News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Jun-2025 06:10 ET (23-Jun-2025 10:10 GMT/UTC)

1-Oct-2020

Venom glands similar to those of snakes are found for first time in amphibians

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

Brazilian researchers discover that caecilians, limbless amphibians resembling worms or snakes that emerged some 150 million years before the latter, can probably inject venom into their prey while biting.

Journal

iScience

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

1-Oct-2020

Conservation planning in Amazon should prioritize aquatic biodiversity, study concludes

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

Simulations using field data suggest focusing on the protection of species that live in rivers and lakes can be more efficient than the approach most used now, which focuses on terrestrial biodiversity.

Journal

Science

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

28-Sep-2020

Anti-convulsant drug can modify DNA conformation and interact with chromosome proteins

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

Brazilian research group shows that valproic acid (VPA), used to treat epilepsy since the 1960s, modulates gene expression in tumor gene models and acts on DNA conformation and the histones in chromatin.

Journal

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

28-Sep-2020

Microbiome-based technologies drive multibillion-dollar market

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

New research field promises to transform food production and treatment of diseases. A global panel of experts unified concepts to define research priorities and offer basis for legislation.

Journal

Microbiome

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

24-Sep-2020

A study could provide guideline for exercise training aimed at high blood pressure patient

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

Brazilian researchers' finding that exercising in the evening reduces blood pressure more than in the morning can help health professionals choose the time of day for aerobic training depending on the type of anti-hypertensive drug they take.

Journal

Clinical and Experimental Hypertension

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

24-Sep-2020

New nemertean species found in Panama represents the first of its genus from the Caribbean

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A novel ribbon worm species was discovered as part of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Training in Tropical Taxonomy program in the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama

Journal

Marine Biodiversity

Funder

Japan Society for Promotion of Science

23-Sep-2020

Study shows impact of climate change on Neotropical freshwater ecosystems

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

Researchers from six countries in the Americas explored bromeliad microcosms, showing how drought and flood affect the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, especially at the bottom of the food chain.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

22-Sep-2020

Exercise hormone may modulate genes associated with replication of novel coronavirus

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

Brazilian researchers observed that in uninfected adipocytes, the hormone irisin altered the expression of genes that regulate ACE-2, which encodes a protein to which the virus binds in order to invade human cells.

Journal

Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

21-Sep-2020

Farmer knowledge is key to finding more resilient crops in climate crisis

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

A new paper in Frontiers in Plant Science reviews the 'Seeds for Needs' approach that combines farmers' knowledge of resilient crops with 'elite' varieties identified by scientists.

Journal

Frontiers in Plant Science

Funder

Seeds4Needs, CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change Agriculture and Food, FAO, World Bank, GIZ

21-Sep-2020

Southern hemisphere could see up to 30% less rain at end of the century

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

Analysis published in Scientific Reports is based on climate models for the mid-Pliocene period, which occurred 3 million years ago and shared characteristics with present-day warming.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab