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News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Oct-2026 15:17 ET (29-Oct-2026 19:17 GMT/UTC)

Machine learning makes drug repurposing for psychiatric disorders more effective

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

Researchers have correlated information on drugs, genes and diseases to identify potential candidates for psychiatric and neurological treatment. The methodology they developed will be used to search for drugs against COVID-19.

Journal: Translational Psychiatry
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Genetically similar fungi cause severe infections in different hospitals

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

Present in the human digestive tract, species of Candida can cause bloodstream infections in patients treated in hospital intensive care units. An international study involving 16 hospitals found isolates with high levels of virulence

Journal: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Oldest South American fossil lizard discovered in Brazil

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

The animal was approximately 10 cm long and lived more than 130 million years ago in what is now the state of Minas Gerais. Its morphology differs from that of all other known lizard species.

Journal: Communications Biology
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Brazilian researchers develop an optical fiber made of gel derived from marine algae

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

Edible, biocompatible and biodegradable, these fibers have potential for various medical applications. The results are described in the journal Scientific Reports.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Citizen science at heart of new study showing COVID-19 seismic noise reduction

Raspberry Shake
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Research published in the journal Science, using a mix of professional and Raspberry Shake citizen seismic data, finds that lockdown measures to slow the spread of the virus COVID-19 reduced seismic noise by 50% worldwide.

Journal: Science
Funder: co-financed by the German Federal Foreign OfficeBogazi&, Royal Society of BelgiumMultidisciplinary Research on the Coronavirus and its Impacts (MRCI) grant from UC Santa BarbaraInternational Training Course "Seismology and Seismic Hazard Assessment"

Lightning strikes more than 100 million times per year in the tropics

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Tropical storms often begin with an impressive display of pyrotechnics, but researchers have largely overlooked the role of lightning strikes in tropical ecosystems.

Journal: Global Change Biology
Funder: National Science Foundation

Leukemia drug shows the potential to treat aggressive pediatric brain câncer

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

When tested in vitro, arsenic trioxide killed tumor cells and prevented the formation of new colonies. This leukemia drug also boosted the effect of radiation therapy on medulloblastoma, a type of central nervous system tumor most common in children.

Journal: Scientific Reports
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Invasive lionfish may be a selective predator

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The invasive lionfish has become a growing threat to the ecological balance of Atlantic waters. To gather insight regarding its impact on reef communities, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and collaborating institutions evaluated the predatory behaviors and diet choices of lionfish in a semi-natural environment. Their experiments revealed that most of them actively selected their prey species.

Journal: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Funder: Dartmouth College James B. Reynolds Scholarship for Foreign Study

Experimental drug reduces replication of zika and prevents microcephaly in mice

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

No adverse effects were observed in the mice treated with the AHR inhibitor, but before the treatment is tested in human volunteers the experiment must be replicated in monkeys.

Journal: Nature Neuroscience
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab

Researchers discover hybrid fungus involved in lung infections

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

This is the first time Aspergillus latus has been found in a hospital. The species is more drug-resistant than its two parents and highly dangerous. The researchers will now investigate the role of fungi in COVID-19.

Journal: Current Biology
Funder: São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Brazil). Geochronologic research at the MIT Isotope Lab