News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Jan-2026 19:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 00:11 GMT/UTC)

3-Dec-2020

Tree lifespan decline in forests could neutralize part of rise in net carbon uptake

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

Study by Brazilian researchers reported in Nature Communications shows that trees are growing faster in forests worldwide, including the Amazon, but their lives are getting shorter

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

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

3-Dec-2020

Researchers create ingredients to produce food by 3D printing

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

Food engineers in Brazil and France developed gels based on modified starch for use as "ink" to make foods and novel materials by additive manufacturing

Funder

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

2-Dec-2020

Drug attenuates weight gain in animals fed a high-fat diet

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

Medication originally developed to kill bacteria displayed the capacity to increase cell energy expenditure in tests with mice. Researchers are testing compounds with a similar structure that could give rise to novel approaches to the treatment of obesity

Funder

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

1-Dec-2020

Study sheds light on immune mechanism that triggers cytokine storm typical of COVID-19

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

In lung tissue from a person who died after contracting COVID-19, active inflammasomes (puncta, represented as red specks) can be seen in some cells. Collagen fibers, lung cell nuclei and epithelial cells are stained green, blue and pink respectively

Journal

Journal of Experimental Medicine

Funder

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

1-Dec-2020

Genomic analysis of mako shark reveals genes relating to tumor suppression in humans

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

Genetic mapping of the shark's liver and eye tissue showed overexpression of nine genes known for action in tumor suppression, wound healing, and probable monochrome vision. The species is considered globally endangered and caught on a large scale by industrial fishing vessels.

Journal

Genomics

Funder

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

1-Dec-2020

Molecule that regulates muscle adaptation to exercise is discovered

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

An article in Cell shows that the metabolite succinate is released by muscle cells during physical exercise and triggers a process of tissue remodeling that makes muscles stronger and enhances metabolic efficiency.

Journal

Cell

Funder

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

30-Nov-2020

Scientists uncover the mysterious origin of canal grass in Panama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How did canal grass arrive in Panama? STRI staff scientist Kristin Saltonstall compared the DNA of sugar cane relatives from around the world to find out.

Journal

Biological Invasions

30-Nov-2020

Surprising trove of sorghum diversity discovered in Australia -- but it's disappearing fast

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

New research found that wild cousins of sorghum, the fifth-most important cereal crop globally, are most concentrated in Australia, despite having been domesticated in Africa. But with 12 of the total 23 wild relative species possibly endangered, four vulnerable, and four near threatened, these economically important wild plants are in peril.

Journal

Diversity and Distributions

24-Nov-2020

Young Brazilians are increasingly keen on conservation- and biodiversity-related topics

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

An article in Science Advances shows high school students are steadily becoming more sensitive to environmental and scientific ideas. However, interest is uneven in regional terms. It is most intense in the North, less so in the Southeast

Funder

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

23-Nov-2020

In the Cerrado, topography explains the genetic diversity of amphibians more than land cover

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

Study shows that a tree frog endemic to a mountainous region of the Brazilian savanna is unable to disperse and find genetically closer mates when the terrain is rugged, potentially endangering survival of the species

Journal

Diversity and Distributions

Funder

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