The rise of molecular biology since the late 1950s has had the gradual and quite unforeseen effect of turning the eyes of medical scientists increasingly toward the basic mechanisms of life, rather than disease and death. Of course, this has always been the orientation of all nonmedical biologists, studying growth, reproduction, nutrition or any of the other characteristics shared by all living things.

Same-sex marriage in the United States

In the United States, same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide since June 26, 2015, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional. The court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and the refusal to recognize those marriages performed in other jurisdictions violates the Due Process and the Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The ruling overturned a precedent, Baker v. Nelson.

(Disponível em: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States>. Acesso em: 1 out. 2015.)

How Einstein Discovered General Relativity amid War, Divorce and Rivalry

Albert Einstein created his most famous theory amid personal strife, political tension and a scientific rivalry that almost cost him the glory of his discovery

By Walter Isaacson

The general theory of relativity began with a sudden thought. It was late 1907, two years after the “miracle year” in which Albert Einstein had produced his special theory of relativity and his theory of light quanta, but he was still an examiner in the Swiss patent office. The physics world had not yet caught up with his genius. While sitting in his office in Bern, a thought “startled” him, he recalled: “If a person falls freely, he will not feel his own weight.” He would later call it “the happiest thought in my life.”

The tale of the falling man has become an iconic one, and in some accounts it actually involves a painter who fell from the roof of an apartment building near the patent office. Like other great tales of gravitational discovery—Galileo dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the apple falling on Isaac Newton\\'s head—it was embellished in popular lore. Despite Einstein\\'s propensity to focus on science rather than the “merely personal,” even he was not likely to watch a real human plunging off a roof and think of gravitational theory, much less call it the happiest thought in his life.

Disponível em: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-einstein-discovered-general-relativity-amid-war-divorce-and-rivalry/. Acesso em 29/07/15.

Choose the correct alternative that fills up the blank spaces correctly in the sentence bellow:

Mr. Smith: I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson. I believe the candidate you sent us will not suit our purposes. We need somebody ________________ than he.

Human trafficking is slavery

According to the United States Department of Justice, human trafficking is the “third most profitable criminal activity. An estimated $9.5 billion is generated in annual revenue from all trafficking activities, with at least $4 billion attributed to the worldwide brothel industry.”

The United States Department of State estimates that 800,000 women, children and men are internationally trafficked every year. Most of these victims are enslaved in the sex trade industry, followed by domestic servitude and labor. Over 14,000 victims are trafficked into the United States annually, according to the United States Department of Justice, and an estimated 200,000 American children are potentially trafficked each year into the sex trade.

Since 2001, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has issued almost 1,100 certifications to human trafficking victims in the United States originating from over 40 countries. The largest contributing regions are Latin America and Asia. The majority of victims are female and half of all victims are children. Law enforcement agencies report that the majority of trafficking cases presented as prostitution. But victims of human trafficking have also been rescued from enslavement as domestic servants, child soldiers, child brides, beggars, manual laborers, sweatshops workers, and in landmine removal efforts. There are also baby trafficking rings that sell babies to both knowing and unknowing adoptive parents.

Anyone can potentially fall prey to human traffickers. Before enslavement, many victims earned higher educational degrees. Many victims were professionals. Others were simply seeking a better life when they fell prey. Regardless of demographics or the circumstance of their trafficking, the common thread among all trafficking victims is the deprivation of inherent human rights and dignity. They are frequently subjected to physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse. Although these victims are a commodity to the traffickers, they are nonetheless considered expendable. They are consequently not given adequate care. Without proper care and essential services, these innocent victims will be less likely to live hopeful, healthy, and productive lives.
Adaptado de: Acessado em 5 de maio de 2016.

TEXTO:

Indigenous people and global warming

Forests on indigenous lands hold 37.7 billion tons

of CO2 worldwide. If they were destroyed, the carbon

released into the air would surpass global emissions of

vehicles for 29 years. Luckily, the Indians have been more

[5] effective than any other human group in combating

deforestation. These numbers are from a report released

by NGOs WRI (World Resources Institute) and RRI

(Rights and Resources Initiative).

Researchers of the two entities crossed forest

[10] preservation numbers from indigenous and traditional

people with data from the FAO (United Nations Food

and Agriculture) on forest biomass. Research was done

in 2013. According to the report, about one-eighth of the

tropical forests area today is within these areas.

[15] Compared to forests that are outside the Indigenous

jurisdiction, the land not in that area has displayed a

weak protection rate.

In the Brazilian Amazon, forests not in the

indigenous land have a deforestation rate 11 times higher.

[20] In the Guatemalan forests, home to Mayans

descendants, the protection rate is 20 times higher, and

in the rest of the Yucatan is 350 times higher —

Indigenous people are virtually the only type of protection

there. Part of the reason for this is that developing

[25] countries, home to most of the preserved forests, often

lack the resources to implement surveillance against

illegal deforestation, whether within or outside protected

areas.

It is often better to recognize the right of indigenous

[30] communities to land and give them autonomy to manage

an area than turn it into an ecological reserve and hire

guards. However, the report does not comment on the

proposed constitutional amendment 215, being debated

in the Brazilian Congress, providing the legislative power

[35] the right to demarcate indigenous lands, complicating

the process.

“If they were destroyed, the carbon released into the air wouldsurpass global emissions of vehicles for 29 years.” (l. 2-4)

Since the cold-blooded butterfly can't regulate its body temperature, the insect is particularly sensitive to changes in weather. Rain and wind can damage its wings, and cold temperatures can render it literally unable to move its wings. Butterflies have various methods for maintaining an ideal body temperature of around 85 degrees Fahrenheit: they cluster together, hibernate in trees and other structures, "shiver" by flapping their wings, and bask in the sun.