On Thursday, May 9, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will meet with the three scientists who are leading the research on the use of tilapia skin: Edmar Maciel, Odorico Moraes, and Marcelo Borges. Health Minister Luiz Mandetta and Secretary of Fisheries Jorge Seif will also attend the meeting.
The president wants information on the current stage of research, which is being developed in six research centers in Brazil, networked with researchers from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Colombia, Guatemala, and Ecuador. 189 researchers, divided into 42 research projects, work in the 63rd stage of the research.
The products obtained from the skin of tilapia will be presented, with applications in twelve areas of medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry. The research, which began in 2014 in the treatment of burns, is testing new uses of the material, such as wounds and vaginal reconstruction, as well as several other areas.
In February, President Bolsonaro used Twitter to demonstrate his interest in research on tilapia skin.
READ ALSO: Tilapia: A natural wound dressing
Partnership with NASA
A group of astronomers from the state of Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with NASA, is studying the behavior of tilapia skin when subjected to high atmospheric pressures, radiation, and microgravity. Scientists want to see if these conditions will interfere with the medical properties of the product.
The project, called Cubes in Space, predicts the launch of a rocket in June, with several experiments accommodated in cubes of 4x4x4cm.