News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Jun-2025 16:09 ET (16-Jun-2025 20:09 GMT/UTC)

11-Aug-2020

Researchers explore pollen fertilization mechanisms

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study showing how pollen tubes grow into flowers to reach the ovule paves the way for the improvement of food crop varieties as well as a deeper understanding of the growth of fungi and neurons.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

11-Aug-2020

Lab-created molecule achieves positive results in the treatment of arthritis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tested in mice with genetically induced arthritis, the substance decreased the area affected, reduced local swelling, and assuaged the pain associated with the inflammatory process.

Journal

The FASEB Journal

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

10-Aug-2020

Theoretical study shows that matter tends to be ordered at low temperatures

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists found that in actual materials, there's no such thing as a critical point at which a quantum phase transition occurs in a genuine zero field because of the persistence of the residual magnetic field created by the many-body interaction.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

10-Aug-2020

Oxytocin can help prevent osteoporosis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a laboratory experiment with rats, Brazilian researchers succeeded in reversing natural processes associated with aging that lead to loss of bone density and strength.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

9-Aug-2020

Biodiversity may limit invasions: Lessons from lizards on Panama Canal islands

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Introduced species can become invasive, damaging ecosystems and disrupting economies through explosive population growth. One mechanism underlying population expansion in invasive populations is 'enemy release', whereby the invader experiences relaxation of agonistic interactions with other species, including parasites.

Journal

Biology Letters

Funder

Georgia Southern University, Smithsonian Institution, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Foundation and the American Museum of Natural History

6-Aug-2020

Identifying local solutions in the Barotse floodplain for sustainable agricultural development

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To develop locally relevant strategies that improve food security, nutrition, and conservation, researchers employed a gendered ecosystem services approach in Zambia.

Journal

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability

Funder

CGIAR Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE), Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS)

5-Aug-2020

An inventory providing information on more than 200 viruses that infect plants in Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The largest database of plant viruses in Brazil serves as a tool for researchers, growers and policymakers.

Journal

Biota Neotropica

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

4-Aug-2020

Photodynamic therapy can combat secondary infections in COVID-19 patients

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Optics and Photonics Research Center, supported by FAPESP, advocate the technique as an additional treatment for patients with the disease.

Journal

Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

3-Aug-2020

Machine learning makes drug repurposing for psychiatric disorders more effective

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have correlated information on drugs, genes and diseases to identify potential candidates for psychiatric and neurological treatment. The methodology they developed will be used to search for drugs against COVID-19.

Journal

Translational Psychiatry

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

29-Jul-2020

Genetically similar fungi cause severe infections in different hospitals

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Present in the human digestive tract, species of Candida can cause bloodstream infections in patients treated in hospital intensive care units. An international study involving 16 hospitals found isolates with high levels of virulence

Journal

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab