News from Latin America
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Dec-2025 12:11 ET (10-Dec-2025 17:11 GMT/UTC)
8-Dec-2025
Parasitic fungus may have emerged 18 million years before the ants with which it lives today
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Analysis of 309 strains collected in eight countries indicates that the genus Escovopsis emerged 56.9 million years ago, but only began interacting with today’s mutualistic ants 38 million years ago, challenging the theory that they all emerged at the same time.
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
8-Dec-2025
Hormonal fluctuations affect women’s immunity, but a lack of rigor in studies still prevents a consensus
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers at São Paulo State University are investigating how hormonal fluctuations throughout a woman’s life influence the immune system and how physical exercise can mitigate these effects.Inconsistency in the methods used to control sex hormones makes for diverse and inconclusive results, says the researcher.
- Journal
- Maturitas
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
5-Dec-2025
The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide by three to five times
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
A review of 467 studies also points out that, instead of alleviating feelings of fear and anxiety, weapons increase them, as well as exacerbating controlling behaviors and causing domestic violence.
- Journal
- Harvard Review of Psychiatry
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
3-Dec-2025
Lemon shark caught preying on invasive freshwater fish in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Unprecedented footage of jaguar cichlid being preyed upon was captured after heavy rains caused the overflow of freshwater into Sueste Bay, the species’ feeding ground.
- Journal
- Environmental Biology of Fishes
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
2-Dec-2025
Technology boosts hop production in Brazil and paves the way for new bioproducts
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Project developed in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, allows for the highly efficient extraction of aromatic and bioactive compounds, reducing logistics costs and increasing beer quality.
- Journal
- Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
1-Dec-2025
Non-timber products have the potential to finance reforestation projects
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Study identifies 167 native species of the Atlantic Forest with bioeconomic applications: 58% in the medical field, 12% in cosmetics, and 5% in the food sector; 78 species (46.7%) have patents registered in 61 countries, only 8% of them in Brazil.
- Journal
- AMBIO
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
30-Nov-2025
Why are more researchers now screened out of citations leaders' list? A highly cited Alliance scientist's view
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Clarivate's annual list of highly cited researchers hit a new record for excluded scientists in 2025. Christophe Béné, a scientist who has been on the list for four consecutive years, discusses some of the challenges facing the incessantly expanding science publishing industry that underpin many of the issues related to citation integrity.
28-Nov-2025
Discovery of new species of sugarcane pest may facilitate management and reduce losses
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Analyses show that a sugarcane spittlebug, found in the Southeast and South of Brazil since the 1960s, was mistaken for other species that are similar to the naked eye.
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
28-Nov-2025
Researchers develop sustainable technology to extract isoflavones from soybean meal
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloPeer-Reviewed Publication
Work carried out at the State University of Campinas used environmentally friendly solvents and ultrasonic waves to remove the substance and increase its absorption by the body. Some of the researchers who worked on this study dedicated themselves also to finding a new way to add value to an interesting cocoa byproduct: the almond shells of the fruit. The shells resemble cocoa nibs and have a similar smell, but they are very fibrous, so they are usually discarded.
- Journal
- Food Chemistry
- Funder
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo