- marketing targets outside of Brazil. To date, ing vaccines for which there is global demand. the Butantan vaccine program has received This is the first technology transfer of this kind R$224 million in investments from the Brazil- between a Brazilian institute and a global phar- ian Development Bank (BNDES), FAPESP, the maceutical company,” says physician Dimas Ta- Butantan Foundation, and the Brazilian Min- deu Covas, a director at Butantan. “We’re thrilled istry of Health. to see a program building on 10 years of FAPESP- As a rule, Butantan and MSD will not com- funded research develop into a product that could pete with each other in any market. The Brazil- reach global markets within the next few years,” ian institute has exclusive rights to produce the says Marco Antonio Zago, the current FAPESP vaccine in Brazil and MSD has exclusive rights president and previous São Paulo state Secre-

BUTANTAN INSTITUTE BUTANTAN in the US, Japan, China, and Europe. “Butantan tary of Health.

PESQUISA FAPESP z 39 The dengue vaccine is being tested on 17,000 Brazilian volunteers aged 2 to 59 years

A representation of the dengue virus, which has four serotypes The partnership was made possible by the developed vaccine passed Phase 2 clinical trials, fact that Butantan and MSD both based their demonstrating that it was safe and effectively vaccines on a set of genetically modified dengue stimulated the immune system to produce an- virus strains developed by a team led by Stephen tibodies against the four dengue fever viruses. Whitehead of the National Institute of Allergy Although the trials have already been completed, and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), US National the results have yet to be published. “The paper Institutes of Health (NIH). When international on this study has been recently submitted for collaborations to develop the vaccine were initi- publication and we are awaiting a response,” ated, the NIH established geographical domains explains Alexander Precioso, director of Bu- for each partner in advance. tantan’s Clinical Trials Division. “Publishing the Phase 2 trials is not a condition for moving he vaccine developed by Butantan, desig- to Phase 3. A clinical trial is approved at the nated as Butantan-DV, is made of live at- health-surveillance and ethics level.” After be- T tenuated viruses, as is MSD’s. It has the ad- ing successfully tested for safety and toxicity in vantage of being tetravalent, meaning it provides Phase 1, a vaccine (or drug) candidate must un- protection against all four dengue virus types. dergo Phase 2 testing, which covers additional Butantan’s clinical trials have been designed to safety aspects, and a therapeutic study involving evaluate product adequacy for a broad age bracket, a small but increasing number of participants from 2 to 59 years. The vaccine has thus far been to determine whether the product fulfills its shown to be safe, causing only a few adverse re- intended purpose. Phase 3 consists of a trial, actions similar to those caused by other vaccines. usually multicenter in nature, with a large num- No other dengue vaccine developed from NIH- ber of volunteers across varying age profiles to licensed material is at such an advanced clinical determine efficacy and confirm the vaccine or trial stage. In late 2015, Sanofi Pasteur launched drug’s safety profile. Dengvaxia, the only commercially available vac- While still pending publication in a scientif- cine against dengue, which was developed with ic journal, the results of the Phase 2 Butantan a different technology from the NIH. However, vaccine trials, which included 300 volunteers the French company’s product has several draw- recruited by the University of São Paulo School backs: it has a relatively low efficacy rate (60%), of Medicine (FM-USP), have been reported to can cause adverse reactions, and is contraindicated the MSD and other companies and institutions for people who have never had dengue. at scientific meetings, conferences, and events. The collaboration between Butantan and MSD “The Phase 2 studies were extremely promising began to take shape shortly after the Brazilian- and caught our attention,” says Guilherme Les-

40 z DECEMBER 2019 A step in the production of the dengue vaccine at Butantan

er, director of government affairs and access at in February, we’ll likely be seeing a very large MSD Brazil. “We promptly initiated discussions number of cases next season.” with Butantan about the possibility of a collabo- The 16 trial centers in Brazil are working to ration, as Brazil had the highest prevalence of recruit the required number of volunteers. “To dengue cases globally at that time. The country demonstrate that the vaccine is effective, we need was experiencing outbreaks of the disease in the to document 100 cases of the disease among vol- southeast and northeast, and the large number unteers, but we have yet to reach that number,” of cases allowed Butantan to get a head start on explains Kallás. One-third of the volunteers are Phase 3 clinical studies, the last stage, to evaluate in the control group, which is given an innocu- the vaccine’s efficacy.” In 2015, and 2016, Brazil ous preparation, and two-thirds receive the ac- recorded approximately 1.5 million cases of den- tual vaccine. When one hundred patient targets gue. In 2017 and 2018, the number dropped to were reached, the researchers opened the files approximately 240,000. of the participants who were infected and identified which group they were in. If almost all the he Phase 3 Butantan vaccine trial, which patients with active cases received the placebo, has a goal of covering 17,000 people over this will be a very strong indication that the vac- T a five-year follow-up period, is well un- cine is effective. However, the clinical trial will derway and near completion. The trial divided not be complete if and when this occurs. It will volunteers into three age brackets: 2 to 7, 8 to 17, also need to evaluate the protection offered by and 18 to 59 years. Only the youngest age group, the vaccine against each serotype of the virus— the hardest to recruit for clinical trials, has yet in Brazil, most cases of dengue are types 2 and 3 to reach the target number of participants. The across the different profiles of patients who have difficulty in recruiting this group of volunteers or have not been infected. is explained by both the surprisingly small num- “MSD is now starting Phase 2 studies on its ber of dengue cases in the last two years and the vaccine. We have not yet established which coun- need for parental permission for children to par- tries and populations we want to include in the ticipate in the study. “There is some evidence Phase 3 trials,” says Leser of Merck. “We hope that the 2019 epidemic will be larger than the to recruit significant numbers of people who 2018 epidemic,” says Esper Kallás, a professor have been exposed to different dengue serotypes, BUTANTAN INSTITUTE BUTANTAN at FM-USP and coordinator of one of the 16 trial such as type 4, which occurred infrequently in

PDBE 2 centers. “At the end of 2018, dengue cases in São Butantan’s studies.” 1 Paulo already exceeded the estimates for the pe- The collaboration agreement is mutually ben-

PHOTOS riod. Because epidemics reach a maximum peak eficial. The advanced stage at which the Brazil-

PESQUISA FAPESP z 41 Sanofi’s Dengvaxia vaccine has limited efficacy and can only be received by people who have already been infected with the dengue virus

ian partner’s vaccine program finds itself means ing the needed infrastructure can,” says Pre- the resulting data and experience in producing cioso. Finding the best way to apply the funds the vaccine can help to accelerate Merck’s pro- will be at Butantan’s discretion. “They will al- gram. Conversely, the US company’s experi- so be used toward development and innova- ence in developing, producing, and trialing new tion in general,” he says. The agreement with vaccines can expedite the final manufacturing MSD accommodates potential collaborations phase and clinical trials at Butantan. Although involving other vaccines currently produced based on the same virus preparation engineered at Butantan, such as vaccines against hepatitis at the NIH, the two vaccines will need separate A and HPV (see page 43). Through its partner- regulatory approvals. ship with MSD, the institute hopes to tap into global markets, especially in low-income and he Butantan and MSD vaccines have dif- developing countries. ferent formulations. The Brazilian institute There are still many questions to be explored T developed a multidose vaccine initially de- in the field of dengue research. Alongside the yet- signed for vaccination campaigns such as those to-be-published Phase 2 clinical trials and the periodically organized by the Brazilian Ministry ongoing Phase 3 trial, there is other research that of Health. MSD is looking to serve a more frag- is currently other research on Butantan dengue mented global market, with demand substantially vaccines being conducted. Kallás’s laboratory at coming from people traveling to tropical areas. USP, for example, is investigating the extent to The company would therefore focus on the pro- which the product activates a cellular immune duction of single-dose vials. The World Health response without involving the production of Organization (WHO) estimates that 390 million antibodies. “I hope my research provides an un- dengue virus infections occur per year. Should derstanding of which immune markers indicate either of the partners in the collaboration decide whether a person is protected against dengue, to shift course, they have agreed to continue to an aspect that currently remains unclear,” ex- share their experience in production techniques plains Kallás. n without charging additional royalties. According to Covas, the funds provided by MSD can be used toward developing the den- Project gue vaccine and accelerating some stages of the Dengue: Production of experimental batches of a tetravalent candidate vaccine against dengue (nº 08/50029-7); Grant Mechanism process. “The process of demonstrating the ef- Regular Research Grant; Program PPSUS; Principal Investigator Isaias ficacy of the vaccine obviously cannot go any Raw (Butantan Institute); Investment R$1,926,149.72 (FAPESP/ CNPq-PPSUS). faster, but the process of building and expand- LEHTO GABRIEL / PASTEUR SANOFI

42 z DECEMBER 2019 Life-saving vaccines

Butantan produces 100 million doses of nine vaccines each year

PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2019

f successful, the Butantan Institute’s dengue Eggs used in to produce antigens for the vaccine. The system vaccine will add to a growing list of vaccines the production can process 520,000 eggs per day, with each of influenza manufactured by the Brazilian institution. vaccines resulting in one vaccine dose on average. “Our I Butantan currently has a portfolio of 13 anti- influenza vaccine factory is the only facility of venoms and 9 vaccines, producing a total of 100 its kind in Latin America. We have applied for million doses each year that are supplied to the certification by the World Health Organization Ministry of Health for distribution in Brazil. [WHO] to be able to export the product,” says Most vaccines are manufactured entirely at the Ricardo das Neves Oliveira, who manages the São Paulo institution; some products pending the production unit. completion of technology transfer processes are After five years of producing the original vac- only partially produced at Butantan under agree- cine formulation, Butantan is considering up- ments with private pharmaceutical companies. grading the flu vaccine facility to produce more The vaccines produced in the largest volume in sophisticated products. The institute currently 2018 were seasonal influenza vaccines (60 million produces a trivalent vaccine, meaning that each doses), followed by vaccines against hepatitis B annual formulation reacts to three different types (16 million), human papillomavirus (HPV, 7.6 of inactivated virus. The virus strains used each million), diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough year are determined by the WHO based on global (4.3 million), and hepatitis A (3.7 million). epidemic data. The Butantan vaccine provides The unit producing the influenza vaccine— protection against two subtypes of influenza A which is reformulated each year depending on and one subtype of influenza B. “We’re running the types of influenza virus circulating around the tests to add another subtype of influenza B to world—is housed in Butantan’s most advanced the formulation and produce a quadrivalent vac- facility, a 10,000 square-meter building with a cine, which is already available on the market,” biosafety level 2 rating. As part of a technology says Oliveira. transfer program with Sanofi, the French com- The institute also plans to begin the devel- pany that created the vaccine, Butantan, development of a high-dose flu vaccine with higher oped the capabilities to produce a formulation viral protein content for the elderly population, identical to the product manufactured by the improving the immune response. Another im- multinational corporation. provement will be an increase in the number of Although building on privately developed vaccine doses produced from each egg. A col- technology, the Brazilian institute had to en- laboration has been established with two cer- gineer an innovative, proprietary system to in- tified poultry farms to test eggs from different

BUTANTAN INSTITUTE BUTANTAN oculate embryonic eggs with influenza viruses lineages of chickens. n Rafael Garcia

PESQUISA FAPESP z 43 INTERVIEW ALEXANDRE ANTONELLI y

At the forefront of science in royal gardens

In February, a Brazilian biologist will assume the role of scientific director of Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom

Carlos Fioravanti

PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2019

n 1996, at 17 years of age, Alexandre in Scandinavia, with 16,000 species of Antonelli, born in Campinas, began plants. Five years later, he returned to Antonelli: ready to bring to study biology at the University of work as a professor of biodiversity at the researchers closer to each Campinas (UNICAMP). The call for University of Gothenburg. In 2017, he other and to the I gardeners, as he did in adventure was too strong to deny, and six established the Gothenburg Center for Gothenburg months later, he put his studies on hold Global Biodiversity, which currently has to spend a year and a half backpacking close to 10 million specimens of plants across Europe. He later moved to Central and animals. America and met his future wife, who is At 40 years of age, he holds three Swedish, when they were working for a citizenships—Brazilian, Swedish, and diving school in Honduras. He went with Italian—and is married to Anna, who her to Gothenburg, Sweden, where they manages a psychiatric clinic. The couple million in the herbariums, as well as 1.2 settled. He returned to study biology in has three children: Gabriel, aged 14, and million fungus samples and a bank of 2 Sweden and dove into biogeography to the 12-year-old twins Clara and Maria. billion seeds of close to 40,000 species. see how plants in neotropical regions, At the end of June 2018, Antonelli was In October, upon publicly announcing such as the Amazon, evolved and con- at Harvard University as a visiting pro- his appointment, Kew director Richard quered their surroundings. During his fessor when he was invited to apply for Deverell said, “Alex’s experience and doctorate, he collected samples in the the position of scientific director for the scientific specializations complement Amazon for the first time in 2003. Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, or Kew and broaden Kew’s strong points. We In 2010, after completing a postdoc- Gardens, in London, one of the largest are enthusiastic about his ability to apply torate in Switzerland, he returned to botanical research institutions in the his experience and ambition to further Gothenburg to work as the curator of world. The institution brings together 22 increase the quality and global impact the city’s botanical garden, the largest million plant species in the garden and 7 of our science. I am confident that he

44 z DECEMBER 2019 will not only inspire the scientists and group in the botanical garden. There as climate change. We need to think not students at Kew but also a new genera- are eight departments and close to 25 only about threats to biodiversity but tion through engagement and promo- research groups. One of the priorities is also about work opportunities around tion of science.” to broaden and strengthen the master’s the study of botanical collections. Antonelli will start February 4th with and doctorate programs in botany and the tasks of increasing integration among ecology, capitalizing on Kew’s human How do you intend to integrate the liv- the 320 researchers and strengthening resources, with more than 320 researching collection of cultivated plants in Kew’s brand, visibility, and scientific ers, and its immense collections. Along the botanical garden with the Kew her- production. One of his intentions is to with my predecessor, Kathy Willis, Kew barium? increase collaboration among Brazilian developed a strategic plan for scientific One of the things I plan to initiate soon researchers—not only botanical—as he research from 2015 to 2020. Now, one of after I begin is a digitalization project of shares in the following interview. the tasks is to draft and lead a strategic the living collections and the herbarium. plan for the five following years, through My dream is that any visitor can open What do you plan to do as scientific 2025, and to work with the document re- their smartphone camera and, with an director of Kew? leased a few months ago on the strategy arrow, understand more about any plant I have not yet finalized my plans. In the for the maintenance and expansion of species, fungus, and microorganism be- first months, beginning in February, I the collections through 2030. We need to ing viewed. This will require close to 100 want to spend time getting to know the consolidate these plans before incorpo- to 150 images per species in different

ERIK THOR ACADEMY / YOUNG OF SWEDEN areas of work, needs, and plans for each rating my ideas and the challenges, such levels of development, before flowering,

PESQUISA FAPESP z45 with flowers, and with fruits. We are also also work there. It is the largest botanical discussing a new building to update the research institution in the world. herbarium, which will be a very large building, as well as integrating Kew’s Could Brexit—the exit of the United two research buildings. The laborato- Kingdom from the European Union— ry is still separate from the herbarium. cause problems with the work and fund- We want to merge them in order to in- I will do ing of research? crease collaboration among research- There are still many unanswered ques- ers. Another objective is to strengthen whatever I can tions, such as access to European re- the connection between the gardeners, for Brazilian search-funding programs that were al- who take care of the living plant collec- ways of strong interest to the United tions, and the researchers, who work researchers to be Kingdom. There is considerable concern primarily with the herbarium. As the among researchers regarding what will scientific curator of the tropical col- able to use the happen as of March. It is quite chaotic. lections of the Gothenburg Botanical When I begin, it will be a turbulent time. Garden, I took part in a collection trip Kew collections Another challenge is to convince the in South Africa. Half of the team was with the least general population and the government composed of researchers and the other that Kew is very important for the coun- half of gardeners. It was fantastic. There amount of try to maintain the sustainable develop- was a very rich exchange of knowledge ment goals put forward by the United between those who cultivate plants and bureaucracy Nations. Of the 17 goals, at least four those who study them in their natural are directly linked to biodiversity. We habitat. The botanist tends to focus on work with research, conservation, and the plant that represents the standard preservation, but food safety is also very for a given species, while the gardener much related to botanical research. Mak- observes other characteristics that the ing people understand the importance botanist often overlooks, such as varia- Rockefeller Center for Latin Ameri- of research and scientific production is tion in size and color between plants of can Studies. According to Tomas, they a continuous focus that requires addi- the same species. There are also other thought that I could be a candidate, and tional effort. In 2019, we will organize differences. The university researcher he asked if I would be interested. There two science festivals to encourage stu- begins work late, sometimes at 10:00 am, were others, but I felt very honored be- dents and teachers to meet researchers while the gardener must start at 6:30 am. cause this work is a dream for any biolo- and visit the collections. They will be gist. I sent my CV and a letter explaining simple events but extremely important What did you learn in Gothenburg that why I would like to work there. I am very to maintain the direct connection with could be useful for you now? happy with what I did at the Univer- the public. Something I really like about Scandinavia sity of Gothenburg. I have an excellent is the lack of hierarchy in organizations. research group that I trained over the The Kew-Brazil collaboration has Both in universities and at the botanical last eight years after I returned from my shrunk somewhat after the completion garden, there is a significant openness postdoctorate in Switzerland. This is a of the Reflora Project at Kew. How do to differences in opinion and decision- unique opportunity to influence studies you intend to work on this? making processes. My impression is that on biodiversity in a way that is very rare Kew collaborates with 110 countries, and in England there is a much higher level for a university position. In December, I in my opinion, it is essential to broaden of formality, and each person has a very went to Kew’s Christmas party, and then these partnerships to benefit everyone, well-defined position in the organogram. on the 11th, I presented a workshop for but of course not without an internal I will work to increase collaboration be- their 320 researchers. As there was not discussion. I need to understand which tween research groups and departments. enough space for everyone in the audi- collaborations and areas would be more It is important that researchers do not torium, they had to rent a church. I pre- strategic to strengthen. As a Brazilian feel suppressed, mentally or in practice, sented my objectives, and I was very well and a tropical biologist, I am very in- by the organizational structure. received with only positive comments. terested in strengthening collaborations with Brazil. I will do what I can for Bra- What was the selection process like for How is Kew today? zilian researchers to be able to use the the position of scientific director? It is much better today than a few years collections and establish both individual At the end of June, I was contacted by ago. There was a restructuring—a rather and institutional connections with Kew Tomas Borsa, who works with Perrett dramatic one—four years ago, and many with the least amount of bureaucracy. Laver of London and was contracted to people lost their jobs. Kew has never un- manage the selection of candidates for dertaken so many research projects or With whom do you collaborate here in the role. I was not even aware of the po- had so many researchers as they do today. Brazil? sition. I was working as a visiting pro- There are more than 1,000 employees in I have many associates, and I receive ma- fessor at Harvard, invited by the David the botanical garden, and 800 volunteers ny Brazilian doctoral students, postdoc-

46 z DECEMBER 2019 DILIFF / WIKIMEDIA / DILIFF COMMONS

View of the garden and palm nursery at Kew Have you worked with researchers in considerable variation among the met- Gardens, one of the largest botanical research other areas? rics for measuring biodiversity. As Josué institutions in the world Yes, and it has been wonderful to work has seen, morphological methods and with geologists, mathematicians, and molecular methods can lead to differ- other professionals who see the same ent answers. Quantifying biodiversity problem from a different angle. But it is a very difficult task. The doctoral stu- is a long process. An article about the dent Camila Duarte Ritter, who finished toral researchers, and visiting professors. influence of climate and geology on the her research two months ago, studied I am working with Rosane Collevatti, pro- biodiversity of mountains, which came insects and microorganisms in the soil fessor at the Federal University of Goiás, out in October in Nature Geoscience, of the Amazon. When we speak about who is here in Gothenburg for one month. brought together climatologists, geolo- great biodiversity, people often think I work with André Olmos Simões and gists, botanists, and ecologists—a little of about mammals and birds, but the great- Maria Fernanda Calió of UNICAMP, Lu- everything—and took three years to be est players are microorganisms, fungi, cia Lohmann and José Rubens Pirani of completed because the discussions were and insects. We are seeing much greater USP [University of São Paulo], and Fer- very complex. I have always been inter- biodiversity and finding very different nanda Werneck of INPA [National In- ested in comparing plants with other patterns from those of plants and birds. stitute of Amazonian Research]. At the groups of living beings. I have done many beginning of October, I was at the Fed- studies on the analysis of the biodiversity What was your work in Sweden? eral University of Rio Grande do Norte of serpents with Thaís Barreto Guedes I was very lucky to receive so much fund- to teach a doctoral course with Professor and Cristiano de Campos Nogueira, both ing in Sweden, as I did in Europe, which Fernanda Antunes Carvalho. I tend to go from USP. A doctoral student who is here allowed me to build a strong research to Brazil and Latin America three or four in Gothenburg, Josué Anderson, is al- group and the center for biodiversity in times a year for fieldwork and conferenc- so working with serpents. In terms of Gothenburg, bringing together 13 Swed- es. The greatest part of my research was methodology, the work with plants and ish institutions. The center has two fo- done in the Amazon and in the Andes. animals is very similar because we carry cuses: to advance scientific research and out molecular analyses and we compare to increase contact between scientists In an article published in PeerJ in Oc- evolution and the history of groups to and the public. We have organized many tober, in collaboration with other au- find patterns in biodiversity. If we find public events to create new links between thors, you proposed transdisciplinary similar patterns in the diversity of plants the general population, companies, and biogeography, an area that could bring and animals, this suggests that there are researchers. Two months ago, we brought together not only biologists but also environmental factors involved. In gen- [British naturalist and TV host for BBC] geologists, climatologists, and paleon- eral, the greater the heterogeneity of an David Attenborough, and we have hosted tologists to better understand evolu- environment, the greater the number of seminars and film presentations that have tion and the formation of landscapes. species are in the same area. But there is attracted many people. n

PESQUISA FAPESP z47 ENVIRONMENT y How forests are reborn

In dry areas, hardwood trees are the first to naturally regenerate, while the reverse scenario occurs in wet forests

PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2019

n international collaboration of 85 researchers from 16 countries is attempting to better understand the mechanisms Abehind the regeneration of cleared tropical forests in Latin America. The most recent study by the group, named 2ndFOR, found that the composition of tree species that occurs during the regrowing process—known as forest succession— depends on the wetness of the deforested area. In an article published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on April 22, the scientists showed that in wetter tropical forests, the first species to regrow in deforested areas are the lighter and softer woods, which grow faster and are less commercially valuable. The denser, harder wooded trees, which take longer to develop and receive a higher price on the market, regrow later. This behavior is expected and is in line with traditional theories on the natural reforestation of degraded areas. However, in drier forests, the opposite scenario occurs: hardwood trees regrow Cecropia tree in the first, followed later by softwood trees. Brazilian Amazon, one "We were surprised to see completely different of the first species to regrow in wet forests succession pathways for forests in rainy and dry areas," said Lourens Poorter, an ecologist from Wa- geningen University in the Netherlands and lead

48 z DECEMBER 2019 author of the study. The researchers also looked at forests in intermediate clima- Reforestation map tes that were midway between wet and 1,400 forest fragments were studied at 50 locations in Latin America dry. In these cases, they observed that the initial regeneration process included both hard and soft trees. Over the long term, after a few decades of regrowth, both dry and wet forests tend to converge, with numerous tree species of both n hard and soft types. Dry forests n Wet forests Study sites CARBON SEQUESTRATION The conclusions of the 2ndFOR study are based on a robust data set that allowed for comparisons between forests as different as the São Paulo Atlantic Forest, Hardwood Softwood where the climate is relatively humid, species species and the Petén Basin in Mexico, which Slow Fast is an arid region. The group used data growth growth from more than 1,400 forest fragments analyzed at 50 of its 58 research sites. Tolerate adverse Do not survive in The chosen sampling locations featured conditions such as areas where naturally regenerated secondary forests lack of water and/or water and light are of varying ages, ranging from forest frag- sunlight scarce ments in the Brazilian state of Pará that were deforested 10 years ago to sites in Wood is usually darker Wood is usually light Panama that were destroyed and aban- doned 100 years ago. Emphasis on reserving areas of forest for regeneration has grown in recent decades, mainly as a result of discussions on climate change. As carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rates continue to rise, secondary forests have become increasingly important in the fight against glo- DRY Hardwood trees are When the environment Over time, species of bal warming because growing trees ab- the first to regenerate. later becomes less both types coexist FORESTS sorb more carbon. They are resistant to a challenging, softwood Policymakers can therefore benefit lack of water trees reemerge from a better understanding of the reforestation process. New information can

help them decide which areas should Cleared be prioritized and which strategies are field most effective. "Based on this knowledge, for example, we can choose to plant hardwood tree species when restoring areas with soil degradation, anticipating ALEXANDRE AFFONSO the lack of water available to the plants there," says agronomist Pedro Branca- WET Softwood species Hardwood species Similar to dry forests, regrow first due to the regenerate later trees both types eventually lion, from the Luís de Queiroz School FORESTS of Agriculture at the University of São abundance of water and reemerge recover in the wet Paulo (ESALQ-USP), coauthor of the sunlight environment 2ndFOR study. How wet or dry a forest is can dras- tically alter the way a deforested area Deforested begins its regeneration process. Some area plant species need the forest canopy to protect them from the sun so that they do not dry out. In dry forests, therefo-

PHOTO FABIO COLOMBINI INFOGRAPHIC AND ILLUSTRATIONS re, in comparison to softwood species,

PESQUISA FAPESP z 49 Dry forest in the Chanela region of Mexico AEDRAKE09 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

PHOTO

dense hardwood trees, which are more ted to regenerate deforested areas. A biodiversity alone, analysis by 2ndFOR tolerant of low water levels, grow better group of 30 countries has already com- suggests that there are different ways at the beginning of the reforestation pro- mitted to restoring 91 million hectares of of measuring the success of forest re- cess. Once they are established, the sof- forests—an area the size of Venezuela— generation. ter wood species, which die more easily by 2020. To meet the Paris Agreement's A paper published by the group in the when faced with a lack of water, follow. CO2 reduction targets, 350 million hecta- journal Science Advances in March 2019 In wet forest areas, because there are res of deforested areas need to be recove- indicates that, on average, secondary no severe droughts, less dense trees re- red by 2030. How this will be achieved, tropical forests need 20 years to reco- grow faster from the start, as they are no one knows. ver 80% of the species richness found more efficient at absorbing nutrients. According to studies by 2ndFOR, di- in a mature preserved forest. The time This scenario explains why cecropia rect forest restoration strategies that needed to reach a species richness level trees, which are light and hollow, are involve planting seedlings do not always equal to that of a mature forest is even abundant in secondary forests in rai- work. Soil degradation, fires, and compe- longer. "Although most species recover nier climates such as the Amazon, while tition with invasive plants can all com- quickly in a regrowing forest, it can ta- those in drier climates feature denser promise the results of this approach. "If ke centuries before it has the same spe- hardwood species. possible, reforestation should rely on cies richness as the original forest," says natural regeneration, known as passive Brancalion. "In fact, we don't know if it's LIFESTYLE restoration. It is cheaper and leads to possible to ever reach that point because The dynamics of reforestation depend on more diverse and resilient vegetation," we usually have no idea of the diversity differences in metabolism that influen- says ecologist Ima Vieira, from the Emí- that existed in the deforested area in ce the "lifestyle" of trees. Species with lio Goeldi Museum of Pará, an institu- the past." n Rafael Garcia conservative strategies do better in envi- tion affiliated with 2ndFOR. "In degra- ronments with fewer natural resources, ded areas where natural regeneration such as in environments with poor soil, is difficult, however, planting trees is a Project low light, and scarce water. They are good alternative." Chronosequence and effect of the landscape on the suc- thus predominant in forests with drier Carbon sequestration should not be cession of secondary tropical forests (No. 14/14503-7); climates. Those with acquisitive strate- the only motivation for restoring forests, Grant Mechanism PhD Fellowship; Principal Investigator gies are more common in environments the researchers say. Forests are also as- Pedro Brancalion (USP); Beneficiary Ricardo Gomes Cé- sar; Investment R$168,055.58. with greater access to resources, such sociated with improved soil and water Scientific articles as more fertile soil and rainy and sunny quality, and the biodiversity they sustain locations. For example, they are the first could provide new substances and bio- POORTER, L. et al. Wet and dry tropical forests show opposite successional pathways in wood density but converge to reappear in rainforests. materials—not to mention the important over time. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Apr, 22, 2019. Climate change is the driving force role they play in the livelihoods of local ROZENDAAL, D. M. A. et al. Biodiversity recovery of Neo- behind many of the public policies adop- communities. Even when considering tropical secondary forests. Science Advances. Mar, 6, 2019.

50 z DECEMBER 2019 PHYSICS y Fluidity in curved space-time

Study supports theory on how dense matter interacts with strong gravitational fields

Marcos Pivetta

PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2019

n an article to be published in the journal Physical Review Letters, three Brazilian physicists have proven two Iof the mathematical theorems that support the Israel-Stewart theory, which was conceived in the 1970s to explain the Illustration of two neutron stars merging, a scenario in which the behavior of viscous fluids—liquids, gases, Israel-Stewart theory explains the movement of viscous fluids or plasmas resistant to flow—moving at close to the speed of light and interacting with extremely strong gravitational Israel-Stewart equations could be used to with relativity in certain situations. The fields. The researchers' calculations de- study this phenomenon, no one knew for solutions they proposed, however, appea- monstrate the compatibility of the Israel- sure before the publication of our paper red too simplistic to consistently predict -Stewart theory with Albert Einstein's if they were actually applicable to these the behavior of viscous fluids, conside- (1879–1955) theory of general relativity, cases," says study coauthor Marcelo M. ring that space-time can bend and form including for situations in which space- Disconzi, from Vanderbilt University in singularities at which matter and energy -time is curved and ultradense matter is Nashville, USA. The third author is Fábio are compressed into a single point. "Our formed. An example of one such scenario S. Bemfica, from the Federal University mathematical proof shows that the Is- is the collision and merging of two neu- of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). rael-Stewart theory is robust enough to tron stars, which are extremely compact Since the 1940s, many scientists have describe the movement of matter in this and high-energy celestial bodies. attempted to formulate a theory of vis- extreme scenario," says Noronha. n "Viscosity is a universal characteristic cous fluids compatible with Einstein's of all fluids that describes their resistance ideas. Their attempts, however, always to flow, like when honey runs down the encountered one problem: they viola- Project walls of a container. Similar phenomena ted the principle of causality, which is Hadronic physics in high-energy nuclear collisions (No. also occur when neutron stars merge," ex- fundamental to the theory of relativity. 17/05685-2.) Grant Mechanism Thematic Project; Prin- cipal Investigator Jun Takahashi (UNICAMP); Investment plains Jorge Noronha, from the Institute Then, almost half a century ago, physi- R$1,644,757.82. of Physics at the University of São Paulo cists Werner Israel, from Canada, and Scientific article (IF-USP), one of the authors of the pa- John Stewart (1943–2016), from England, BEMFICA, F. S. et al. Causality of the Einstein-Israel- per. "Although there was a general belief appeared to have at least partially solved -Stewart Theory with bulk viscosity. Physical Review Letters. In press. NSF / LIGO / SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY / A. / SONOMA / LIGO NSF SIMONNET STATE among the scientific community that the the problem with a theory that worked

PESQUISA FAPESP z 51 PHYSICO-CHEMISTRY y

TheThe hiddenhidden strokesstrokes ofof Portinari

Tests show how the artist produced his artwork and may be useful in confirming the author of a piece found in the painter’s former home

PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2019

he taking of images at different wavelengths, such as infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray, has brought to light the nuances of the creative Tprocess of Candido Portinari (1903–1962). In collaboration with restorers and museologists, the team of the nuclear physicist Márcia Rizzutto, of the University of São Paulo (USP), used different physico-chemical analysis techniques to study the painter’s works and, in some cases, succeeded in pointing out the hidden strokes that had been sket- ched and later covered up by layers of paint by the artist himself. These findings are the result of studies of paintings from two collections of Portinari’s works located in São Paulo: the murals in the Casa de Portinari Museum in Brodowski, the painter’s native city, and the sacred canvas collection in the Senhor Bom Jesus da Cana Verde Sanctuary, the main church of Batatais. The studies also refined our scientific knowledge of the chemical composition of the painter’s preferred colors called the pigment palette. The most interesting discoveries came from analyses of murals in a small room called the Chapel of Nonna, located in the former home of the Portinari family, which today is a museum and belongs to the Department of Culture of the State of São Paulo. The chapel exhibits sacred images and images of

52 z DECEMBER 2019 Hidden details in a mural Images of different wavelengths reveal cracks and how the painter created the figure of Saint Elizabeth

In Brodowski, Portinari painted the Chapel of Nonna in the 1940s so that his ill grandmother could pray at home. The features of the saints are based on those of family members and friends

With inspiration for the face from the painter’s wife, Maria Martinelli, the saint had various retouches before taking its final form. Its waist was wider, as indicated by the arrow in the infrared image (above and to the right), which reveals Portinari’s initial draft PEDRO CAMPOS PEDRO

PHOTOS

VISIBLE LIGHT ULTRAVIOLET INFRARED TANGENTIAL LIGHT The eye-catching colors Fixed cracks on the The base sketches of The visible image of of the saint’s face hide a wall of the mural the painting, made in the painting illuminated with good part of the retouches appear with pencil, can be seen low-angle light reveals made to the painting clarity in this type in photographs that use unevenness in the painting’s from the naked eye of image this type of light surface as well as brush strokes

PESQUISA FAPESP z 53 saints with physiognomies inspired by in relation to the artwork’s position. In members of the artist’s family and his this way, this type of photography can friends. The chapel was built at the be- accentuate the possible disparities in ginning of the 1940s so that Portinari’s the surface and outline the quantity and grandmother Pelegrina, who was sick at In 2018, a study markings of the strokes. the time, could pray without having to go to church. To the left of the entran- discovered that s knowledge was gained of the ce, there is an eye-catching mural that Pablo Picasso painter’s palette and the hidden measures 1.8 meters (m) by 1.6 m and Amarkings that his working me- that portrays the visit of Our Lady to hid a newspaper thod tended to make, Rizzutto built a Saint Elizabeth, whose faces were desig- database of the chemical elements pre- ned, respectively, based on the features article in one sent in the paint of Portinari’s works. of Portinari’s sister, Olga, and his wife, Using the X-ray fluorescence technique, Maria Martinelli (1912–2006). of his paintings where each chemical element emits a Rizzutto produced infrared images particular pattern of this type of radia- of Saint Elizabeth’s figure and claimed tion, she mapped the pigments that give that through the addition of pencil stro- color to the artist’s paintings. According kes, the painter corrected the drawing to the physicist, the green used by Por- in three places: the contour of the eye- tinari was created by using chromium brow, the shape of her waist (which or a mixture of cobalt and cadmium. In was reduced in comparison to the ini- the white pigment, zinc was predomi- tial draft), and her fingers. “Referred to nant. The composition of the reds varied as ‘pentimento,’ the pencil marks show nal ways using visible light. The images according to the tone: in general, the- the artist’s dissatisfaction, who chan- rendered using infrared and ultraviolet re was iron, manganese with iron, cad- ged his mind during the creation of the light also show that below the layers of mium with selenium and even mercury. artwork and altered the figures in the color that give shape to the saint’s face, The yellows were a blend of cadmium painting,” comments the researcher and there are two large cracks in the wall and, in some cases, even lead. “Portinari manager of the Center for Applied Phy- that are imperceptible to the naked eye was a modern artist who already used sics Research on the Study of Artistic that may have arisen due to instabili- a lot of paint bought in tubes. However, Heritage and History (NAP-FAEPAH) ties in the structure and that were later he worked with many color gradations at USP. Infrared images are commonly corrected. Photos using visible light wa- through blending and had a preference used to investigate the creative process velengths can also be useful for high- for some combinations,” says Rizzutto. of painters, as the images can detect pen- lighting unsuspected nuances of pain- Given this knowledge, the physicist cil sketches covered by paint. tings when taken with a low-angle flash. took on an even more challenging task These details of the way that Portinari In such cases, the light illuminating a in another room at the Casa de Portina- worked are invisible when the mural is painting should be placed at a very slight ri Museum: to determine whether the observed or photographed in conventio- angle, called low-angle or tangential, painter was the creator of a mural that was partially covered with plaster and rediscovered a few years ago. The painting is a fragment of Our Lady with a Child, which originally adorned the wall on the porch of the house. During one of the many changes that Portinari made to the house, the mural was covered up by plaster. “He extended the porch to become the house’s main living room and, in the renovation process, this painting was covered up,” says Angélica Fabbri, director of the museum. “Some years ago, our restorer Julio Moraes found a blue dot and began peeling away the wall until the painting appeared.” As there is no formal registration of A canvas with the work, and as it is known that Porti- 25 superimposed nari sometimes invited friends to paint in colors used to study the his home, it has not yet been possible to effects of the attribute the painting to the artist from superimposition the city of Brodowski. “The painting of paints has some elements that resemble one

54 z DECEMBER 2019 church under any circumstances,” recalls restorer Florence White de Vera, who had worked on the conservation project of the sanctuary’s collection. One of the physicist’s key objectives was to understand why the blue used by Portinari was deteriorating in a strange way. “When we applied material to do a superficial cleaning, the painting became opaque,” explains White de Vera. The blue used by Portinari is comprised of cobalt or cobalt with tin, mixed with a binder, a substance that holds the pigment particles together. Rizzutto collected a blue-pigmented shaving that had fallen off of a canvas and took it for analysis, some of which was carried out at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light La- boratory in Campinas. “In November of last year, we finally concluded that the whitening is caused by the breakdown A mural of the binder, and not of the pigment discovered in itself,” says Rizzutto. the Casa de Studying pigments superimposed on a Portinari Museum in Brodowski canvas is one of the greatest challenges is being studied faced by researchers. Some X-ray and to determine infrared imaging techniques have the the author capacity to identify superimposed works, but the analysis of colors is problematic. of Portinari’s works,” confirms Rizzut- of a former drawing by new pigments; It is not always possible to distinguish to. Among them is the use of a type of and an unusual one, a fragment of a text in the study results if the color is on top contour in the figures that is similar to from the Parisian newspaper Le Journal of or below the overlay. In order to les- that of the other murals in the museum. (January 18, 1902 edition). “In order to sen this limitation, researchers of NAP- For now, however, the authorship of the verify if our focus was right, I first poin- -FAEPAH decided to produce paints painting has yet to be confirmed. ted the camera at the face of the woman with superimposed pigments to serve and, to my surprise, I immediately saw as a benchmark. he chemical analysis of pigments the newspaper text in her face,” Delaney Geologist and restorer Eva Kaiser Mo- and multispectral images of works said in a media release, having used X- ri, who did her master’s thesis under Tof art are common procedures in -ray images and infrared images in his Rizzutto’s guidance, painted a standard the grand museums of Europe and the analysis. canvas where a set of 25 pigments were United States. At the Pinacoteca of the In Brazil, the works made in the Bro- superimposed, resulting in 625 different State of São Paulo, for example, various dowski home were not the first that chal- combinations. “This type of analysis can works undergo this type of a procedure lenged Rizzutto to study the production be used to determine the thickness of a carried out by the team from the Insti- of Portinari. In 2014, the physicist’s team, layer of superimposed paint on a canvas tute of Physics under the supervision of which had already analyzed the works and thus discover whether it was mo- art experts. The studies frequently reveal of Alfredo Volpi (1896–1988), Di Caval- dified or falsified,” explains Mori. The that the greatest painters did not hesi- canti (1897–1976), and Anita Malfatti characteristics of the pigments on the tate to reuse canvases previously used (1889–1964), was sought out to examine reference painting were described in an for less important works or sketches to the painter’s works that are in the main article published on November 20, 2018, give life to a new painting. church of Batatais. The researcher was in the magazine X-Ray Spectrometry, pri- Last year, John Delaney, image scien- invited, not only for her experience with marily authored by the physicist Daniela tist for the National Gallery of Art in Wa- this type of study, but also for another Balbino from the Federal University of shington, United States, showed that the reason: she has a mobile laboratory and Sergipe (UFS). n Rafael Garcia paint on the canvas Mulher com criança can transport her analysis equipment to perto do mar (Woman with a child by the places where the works of art are si- the sea), painted in 1902 by Pablo Picas- tuated. The main church has 27 sacred Scientific article

PEDRO CAMPOS PEDRO so (1881–1973) and today the property paintings made by Portinari. “When he BALBINO, D. P. et al. Characterization of pigments used of a museum in Japan, hid two secrets: donated the works, Portinari placed a on a reference canvas by multiple techniques. X-Ray

PHOTOS one relatively common, the existence condition that they could not leave the Spectrometry. November 20, 2018.

PESQUISA FAPESP z 55 NEW MATERIALS y

NEW ENERGY APPLICATIONS FOR GOLD AND PLATINUM

Platinum-coated gold nanoparticles could enhance the efficiency of fuel-cell catalysts

PUBLISHED IN MAY 2019

research team at the Center graphene oxide membrane with added platinum than that needed for current for Advanced Research on gold nanoparticles coated with an atom- materials, according to the researchers. Graphene, Nanomaterials and -thick layer of platinum. The superior "Platinum is extremely expensive, and A Nanotechnology (MackGra- performance of the material is credited producing fuel with this kind of catalyst phe) at Mackenzie Presbyterian Uni- to its special nanostructure, formed by is still a very inefficient process,” says versity, in São Paulo, has developed a joining particles of the two metals to- Seixas. These limitations led the Mack- prototype bimetallic catalyst that could gether. The secret to the catalyst lies in Graphe team to leverage their experti- improve the efficiency of hydrogen fuel the monoatomic layer of platinum on se in graphene and nanostructures to cells—devices that convert hydrogen into a gold core, which enhances the elec- develop a modified platinum material electricity in a silent and pollutant-free tronic properties of the nanomaterial to improve the hydrogen production process. Fuel-cell catalysts—which are and its ability to act as a catalyst. “The process. generally made of platinum, a rare and nanoparticles are arranged to form a In their experiments and simulations, expensive element—are used to break gold core approximately 1.2 nanome- the platinum-coated gold nanoparticles down water molecules (H2O) into their ters in diameter with a platinum shell,” functioned better as catalysts than did component atoms to produce oxygen explains theoretical physicist Leandro structures made of macroscopic pla- and hydrogen. The hydrogen gas is fed to Seixas of MackGraphe, one of the au- tinum particles, gold-platinum alloys, fuel cells that, like electric batteries, can thors of a study describing the develop- and even pure platinum nanoparticles. be used to power vehicles. The catalyst ment of the material, published January “Platinum on top of gold is more active is embedded in the fuel-cell electrodes, 29 in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. than pure platinum,” says chemist Cami- which apply an electric discharge in the With the platinum shell and gold core, la Maroneze of MackGraphe, a coauthor water during electrolysis. This process the nanoparticles are a maximum of 1.8 of the study. “This was an interesting causes hydrogen nuclei to bind to each nanometers in diameter. property that was predicted theoreti- other rather than forming new water The new catalyst not only has been cally and then proven experimentally.” molecules as would occur normally. shown in tests to be more efficient but For the theoretical part of their research, The material developed by the São could also be less expensive to produce, the team used a supercomputer at the Paulo-based researchers consists of a as it would require smaller amounts of Center for Advanced 2D Materials at

56 z DECEMBER 2019 GOLD AND PLATINUM NANOPARTICLES

The illustration shows GRAPHENE OXIDE platinum-coated gold nanoparticles on graphene oxide membranes

the National University of Singapore CAMP). “Power from solar and wind natives to platinum. “One metal we’re to run simulations with the new mate- farms is intermittent and needs to be currently evaluating, molybdenum, is rial. In the experimental stage, electron stored for use in peak periods. If we use far cheaper than platinum,” says Seixas. transmission microscopes at the Brazi- surplus electricity to produce hydrogen “When combined with sulfur, molybde- lian Center for Research in Energy and fuel, we can store it for later use in fuel num becomes lamellar, or two-dimensio- Materials (CNPEM), in Campinas, were cells to generate electricity.” nal, like graphene.” Molybdenum disul- used to view nanostructures produced Before retiring, Peres served for ten fide, as it is called, can then be tuned at at the laboratory. years as head of UNICAMP’s Hydro- the nanometric scale to create different gen Laboratory (LH2), which founded electronic properties, explains Seixas. This ENERGY STORAGE Hytron, a Brazilian spinoff firm ope- compound has been frequently described Seixas and Maroneze’s work, which is rating in the hydrogen-based energy in recent scientific literature in the field still in a basic research phase, has not yet storage market. In real-world appli- and should be the subject of the group’s generated patents. The manipulation of cations, the cost of catalysts is a cru- next research papers. n Rafael Garcia gold on a graphene oxide substrate has cial constraint, explains Peres. In fuel been previously described in a paper pu- cells, which function as “engines” for blished last year in Nanoscale. Producing vehicles and generators, an effective Project these nanoparticles is, however, only substitute for platinum has yet to be Graphene: photonics and opto-electronics. UPM-NUS the first stage in a broad and exciting developed, and a technological race is collaboration (No. 12/50259-8); Grant Mechanism new research front. Hydrogen is used currently underway to lower the cost Research Grant; Program Spec; Principal Investigator today not only in early fuel-cell powe- of these devices. Antonio Helio de Castro Neto (Mackenzie Presbyterian University); Investment R$13,561,689.05 (for entire red vehicles but also in energy storage The MackGraphe research group, like project). applications. “Demand for this second others at many universities and research Scientific article FABIO OTUBO FABIO

type of application should increase in centers around the world, is working on GERMANO, L. D. et al. Ultrasmall (<2 nm) Au@Pt Na- tandem with solar and wind power de- two fronts. The first is improving the ef- nostructures: Tuning the surface electronic states for ployment,” says physicist Ennio Peres fectiveness of platinum, as in the current electrocatalysis. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Jan, 29, 2019. ILLUSTRATION of the University of Campinas (UNI- study. The second is developing alter-

PESQUISA FAPESP z 57 TECHNOLOGY ENERGY y Winds of change

Brazilian wind power could provide three times more energy than all other electricity sources put together; it currently supplies 22 million homes

Domingos Zaparolli

PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2019

The Bons Ventos Wind Farm in Aracati, Ceará state CPFL RENOVÁVEIS CPFL Power grid Brazil has 7,166 electricity generation facilities in operation, with a total installed capacity of 162.5 GW

= current Small Hydroelectric Others*** capacity Plants (SHPs)** 4.5 GW 5.1 GW he Brazilian Association of Wind Energy (ABEEólica) estimates that Wind farms 3,2 2,7 14.2 GW Brazil has the potential to generate 8,3 500 gigawatts (GW) of wind pow- Biomass 60,5 Hydroelectric er, enough to supply three times the 14.7 GW 8,6 plants Tcountry’s current energy demand, which is cur- 98.3 GW capacity as a rently met by a range of sources including wind, percentage hydroelectric, biomass, natural gas, oil, coal, and of the total Thermal nuclear. In December 2018, the national energy power plants* 16,2 25.6 GW capacity totaled 162.5 GW according to the Bra- zilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL). Of this total, wind power accounted for 14.2 GW, equivalent to the capacity of the 14-GW Itaipu dam and enough to supply 22 million homes. Wind is the fourth-largest energy source in Bra- *Includes natural gas, oil, and coal zil (see infographic, left). **Plants between 5 and 30 MW ABEEólica CEO Elbia Gannoum explains that ***Nuclear, solar, and hydroelectric stations that generate the potential estimate of 500 GW is based only between 0 and 5 MW on onshore generation by 150-m wind turbines SOURCE BRAZILIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY AGENCY (ANEEL); DECEMBER 2018 with a current standard capacity of 2 to 3 megawatts (MW) each. The energy industry, however, has been making efforts to increase the capacity of wind turbines to approximately 5 MW. Such Upward curve turbines would be capable of generating twice the amount of energy in the same physical space Wind power continues to rise in Brazil while reducing operating costs. “Technological advances could greatly increase Brazil’s wind power potential,” says Gannoum.

Current capacity (in MW) American multinational General Electric (GE)

20,000 began selling a 4.8 MW turbine worldwide in 17,658* 2017. The model has three blades, each 77 m 16,145* long, resulting in a total diameter of 158 m. The 15,000 14,413 maximum height of the turbine—including the tower and one of the blades pointing upward— 10,740 is 240 m, which is more than the length of two 10,000 football fields. The combination of a larger rotor and a taller 5,972 tower, explains Vitor Matsuo, analytics leader at 5,000 2,522 GE Renewable Energy in South America, allows 931 235 341 the turbine to take advantage of stronger winds 0 and generate more power: approximately 90% more than the 2.5 MW of the previous GE model 2010 2012 2014 2006 2008 2016 2018 2020 2022 sold in Brazil. A 4.8 MW turbine could meet the energy demand of 7,500 homes. *Based on contracts already agreed upon at energy auctions The new turbine will be produced by the GE SOURCE BRAZILIAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION (ABEEÓLICA) plant at the Camaçari Industrial Complex in Bahia, with the blades being built by its subsidiary, LM Wind Power, at a plant in Ipojuca, Pernambuco. The blades will be made of carbon fiber, which is stronger and lighter than traditional fiberglass. The

PESQUISA FAPESP z 59 Technicians perform maintenance work on a WEG turbine at the Cutia Wind Farm in São Bento do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte state technology was developed in the USA, one rotation every 10 seconds. Each but Brazil participated by providing data blade will weigh 23 tons and will be 74 on wind characteristics, logistical limita- WEG, the only m long and 3 m wide at its widest point. tions, and availability of machinery, such Material fatigue, logistics, and eco- as cranes, to enable assembly and opera- Brazilian nomic viability are other issues that need tion of the turbines in Brazil. wind turbine to be considered. One example of the In October 2018, Danish manufac- potential difficulties, according to Gual- turer Vestas announced plans to pro- manufacturer, berto da Silva, is assembly. The towers duce its 4.2 MW wind turbines in Ceará. of the 2.2 MW turbines are 120 m long, The company is studying whether to plans to launch but they need to be reinforced to support revitalize its plant in Aquiraz, where it the 4 MW machines. The cranes used to currently produces 2 MW turbines, or a new 4 MW assemble the towers cannot operate with move elsewhere in the state. It plans to turbine this year structures any larger than this. “We are invest roughly €23 million (approximate- calculating how to reinforce the steel ly R$100 million) and create 200 jobs. and concrete so that the current towers The only Brazilian wind turbine are able to support the required force of manufacturer is WEG, which plans to the new turbines.” launch its 4 MW turbines on the mar- Unlike GE, which makes its blades ket in the second half of this year. The out of carbon fiber, WEG intends to con- company began as a parts supplier in the tinue using fiberglass and epoxy resin, wind power sector in 1996 and started which are both cheaper materials. The manufacturing its own turbines in 2010. João Paulo Gualberto da Silva, direc- new blades are being designed with the In 2012, it formed a partnership with tor of new energy resources at WEG, help of European and Chinese mold de- Northern Power Systems, based in Ver- says one of the main challenges of devel- signers and manufacturers. mont, USA, and in 2016, it acquired the oping the 4 MW turbines was the load American company’s wind turbine divi- calculations. “It was only possible with NOISE AND BIRDS sion. Engineers from Northern designed the aid of simulations performed by su- A number of research groups are inves- WEG’s current line of 2.1 MW and 2.2 percomputers,” he says. The manufac- tigating wind energy in Brazil, includ- MW wind turbines, of which 308 units turers had to determine the mechanical ing at the federal universities of Ceará have been sold. The new 4 MW turbine force required to maintain a structure (UFC), Santa Catarina (UFSC), and Rio was designed by a joint team of 15 Ameri- with a 147 m rotor turning 14 times per Grande do Sul (UFRGS), as well as at can and 20 Brazilian engineers. minute, with three blades completing the University of São Paulo (USP). The

60 z DECEMBER 2019 Wind Turbines BLADES Up to 70 m long, the blades The main components of a capture wind energy and convert wind turbine, and how they it at the center of the rotor. convert wind energy into electricity They are designed like aircraft wings

Wind HOW IT WORKS NACELLE 1 The blades, moved by Houses components such the force of the wind, activate as the generator, the yaw system (which aligns the the rotor, generating a ROTOR turbine with the wind), mechanical force The hub attached to the the gearbox (which adapts blades that transfers the rotation to the the rotational movement 2 The gearbox allows generator speed), and the to the generator system hydraulic and electronic the rotor to turn control systems the generator shaft

3 The power converter TOWER and the generator transform Made of steel or concrete, the tower supports the the mechanical energy into Electricity rotor and the nacelle. The electricity largest are as tall as 150 m

SOURCE INTERVIEWEES

Poli Wind group was formed by four re- The Poli Wind group is also tack- According to William Menezes, from searchers at the USP Polytechnic School ling another problem created by large Fatec São José dos Campos university in 2016, among them postdoctoral re- wind turbines: the risk to birds and bats. and lead researcher at Eolic Future, ana- searcher Joseph Youssif Saab Jr., head National and international guidelines lytical calculations have proven the sys- of the mechanical engineering course at recommend building wind farms away tem technically feasible for 80-m towers, the Mauá Institute of Technology. Saab from migration routes, but according and the next step is to build a prototype. has applied for a patent for a quieter to Saab, this is not always observed in An advantage of installing the nacelle turbine blade design, which represents Brazil. One possible solution suggested at the base of the tower is a potential a genuine Brazilian contribution to the by the group is to create a narrow airfoil 15% annual reduction in maintenance development of wind turbine technol- section that generates a high-pitched costs. The total cost of a wind turbine ogy. “Noise is a real problem for those whistle in the 1–3 kilohertz (kHz) range, usually includes maintenance costs— who live near wind farms. It’s like hav- which would warn off birds without somewhere in the region of R$2.5 mil-

FABIO OTUBO FABIO ing an airplane flying over your house significantly affecting the noise levels lion per year after the fifth year of op- 24 hours a day, and the noise will only heard by humans. eration. There is also a greater risk of get worse as wind turbines get bigger,” Another innovative approach that accidents when maintaining equipment

ILLUSTRATION says the researcher. The group is look- could potentially reduce operational installed high above the ground. Eolic

ing for manufacturers willing to test the costs is being developed by Eolic Future Future plans to market the technology new airfoil design. Tecnologia, based in São José dos Cam- with the help of investors and wind tur- Saab has also created a tool that can pos. The project, funded by the FAPESP bine manufacturers. predict the amount of noise emitted by Technological Innovation in Small Busi- The positive atmosphere in the Bra- ANA PAULA CAMPOS PAULA ANA a blade, allowing the team to make ad- nesses (PIPE) program, is designing a zilian wind power industry was her- justments during the design process. wind turbine with a horizontal rotor alded by aeronautical engineer Bento

INFOGRAPHIC The tool is freely available online and axis, as is normally used in wind farms, Koike, founder of São Paulo–based com- has been downloaded more than 36,000 but with a difference: the nacelle—the pany Tecsis. The company was started times worldwide. The new design in- part that holds the generator—is located in 1995 to manufacture wind turbine CHAN /WEG volves three wind turbines with diam- at the base of the tower, instead of its blades based on its own unique tech-

PHOTO eters of 100, 180, and 220 m. usual position at the top. nology and designs. The blades were

PESQUISA FAPESP z 61 Among global leaders RN 146 Brazil was the eighth-largest producer of wind power in 2017

COUNTRY GENERATION (in GW) % GLOBAL TOTAL GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 1 China 188.2 35 Most of the country’s wind CE 2 USA 89.1 17 farms are concentrated 80 3 Germany 56.1 10 in the northeastern states 4 India 32.8 6 PI 5 Spain 23.2 4 55 6 UK 18.9 3 RR AP 7 France 13.8 3 8 BRAZIL 12.7 2 PB 9 Canada 12.2 2 15 MA 0 Italy 9.5 2 AM PA MA 8 Other countries 83 15 PE TOTAL 540 AC TO AL 34 RO SE MT SOURCE GLOBAL WIND ENERGY COUNCIL (GWEC) 1 GO

TOTAL MG BA 534 wind MS ES farms 133 initially exported to Germany and later RJ to other countries. By 2016, it had sold SP PR more than 50,000 blades of 23 different 1 models, serving both the domestic and 1 international markets. Since 2017, GE, SC 14 Tecsis’s largest customer, has reduced RS SOURCE BRAZILIAN orders, having acquired one of its com- WIND ENERGY 80 ASSOCIATION petitors, LM Wind Power. This and the (ABEEÓLICA) economic crisis Brazil has been suffering since 2014 have led to financial difficulties for the company. In September 2018, it agreed to an extrajudicial financial recovery plan. eighth-largest wind power generator in 606 GW of wind power from its territo- CHEAPER ENERGY the world and accounts for 2% of global rial waters, 57 GW of which would be Analysts note that the increasing use of production. The country has 568 wind from within 10 kilometers of the coast, wind power worldwide is driven by its farms that comprise more than 7,000 where infrastructure is easier to build. low environmental impact and falling wind turbines according to 2017 data However, ABEEólica does not foresee investment costs. A report by the In- from ABEEólica. Based on new con- wind farms expanding offshore in the ternational Renewable Energy Agency tracts that have already been agreed near future due to the expense, with (IRENA) states that the levelized cost of upon, national capacity will reach 17.6 costs as much as five times higher than electricity (LCOE) of wind energy fell by GW in 2022. on land. Petrobras announced in 2017, 22% between 2010 and 2017—today it is Elbia Gannoum estimates that wind however, that it was drawing up plans US$0.06 per kWh. The LCOE is calcu- power will be the most sold energy to build Brazil’s first offshore wind farm lated by dividing all the costs expected source at energy auctions promoted by off the coast of Guamaré in the state of over the lifetime of a power plant by its ANEEL over the coming years. This is Rio Grande do Norte. The aim is for the output in kWh for the same period of helped by the fact that wind power has farm to begin operating in 2022. n time. The price of turbines, which ac- become competitively priced in Brazil, at counts for 70% of the investment on av- a cost of R$90 per MWh. At the last auc- erage, fell by 40% over this period. tion in April 2018, hydroelectric power Project The Global Wind Energy Council, an was priced at R$198 per MWh. Development of a horizontal axis wind turbine with ver- international forum representing the Offshore wind farms could provide tical transmission system aimed at reducing downtime sector, reported that in 2017, global wind further options for Brazil. Based on a and maintenance costs (no. 16/21569-0); Grant Me- power capacity grew by 52 GW to a to- 2011 study, the Brazilian National In- chanism Technological Innovation in Small Businesses (PIPE) program; Principal Investigator William Marcos tal of 539 GW. The projected global ca- stitute for Space Research (INPE) es- Muniz Menezes (Eolic Future Tecnologia); Investment pacity for 2022 is 840 GW. Brazil is the timates that Brazil could harness up to R$130,879.48.

62 z DECEMBER 2019 A brief history The wind sector gained momentum in Brazil in 2009 with the first exclusive wind energy auction

Brazil began paying greater attention to the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy potential of wind energy in 2001, when the (ABEEólica). At that time, contracts were country was suffering a major energy crisis agreed upon for 1.8 gigawatts (GW). The that became known as “the blackout.” It following year, wind power began to needed to diversify its range of energy compete at renewable energy auctions, and sources, and wind power was an option that in 2011, at general energy auctions. could be quickly implemented. Later that year, According to Jorge Boeira, head of the Proeólica Emergency Wind Energy renewable energies at the Brazilian Program was created, the goal of which was to Industrial Development Agency (ABDI), sign wind power contracts worth 1,050 the growth of the sector has also been aided megawatts (MW) by the end of 2003. by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), However, the initiative was not successful. which in 2012 started supporting the In 2002, the government instituted the industry via the FINAME Machinery and Proinfa Alternative Energy Sources Incentive Equipment Funding program. Program to encourage the emergence According to ABDI data, there are of a national industry; however, local currently six wind turbine manufacturers production was incipient and expensive, and in Brazil with a joint production capacity of wind power was not competitive at energy 1,500 units per year—enough to generate auctions—the new procurement system 3.5 GW. Blade production capacity is established by the Brazilian Electricity 7,000 per year. In total, the sector’s Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) in 2004. production chain comprises more than 70 It was only from 2009 onward, when the companies with a nationalization rate of Wind farm in the first exclusive wind power auction was held, 80%. “It is a complete production municipality of that the sector began to gain momentum, chain capable of competing for any project Galinhos, Rio Grande according to Elbia Gannoum, president of the in Latin America,” says Boeira. do Norte state NUNO GUIMARÃES / FRAME / FOLHAPRESS FRAME GUIMARÃES / / NUNO MINING y The niobium controversy

Specimen of ferroniobium, an alloy used to increase the strength of steel

64 z DECEMBER 2019 PUBLISHED IN MARCH 2019 The production of niobium, for which Brazil is by far iobium, a ductile, shiny, and versa- the global leader, is surrounded tile metal, was little-known to most Brazilians until it recently attracted by myths and misconceptions N media attention and became a subject of debate during the presidential elections in Brazil. Social media posts warned that the niobium reserves in Brazil—the largest in the Yuri Vasconcelos and Léo Ramos Chaves (photos), world—were being lost to contraband or being reporting from Araxá, Minas Gerais state sold for less than their value on the international market. The federal deputy at that time and current president Jair Bolsonaro, an enthusiast of the metal for its multifunctionality, was among those engaged in the debate. In a 20-minute video, he lauded the virtues of niobium, such as its use as an alloying element in steels and in high-tech applications, such as electric car batteries, optical lenses, particle accelerators, orthopedic implants, and jet engines. He recorded the video in 2016 at the site of the largest niobium mine in the world near the city of Araxá, which is 360 kilometers from Belo Hori- zonte, Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil. The facility, built in 1955, is operated by Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), a company owned by the Moreira Salles family, the coowners of the banking giant Itaú Unibanco. In 2011, CBMM sold a 15% stake to a group of Chinese steelmakers and an additional 15% to a Japanese-South Korean joint venture, all of whom are also in the steelmaking industry. Brazil has approximately 98% of the known reserves in the world, followed by Canada and Australia. A survey by the National Mining Depart- ment (DNPM), which was superseded in 2018 by the National Mining Agency (ANM), placed the proven reserves in Brazil at 842.4 million metric tons. Of the total reserves in the country, 75% are in Araxá, 21% are in noncommercial deposits in the Amazon, and 4% are in Catalão, Goiás. The deposit in Goiás is operated by CMOC International Bra- sil, a subsidiary of China Molybdenum. The two mines combined account for 82% of global niobium production or approximately 120,000 metric tons (t) per year, with CBMM producing 90,000 t and CMOC producing approximately 9,000 t. “Our reserves make Brazil a strategic supplier of this commodity to the global market,” says geologist Marcelo Ribeiro Tunes, who heads the Brazilian Mining Institute (IBRAM), an ad- vocacy organization representing the Brazilian mining industry. “The criticism that we under- sell our wealth is misplaced. The price at which

PESQUISA FAPESP z 65 that. “The ore is indeed abundant in Brazil but not uncommon elsewhere in the world. There are approximately 85 known deposits, most of which are not commercially exploited,” he notes. He also denies that niobium is being smuggled out of Brazil. “CBMM created a market for niobium after its discovery of the mine in Araxá. Previously, little was known about this element and its applications.” Stuart explains that CBMM does not sell the raw ore but products made from it—its flagship product being ferroniobium (FeNb), a metallic alloy composed of 65% niobium and 35% iron, used in the steel industry. “The biggest competi- tor to niobium is steel made without niobium,” says Stuart. Other metals, such as molybdenum CBMM and vanadium, are also used as additives to steel, although not with the same results.

STRONG STEEL Adding minimal amounts of ferroniobium, ap-

Pyrometallurgical niobium is sold, between US$40 and US$50 a proximately 0.05%, increases the mechanical PHOTOS ALEXANDRE AFFONSO conversion, the kilogram, fluctuates with market conditions. If strength of steel without reducing its ductility final stage in the production of prices are hiked in an irrational and speculative or ability to deform plastically without breaking. ILLUSTRATION ferroniobium manner, customers will simply look elsewhere These steels, known as microalloyed steels, are for options.” For comparison, a ton of iron ore is used to make oil and gas pipelines, cars, ships, worth US$90 (or US$0.09 per kilogram) and 1 and bridges. Only 8% of steel products contain ounce (31.1 grams) of gold is traded at US$1,300; niobium, suggesting there is substantial room to 1 kilogram of the precious metal costs US$41,800, grow this market. ANA PAULA CAMPOS, PAULA ANA about a thousand times the price of niobium. “Because of its added strength, steel plates Marcos Stuart, head of technology at CBMM, made with ferroniobium can be made thinner

says many of the rumors about niobium are just than conventional counterparts. In the auto- INFOGRAPHIC

From mine to market How niobium is processed and its main applications

1 2 3 4 Oxygen O2 O2 O2

Aluminum Iron

Flotation Refined concentrate

Sulfur Phosphorus Chlorine Ferroniobium Water Lead

MINING CONCENTRATION REFINING CONVERSION The primary sources of Mined pyrochlore undergoes Pyrochlore concentrate, called Most of the niobium niobium are deposits a concentration process to niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), is produced is converted into of pyrochlore and increase the niobium content refined in two stages. Sulfur, chlorine, ferroniobium. First, tantalite-columbite. to 50%. This is achieved and water are removed first. Then, aluminum is added to remove Pyrochlore deposits in through magnetic separation phosphorus and lead are removed. oxygen from the refined Araxá, Minas Gerais, and flotation processes The residual material is used to pyrochlore concentrate. contain 2.3% niobium that remove unwanted elements produce a range of niobium products Iron is added next

PRODUCTION PROCESS

66 z DECEMBER 2019 is processed into products for special applications. Niobium oxides are used in the manufacture of camera lenses, electric vehicle batteries, and telescope lenses. High purity, vacuum grade niobium alloys are particularly resistant to heat, making them ideally suited for jet engines, rocket engines, and gas turbines used for power generation. Metallic niobium is used in the production of superconducting wires for computerized tomography scanners, magnetic resonance imaging equipment, and particle accelerators. Produced in the form of ingots—solid cylinders with a purity of 99%—metallic niobium has superconducting properties and high corrosion resistance. CBMM is the only company in the world sup- plying the full range of niobium products. “From its inception, CBMM has invested heavily in processes to produce ferroniobium and other niobium products,” says metallurgical engineer Fernando Gomes Landgraf, a professor in the Polytech- nic School (POLI) at the University of São Paulo Metallic niobium motive industry, for example, car bodies can be (USP). The Araxá facility uses a 15-stage beneficia- ingots from the lighter at no loss of strength. Weight reduction tion and processing operation. The process begins Lorena School of Engineering (EEL) improves the efficiency of internal combustion with the extraction of ore from the ground. The at USP and electric vehicles alike,” says Stuart. In pipe- primary sources of niobium are deposits of an ore lines, one of the established applications, niobium called pyrochlore. Ore extracted from the CBMM prevents cracking while also allowing for thinner mine contains only 2.3% niobium, which may pipe walls. “Wall thickness can be reduced to 20 seem low but is more than that in most reserves. millimeters (mm), which cis half the thickness of The remaining fraction consists of different forms pipes made without ferroniobium,” he explains. of iron ore, barium oxide, and phosphate, as well Approximately 90% of niobium ore is pro- as elements such as sulfur and silicon. cessed into ferroniobium, and the remainder The Araxá mine is an excavated open-pit operation that does not require tunneling or the use of explosives. Mined ore goes to a beneficiation unit where it undergoes a concentration process to increase the niobium content to 50%; this is achieved by removing undesired chemical ele- Car bodies FERRO- Steelmakers ments present in the pyrochlore. The pyrochlore Shipbuilding NIOBIUM use this alloy Bridge building concentrate, or niobium pentoxide (Nb2O₅), is to produce Overpasses high-strength further refined and purified to produce a com- Pipelines microalloyed steels pound from which a variety of niobium products are then produced (see infographic on the left). NIOBIUM Niobium oxides are Telescope and camera The tailings generated in the beneficiation OXIDES produced in the form lenses step are stored in tailings ponds lined with high- of a white powder and Electric car batteries strength plastic, mitigating the risk of soil con- are used in special, Catalytic converters high-tech applications tamination. The tailings dams were constructed using the downstream raising method, where a VACUUM These alloys are used Rocket and jet dam embankment is raised in the direction of the GRADE primarily in the production engines water flow. This is a safer method than that of up- ALLOYS of nickel-based superalloys Gas turbines for stream raising, in which each increase in the em- (Inconel), which can power generation withstand high temperatures bankment is placed on top of the existing tailings impoundment. The failed dams owned by Vale METALLIC Metallic niobium Magnetic resonance in Brumadinho and Samarco in Mariana (both NIOBIUM ingots with a niobium imaging equipment in Minas Gerais State) both used the upstream content of 99% have Computerized raising method, which is now banned in Brazil. superconducting tomography scanners properties and high Particle accelerators, At current levels of consumption, the Araxá SOURCE CBMM corrosion resistance e.g., Sirius mine has the capacity to meet global demand for 200 years. The virtual monopoly over niobium by NIOBIUM PRODUCTS APPLICATIONS Brazil has obvious advantages because the ore is an

PESQUISA FAPESP z 67 Cerqueira Leite also points to the limited market for the metal as an obstacle to increasing con- Niobium facts sumption. “Niobium has many applications, but 8% unfortunately for all of them demand is very lim- and figures of steel products ited,” says the researcher, who coauthored the contain niobium book Nióbio, uma conquista nacional (Niobium, a national treasure; Duas Cidades, 1988). “Es- 120,000 sentially, a wealth of something means nothing 98% metric tons of niobium without a market for it. Niobium is perhaps a of commercial Under current are produced classic case in point. Gold costs what it does be- niobium reserves market conditions, annually are in Brazil CBMM can meet cause of demand.” global demand for OPEN INNOVATION 200 years Another constraint on international demand for Brazil has an niobium stems from the naturally limited interest 842.4 MILLION 82% in investing in research by other countries to find share of the new applications for a material produced virtu- metric tons: the global market ally only in Brazil. To address these constraints, size of the niobium reserves in Brazil CBMM has established an aggressive research and development (R&D) program based on open innovation. The company invests R$150 million important source of wealth and the third largest per year in R&D, the equivalent of 3% of its rev- export for the country, but there are also draw- enue of R$4.8 billion in 2017. backs. Physicist Rogério Cezar Cerqueira Leite, a The CBMM Technology Center in Araxá, with professor emeritus at the University of Campinas a staff of 122 technicians and researchers, works (UNICAMP), says the dominant position in the to improve production processes and develop market by Brazil is also an obstacle to larger-scale new products that use niobium. It also works use of the metal. “No country or company wants with external partners on research focused on overreliance on a single supplier. In addition, for new applications. “CBMM has invested across the every application for niobium, there is also a sub- Brazilian scientific community, funding research The Araxá mine, stitute, including niobium from operations in other programs in dozens of universities and research Minas Gerais state: countries which, while producing more recalci- centers. Concurrently, it supports groups in other the largest niobium operation trant ores that are more expensive to process than countries with subject-matter expertise related in the world those in Brazil, are already operational,” he notes. to niobium,” says Landgraf of Poli-USP.

68 z DECEMBER 2019 Another collaboration with IPT and the As- sociation for Children with Disabilities (AACD) in São Paulo is researching orthopedic implants made with niobium-titanium and titanium-niobium-zirconium alloys using additive manufacturing (3D printing) methods. These biocompatible alloys exhibit high mechanical strength and high elasticity. Orthopedic implants that are too rigid can lead to bone loss around the implant. The use of niobium-titanium alloys can help to reduce this problem. The project was initiated in 2016 and has an expected duration of 42 months. Funding of R$8.2 million for the project has been provided by the São Paulo State Government, CBMM, the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Research and Innovation (EMBRAPII), and FAPESP, within the Partnership for Technological Innovation Program (PITE).

Internationally, the company has partnered PROJECT NIOBIUM Quality control with the University of Tokyo and the University A long-standing CBMM partner is with the Lo- technicians at of Okayama, which are both in Japan; Cambridge rena School of Engineering (EEL) at USP, where the CBMM Technology Center University and the University of Sheffield, which Project Niobium, a multi-institutional initiative are both in England; and the Colorado School created in 1978, was developed to create a tech- of Mines, which is in in the US, among other nological route to produce high-purity metallic institutions. In Brazil, CBMM has funded re- niobium. The project also involved research on search at USP, the Federal University of Minas the various processing stages and applications Gerais (UFMG), the Federal University of São for niobium and niobium alloys, with a particular Carlos (UFSCar), the Federal University of Viço- focus on metallic superconductivity. sa (UFV), the Federal University of Ouro Preto “We were the first research center to produce (UFOP), the Institute for Technological Research high-purity niobium at a pilot scale in Brazil,” re- (IPT), and the National Service for Industrial calls chemical engineer Hugo Ricardo Zschom- Training’s Innovation and Technology Center mler Sandim, a professor at EEL-USP. “CBMM (CIT-SENAI) in Belo Horizonte. supplied niobium pentoxide, and we delivered CBMM has also created collaborations with high-purity ingots. Project Niobium added value end users. One of its most recent collaborations to the product and allowed the commercial part- was formed this year with Japanese conglomer- ner in the project to set up a vertically integrated ate Toshiba to develop demand for niobium in operation.” This collaboration lasted approxi- the manufacturing of batteries for electric cars. mately 10 years until CBMM was satisfied that CBMM will invest US$7.2 million in the construc- the technology had reached the required level tion of a pilot battery manufacturing facility in of maturity and decided to develop a facility to Kashiwazaki, Japan, adjacent to a Toshiba fac- produce metallic niobium in Araxá. tory. “The facility will develop a new generation The researchers in Lorena have continued to of batteries containing titanium niobium oxide conduct basic and applied research on niobium. composite anodes. Incorporating niobium im- “Our focus has been on developing high niobium proves battery life, safety, and charging speeds,” materials, such as nickel-based superalloys and Stuart explains. alloys for high-temperature applications. We In Brazil, previously funded projects include the have provided metallic niobium samples to more development of special steels for onshore pipelines than 200 research institutions in Brazil and other in a collaboration with Brazilian oil major Petro- countries,” says metallurgical engineer Carlos bras and a project with USP to develop special Angelo Nunes, a professor at EEL-USP. “Niobium steels for oil and gas pipelines operating in cor- does have exceptional properties, but much of rosive environments. A currently ongoing proj- what you see in the media is hyperbole.” n ect is developing improved dump trucks for the operation in Araxá. In collaboration with a local manufacturer, the dump bodies of the trucks have Project Nb-Ti and Ti-Nb-Zr orthopedic prosthesis obtained through selective ÉO RAMOS CHAVES ÉO been redesigned using niobium-microalloyed steel. L

laser melting (No. 16/50199-6); Grant Mechanism Partnership for Tech- This reduces the dump body weight by 1.5 metric nological Innovation (PITE); CBMM Collaboration; Principal Investigator

PHOTOS tons, increasing ore haulage capacity. Fernando José Gomes Landgraf (IPT); Investment R$1,666,137.08.

PESQUISA FAPESP z 69 CORPORATE RESEARCH y

More than just motors

With an extensive and diversified product portfolio, Brazilian-based WEG supplied electromagnets for the Sirius synchrotron light project in Brazil

PUBLISHED IN MAY 2019

EG, a Brazilian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Cata- Wrina, can take credit for an important contribution to the Sirius synchrotron light source project, one of The electromagnets the most ambitious scientific programs ever undertaken during magnetic characterization testing in Brazil. The company, which specializes in industrial on the Sirius motors, generators, automation equipment and other synchrotron light source products, supplied the electromagnets used to build the facility, which was designed and is now operated by the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS), in Campinas, São Paulo State. Electromagnets are used to steer the beam of electrons to generate synchrotron light; they are not only a vital component of the system but one that is particularly difficult to produce. Synchro- tron radiation can be used to generate high-resolution images of the structure of materials, proteins, viruses, rocks, plants, and metal alloys, supporting scientific and technological research in a variety of fields (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue no. 269).

70 z DECEMBER 2019 COMPANY

WEG

R&D Center Jaraguá do Sul (SC)

No. of researchers 2,500 professionals

Main products Industrial motors, generators, electromagnets, and automation hardware

Few electromagnet manufacturers precision within 5 to 8 micrometers (μm) the magnetic quality of the electromag- have the capabilities that the project re- so that the final sheet assembly is within nets. “We came up with an innovative quired. Indeed, WEG had never produced a tolerance of 30 μm. solution that generated significant sav- electromagnets before it was selected for The LNLS and WEG teams worked ings for the project,” says Citadini, “and the program, but it did have expertise in together to develop very high preci- having a local supplier means they can die-cutting operations involving iron- sion electromagnets built using a novel promptly give us support when needed.” silicon sheet metal, the material used to method in which the parts produced WEG produced and delivered precisely make the electromagnet cores and also through die-cutting—a process that con- 1,036 electromagnets for LNLS. to manufacture the company’s power sists of cold-cutting parts out of sheet While its participation in the project transformers. The quality of the electro- metal using dies—require no additional was a success, the company has no plans magnets is determined by how precisely finishing operations. Normally, die-cut to launch into the electromagnet market their complex geometry specifications parts need to be machined to achieve at this time, although it would consider are met, says electrical engineer James the desired finish. This step lengthens invitations to produce electromagnets to Citadini, head of LNLS’s Magnet Group. the production process threefold, and order for particle accelerator programs

LÉO RAMOS CHAVES LÉO Each sheet needs to have a dimensional the heat applied to the material reduces in other countries. “What interested us

PESQUISA FAPESP z 71 The motor production line at the factory in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina state

in the partnership with LNLS was the challenge of participating in a high-profile project that gave us an opportunity to further develop our capabilities in precision die-cutting,” says Engineering Director Milton Oscar Castella. One of Brazil’s leading multinational companies, as ranked by business school Fundação Dom Cabral, WEG was founded in 1961 by Werner Ricardo Voigt, an electrician; Eggon João da Sil- va, a business administrator; and Geraldo Werninghaus, a mechanic. The three partners—now deceased—teamed up to establish a shop to produce electric 2,500-strong and includes 1,300 engi- addition to market and competition re- motors, which are still a flagship product neers, of whom 167 have a master’s de- search, the planning process is also in- today. With 14 factories in Brazil and an- gree or PhD. In Brazil, the company has formed by inputs from a Science & Tech- other 28 in 11 countries in the Americas, nine motor laboratories, nine automation nology Committee established in 1998; Europe, Africa, and Asia, the company laboratories, three energy laboratories, this committee holds annual meetings posted net operating revenue of R$11.9 six coatings laboratories, and two trans- that are attended by professors and re- billion last year. WEG employs 21,500 mission and distribution laboratories. searchers from partner universities in people in Brazil and 9,700 in other mar- WEG’s subsidiaries outside Brazil each Brazil and abroad. These include the kets. In 2017, 53% of revenues derived operate their own product development Federal University of Santa Catarina from the sale of products launched with- and testing laboratories. The company’s (UFSC), the Federal University of Rio in the previous five years. WEG was rec- RD&I investment in 2018 totaled R$307 Grande do Sul (UFRGS), the Federal ognized as Brazil’s sixth most innovative million, or 2.6% of net operating revenue. University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), company in Valor Inovação Brasil 2018, As of December last year, the company the Federal Technology University of an annual list compiled and published had 62 patents issued and 112 patents Paraná (UTFPR), and the University of by Strategy&, the strategy consulting pending worldwide. Campinas (UNICAMP), as well as foreign arm of global audit firm PwC. WEG’s innovation pipeline is struc- universities such as Germany’s Univer- The company’s research, develop- tured as part of a technological planning sity of Wuppertal, Scotland’s University ment, and innovation (RD&I) team is process within each of its divisions. In of Glasgow, and Switzerland’s Univer- sity of Bern.

RESEARCH TEAM CONNECTED MOTORS One of the most recent solutions devel- Below, see the names of some of WEG’s R&D staff and their almae matres oped at the company’s laboratories is WEG Motor Scan, an industrial motor- monitoring system based on the inter- Milton Oscar Castella, electrical engineer, School of Engineering of Joinville: net of things (IoT). The first version engineering director undergraduate degree of the system, launched in 2018, uses Sebastião Lauro Nau, electrical engineer, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC): a noninvasive sensor mounted on the research and development manager undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees motor to monitor temperature, vibra- Carlos Ogawa, electrical engineer, research Federal School of Engineering of Itajubá (EFEI): tion, and running time. Data are stored and development manager undergraduate degree in the sensor until they are collected via UFSC: master’s degree Bluetooth using a mobile device, such Francisco Pinto Rebordão, electrical engineer, Fundação Educacional Brusquense: as a mobile phone, and transferred to product engineering manager bachelor of philosophy the cloud for analysis using the WEG Regional University of Blumenau: undergraduate and master’s degree in electrical engineering IoT platform. “Collected information can be used to predict equipment fail- Adalberto José Rossa, electrical engineer, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul: drive development manager graduate degree ure and inform actions to reduce un- scheduled downtime,” says electrical

72 z DECEMBER 2019 Assembling of wind turbines: the company is the only Brazilian manufacturer

engineer Sebastião Lauro Nau, an RD&I company acquired Geremia Redutores, manager at WEG. a manufacturer of speed reducers and An enhanced version of the WEG Mo- WEG has 14 other mechanical drive components in tor Scan solution is currently being de- Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. That veloped and should be available by the factories in same month, WEG bought another divi- end of the year, says Nau. In the new Brazil and sion of NPS that designs and produces version, sensor-collected data will be energy storage systems, such as lithium transmitted to gateways (devices that another 28 in batteries. connect networks using different com- The electric vehicle segment is an- munication protocols) throughout the 11 countries other target for expansion in the com- factory floor and uploaded to the cloud ing years. WEG has recently developed in real time. in the Americas, a new powertrain system—an assembly The company will also launch a new Europe, Asia, of components used to propel a vehicle 4-megawatt (MW) wind turbine within forward—comprising an electric mo- the coming months—wind turbines are and Africa tor, a frequency inverter and imported devices used to convert kinetic energy batteries. In 2017, WEG partnered with from the wind into electricity. WEG cur- truck manufacturer MAN Latin Ameri- rently manufactures two wind turbine ca to develop e-Delivery, the first 100% models with outputs of 2.1 MW and 2.2 electric light truck made in Brazil. The MW. Models producing a higher power vehicle, which features the company’s output are a recent trend in the indus- ogy reduces the need for maintenance of new powertrain, will be equipped with try, as they allow more electricity to be the turbines, which sit on towers more an 80 kW (109 hp) motor. The vehicle is produced within the same footprint as than 120 meters high. currently undergoing testing, with the a regular-sized wind turbine says João WEG’s renewable energy portfolio start of production planned for 2020. Paulo Gualberto da Silva, head of WEG’s also includes hydro and photovoltaic The first hybrid (electric combined new energy division. WEG is the only generation equipment. In 2018, after with diesel, ethanol, or gas) minibus de- local wind turbine manufacturer in Bra- receiving clearance from Brazil’s anti- signed in Brazil—the e-Flex Volksbus—is zil (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue no. 275). trust authority (CADE), the company also expected to launch next year. The The 4 MW model was developed acquired TGM, a steam turbine manu- vehicle was developed by Volkswagen collaboratively by a team of Brazilian facturer based in São Paulo, in a deal that Caminhões e Ônibus, which selected and American engineers. In 2016, WEG they began structuring in 2016. “The ac- WEG to supply powertrain systems de- acquired the wind turbine division of quisition will allow us to develop solu- livering up to 350 hp. “We plan to de- Northern Power Systems (NPS), based tions for power generation using differ- velop electric drivetrain solutions also in Vermont. Following the acquisition, ent types of biomass,” says engineering for tractors, ships, boats, forklifts, me- WEG now offers wind turbines featuring director Milton Castella. dium and large trucks, and aircraft,” says

WEG / CHAN NPS’s direct drive technology, in which Acquisitions of established businesses Castella. The passenger car segment,

the rotor and generator run at the same are one component of WEG’s diversifica- however, is currently not a part of the

PHOTOS speed, without a gearbox. The technol- tion strategy. In February of this year, the company’s plans. n Domingos Zaparolli

PESQUISA FAPESP z 73 HUMANITIES DEMOGRAPHY y

Global health in motion

A multidisciplinary team reviews the scientific evidence and challenges stereotypes regarding health and migration

Luisa Destri

258 MILLION INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS IN 2017

74 z DECEMBER 2019 80 MILLION IN ASIA, 78 MILLION IN EUROPE, AND 58 MILLION IN NORTH AMERICA

PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2019

igration is a global phenomenon involving one in seven people around the world, which can rarely be restrained by laws or walls. Ensuring the rights of migrants—especially access to healthcare—is necessary so that everyone, including Mthe society receiving them, can benefit from this population flow. Such is the main conclusion of a report on migration and health that has just been released by the British scientific journal The Lancet, in partnership with University College Lon- don (UCL) in England. Based on evidence from an extensive review of studies on the subject, the Lancet paper challenges stereotypes and demonstrates the gap that exists between the health services available to migrants and their actual needs. The UCL-Lancet Commission, which brings together not only health experts but also specialists from sociology, politics, law, and anthropology, works from the perspective of examin- ing the separation between what nations currently practice and the international standards designed to ensure minimum stan-

RÔMOLO dards of human dignity. “It’s one of the greatest efforts made so far in the field of human migration and health,” says doctor and epidemiologist Mauricio Barreto, a retired professor at the

ILLUSTRATIONS Federal University of Bahia and coordinator of the Center for

PESQUISA FAPESP z 75 AMONG THE FERTILITY RATE 2.1 AND TRENDING WOMEN IS DOWNWARD

MIGRANTS WHO

STUDY OR WORK

CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE ECONOMY OF Integration of Data and Health construction workers are twice as likely to die THEIR DESTINATION Knowledge of the Oswaldo Cruz as a result of work-related accidents than other COUNTRIES Foundation (CIDACS-FIOCRUZ) workers in the industry. in Salvador. The only Brazilian Working conditions are not the only factor that among the more than 20 special- influences this equation. The issues indicated ists who make up the commission, by the UCL-Lancet Commission also include Barreto says that their objective ethnic, cultural, and identity factors. The report was to systematize the knowledge produced in understands discrimination as “a combination an area whose subject still has little scientific vis- of prejudice against the other and a fear of los- ibility: “It’s a very fluid population, which there ing something,” which has direct consequences is little interest in researching.” for health. An article published in 2017 in the In 2018, one billion people were in transit International Journal of Epidemiology found a to or had settled in locations other than their correlation between the persecution suffered place of origin, whether in their own countries by Hispanic workers in the state of Iowa in the or abroad. The United Nations (UN) estimated United States in 2008 and an increased risk of that the world population in 2017 was 7.6 bil- low-birth-weight babies in this community. A lion. International migrants, contrary to com- study carried out in Sydney, Australia, with tem- mon conception, account for the smallest share porary and permanent refugees discussed the of this contingent: in 2017, they numbered 258 negative psychological consequences of living million, distributed mainly in Asia (80 million), in uncertain conditions. Europe (78 million) and North America (58 million), according to UN data. Despite the pre- MIGRANTS AS A BURDEN dominance of domestic traffic, there is much The UCL-Lancet research is devoted to examin- more information available about international ing some of the principal myths associated with migration since domestic flows do not involve migration—erroneous stereotypes that, according migration controls. For this reason, most of the to the authors, were “used for political gains” and studies referred to in the report concern people ended up becoming publicly accepted. Based on living as foreigners. studies from various fields, the report challenges “The health of those who migrate generally five presuppositions concerning migrants that, reflects the circumstances of the migration,” the while currently considered common knowledge, authors write in the report. While migrants with have not been substantiated by evidence. Name- professional skills or higher incomes tend to ly, that migrants would overburden developed have better health conditions than the inhabit- nations, be a heavy burden on health services, ants in the host society, those with fewer skills would transmit diseases, would have high fertil- and lower incomes tend to be more susceptible ity rates, and would harm the economies of the to occupational hazards and receive inadequate receiving countries. medical care. Studies cited by the research show, In response to the first question, the commis- for example, that in the United States, Latino sion—which began in 2016, i.e., one year after the

76 z DECEMBER 2019 positively to the economy and students who pay for their own educations and, after completing them, return to their countries of origin. People in these categories total 155.1 million, or 60% of international migrants. Contrary to the idea that migrants would overburden the health system of their destination countries, it is often shown that the opposite is true and that foreigners actually strengthen the system. More than one-third of physicians working in the UK, for example, received their educations abroad, and 26% of those currently working in the British public health system are MIGRANTS SENT foreigners. Based on its systematic review of stud- US$613 BILLION TO ies on global mortality patterns, the commission THEIR COUNTRIES also concluded that migrants who chose to cross borders—those not forced to migrate—who ended OF ORIGIN IN 2017 up living in high-income countries tend to live longer than those in the receiving country. For example, according to parameters involving most of the internationally classified diseases, such is the case for those who move to study, find better jobs, or reunite with their families. Taking into account more than 15 million people from 92 countries, the study shows that among these international migrants, cancer mortality rates and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are lower than those in the host population. Regarding migrants’ health, the start of what has come to be called the “European report disputes the notion that they migrant crisis”—shows that the greatest variation transmit more diseases—histori- in the refugee population actually occurred in In advanced cally one of the most persistent middle- to lower-income countries, stereotypes, according to studies those with per capita GDP under US$12,235 economies, each in this field. The risk of transmis- per year, according to the World Bank. The data 1% increase in sion between migrants and their are corroborated by the United Nations High host society is generally low, as Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Accord- the adult migrant shown, for example, by tubercu- ing to this institution, 85% of refugees are in de- losis research cited in the report. In veloping countries; as of 2017, Turkey was the population addition, the largest international country with the most refugees in the world, flows are not made up of people with 3.5 million, equivalent to almost 14% of the represents a 2% intending to settle in another coun- total. “The countries most burdened today by increase in per try. According to the World Tour- international migration are developing nations. ism Organization (UNWTO), 1.4 But the developed world carries on a discourse capita GDP billion tourists crossed borders in in which it figures as the biggest victim of the 2018, representing approximately migrant flow,” says legal expert Deisy Ventura, five times the migrant population. a professor at the School of Public Health at the “If we consider the circulation of University of São Paulo (FSP-USP). people to be a health hazard, where would the real In general, according to UCL-Lancet research- risk be?” Ventura asks, noting that there are inter- ers, the percentage of international immigrants national measures in place for controlling disease. worldwide varied little between 1990 and 2017, She recalls the Ebola outbreak that resulted in ap- rising from 2.9% to 3.4%. Thus, although mi- proximately 30,000 cases in West Africa between gration to high-income countries did increase 2014 and 2016, according to the World Health from 7.6% to 13.4% during the same period, the Organization (WHO). More than 40 countries majority of migrants live in middle- or low-in- banned entry to people from the region, although come countries. In addition, those who move to there were measures to ensure that they were not rich countries include workers who contribute contaminated. For the UCL-Lancet commission,

PESQUISA FAPESP z 77 migrants are less than 2.1 and show a downward trend, indicating that they barely exceed the level of population replacement. Based on data consolidated in previous research, the report also shows that migrations do not harm the economy. In contrast, the authors describe an “absolute consensus” among researchers regarding their economic benefits, although it is scarcely acknowledged publicly. In advanced economies, each 1% increase in the adult migrant population represents a 2% increase in per capita GDP. In addition, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and AMONG MIGRANTS, Development (OECD) indicate that the contribu- THE PREDOMINANT screening for disease during tions made by the migrant population through IS AGE GROUP migration control—which the collection of taxes are greater than the ben- could be an important tool efits they receive and that migratory flows are 30 TO 34, AND 48% for seeing that migrants ar- responsible for balancing market fluctuations ARE WOMEN riving in those countries re- and providing labor when needed. According ceive necessary care—often to World Bank data, low-income countries re- gives rise to xenophobia. ceived approximately US$450 billion sent by mi- Another myth is that migrants have higher grants to their home nations, which represented fertility rates than native populations, which three-quarters of such transfers to all countries in would lead their communities to grow faster than 2017. Regarding Brazil, a study recently published that of the receiving society. Studies performed in by the Institute of Applied Economic Research six countries—France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, (IPEA) corroborates the economic benefits of Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—show that population mobility. Without the contribution of the reverse is true. With the exception of Turk- the non-Portuguese and non-Spanish migrants ish migrants, the average fertility rates among who landed here between the end of the nine-

“Us” without “them”?

More than 3 million foreigners landed in simulate the per capita income if the Brazil between 1872 and 1920, descendants of immigrants were not “The literature indicates that especially after the abolition of slavery part of the world as portrayed by the populations that round off numbers in 1888, an abundant job market. There Brazilian Ministry of Labor’s (MTE) less frequently have increased is no doubt regarding the contributions Social Information Annual Report capacities for dealing with numbers,” these immigrants made to the nation’s (RAIS), the Single Registry (social says Monasterio. Thus, the greater the development—to date, however, there assistance enrollment) of the Ministry frequency of rounded numbers, the has been no attempt to quantify it. of Citizenship, and the taxpayer rolls of lower the numeracy—a relationship In their study, “Brasil sem the Federal Revenue Service. Second, based on the premise that the imigrantes” (Brazil without immigrants), they focused exclusively on the RAIS accuracy with which numbers are Leonardo Monasterio and Daniel data. They concluded that the treated is proportional to the Lopes, researchers at the Institute decrease in income would be 12.6% complexity of the situations in which of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), and 17%, respectively. they are used, such as commercial used algorithms to calculate what the The hypothesis of the study is that, transactions. This fact is echoed in Brazilian per capita income would upon disembarking, foreigners data from the 1920s, when, according be if there had never been any possessed greater human capital than to the census, only 23% of Brazilians non-Portuguese or non-Spanish Brazilians, as measured by numeracy, were literate, compared to 52% of migration. Two methodologies were i.e., the ability to deal with numbers. In foreigners. In a rapidly urbanizing adopted, both beginning with Italian, the study, this was evaluated through country, the newcomers’ greater Japanese, German, and East European historical documents that recorded the human capital allowed them to focus surnames. In the first method, age declared by foreigners when on more highly skilled economic researchers used municipal data to landing in Brazilian ports. activities than Brazilians.

78 z DECEMBER 2019 was a successful policy that remained fixed in the Brazilian imagination regarding immigra- tion,” says Baeninger. In recent years, however, the country has been a part of the so-called South-South migration. Approximately 370,000 people, or more than 40% of the international immigrants registered in Brazil between 2000 and 2015, were Latin American or Caribbean, according to data tabulated by the NEPO Migration Observatory project. “These migrants come into a society that’s hostile to a non-white presence, and what’s more, they raise the issue of migration. Two prejudices overlap—one related to race and the other to their status as migrants from IN JUNE 2015, 35 COUNTRIES non-European countries,” says the sociologist. IMPOSED SOME TYPE OF For Barreto, the fact that the report addresses RESTRICTION ON HIV CARRIERS migration-related prejudices makes it possible to , ACCORDING TO UNAIDS carry out one of the most elementary tasks of science: providing evidence. “Carried out by a team with solid academic backgrounds and without preconceived views on the subject, the report teenth century and the beginning of the twen- shows that the evidence generally contradicts tieth, per capita income would be as much as 5 COMPLETELY commonly held views or doesn’t support certain 17% lower than currently recorded (see sidebar). BLOCKED THE rhetorical constructions—such as those of some ENTRY OF groups that take the opposing side of the migrant LOCAL TAKE HIV-POSITIVE issue,” he says. Ventura underscores the study’s Due to the scarcity of studies carried out in the INDIVIDUALS contribution to more general discussions: “The is- area of health and migration, Brazil contributed sue of healthcare changes the terms of the debate little to the review carried out by the commission. 4 REQUIRED regarding international migration, since it recog- “Brazil is not the major focus of studies on migra- HIV-NEGATIVE nizes the migrant as someone whose health must tion and health, so it was not the most relevant,” TESTS EVEN FOR be taken into account. This immediately pushes says Barreto. Although several low-income coun- SHORT PERIODS the discussion into the field of ethics and shows tries appear to provide the context or population OF TRAVEL the necessity of receiving these people,” he ob- data surveyed in the studies, the discussions in the serves. As one of the world’s most prestigious sci- report often assume the viewpoint of high-income 17 DEPORTED entific publications in the health field, The Lancet countries rather than the poorer countries. Nev- HIV-POSITIVE proposes to intervene in contemporary problems ertheless, particularities of the Brazilian context FOREIGNERS through its commissions. In addition to groups that allow one to presume that the publication may focus on topics such as obesity and Alzheimer’s, contribute to the debates about migration in Brazil. there are committees such as one set up in 2017 According to the Ipsos Institute’s 2018 “Perils to study the health conditions of the local popu- of Perception” survey, Brazil is one of the coun- lation confronted by ongoing conflicts in Syria. tries that most overestimates the number of its The importance of focusing on migrants and migrants: survey respondents believed that mi- refugees is also highlighted by the World Health grants represented 30% of the population when Organization, which in January released its own the actual figure is 0.4%. Several factors explain report, also based on a literature review of the the heightened perception of a phenomenon subject. The initiatives are in line with the ob- that, in terms of percentage, is small, accord- jectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, ing to sociologist Rosana Baeninger, from the and Regular Migration, an agreement promoted Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences of by the UN and through which, since December, the University of Campinas (IFCH-UNICAMP), more than 160 countries have signaled their in- and a researcher at the Population Studies Cen- tention to follow best practices related to mi- ter (NEPO). In addition to widespread coverage gration. The pact is seen by researchers at the by the media and the global dimension of the UCL-Lancet Commission as an “unprecedented population transfer, the most recent movement opportunity” to take actions aimed at improving of foreigners into Brazil does not correspond to migrants’ access to healthcare. n the country’s historical roots. “Between the nine- teenth and twentieth centuries, migration was based on a state policy and brought in a white The report and scientific articles consulted for this feature are listed European population regarded as civilized—it in the online version.

PESQUISA FAPESP z 79 LAW y

Justice is delayed but (apparently) is not failing

A study of the fight against corruption from the perspective of police investigations and criminal prosecutions

PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2019

mpunity in identified cases of corrup- The study “Criminal justice, impunity, tion in Brazil may occur in as few as and the statute of limitations” brought 5% of such cases. This is the percent- together six researchers, four interns, Iage of cases that, between 2010 and and the research coordinator with the 2016, in court districts in the states of aim of seeking evidence of impunity in Alagoas, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and what is called the Brazilian Integrity the Federal District, were dismissed System. The SI, as it has become known, simply due to the slowness of the justice is composed of judicial and law enforce- system. “The statute of limitations is ment institutions targeting legal compli- commonly viewed and portrayed in the ance in cases of corruption and money media as a mechanism by which those laundering. “The term is related, in po- accused of crimes are able to avoid be- litical science, to the study of the quality ing tried, benefiting offenders who run of democracy and to the vision of pre- out the deadlines,” observes political serving the integrity of public adminis- scientist José Álvaro Moisés, a professor tration,” says Moisés, who points to the in the Department of Political Science system as being responsible for unleash- of the University of São Paulo (USP) and ing Operation Lava Jato (“Car Wash”) coordinator of a study developed by the in 2008. To understand how Brazilian Center for Public Policy (NUPPs) at USP institutions have been confronting im- in partnership with the Brazilian Asso- punity since that time, researchers’ ef- ciation of Jurimetrics (ABJ). “We start forts have been divided along two main from this point of view in order to verify axes: mapping the flow and duration of if impunity is actually happening and to police investigations and criminal pro- what extent,” Moisés explains. ceedings involving crimes of this type

80 z DECEMBER 2019 and identifying the profile of the actors operating within the SI. With the aid of information technology, data were collected from more than 4,000 district court cases involving crimes such as active and passive corruption, influence peddling, and money laundering. All these cases were classified according to one of six possible outcomes: active (when the case is still in progress), charges dismissed, conviction, case dismissed without a decision on the merits, mixed results (conviction and acquittal), and statute of limitations expired. In the judicial courts of São Pau- lo and Rio de Janeiro, from which the largest number of cases in the sample came—1,625 and 1,010, respectively—3% of the cases had exceeded the statute of limitations. The highest proportion of these cases, 10%, occurred in the Judicial Courts of the Federal District. In 3 out of 31 cases, the state lost the opportunity to prosecute those being investigated for the aforementioned types of crimes due to the long duration of the cases. “The study is a milestone in the debate over impunity in Brazil,” says political scientist Rogério Arantes, also from the THE WORLD OF USP Department of Political Science and a researcher at the Institute of Advanced RESEARCH Studies (IEA-USP). “Surely, in the opinion of the Brazilian public, which be- INTEGRITY SYSTEM (SI) lieves justice isn’t working because crim- Comprised of judicial and police inal proceedings run out the statute of institutions targeting compliance limitations, a much higher percentage with the law in cases of corruption would be expected than that found by and money laundering the study,” Arantes says. Sociologist Lud- mila Ribeiro, a professor in the Depart- CRIMES & COURT CASES ment of Sociology and a researcher at • Active and passive corruption the Center for the Study of Crime and • Influence peddling Public Security (CRISP) at the Federal • Money laundering University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), believes that although the index is below PROCEDURES & OUTCOMES what might be expected, it is not good Active, when the case is in news. “Exceeding the statute of limita- progress tions is something that shouldn’t happen. It’s the state demonstrating all its inef- Charges dismissed ficiency: the agents open a case but lose Conviction the opportunity to punish the person responsible for a certain crime because Dismissed without a they take too long,” Ribeiro observes. resolution of the merits Analyzing the proportion of time taken

Mixed results by each stage of the proceedings in one (conviction and acquittal) court case—which takes 6.5 years, on av-

Statute of limitations expired erage, to complete—the study concluded ILLUSTRATION AUGUSTO ZAMBONATO that the greatest amount of time is dedicated to the judicial fact-finding phase of the process, i.e., the evidentiary hearing

PESQUISA FAPESP z 81 by the judge. According to Ribeiro, who, like Arantes is not part of the study’s research team, the data show that cases expiring due to statutes of limitation are not caused by the introduction of legal remedies by the defense in order to inten- tionally produce delays in the process but by the inefficiency of the judiciary itself. Considered high, the case dismissal rate caught the researchers’ attention. In the domain that was analyzed, one in every five cases was closed without a judicial decision. “Strictly speaking, it cannot be said that dismissal means impunity because the state did, in fact, act in that case: after the police investigation, a member of the Public Prosecutor’s Office or a judge decided to dismiss the case. The rate is quite high, but it may be related to merely technical issues not associated with impunity,” notes Fernando Corrêa, a data scientist and the ABJ’s technical director. In Arantes’s view, the question of why proceedings—we can’t know why there cases are dismissed should be answered are so many allegations that don’t re- by future investigations. sult in criminal charges or indications The survey also analyzed more than of guilty parties,” says Ribeiro. 3,000 judicial decisions in the superior courts in the same states of Alagoas, Rio ACTORS IN THE DEBATE de Janeiro, São Paulo, and in the Federal The second axis of the study, aimed at District. The objective was to understand identifying the profiles of actors who whether cases with jurisdictional privi- Cases should fight against corruption, was developed lege—which allow cases involving pub- not run out the with the application of the Q method- lic authorities to be tried directly in the ology, which the research coordinator appellate courts—lead to bottlenecks. statute of defines as a “tool for capturing subjec- The study’s conclusion was that approxi- tivity.” The methodology consists of an mately 45% of the requests for jurisdic- limitations. electronic form with statements about tional privilege are denied, which, ac- the area of activity researched, in this cording to the researchers, would be an Such a situation case the criminal justice system and cor- indication of the system’s inefficiency. demonstrates ruption. When filling out the forms, each This conclusion is reached because the respondent rated the information in two reasons for the denial of a request are the state’s ways: by organizing each statement ac- already stipulated in the legislation—for cording to the relevance they assigned to example, when the defendant is removed inefficiency, says it and by indicating the degree to which from office and the case returns to the they identified with it on a scale rang- lower court or when it is a case that is Ludmila Ribeiro ing from -5 (completely disagree) to +5 under the Electoral Court’s jurisdiction. (completely agree). “If the rules were different, maybe the Some statements were of a general system would be more efficient. That is, nature, such as “the minimum wage in there would be fewer interruptions in for 57%, it was concluded that despite Brazil is fair,” “the law is equal for all,” processing cases, which in turn could the charges filed, no crime had been and “poverty and inequality are at the lead to faster investigations,” says Corrêa. committed or the individual accused root of corruption.” Other statements Statistics regarding the Federal Police was not in fact responsible. Although the specifically aimed at legal mechanisms, also caught the attention of the research- overall data suggest high efficiency, the e.g., “prison detention during appeals ers. Over an average investigation period numbers are viewed with some reserva- combats corruption,” “pretrial detention of 936 days, approximately 2.5 years, tions. For UFMG sociologist Ribeiro, it is unfair,” “’coercive conduction’ [forcibly 95% of the 3,885 investigations that were would be necessary to investigate what bringing a subject of interest to formal opened and closed between 2003 and actually happened in these cases. “Since police questioning] violates individu- 2018 were resolved. Guilty parties were these police investigations are classi- al rights.” The objective was twofold: identified in 38% of these cases, while, fied—and not public like most judicial to understand the respondents’ views

82 z DECEMBER 2019 posed to 8%) and convicted fewer people (40% vs. 46%). The group under study was small, and the method itself was a nonrepresentative, inductive tool that related beliefs and behaviors. For these reasons, the researchers warn that the conclusions cannot be extended to the entire Brazilian justice system. “The Q method indicates that the way the group expresses issues encountered in professional practice is a trend within the com- FEDERAL POLICE munity being analyzed,” explains Moisés. For Veríssimo, the results reflect cur- Average investigation time rent legal debates, such as detention af- 936 days ter criminal conviction in the appellate court [some types of cases in Brazil allow those who are convicted to remain free A total of 95% until all appeals are exhausted], which of the 3,885 is now under discussion in the Federal investigations that Supreme Court (STF). “The question were opened and that summarizes the content of the ques closed between - 2003 and 2018 tionnaire could be: what kind of guar regarding their activities and the way were resolved antees to the individual, at what costs to those activities were introduced into so- individuals, can be applied to the judicial ciety. According to political scientist José process? This is the debate the judiciary Veríssimo, a researcher at NUPPs, “by is having today,” explains the NUPPs po- inviting participants to assemble a fairly litical scientist. For Arantes, too, the two complex map of the circumstances and Of these cases, 38% profiles found coincide with the princi- opinions held regarding their work, the resulted in the pal debates around how to combat cor- Q method highlights the way they un- identification ruption: “One group of actors believes derstand their daily activity.” The set of of the guilty party that justice should function according statements was prepared collectively by to procedural rules and guarantee to all the research team, which proposed two involved the full right to act that these hypothetical types of actors: garantistas- rules confer. For the other group, the jus- contratualistas [those who believe in con- tice system must embark on something tractual guarantees regarding the con- new, going beyond the rules in search of stitution] and garantistas-igualitaristas tions to expire,” according to the research an ultimate objective.” [believers in egalitarian constitutional report. The 13 who fit the “egalitarian Developed over approximately one guarantees]. These two types are defined, guarantees” profile do not believe that year, beginning in 2018, the study is respectively, as those who prioritize in- faster methods and procedures will bring innovative in the way it conducted dividual rights before the law and those about effectiveness and guarantee jus- an unprecedented survey to gather who “recognize that structural inequali- tice; these people “prove to be contrary, procedural information with the aid of ties challenge Justice in the sense that for example, to coercive conduction, are computational tools. These tools are de- the law should be ‘equal for all’.” less critical of politics as a factor in con- scribed in detail in the report available Although it was sent to 1,842 recip- trolling the judiciary, and highly favor a on the CNJ website as part of the Justice ients, including judges, local and state structural evaluation of the circumstances Research series. “Among the research prosecutors, and Federal Police investi- surrounding criminal contexts.” developed by the Brazilian Association gators, the questionnaire was answered In the second phase, the data obtained of Jurimetrics, this is an atypical study. by only 40 people. The data then went from the questionnaires were combined There are several layers of interpreta- through two phases of analysis. First, the with the first part of the research; that tion and a lot of material for discus- two ideal types, designed while drafting is, the researchers observed the progress sion here,” Corrêa concludes. In addi- the questionnaire, were adjusted, allow- of court cases under the responsibility tion to the final report, the survey data ing the team to establish some correla- of the judges who had responded to the can also be found on the ABJ website tions: among the 27 who fit the “contrac- questionnaire. Among the “egalitarian” (https://abj.org.br/). n Luisa Destri tual guarantees” profile, it is believed that judges, 8% of cases were closed due to AUGUSTO ZAMBONATO

“prison detention during court appeals the expiration of the statute of limita- combats corruption, that procedural tions, while this rate was 3% among the Study slowness leads to impunity, and that mul- “contractual” judges; however, the latter MOISÉS, J. A. (coord.) Criminal Justice, impunity and the statute of limitations. National Council of Justice. Online. 2019. ILLUSTRATION tiple appeals cause the statute of limita- group dismissed more cases (19% as op-

PESQUISA FAPESP z 83 ARCHAEOLOGY y The water people

For 1,000 years, indigenous people in South America lived in stilt-house villages in the lowlands of present-day Maranhão

Ricardo Zorzetto

PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2019

or almost 1,000 years, the gently undulating landscape of western Maranhão was home to a group of native South Americans who lived on the water. This indigenous group, still of unknown F identity, built stilt-houses on rivers and lakes, where they were protected from enemies and lived on a diet of turtles, fish, and babassu fruit. Well-preserved remains of these settlements have been found across 40,000 square kilometers (almost the size of What remains of the the entire state of Rio de Janeiro) in areas where the stilts at the Coqueiro Lake site Pindaré, Pericumã, and Turiaçu Rivers widen and in the municipality overflow into neighboring floodplains during the rainy of Olinda Nova season, which lasts from January to June (see map on do Maranhão, which page 86). Archaeological remains of this native group, appeared during the ALEXANDRE GUIDA NAVARRO/ UFMA NAVARRO/ ALEXANDRE GUIDA which disappeared before Europeans arrived in the drought of 2012

Americas, suggest that they were skilled ceramists who PHOTO PESQUISA FAPESP z 85 the Federal University of Maranhão (LARQ-UF- Stilt-house villages MA), the largest estearias may have been home to thousands of people who followed the com- Archaeological sites containing stakes and pottery up mand of one leader. Other researchers, such as to 2,000 years old have been found over an area of 40,000 Deusdédit Carneiro Leite Filho, director of the square kilometers in western Maranhão state Maranhão Natural History and Archaeology Research Center (CPHNAMA), which is asso- Stilt-house village City ciated with the State Department for Culture and Tourism, say that there is not enough data Pará Santa Helena Ceará to know whether entire estearias were occu- Paruá River MARANHÃO pied all at one time or whether the inhabitants formed smaller communities that periodically Piauí moved to neighboring areas. Turiaçu River A detailed map of four of the nearly 20 estea- Tocantins Bahia rias in Baixada Maranhense, a wetland region Pinheiro in the east of the Legal Amazon, was published Presidente in the journal Antiquity in December 2018. In Sarney the article, Navarro describes the spatial structure and probable dates of occupation of these Pericumã River villages in Boca do Rio, Cabeludo, Caboclo, and Armíndio, which are all located on a stretch of the Turiaçu River near the municipality of Santa Helena, 200 kilometers (km) west of the state capital, São Luís. Between 2013 and 2017, Navarro visited the Pedro do São João Rosário Coqueiro Lake Batista four villages in the dry season, when it is possible to walk on the riverbed and dried-up lakes. Using GPS and a total station (a device that measures angles and distances), Navarro recorded the distribution of the stilts on which the houses were once erected. Navarro also marked the Viana Mearim River exact locations from which he collected some Penalva Lake 8,500 ceramic fragments as well as wooden Pindaré River and stone objects. Cajari Lake Many people in Africa, Asia, and some parts of the Americas still live in stilt-houses today,

Monção Vitória but in prehistoric times, it was rare outside Eu- do Mearim rope. “Baixada Maranhense is the only place in Brazil where archaeological remains of this type of construction have been found,” says Navarro. “Although the estearias have been known about Abordo Lake for a long time, little is known about the culture of the people who lived there,” says Leite Filho. Açu Lake

SOURCES NAVARRO, A. G. ANTIQUITY. 2018. / LEITE FILHO, D. C. UFMG MHNJB ARCHIVES. 2016 CHIEFDOMS OR SIMPLE VILLAGES? In the area surrounding the Turiaçu River, the two largest and most complex structures have roused the most interest—Cabeludo and Boca do Rio. In Cabeludo, Navarro identified 1,150 stakes probably traded goods and knowledge with other over an area of 7,400 square meters (m2)—slightly groups in the Amazon and Caribbean. Known smaller than an average city block—on the bed of as estearias, the stilt-house villages of Maranhão the Paruá River, a tributary of the Turiaçu. Many were first discovered almost 150 years ago but of the stilts are grouped in a large, rectangular have only recently been properly studied. complex, 15 meters (m) wide by 55 m long, which ADAPTATION MAPS GOOGLE MAP Archaeologists working in the region have may have been connected to seven smaller clus- differing opinions on the size and social struc- ters by bridges. The Boca do Rio site is located 10

ture of the groups that lived in these settle- km to the south. It has 1,071 stakes across 6,000 ÁUREA COSTA

ments. According to Alexandre Guida Navarro, m2 of the Turiaçu River channel, where again

the manager of the Archaeology Laboratory at a large central grouping is surrounded by four PHOTOS

86 z DECEMBER 2019 Axe with stone blade and wooden handle found at the Cabeludo site, and jade muiraquitã recovered from the Boca do Rio site

smaller bunches. During her postdoctoral fellowship supervised by Navarro, forest engineer Thaís Gonçalves found that the stilt foundations were made of hard woods such as ipê (Tabebuia sp). The dating of the stakes suggests that the two settlements existed contemporaneously and well before European colonization. The locations of ceramic objects found in the “The stilts at these two sites were not placed larger settlements reinforce this opinion. The randomly,” Navarro says. “They are arranged most elaborate items—statuettes and objects with into villages that could only have been built by appliqués and incisions, sometimes painted in a large number of people collecting long tree red, black, and white—are most commonly found trunks under the command of a chief,” he says. in the central squares. Researchers have also With a much smaller number of stakes (be- found ceramic figures shaped as animals (owls, tween 140 and 160), the Armíndio and Caboclo monkeys, turtles, and toads) and female figu- sites are organized more simply, with no obvi- rines, some with apparent genitals and breasts. ous center. These two estearias are more similar Many of the human figures have had their heads to the stilt-house villages that have been built removed, which, according to Navarro, indicates by the Warao people in Guyana, Suriname, and termination rituals. “By breaking the head off the Venezuela since before the Age of Discovery. statuettes, a common form of this ritual, the life These estearias comprise a more modest group of the object is ended as well as the ceremony of smaller and simpler houses. “Before European in which it was involved,” explains the archae- colonization, what is now Brazil was occupied ologist, whose work is funded by the Brazilian by a diverse array of ethnicities, and the Mara- National Council for Scientific and Technological nhão estearias are another example of how dif- Development (CNPq) and the Maranhão Scientif- ferent forms of land occupation coexisted,” says ic and Technological Research and Development archaeologist Pedro Paulo Funari, a professor at Foundation (FAPEMA). In the smaller villages, the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). the objects were simpler and were possibly used Navarro believes the large hubs at the center to store and prepare food. of the Boca do Rio and Cabeludo sites functioned “These lake cultures show both similarities as village squares; collective spaces where res- and differences with other Amazonian cultures,” idents held ceremonies and celebrations. Away said American archaeologist Anna Roosevelt, from these squares, the smaller and simpler con- an anthropology professor at the University of structions would have been huts in which one Illinois, USA, in an email to Pesquisa FAPESP. or more families lived. “Some of these groups appear to have developed

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regional cultures consistent with evidence of complexity.” In anthropology, the complexity of a society increases as its population grows and more hierarchical power structures arise. Pottery from the estearias features Anna Roosevelt, the great-granddaughter of former American president Theodore Roosevelt distinct decorative patterns and (1858–1919), conducted several expeditions to painting techniques the Brazilian Amazon in the 1980s and 1990s and identified one of the region’s oldest settlements: the Pedra Pintada cave in the state of Pará, home to indigenous American peoples approximately 11,000 years ago. Having studied refined polychrome pottery (painted in red, black, and white) “The beautiful pottery of the Turiaçu basin from Marajó Island, Roosevelt theorized that shows clear similarities with that found in Mara- Amazonia may have been home to large human jó,” says Anna Roosevelt, who visited the estearias settlements of intermediate complexity called of the Turiaçu River with Navarro in January chiefdoms, where thousands of people lived and December of 2018. “As we know very little under the influence of an indigenous chief. Her about the early stages of the Marajó polychrome proposal ran contrary to the prevailing theory culture, it is possible that this type of painting of the time, suggested by another American ar- first emerged in Maranhão before arriving in chaeologist, Betty Meggers (1921–2012), who be- Pará,” suggests the archaeologist. lieved the Amazon was a huge demographic and In addition to producing a variety of elabo- cultural void (see Pesquisa FAPESP issue n. 136). rate ceramics—74 different types of vases were The dates presented in the Antiquity article identified at the Turiaçu River sites—the peo- suggest that the Turiaçu River estearias were ple of the Maranhão estearias may have been occupied between AD 770 and 1,100, around part of a trading network that interacted with the peak of the Marajoara culture, which arose other distant cultures. One piece of evidence around AD 400. Navarro, however, reports that of such interactions is a jade muiraquitã found more recent and as yet unpublished dating of in the central square of the Boca do Rio site in the stilts, ceramics, and coals suggests that these 2014. Discovered between pottery fragments settlements originated in the first century AD. and stone objects such as axe blades, the green

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Ceramic ornament frog-shaped amulet was sculpted in nephrite, a the fire of 2018. After finding the muiraquitãs in shaped like a bat’s type of jade found in Costa Rica, according to an Penalva, Lopes proposed that the people who head (left) and a vase decorated article published by Navarro and others in the lived in the stilt-houses had connections with like a turtle shell. Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará Bulletin in 2017. A the Marajoara culture and Caribbean peoples. symbol of power or magical healing, the Boca do Rio muiraquitã has human-like eyes and a kind DIFFERING VIEWS of split crown or antennae on its head. These In the 1970s, archaeologists from the Emílio Goel- features, according to Navarro, are uncommon di Museum of Pará, led by Mário Simões (1914– in the Amazon but are often observed in amulets 1985), visited the Cajari estearias to resolve “the from the Nicoya culture, Costa Rica, and other controversies regarding the origin and antiquity of Caribbean peoples. cultural artifacts discovered by Raimundo Lopes The muiraquitã from Boca do Rio is not the in 1919,” as Simões wrote in the scientific journal first to be found in the stilt-house villages of Acta Amazonica in 1981. The Goeldi Museum team Maranhão. Almost a century earlier, local geog- collected ceramic fragments, stone artifacts, and rapher Raimundo Lopes (1894–1941) discovered pieces of coal. A single analysis dated the material three other examples at archaeological sites near as being from around the year 570 AD. Simões and the municipality of Penalva, approximately 110 his team concluded that although the Cajari cul- km south of the Santa Helena villages. Born in ture existed at the same time as other peoples on Viana, a town near Penalva, Lopes knew about Marajó Island, there was no connection between the estearias since he was a teenager. In 1872, en- them, contrary to current theories proposed by gineer Antônio Bernardino Pereira do Lago, who Navarro and Roosevelt. FÁBIO MATTA 2 was drawing a topographic map of Maranhão, Another scholar who sees few similarities be- identified signs of one of the estearias near Viana tween Marajoara pottery and the objects found in a dry area of Cajari Lake. Lopes became con- among the stilt-house villages is archaeologist vinced of the importance of these villages when Deusdédit Leite Filho. Born in Baixada Mara- a drought in 1919 once again exposed the stakes nhense, Leite Filho has been studying the es- in Cajari Lake. In the same year, Lopes measured tearias in the Pindaré, Pericumã, and Turiaçu the layout of the Cacaria settlement in Penalva Rivers for almost 20 years. Based on his own

DEUSDÉDIT LEITE FILHO/ CPHNAMA and began collecting archaeological material, observations, Leite Filho agrees with Simões 1 which was later stored at the National Muse- that the ceramics in these locations have their

PHOTOS um in Rio de Janeiro and may have been lost in own unique features. André Prous, a professor at

PESQUISA FAPESP z 89 the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a leading expert on prehistoric Brazil, also The aerial image believes the pottery features original decora- shows near-parallel lines of stakes at tive patterns and painting techniques, although the Casca de Coco some pieces appear to have been influenced by site in Coqueiro Lake the Tupi-Guarani culture. “There is a wide variety of types, shapes, colors, and designs. Some have a part shaped like the head of a fish, and the liquid comes out of the mouth,” says Leite Filho. “The potters of the estearias were skilled artisans, but they were not as aesthetically adept as those from Santarém,” he observes. In addition to disagreeing with Navarro about the ceramic artifacts, Leite Filho also has his own opinion about how the sites were organized and occupied. During an intense drought that hit the region in 2012 and 2013, Leite Filho mapped the Casca de Coco site in Coqueiro Lake, located between the municipalities of Olinda Nova do Maranhão and São João Batista. There were almost 8,000 exposed stakes, which were distributed differently than those of the villages found in the Turiaçu River to the north. At the Casca de Coco site, the stakes were arranged in gently winding parallel lines. In an article published in the journal Arquivos do Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico da UFMG in 2016, Leite Filho states that the layout of the supports suggests that the houses were 50 m long by 8 m wide and possibly designed for collective use, as is still the case in other regions of the Amazon. According to Leite Filho, it is still impossible to know how the people of these stilt-house villages lived. “Very little material has been dated and the objects collected from lake and riverbeds may have been displaced by the movement of buffalo in the region,” he says. Leite Filho also says that the fact that the sites are spread over a vast area does not necessarily mean that the entire region was occupied at the same time or that chiefdoms were formed. Navarro disagrees. “The chiefdoms are not characterized by concurrent occupation of the sites,” he explains, “but by a form of government in which a leader held some form of political control over numerous villages in a wider area.” n

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES NAVARRO, A. G. New evidence for late first-millennium AD stilt-house settlements in Eastern Amazonia. Antiquity. Vol. 92, no. 366, pp. 1586–603. Dec. 11, 2018. LEITE FILHO, D.C. The archaeology of lacustrine environments: Ma- terial culture, sociocultural dynamics, and construction systems in the Baixada Maranhense estearias. Arquivos do Museu de História Natural e Jardim Botânico da UFMG. Vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 54–99. 2016. NAVARRO, A. G. et al. The muiraquitã of the estearia in Boca do Rio, Santa Helena, Maranhão: Archaeological, mineralogical, and symbolic study. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi – Ciências Humanas. Vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 869–94. Sept.–Dec. 2017. FÁBIO MATTA

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