News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 3-Jun-2025 15:09 ET (3-Jun-2025 19:09 GMT/UTC)

18-Jul-2022

Researchers validate a new cardiovascular risk score for Latin America and the Caribbean

MELISA Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

There was currently no specific risk algorithm for this region, so this development will allow greater accuracy in identifying people at high risk of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice.

Journal

The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

Funder

Wellcome Trust

15-Jul-2022

Technology optimizes renewable energy generation from malting barley bagasse by the beer industry

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

A research group at the State University of Campinas proposes treating the solid waste produced by breweries with ultrasound before submitting it to the process of digestion by microorganisms. The strategy obtains larger amounts of methane, which can be used by the brewery itself to generate electricity and heat. The final waste can be used as crop fertilizer

Journal

Journal of Cleaner Production

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

14-Jul-2022

Does this ring a bell? Wild bats can remember sounds for years

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

There are certain skills that once we acquire them, we rarely have to relearn them, like riding a bike or looking both ways before crossing a street. Most studies on learning and long-term memory in the wild focus on a handful of animal species. Now, in a publication in Current Biology, researchers working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) share the first report of long-term memory in frog-eating bats (Trachops cirrhosus).

Journal

Current Biology

Funder

U.S. National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

13-Jul-2022

Novel compounds discovered in marine sponge can kill drug-resistant bacteria

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

Several substances that killed antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found by Brazilian researchers in a marine sponge native to Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago off the coast of the Northeast

Journal

Journal of Natural Products

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

12-Jul-2022

Have Antillean manatees crossed the Panama Canal?

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Over half a century ago, a group of manatees from Bocas del Toro was flown into the artificial Gatun Lake to control the abundance of aquatic plants and for public health reasons. Where are they now?

Journal

Marine Mammal Science

8-Jul-2022

Study shows that 8% of athletes have persistent symptoms after contracting COVID-19

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed 43 scientific articles with data for some 11,500 athletes. The findings point to the need for carefully personalized assessment of athletes and sports players before a resumption of training is allowed, they warn

Journal

British Journal of Sports Medicine

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

5-Jul-2022

Peptide with anti-obesity action is successfully tested in animal trial

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

In mice fed a high-fat diet, the molecule mitigated weight gain while reducing insulin resistance and liver fattiness. An article describing the results of the study by researchers at the University of São Paulo and collaborators is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

5-Jul-2022

Experts warn about the need for seeking novel treatments for parasitic worm diseases

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

Advanced drug discovery methods have led to advances in the search for treatments for some neglected tropical diseases, including leishmaniasis and Chagas, but research on schistosomiasis and other diseases caused by worms remains at an early stage, according to an article in Drug Discovery Today by Brazilian researchers

Journal

Drug Discovery Today

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

1-Jul-2022

What are whale sharks up to?

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Satellite-tracking of the largest fish in the ocean offered insight into their migratory and feeding behavior, but their breeding grounds are still a mystery.

Journal

Frontiers in Marine Science

Funder

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Mar Viva Foundation, International Community Foundation, Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Panamá (SENACYT)

28-Jun-2022

How the pandemic and social distancing have changed our perception of time

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

Brazilian researchers surveyed 900 volunteers via an online platform for five months. Most reported feeling that time passed more slowly during home confinement in the early months of the pandemic, associating this perception with feelings of loneliness and a lack of positive experiences in the period.

Journal

Science Advances

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo