News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Jun-2025 13:09 ET (17-Jun-2025 17:09 GMT/UTC)

30-Aug-2022

How do quality seed systems impact food and nutrition security?

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

In food system and nutrition research, only a handful of studies fully document how seed system interventions are affecting diets and nutrition status in developing countries. A recent review highlighted opportunities for increased nutrition impact through sustainable seed system interventions.

Journal

Global Food Security

29-Aug-2022

Older people with anemia and weak muscles face higher risk of dying

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

The combination of anemia and weak muscles is particularly dangerous for women, according to a study by researchers in Brazil and the UK who analyzed data for 5,310 people aged 50+ followed in a ten-year health survey.

Journal

Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

29-Aug-2022

Study reveals mechanism involved in rare pediatric brain cancer and points to possible treatment

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

Ependymoma is the third most common form of childhood brain and spine tumor, occurring mostly in infants and young children. It begins in the ependymal cells lining the hollow cavities within the brain that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Using an array of advanced techniques, the researchers discovered that the so-called Hedgehog signaling pathway (Hh) is highly activated in this type of tumor.

Journal

Neuro-Oncology

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

29-Aug-2022

How do land sparing vs. land sharing interventions influence human wellbeing?

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

A recent study examines how land use approaches impact human wellbeing. Read a conversation with two of the leading authors, Rachel Carmenta (University of East Anglia) and Natalia Estrada Carmona (Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT).

Journal

People and Nature

26-Aug-2022

Study finds that agricultural diversity has a positive impact on food security

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

Agricultural diversity can be an important driver of food security, but the magnitude of the contribution depends on the broader socio-economic and biophysical characteristics of the local farming system.

Journal

Global Food Security

25-Aug-2022

Technique using light and artificial intelligence is effective in selecting immature soybean seeds

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

The researchers concluded that the combinations 660/700 nanometers (nm) and 405/600 nm performed fastest and most accurately in identifying the different stages of seed maturation.

Journal

Frontiers in Plant Science

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

24-Aug-2022

Zapped survivors: Some tropical trees won’t be defeated by lightning

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A multi-year study in the tropical forests of the Panama Canal found that the species most frequently damaged by lightning tended to be the most capable of surviving it.

Journal

Nature Plants

Funder

U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society

24-Aug-2022

Researchers use AI to define priority areas for action to combat deforestation in the Amazon

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

A study using satellite imagery and machine learning techniques shows that many deforestation hotspots lie outside the 11 municipalities currently monitored by the Brazilian federal government under its Amazon Plan 2021/2022.

Journal

Conservation Letters

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

22-Aug-2022

Home gardens are “living genebanks” that sustain livelihoods in Central Asia

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

Central Asia is the point of origin for a wide diversity of fruit and nut trees; including many local and wild varieties that have not been scientifically documented. A new study has analyzed the ongoing role of home gardens in conserving this agrobiodiversity, which has provided a food safety net in times of food insecurity.

Journal

PLOS One

17-Aug-2022

Study finds link between post-COVID loss of smell or taste and memory problems

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil followed up hundreds of COVID patients after discharge from hospital in São Paulo City. Tests conducted six months later showed that those with the most severe sensory disorders also performed worse in tests of cognitive functions, especially memorization.

Journal

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo