News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Dec-2025 11:12 ET (16-Dec-2025 16:12 GMT/UTC)

15-Sep-2022

Study shows potential of Southern cattail for phytoremediation of areas contaminated by mine tailings

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo and collaborators showed that the aquatic plant can scavenge up to 34 times more manganese from contaminated soil than other plants found in similar environments.

Journal

Journal of Cleaner Production

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

14-Sep-2022

Researchers identify neurons that specialize in remembering speed and location

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

The study involved the use of biosensors, algorithms and open-source software to build a miniature microscope. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how our brains track and retain information about routes and learn new locations.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

14-Sep-2022

What was left out of the founding myth of the Green Revolution?

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

One of the founding narratives of the Green Revolution (a push towards technology-driven modernization of agriculture starting over 50 years ago) has been found to be false, according to a recent analysis.

Journal

Agriculture and Human Values

14-Sep-2022

CGIAR and the Linux Foundation partner to unlock agricultural field data at global scale

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Business Announcement

CGIAR and the Linux Foundation have formed a research partnership to develop a standard way of sharing data about agricultural fields at scale, which could deliver global benefits, including for the estimated 500 million smallholder farmers that produce about a third of the world’s food.

13-Sep-2022

Study quantifies impact of human activity on Atlantic Rainforest’s carbon storage capacity

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

Conservation of CO2 stocks in the biome is highly affected by forest degradation, which could lead to at least 30% higher emissions than those produced by climate change. The warning comes from a paper by Brazilian scientists published in Science Advances.

Journal

Science Advances

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

12-Sep-2022

Envisioning net-zero food systems

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

A new assessment of over 60 scenarios based on current low-emission practices shows that realizing net-zero food systems will require widescale adoption of new technologies in the next two decades and changes in meat and dairy consumption. A more diverse set of practices and innovative research, including diet shifts and new-horizon technologies, will be needed for this transformation.

Journal

Scientific Reports

9-Sep-2022

Fungal infections increase mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients worldwide

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

Fungal infections that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing the action of SARS-CoV-2 around the world, are a case in point. Mortality reached 80% among severe COVID-19 patients infected with the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, for example.

Journal

Nature Microbiology

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

8-Sep-2022

Brazil has two populations of American bullfrogs, an exotic species that transmits a deadly fungus

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

Genetic analysis of Aquarana catesbeiana, a species that originally came from North America and is now found in nine Brazilian states, shows that the lineage introduced in 1935 prevails in both captive and feral bullfrogs. Law enforcement to maintain sanitary standards is difficult. The invaders prey on native amphibians and transmit diseases to them .

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

6-Sep-2022

Novel technique helps discover whether bacteria that cause meningitis are resistant to antibiotics

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

The results of a study conducted by Brazilian researchers will be useful both for epidemiological surveillance and to improve the treatment available to patients. An article on the study is published in PLOS ONE.

Journal

PLOS One

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

5-Sep-2022

Celebrating 25 years of bean research in Africa

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Meeting Announcement

For 25 years, the Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) has seen impactful transformation in Africa. Over 37,000 bean types, with high iron, resistance to diseases such as root rots, heat tolerance, drought tolerance, and insect resilience, have been bred in and made available to 31 countries in Africa through international scientific collaboration deployed through the network.