News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Dec-2025 10:11 ET (14-Dec-2025 15:11 GMT/UTC)

8-Oct-2021

COVID-19 leads to African agricultural innovation

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

COVID-19's disruption on harvests, planting and the availability of externally sourced fertilizers and other inputs in sub-Saharan Africa spurred farmers to adopt new ways of doing business.

Journal

Advances in Food Security and Sustainability

5-Oct-2021

Study: COVID-19 affects transplant recipients differently, possible therapeutic approach suggested

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

Liver recipients who contracted SARS-CoV-2 recovered faster and with less inflammation than heart or kidney recipients, according to researchers at the University of São Paulo. The reason may have to do with differing amounts and types of immunosuppressants, the drugs used to prevent organ rejection

Journal

Transplantology

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

1-Oct-2021

Protein that helps zika virus invade cells could be target for novel antivirals

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

A study by Brazilian researchers evidenced a correlation between post-zika neurological complications and high levels of Gas6, a protein that facilitates viral replication.

Journal

Brain Behavior and Immunity

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

1-Oct-2021

In Brazilian Amazon, savannization and climate change will expose 12 million to lethal heat stress

Fiocruz Piauí
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A landmark study examining extreme impacts of forest loss on human health finds a threshold for human survival. By 2100, roughly 12 million Brazilians may be exposed to extreme risk of heat stress and vulnerable populations could be most severely impacted.

Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

29-Sep-2021

Dramatic liana increases in old-growth tropical forests associated to natural disturbance and climate change

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The accelerated proliferation of lianas in old-growth forest due to natural disturbance may be altering forest structure, regeneration, and functioning

Journal

Ecology Letters

Funder

U.S. National Science Foundation

29-Sep-2021

Scientists investigate how infection by SARS-CoV-2 can lead to kidney disorders

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

Loss of ACE2, the protein used by the novel coronavirus to invade human cells, leads to an imbalance in systems that regulate essential metabolic functions, impairing blood filtration and causing kidney injuries that can become permanent

Journal

Frontiers in Physiology

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

28-Sep-2021

Study maps immune system genes involved in resistance to SARS-CoV-2

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

The researchers analyzed genetic material from 86 discordant couples in the sense that only the wife or husband was infected by SARS-CoV-2 although both were exposed to the virus. The results suggest that certain genetic variants found more frequently in the resistant subjects are associated with more efficient activation of defense cells known as natural killers (NKs).

Journal

Frontiers in Immunology

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

27-Sep-2021

Indigenous people and tropical forests: Lessons from the anthropocene

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Nine articles explore the impacts of ancient human societies on tropical ecosystems, revealing the importance of incorporating the paleosciences, social sciences and indigenous traditional knowledge in the development of solutions for contemporary environmental challenges

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

22-Sep-2021

Electoral cycles influence destruction of Atlantic Rainforest areas in South and Southeast Brazil

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

Study led by researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed data for the period 1991-2014 and revealed that deforestation increased in election years. The phenomenon could cancel out the environmental gains achieved by conservation policies and actions, the scientists warn.

Journal

Conservation Letters

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

21-Sep-2021

Study reveals how saline solution can inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2

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

The use of a hypertonic solution of sodium chloride at 1.1% reduced viral replication by 88% in tests involving infected lung cells conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo. If found efficacious in clinical trials, the strategy could contribute to the development of novel prophylactic interventions and therapies for COVID-19.

Journal

ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo