Have you ever been in the middle of a forest? On one side, there's woods. On the other, too. Dense, sparse, in canopies, omnipresent. In the middle of this green mass, there are all sorts of animals. Jaguars, spiders, snakes and some predators. Always silent. On the lookout. Watching who enters and who seeks a way out of the forest.

If there's one word that goes well with sustainable development, it's this one: BIOTECH!

Editor's Note I: “This is a different kind of newsletter. It is news that celebrates the sense of community, the effort for society, love for others, the certainty that when we come together, we can do a lot and do it very well. It is news that celebrates science, life, and Brazil. In this edition, we will remember the 5 years of Covid-19, a painful period in the history of humanity, which unfortunately claimed the lives of more than 7 million people worldwide and 700,000 in Brazil between 2020 and 2023. Let us remember it as a way of renewing our perception of solidarity, overcoming, and affection. Join us in this reflection, full of empathy.”

Take a look at this number: 2,120,000,000. Got it? Do you know what that means!? It's the total number of tons of trash we dump on the planet every year. How cute are we, humans, aren't we?!?

“Ho ho ho…!!!!” Of course, we were going to start the December edition of the news with one of the biggest brands on the face of the Earth. Because after all, 🎶“so, it’s Christmas…”🎶 . And Santa Claus is in the area. Apparently, with a bag full of gifts, especially those that will materialize next year.

Imagine a restless night of sleep. In the middle of the turning right, turning left, your subconscious dives into a moment like a movie. Passport, ID card, driver's license are gone. Voter ID… forget about it. Military enlistment documents?!? ! And you need all these documents, and some more, to buy the ideal house or that machine that accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7 seconds. Did you imagine? Well then...

"Let’s talk about good things? Let’s talk about Tekpix?" Is it a meme? Yes. But in this case, it fits like a glove, because we are going to talk about good things, we are going to talk about the relationship between deep tech and venture capital.

In last month's newsletter, we opened the text in a different way – UNIQUE, remember? We asked you to take your cell phone out of your pocket, open Spotify and listen to a playlist of…tecnobrega (Brazilian Genre). Well then. Maintaining this level of originality and excitement won't be easy, so today, we're going to complicate things: do you remember your chemistry classes in high school (or “secondary education”, for the older guys)? Honestly, I bet anything that you don’t know that. 😉… So, let's go!

Let's start this edition in a very different way. Unique. First, take your cell phone out from your pocket and open your favorite music app. Once there, type "tecnobrega". That's right: t-e-c-n-o-b-r-e-g-a. Pick a playlist, press play and let the ideas swing from one side to the other. And believe me, they will shake up not only your thoughts, but also your state of mind... Because in this epiphany, our destination is one: the Amazon.

The chords are unmistakable. And so is the melody. 🎶 “Oh! Chalana sem querer / Tu aumentas minha dor / Nessas águas tão serenas / Vai levando meu amor…”. (“Oh! Chalana unintentionally / You increase my pain / In these so serene waters / You carry my love…”.) 🎶

The image is heartbreaking. Devastating indeed. Water everywhere, sunken houses, buildings damaged, often up to the third floor, streets so flooded that is impossible to dissociate what is the river from what is asphalt and a feeling of powerlessness that devastates not only those who lived the tragedy of the rains in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, but also those who care about others.

Sometimes, it's easy to get the impression that in the economy called sustainable, circular, "clean", everything happens by magic. While complex processes unfold behind the scenes, giving the feeling that any material can transform into another, simply by adding "shine" and "glamour" to the new one. But as the old catchphrase says: “it’s not sorcery, it’s technology”.

… Joga o paio, carne seca, toucinho no caldeirão. E vamos botar água no feijão!

"Se essa rua, se essa rua, fosse minha…" (If this street, if this street, were mine…). The song from our childhood has already been interpreted by many people. A lot indeed. But it would fit well in the voice of actor Paulo Gustavo. Yes, himself: Paulo Gustavo. And in this case, for several reasons.

Every Carnival in Brazil, it shines. To date, costumes remain popular across the country. It doesn't mind smoke or fumes, it likes clean water and when it sees the chance of combining heat and rain, it immediately puts its wings out.

In the early 1930s, businessman Henry Ford had a problem on his hands: amid a widespread crisis in the USA, fights with cartels and steel rationing, he needed to find an alternative way to continue producing his cars at an affordable price. One of his way out was to look at the countryside, starting from materials such as soy, wheat, corn, and hemp to imagine a car made of “agricultural plastic”. After years of research and financing, Ford introduced the Soybean Car to the public in 1941, a concept car that was a ton lighter than vehicles of the time and, if mass-produced, would help the country save about 10% of its total steel production. And more: the car would run on fuel also generated from burning hemp.