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News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-May-2025 16:09 ET (20-May-2025 20:09 GMT/UTC)

Study proposes novel hypothesis to explain occupation of Brazil’s southern coast 2,000 years ago

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

New analysis of an archaeological site near the town of Laguna refutes the theory that the ancestors of the Southern Jê replaced the people who built shell middens and burial mounds known as sambaquis for more than 5,000 years on the coast of Santa Catarina state. The results are reported in PLOS ONE.

Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Brazilian scientists develop functional bread to help prevent asthma

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

Bread produced with probiotic yeast performed well in experiments with mice, showing potential to combat asthma, which affects 20 million Brazilians.

Journal: Current Developments in Nutrition
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Mindfulness alleviates stress and anxiety among nursing staff, study confirms

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

A systematic review of 14 scientific articles on studies conducted in seven countries detected a statistically significant improvement in mental health after treatment with mindfulness.

Journal: Archives of Psychiatric Nursing
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Group tests novel therapeutic strategy to minimize progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

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

The use of photobiomodulation and an antioxidant drug called idebenone strengthened the regenerative capacity of muscle fibers in an experimental model, a study conducted at the State University of Campinas shows.

Journal: PLOS One
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Advances in techniques used to identify sharks and rays have not prevented trade and increase in extinction risk

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

An analysis of scientific papers published in a 15-year period on molecular methods to identify elasmobranch species shows that better detection of illegal trade has not enhanced protection.

Journal: Biological Conservation
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Use of WhatsApp messages by public health service to treat depression in older people produces results, study shows

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

With simple audio messages and images, the Viva Vida program produced significant improvements in over-sixties living in a major city in metropolitan São Paulo (Brazil). An article on the study is published in Nature Medicine.

Journal: Nature Medicine
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Monitoring shows chikungunya epidemics can be predicted by means of surveillance

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

A study conducted in a medium-sized city in São Paulo state (Brazil) found that chikungunya, which has caused major epidemics in several countries, can also circulate silently in a community, with few infections for years. The researchers produced a new profile of this arbovirus, underscoring the importance of disease surveillance to predict and prepare efficiently for epidemics.

Journal: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Pesticides impair mobility and immune system of Brazilian native stingless bees, study shows

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

After 48 hours of exposure to the pesticides imidacloprid, pyraclostrobin and glyphosate, stingless bees of the species Melipona scutellaris exhibited morphological and behavioral alterations that could weaken colonies, impair pollination and adversely affect food security.

Journal: Environmental Pollution
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

The World Cultural Council (WCC) is pleased to announce the names of the 2024 Awards

Consejo Cultural Mundial
Grant and Award Announcement

Professor Eske Willerslev, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Copenhagen and Prince Philip Professor at the University of Cambridge, has been selected as the winner of the Albert Einstein World Award of Science 2024. Cónal Creedon an award-winning novelist, short-story writer, playwright, documentary film maker, essayist, and collaborative artist has been awarded the Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts 2024.

Scientists in Brazil and India collaborate on research to create promising treatment for solid tumors

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

In tests involving animals, nanoparticles containing substances already approved for human use reduced inflammation in the biological microenvironment where malignant tumors flourish and facilitated the action of the immune system.

Journal: Journal of Controlled Release
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

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