News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Jan-2026 08:11 ET (15-Jan-2026 13:11 GMT/UTC)

10-Dec-2018

Study identifies a key cellular mechanism that triggers pneumonia in humans

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

Researchers have demonstrated that influenza virus impairs the immune response to pneumococcus, especially monocyte activity. A software tool developed with FAPESP's support was used to interpret the data.

Journal

Nature Immunology

Funder

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

10-Dec-2018

Frog sex in the city

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How do animals adapt to urban environments? In the case of the Tungara frog, city males put on a more elaborate mating display than males in forested areas.

Journal

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Funder

Ecology Fund of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, Veni Grant, Marie Curie grant, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Science Foundation

7-Dec-2018

Study highlights correlations between violent death and substance use

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

Consumption of alcohol or at least one drug was associated with over half the violent deaths that occurred in São Paulo City in the period analyzed.

Journal

Injury

Funder

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

6-Dec-2018

Simple steps to climate-proof farms have big potential upside for tropical farmers

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

Climate-smart agriculture boosts yields, mitigates extreme weather impact and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. A study by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Central America, Africa and Asia points to profitable opportunities for farmers and the environment.

Journal

PLOS One

Funder

International Fund for Agricultural Development

4-Dec-2018

Oral cancer prognostic signature identified

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

Discovery based on analysis of tissue and saliva samples from oral cancer patients shows a correlation between a signature comprising three peptides and the presence of lymph node metastasis.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

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

3-Dec-2018

Study puts the Neotropics on the map of the world's food production centers in antiquity

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

Sambaqui societies had sophisticated diet. Study suggests that hunter-gatherer communities living in coastal Atlantic Forest areas between 8,000 and 1,000 years ago consumed a range of plants and more carbohydrates than expected for the period and region.

Journal

Royal Society Open Science

Funder

Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

29-Nov-2018

Artificial magnetic field produces exotic behavior in graphene sheets

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

Theoretical physics discovery paves the way for future technological applications. Study led by young Brazilian researcher featured on cover of Physical Review Letters.

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Funder

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

28-Nov-2018

Ointment to counter the effects of brown recluse spider bites is tested on humans

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

Brazil reports more than 7,000 cases a year of poisoning as a result of the bite of the brown recluse spider; there are also reports of occurrences in North America and Europe.

Funder

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

Meeting

FAPESP WEEK NEW YORK

26-Nov-2018

Research helps in understanding the dynamics of dune formation

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

Studies by Brazilian researchers could have applications in crude oil pumping and missions to Mars, among others. New findings have been published in Physical Review Letters.

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Funder

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

21-Nov-2018

Wild coffee plants, Christmas trees and chocolate's tree are surprisingly poorly protected

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

An indicator to measure plant conservation shows a wide range of wild plants used for food, medicine, shelter, fuel, livestock forage and other valuable purposes are at risk. These include wild populations of firs used for Christmas trees, the original types of kitchen-cupboard staples like vanilla, chamomile, cacao and cinnamon, wild relatives of crops like coffee, and non-cultivated plants used by bees to make honey.

Journal

Ecological Indicators

Funder

Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, UN Environment, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, European Commission