News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2026 06:16 ET (26-Oct-2026 10:16 GMT/UTC)

8-Jun-2020

 

Recycling old genes to get new traits -- How social behavior evolves in bees

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers learned from some unusual sweat bee species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, how the sophisticated division of labor in highly complex insect societies can arise from humble beginnings.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

4-Jun-2020

 

Study links malaria risk in deforestation hotspots to demand for agricultural commodities

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

The international trade in timber, tobacco, cocoa, coffee and cotton accounts for a high proportion of malaria risk in exporter countries, according to a collaborative study by scientists in Brazil and Australia published in Nature Communications.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

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

2-Jun-2020

 

Aluminum oxide crystal tested as a UV radiation sensor

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

Doped with carbon and magnesium, the material becomes thermoluminescent in response to UV radiation.

Journal

Journal of Luminescence

Funder

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

28-May-2020

 

Researchers in Brazil develop low-cost mechanical ventilators

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Business Announcement

Created at the University of São Paulo's Engineering School (POLI-USP), the machine costs approximately 7% as much as a conventional ventilator and can be freely manufactured by companies that obtain approval from the national health surveillance authority.

Funder

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

27-May-2020

 

Study investigates Atlantic Rainforest regeneration in the state of São Paulo

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

The same procedure will be extended to the entire Atlantic Rainforest biome, remnants of which are located on the coast of 17 Brazilian states.

Journal

PLOS One

Funder

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

25-May-2020

 

COVID-19 should be treated as a thrombotic disease, Brazilian pulmonologist argues

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

Dr. Elnara Negri, who works in São Paulo City at the largest hospital complex in Latin America, advocates the use of the anti-coagulant drug heparin to treat complications caused by novel coronavirus.

Journal

Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Funder

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

22-May-2020

 

Scientists identify a temperature tipping point for tropical forests

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas, released as fossil fuels are burned. It is absorbed by trees as they grow and stored as wood. When trees get too hot and dry, they may close the pores in their leaves to save water, but that also prevents them from taking in more carbon. And when trees die, they release stored carbon back into the atmosphere.

Journal

Science

20-May-2020

 

Study indicates the need to revise the protocol for detecting Zika in placenta

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

Brazilian researchers show that the virus can infect different placental regions and that collection and storage methods should be taken into consideration to ensure that the results are trustworthy and representative.

Journal

Frontiers in Microbiology

Funder

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

19-May-2020

 

Game-changing technologies can transform our food systems

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

In the next three decades we will need a 30-70% increase in food availability to meet the demand from an increasing population. And the global food system will need to change profoundly if it is going to provide humanity with healthy food that is grown sustainably in ways that are not only resilient in the face of climate change but also do not surpass planetary boundaries.

Journal

Nature Food

15-May-2020

 

Brazilian startup develops technology for monitoring of patients with suspected COVID-19

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Business Announcement

Based on the Internet of Things, the system was developed in a project supported by FAPESP. Patients can be advised to seek hospital care if they detect a deterioration in clinical signs.

Funder

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