Caminhos da Reportagem addresses Sirius, the science accelerator

Ultra microscope. This is how the scientific community defines Sirius, a laboratory developed at the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), located in Campinas, São Paulo. With 68,000 square meters of built area, Sirius has been strategically thought and designed to use the abundant light in the universe for the benefit of science on planet Earth. It is synchrotron light.

the program Report Tracks He goes to Campinas to show how this improved radiation in particle accelerators helps to see, in digital media, the structure of materials such as proteins and even atoms, as if it were a powerful magnifying glass.

Something is very technological, but it can directly affect your daily life, especially in areas such as the environment, energy, agriculture, medicine and even astronomy, explains CNPEM Director Antonio José Roque: “This is a wonderful source of knowledge.” In addition to enabling research and a tremendous degree of knowledge, the manager highlights the project’s marketing potential. “When you study here, for example, new drugs and you get a pharmaceutical company, up front, put that drug on the shelf, and maybe all of this will actually pay for the investment that has been made here.”

a program Brazil TVAnnouncer EBCFrom the outside, he makes a trip to this laboratory that looks like a football field and even an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) like that seen on movie screens. But regardless of the comparisons, Sirius has demonstrated scientific developments that have put Brazil’s name at the forefront of research in the world.

light line

In a period marked by the fight against the epidemic, Daniela Trivilla, a researcher at the National Laboratory of Biological Sciences (LNBio), highlighted the importance of the beamline called Manacá, dedicated to the study of new drugs, including those to combat Covid-19.

“Imagine: the virus is small, the proteins are a small piece, which is a much smaller unit of the virus,” she said. He adds: “So if we stop its effect, the virus cannot replicate inside our cells, causing infection and, as a result, inflammation, and then leading to the disease which is Covid-19.

The program also reveals how research in this laboratory could have a direct impact on agriculture, with alternatives to phosphorous scarcity in soil and pre-salt exploration in Brazil. Moreover, studies in the light of the synchrotron can help clarify the mysteries of the universe.

For those interested in pursuing a career, the novelty is that, from now on, all this scientific knowledge can be shared in a university course focused on the training of scientists. At Ilum Science School, affiliated with CNPEM, students will be able to learn for free, with the right to transportation, housing and food funded by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and also by the Ministry of Education. Registration is open.

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The technical team

Screenplay and Reporting: Dimas Soldi

Text and presentation: Adrielen Alves

Text editing: Adrielen Alves and Cintia Vargas

Produced by: Carol Oliveira

Photographs: William Sales

Technical assistance: John Ferreira

Image editing: Andre Ostaccio and Gerson Portela

Art: Abimael Lira and Silvino Carneiro