SCIENCE BOND

The historic drought that parched Brazil over the last two years was not just a water-supply problem — it was also a power problem. The nation's heavy use of hydroelectricity, which had made it a model of renewable energy, contributed to an increased risk of rolling blackouts in some of Brazil's largest cities during severe droughts. Now, Princeton researchers are joining with colleagues at a Brazilian university to help the operator of Brazil's electric grid and the country's major utilities develop a system to better manage their electric system when hydropower dries up.  Warren Powell, a professor of operations research and financial engineering, will join colleagues at the University of Campinas to analyze plans for integrating new types of renewable energy into the Brazilian electric grid. Powell, whose work focuses on optimization and uncertainty, has done extensive research on electricity distribution systems. Among other topics, Powell has analyzed the PJM ...

A newly discovered 250-million-year-old fossil reptile from Brazil gives an "extraordinary" insight into life just before the dinosaurs appeared.  At the time, the world was recovering from a massive extinction that wiped out most living species.  The reptile, named Teyujagua or "fierce lizard", is the close relative of a group that gave rise to dinosaurs, crocodiles and birds.  The fossil is "beautiful" and fills an evolutionary gap, say scientists.  Dr Richard Butler from the University of Birmingham said the animal is a new species that has not been previously known.  "It's very close to the ancestry of a very important group of reptiles called archosauriforms," the co-researcher on the study, published in the journalScientific Reports, told. "It helps us understand how that group evolved."  Teyujagua paradoxa was a small crocodile-like animal that probably lived at the side of lakes, feeding on fish.  The ancient rept...

According to reports, Facebook's vice-president for Latin America, Diego Dzodan, was held for questioning in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.  Court officials in the Brazilian state of Sergipe requested his arrest.  Facebook said it was an "extreme and disproportionate measure".  "Facebook has always been and will be available to address any questions Brazilian authorities may have," the company said. It added that the arrest stemmed from a case involving its messaging service WhatsApp, which operates separately from the Facebook platform.  Federal police in Sao Paulo said they carried out an arrest warrant issued by a criminal judge from the Lagarto district, in Brazil's smallest state, Sergipe. A statement released by the force said Facebook had been ordered by a court to provide evidence that would aid an investigation into "organised crime and drug trafficking" that was being heard in private. The Reuters news agency reported that court officials...

The fever, it said, is behind a spike in cases of micro-encephalitis - an inflammation of the brain contracted in the first months of pregnancy.  It has recorded two adult deaths and 739 cases of the disease, which can stunt the growth of the foetus's head.  A World Health Organization team arrives in Brazil next week.  The ministry said doctors had found Zika virus in the blood and tissue of a baby with micro-encephalitis in the north-eastern state of Ceara.  It said it was also the first time in the world that adult deaths from Zika virus had been registered. Most cases have been in the north-east of Brazil but cases also rapidly appeared in the south-east, in Rio and Sao Paulo.  The first confirmed case of death was of a man in the city of Belem, in Para state, who was being treated for Lupus, a disease of the immune system.  The second case, also in Para, was of a 16-year-old girl who was admitted with suspected Dengue fever but who was found...

The fossils include two new species of "dvinosaur" - extinct cousins of modern salamanders - which were about 40cm long, one of them with fangs and gills.  South America's oldest ever terrestrial reptile skeleton was also in the haul.  The finds are reported in the journal Nature Communications. The ancient reptile is a lizard-like creature called Captorhinus aguti, previously only found in North America.  These discoveries, all from north-eastern Brazil, are noteworthy because little is known about the plants and animals that occupied this region during the Permian period; the southern tropics of the "supercontinent" Pangaea are not well-populated by fossil finds.One of the study's co-authors, Dr Martha Richter from the Natural History Museum in London, said: "This discovery is remarkable as most of what we understand about the evolution and adaptation of amphibians through time is based on animals located in Europe and North America. "No...

The venom of a wasp native to Brazil could be used as a weapon to fight cancer, scientists believe.  A toxin in the sting kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, lab studies suggest.  The University of Brazil team say the experimental therapy latches to tumour cells and makes them leak vital molecules.  The work is at an early stage and more studies are needed to check the method will work safely in humans.  Polybia paulista is an aggressive social wasp endemic in south-east Brazil.  Though its sting is largely seen as unwelcome, scientists increasingly believe it could be put to good use.  It contains an important toxin called MP1 which the insect uses to attack prey or defend itself. And recent studies in mice suggest it may target and destroy cancer  cells.  Prof Joao Ruggiero Netto and colleagues set out to discover how, by putting it under the microscope.  They found MP1 interacts with fat molecules that are abnormally ...