News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Jul-2025 10:10 ET (27-Jul-2025 14:10 GMT/UTC)

21-Jul-2023

Novel targets identified for treatment of schistosomiasis

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

Researchers at Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, discovered that survival of the parasitic worm that causes the disease depends on expression of a specific type of RNA. In animal trials, inhibition of the molecule interrupted the infection.

Journal

PLOS Pathogens

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

19-Jul-2023

SARS-CoV-2 infects liver, stimulating glucose production and contributing to severe form of COVID-19

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

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo and reported in PNAS explains hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients and shows how SARS-CoV-2 causes symptoms similar to those of diabetes.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

18-Jul-2023

Brazilian coast is warmer and is having more frequent extreme temperature events, study shows

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

An article by scientists at the Federal University of São Paulo shows that the South and Southeast of Brazil are the most affected regions, and that Espírito Santo is the state most affected by waves of heat and cold.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

17-Jul-2023

Research group develops biodegradable film that keeps food fresh for longer

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

The material was designed by Brazilian researchers and includes a derivative of limonene from citrus rind, blended with chitosan, a biopolymer from exoskeletons of crustaceans.

Journal

Food Packaging and Shelf Life

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

12-Jul-2023

Marine fossils unearth story about Panama’s deep past

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New fossil mammal specimens from Caribbean Panama suggest ongoing marine interchange during the final stages of formation of the isthmus connecting North and South America.

Journal

Biology Letters

Funder

National Secretary of Science and Technology of Panama, Ricardo Perez S.A., Candoc, Explorers Club Rolex, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

11-Jul-2023

Adipose tissue hormone protects cells that secrete insulin and reverses damage associated with obesity

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo observed the effects of adiponectin in trials involving blood samples from lean and obese subjects. The discovery points to novel routes to treatment for type 2 diabetes and related dysfunctions.

Journal

Aging Cell

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

11-Jul-2023

Mortality rate from Candida infections remains high in Brazil, despite therapeutic advances

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

A study conducted at the Federal University of São Paulo shows that 20% of patients with bloodstream infections are not treated, and at least half of those treated die. Diagnostic techniques must improve, the authors warn.

Journal

Journal of Fungi

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

10-Jul-2023

Novel compound combats drug-resistant fungi when combined with commercially available medications

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

Combinations of antifungals with brilacidin, a drug undergoing clinical trials for other diseases, cleared up lung infections in animals. On its own, the candidate drug treated a fungal disease of the cornea that affects millions of people worldwide.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

6-Jul-2023

Bezos Earth Fund grants $12 million to Smithsonian to support major forest carbon project

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Grant and Award Announcement

A generous grant to the Smithsonian to support international partnerships and training will enable GEO-TREES to offer the free, online data needed to verify the amount of carbon stored in complex forests worldwide, in real time.

Funder

Bezos Earth Fund

6-Jul-2023

Researchers offer a tropical perspective on marine conservation

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To achieve tangible solutions for ocean conservation, a new peer-reviewed paper suggests that we should listen to the people who are most affected by the current problems facing the ocean: the people in the tropics.

Journal

npj Ocean Sustainability