News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Jun-2025 10:10 ET (20-Jun-2025 14:10 GMT/UTC)

13-Jul-2021

Study assesses the prevalence of mental illness during the pandemic among folks aged 50-80

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

The study was conducted in the city of São Paulo, with over 2,000 participants who were active or retired staff of the University of São Paulo and enrolled in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brazil). The researchers say the city has one of the highest prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in the world.

Journal

Psychological Medicine

Funder

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

12-Jul-2021

Quantum phase transition discovered in a quasi-2D system consisting purely of spins

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

The study could have applications in spintronics and quantum computing. It was conducted by an international collaboration and published in Nature. Its first author is a researcher at the University of São Paulo.

Journal

Nature

Funder

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

9-Jul-2021

The incidence of COVID-19 in a Brazilian regional soccer league is one of the highest

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

Researchers analyzed almost 30,000 RT-PCR tests on swabs from 4,269 players in 2020: 11.7% turned out positive. The rate was the same as among front-line health workers.

Journal

British Journal of Sports Medicine

Funder

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

8-Jul-2021

Newborns to three months should be stimulated to hold and reach for objects, study says

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

According to a recently published study, when newborns observe adults performing everyday tasks, their social, motor and cognitive development is stimulated.

Journal

Infant Behavior and Development

Funder

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

7-Jul-2021

Research paves the way to early diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy

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

Diabetics exert less force to hold an object than people with other diseases that affect the nervous system. Grip force is a key behavioral biomarker to detect incipient diabetic neuropathy.

Journal

Human Movement Science

Funder

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

6-Jul-2021

Novel coronavirus infects and replicates in salivary gland cells

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

A study conducted at the University of São Paulo suggests that tissues specializing in saliva production and secretion serve as reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2, magnifying its infectious potential.

Journal

The Journal of Pathology

Funder

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

6-Jul-2021

From eyebrow beans to 'lost' rice: community seedbanks are protecting China's crops

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

Despite being relatively new in China, community-led seedbanks are a valuable resource in conserving agricultural biodiversity. For the first time, researchers have summarized the services performed by 27 seedbanks across the country.

Journal

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Funder

Oxfam Hong Kong, Brot für die Welt

5-Jul-2021

How can 'shark dandruff' contribute to coral reef conservation?

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Microscopic scales covering a shark's body--dermal denticles--from fossil and modern reefs show how shark communities have changed since humans arrived on the scene.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Funder

Panama's Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACYT), Sistema Nacional de Investigación, Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Save Our Seas Foundation

30-Jun-2021

Lack of exercise while in quarantine had adverse effects on the health of women aged 50-70

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

Tests performed by Brazilian researchers after the first 16 weeks of COVID-19-induced confinement showed loss of muscle strength and diminished aerobic capacity, as well as an increase in cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin, both of which are risk factors for metabolic disorders.

Journal

Experimental Gerontology

Funder

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

29-Jun-2021

A 50% rise in the level of CO2 could reduce rainfall in the Amazon more than deforestation

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

Simulations run by Brazilian scientists on a supercomputer at the National Space Research Institute (INPE) show that the direct impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide over the Amazon rainforest would be a reduction in rainfall equivalent to or even greater than the impact of complete substitution of the forest by pasture. The result calls attention to the need for regional and global action to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

Journal

Biogeosciences

Funder

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