Cuiabá - The Amazon and the Pantanal, biopiracy, stem cell research, university reform and development of technology were the main issues debated at the 56th annual meeting of the SBPC (Reunião Anual da Sociedade Brasileira para o Progresso da Ciência), which ended yesterday at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), in Cuiabá. An estimated 11,000 people attended.

Besides the main program, a number of parallel events took place this year, including, for the first time, discussions on Brazil's indigenous peoples. The SBPC Jovem debated elementary and high school education, and Expociência presented an exhibition of technological innovations.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Keite Camacho
Translator: Allen Bennett
07/23/2004