News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 22:16 ET (27-Oct-2026 02:16 GMT/UTC)

7-Jul-2021

 

Research paves the way to early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy

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

Diabetics exert less force to hold an object than people with other diseases that affect the nervous system. Grip force is a key behavioral biomarker to detect incipient diabetic neuropathy.

Journal

Human Movement Science

Funder

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

6-Jul-2021

 

Novel coronavirus infects and replicates in salivary gland cells

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

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo suggests that tissues specializing in saliva production and secretion serve as reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2, magnifying its infectious potential.

Journal

The Journal of Pathology

Funder

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

6-Jul-2021

 

From eyebrow beans to 'lost' rice: community seedbanks are protecting China's crops

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

Despite being relatively new in China, community-led seedbanks are a valuable resource in conserving agricultural biodiversity. For the first time, researchers have summarized the services performed by 27 seedbanks across the country.

Journal

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Funder

Oxfam Hong Kong, Brot für die Welt

5-Jul-2021

   

How can 'shark dandruff' contribute to coral reef conservation?

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Microscopic scales covering a shark's body--dermal denticles--from fossil and modern reefs show how shark communities have changed since humans arrived on the scene.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Funder

Panama's Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACYT), Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Save Our Seas Foundation

30-Jun-2021

 

Lack of exercise while in quarantine had adverse effects on the health of women aged 50-70

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

Tests performed by Brazilian researchers after the first 16 weeks of COVID-19-induced confinement showed loss of muscle strength and diminished aerobic capacity, as well as an increase in cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, both of which are risk factors for metabolic disorders.

Journal

Experimental Gerontology

Funder

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

29-Jun-2021

 

A 50% rise in the level of CO2 could reduce rainfall in the Amazon more than deforestation

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

Simulations run by Brazilian scientists on a supercomputer at the National Space Research Institute (INPE) show that the direct impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide over the Amazon rainforest would be a reduction in rainfall equivalent to or even greater than the impact of complete substitution of the forest by pasture. The result calls attention to the need for regional and global action to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

Journal

Biogeosciences

Funder

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

28-Jun-2021

Transparent mask increases comprehension of speech by 10%, study shows

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

An online study involving 154 volunteers measured the importance of visual cues to communication for people with normal hearing and hearing loss.

Journal

Ear and Hearing

Funder

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

25-Jun-2021

   

More intense predation in the tropics can limit marine invasions

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Smithsonian marine biologists and colleagues at Temple University tested predictions about biological invasions, first in Panama and then in an experiment of unprecedented geographic scale. Their results are published in companion papers in the journal Ecology.

Journal

Ecology

Funder

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Scholarly Studies program, Tecnología e Innovacíon (SENACYT), Panama's Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

23-Jun-2021

 

Concepts from physics explain importance of quarantine to control spread of COVID-19

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

The central idea of the study was an analogy between concepts in magnetism and epidemiology in which electron interaction is compared with interaction among people.

Funder

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

23-Jun-2021

 

A new site for banana-related research

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Business Announcement

The Alliance-managed website MusaNet collects and shares global resources on banana (Musa) across the whole value chain -- from collecting germplasm to post-harvest qualities.