News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Jan-2026 04:11 ET (14-Jan-2026 09:11 GMT/UTC)

23-Jul-2020

Lightning strikes more than 100 million times per year in the tropics

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tropical storms often begin with an impressive display of pyrotechnics, but researchers have largely overlooked the role of lightning strikes in tropical ecosystems.

Journal

Global Change Biology

Funder

National Science Foundation

21-Jul-2020

Invasive lionfish may be a selective predator

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The invasive lionfish has become a growing threat to the ecological balance of Atlantic waters. To gather insight regarding its impact on reef communities, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and collaborating institutions evaluated the predatory behaviors and diet choices of lionfish in a semi-natural environment. Their experiments revealed that most of them actively selected their prey species.

Journal

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

Funder

Dartmouth College James B. Reynolds Scholarship for Foreign Study

21-Jul-2020

Leukemia drug shows the potential to treat aggressive pediatric brain câncer

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

When tested in vitro, arsenic trioxide killed tumor cells and prevented the formation of new colonies. This leukemia drug also boosted the effect of radiation therapy on medulloblastoma, a type of central nervous system tumor most common in children.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

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

20-Jul-2020

Experimental drug reduces replication of zika and prevents microcephaly in mice

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

No adverse effects were observed in the mice treated with the AHR inhibitor, but before the treatment is tested in human volunteers the experiment must be replicated in monkeys.

Journal

Nature Neuroscience

Funder

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

17-Jul-2020

Researchers discover hybrid fungus involved in lung infections

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

This is the first time Aspergillus latus has been found in a hospital. The species is more drug-resistant than its two parents and highly dangerous. The researchers will now investigate the role of fungi in COVID-19.

Journal

Current Biology

Funder

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

16-Jul-2020

A population of asteroids of interstellar origin inhabits the Solar System

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

Discovery by Brazilian researcher reported in Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices provides clues for understanding the star nursery from which the Sun emerged.

Journal

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Funder

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

13-Jul-2020

Examine narratives to end policy deadlock, boost agricultural development in Africa, economists say

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

Impasse over dominant and counter approaches-- state-led or market-led policy-- to promote agricultural development in Africa could be solved by analyzing the one-sided narratives that shape this dichotomy.

Journal

World Development

Funder

multi-country project ''Promoting Participatory and Evidence-Based Agricultural Policy Processes in Africa', International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington D.C

8-Jul-2020

Protein involved in corn's water stress response discovered

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

The protein could help develop drought-resistant plant varieties and products that reduce losses related to climate change.

Journal

BMC Plant Biology

Funder

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

7-Jul-2020

New bird checklists from Coiba National Park, Panama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A trip to Jicarón Island during the Coiba Bioblitz led to a published bird checklist.

Journal

Tecnociencia

7-Jul-2020

The complex relationship between deforestation and diet diversity in the Amazon

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

As increasing areas of the Amazonian rainforest are converted into agricultural land, scientists are examining how this is linked with local communities' food access. Newly published research shows that over the period of 15 years, deforestation and reduction of agricultural diversity are associated with reduced diversity in human diets.

Journal

Food Security

Funder

CGIAR Research Programme on Water, ASSETS: Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Trade-off Scenarios Initiative, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)