News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Dec-2025 18:11 ET (13-Dec-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

24-Jan-2022

Squatina mapama, new species from Panama: first report of an angel shark from the Central American Caribbean

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Genetic analyses helped identify a new cryptic shark species of the genus Squatina from the Western Atlantic Ocean.

Funder

Smithsonian Institution Barcode Network

20-Jan-2022

Prevention of mental health problems among schoolchildren could avoid grade repetition and dropout

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

A study by Brazilian and British scientists involved 2,511 families with children aged 6-14. The findings show that externalizing disorders such as attention deficit and hyperactivity have more adverse effects than conditions associated with anxiety and fear.

Journal

Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

19-Jan-2022

Governments follow same logic to address COVID-19 and climate-related disasters, study shows

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

Given the significant number of cities affected by disasters such as floods, landslides and drought in the South and Southeast, the study focused on these regions and selected 45 cities in seven metropolitan areas affected by disasters in recent years.

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

18-Jan-2022

Protected areas use unreliable methods to monitor presence of deer

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

Methods such as interviews with people who live near conservation units may lead to mistakes, such as distinguishing between deer species on the basis of spots like those on this newborn Pampas deer.

Journal

Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

13-Jan-2022

Research involving rhesus macaques paves way for schistosomiasis vaccine

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

The research found nine genes belonging to S. mansoni’s autophagy pathway to be inhibited by the primate’s immune system, preventing the parasite from multiplying and contaminating the host.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

12-Jan-2022

Study presents novel therapeutic target for treatment of sepsis

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

Researchers affiliated with a FAPESP-funded research center showed that a protein called gasdermin D is involved in septic patients’ organ lesions. The study also proved that a drug originally indicated to treat alcohol dependence can inhibit the molecule’s action and prevent complications.

Journal

Blood

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

11-Jan-2022

Treatment with injections of zika virus destroys brain tumors in mice without causing neurological damage

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

In both the mice and the organoids, cytokines (proteins that regulate the immune response) suppressed tumor growth after treatment, and defense cells migrated to the brain region affected by the tumor, alerting the immune system to its existence.

Journal

Viruses

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

4-Jan-2022

Quantum teleportation communicates the state of a single photon to a device with billions of atoms

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

The experiment, performed by Dutch and Brazilian researchers, is an important step toward the construction of a quantum internet.

Journal

Nature Photonics

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

4-Jan-2022

Gravitational action of sun and moon influences behavior of animals and plants, study shows

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

Research conducted at the University of Campinas in Brazil was driven by observations of fluctuations in autoluminescence caused by seed germination in cycles regulated by gravitational tides.

Journal

Journal of Experimental Botany

3-Jan-2022

Accidental tree wound reveals novel symbiotic behavior

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A group of high school students describe how Azteca alfari ants respond to damage to their host plant

Journal

Journal of Hymenoptera Research