Gabriel Vasata Furtado

Estimating the replicability of Brazilian biomedical science

In validated multicenter replications, 20 to 44% of 45 published Brazilian MTT, RT-PCR and elevated plus maze experiments replicated, depending on criterion; replication effects were usually smaller.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 has multiple ancestral origins

The paper identifies eleven distinct ancestral haplotypes associated with SCA2 in South American populations, including an unexpected haplotype with a G allele at rs695871.

A model for the dynamics of expanded CAG repeat alleles: ATXN2 and ATXN3 as prototypes

The paper develops a mathematical model to simulate the dynamics of CAG repeat expansions in SCA2 and SCA3/MJD, showing how generations pass before alleles are eliminated or fixed.

Targeting DNA topoisomerases or checkpoint kinases results in an overload of chaperone systems, triggering aggregation of a metastable subproteome

The paper shows that targeting ATM, ATR, or DNA topoisomerases causes widespread protein aggregation through chaperone system overload, similar to proteotoxic stress and proteinopathies.