The development of technological applications in biomedical research is a fast paced field, whose rate of achievements can now be measured in weeks instead of the many years and decades necessary in the mid XX century for a novel application to be proudly announced by their discoverers. Technological innovation is so overwhelming today that one is always prone to ask where and when we will find the correct use of that technology and, most importantly, whether should we move to the new method and invest our precious time and grant money on the acquisition, training of personnel and validation through…

The host-parasite relationship is formally defined as an evolutionary race (Vanaerschot et al. 2014). If the Van Valen Red Queen Hypothesis (CM Lively, available from indiana.edu/~curtweb/Research/Red_Queen%20hyp.html) is not rejected in this particular case, the enrolled species is participating in an endless game between incremental improvements in their capacity to escape host defences and the need to rid themselves of the parasitic infection. This scenario leads to the concept of a zero sum game, with the exception that from a human individual perspective, devastating consequences may arise from this game between humans and parasites (e.g., disease and epidemics). Perhaps this is…

In ancient Greece, the Pythia, a priestess and Oracle at Delphi, was expected to speak about the future (the prophecies) on the seventh day of each month during the warmest nine months of the year. The oracle was highly regarded and respected at that time and she was frequently consulted by the kings. The king of Lydia, Croesus, asked her about the outcome of a military action against the Persians; her answer was: "If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed". The King then attacked the Persians and lost the war (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle). Was the prophecy wrong? Well,…

The August 2014 issue [109(5)] of Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz is dedicated to advances in malaria research, with special attention directed toward vector control, epidemiology and the use of new technologies (e.g., proteomics and metabolomics) (Lacerda et al. 2014). This issue represents the fourth time that Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz has published a special malaria issue. When reviewing these special issues, we cannot avoid thinking of how the knowledge of malaria and related technology have changed since the first special issue was published in 1986. At that time, the technologies available for diagnosis and molecular epidemiological analysis were…

In 1988, Günter Wäschterhäuser proposed a new theory to explain the origin of life: the theory of surface metabolism (Wäschterhäuser 1988). This theory, also known as “the iron-sulphur world”, states that the chemical reactions directed by the reducing power of iron-sulphur (Fe-S)/H2S were responsible for the catalytic events that led to the first biopolymer structures. One possible remnant of this Fe-S world is the set of Fe-S clusters present in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteins (Beinert 2000). Fe-S clusters participate in a wide range of molecular and biochemical reactions that bacteria rely on to control important aspects of their metabolism…

Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, the leader and centenary full open access journal of Parasitology, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases in Latin America, is launching a new section for rapid scientific communication: Genome announcement and Highlights. This section is dedicated to publish new genome information from eukaryote parasites, virus, bacteria and vectors. Authors who wants a fast peer review and publication cycle for their research results covering new genome sequences, re-sequencing and comparative genome analysis as well as the expression pattern of genomes are invited to submitted papers under the short communication format. All submissions will immediately be checked out…

Trypanosomatids are recognised as one of the most ubiquitous groups of protozoa on Earth. Most, if not all, vertebrate and invertebrate organisms could potentially be infected by a member of the Trypanosomatidae family. Three articles published in Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz  (Cutolo et al. 2014, Samy et al. 2014, Soares et al. 2014) contributed novel information on the extensive thread of the connections established by the trypanosomatids that are the most important in public health, the members of the genus, Leishmania. Some species of Leishmania are responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (e. g., Leishmania donovani, Leishmania infantum) or cutaneous leishmaniasis…

This current issue of Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz presents the results of collaborative work by research groups at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), Federal Univ of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO). These results show how the fungus Fusarium oxysporum might be deployed to generate silver nitrate nanoparticles at higher rates (Ishida et al. 2014). This Fusarium species is an important plant pathogen that is capable of infecting many plant species, including those with agricultural relevance such as tomato, banana, cotton and oil palm (Michielse & Rep, 2009 ). Fusarium…

It has a new look, but much importantly, new functionalities. You will notice a number of changes to the website. We upgraded to a new layout aiming to provide a more seamless online familiarity and improve site navigation in several key areas. You will find this site packed with essential information and helpful hints to make your manuscript submission as quickly and as smoothly as possible. MEMORIAS is an international free and open-access journal publishing original research from throughout the world all over the fields of tropical medicine, medical parasitology and microbiology. We particularly welcome basic and applied original research…