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News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Jul-2025 08:10 ET (30-Jul-2025 12:10 GMT/UTC)

New examination of fish considered a ‘living fossil’ changes our understanding of vertebrate skull evolution

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

Researchers reanalyzed the skull musculature of coelacanths, a group of fish that has existed for 400 million years, and concluded that many structures had been incorrectly described. The study was published in Science Advances by researchers from the University of São Paulo and the Smithsonian Institution.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Studies confirm influence of country of origin on trust in COVID-19 vaccines

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

During the pandemic, a preference for domestic vaccines or those from countries such as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom was observed for the first time. This phenomenon, known in marketing as the country of origin effect, is usually associated with products that require consumer research before purchase or that have a long tradition in certain countries, such as Swiss chocolates. However, it had never been linked to free vaccines.

Journal: Management Review Quarterly
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Loss of natural areas and introduction of exotic species reduces fishing yields in the Paraná River in Brazil

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

An analysis of data collected over 20 years in the upper stretch of the river shows a 50% loss in economic gains from fishing. Native fish have become smaller and smaller. Conversely, invasive species, which have a lower market value, are becoming more abundant. The phenomenon has been accompanied by a loss of vegetation cover on the riverbanks.

Journal: Nature Ecology & Evolution
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Study on “blue economy” shows interdependence between Brazil’s coastal and inland regions

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

Economic activities that depend directly on marine resources account for 2.91% of gross domestic product and 1.07% of employment. However, when the indirect effects of their linkages with other sectors are considered, the impact increases to 4.45% of employment and 6.39% of the country’s GDP.

Journal: npj Ocean Sustainability
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Amazon degradation increases by 163% in two years, while deforestation falls by 54% in the same period

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

“Negative balance” of biome protection recorded between 2022 and 2024 could jeopardize Brazil’s international goals, warn Brazilian researchers and their international collaborators in the journal Global Change Biology.

Journal: Global Change Biology
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Cassava witches’ broom disease takes flight in South America

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

Cassava witches’ broom disease is quickly spreading across Northeastern South America, threatening a critical food staple for millions of people in Brazil and the continent.

Alliance researchers and partners, including Embrapa, Brazil’s largest agricultural research organization, launched a rapid response plan to slow the spread and mitigate potentially devastating consequences for food security and livelihoods.

Historical and current population DNA reveals that there are at least 12 species of rocket frogs, three of which are already extinct

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo extracted genetic material from animals kept in museums for a hundred years and from others living in the wild and concluded that they are a new genus with at least a dozen species. The group is working quickly to identify them all and direct conservation efforts in the Atlantic Forest, where they live.

Journal: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Electrochemical route allows for the synthesis of giant fullerenes at a lower cost and with less environmental impact

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo and Sapienza Università di Roma obtained the material without the need for high temperatures. The product has many potential applications, ranging from electronics to cosmetics.

Journal: Diamond and Related Materials
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

The 2025 World Cultural Council’s award winner is announced

Consejo Cultural Mundial
Grant and Award Announcement

Professor Mercouri G. Kanatzidis has been awarded the 2025 Albert Einstein World Award of Science for pioneering work on perovskite solar cells

Professor Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, from Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Albert Einstein World Award of Science by the World Cultural Council. He is honored for his groundbreaking contributions to the development of halide perovskite semiconductors, which have launched a new era of efficient, low-cost, and durable solar energy conversion technologies. His pioneering research has inspired hundreds of research groups worldwide and significantly advanced global efforts toward clean energy and sustainability. The Award Ceremony will take place on October 22, 2025, at the Auditorium of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo MARCO, in Monterrey, Mexico, on October 22, 2025.

AI-based tool can ‘measure’ cancer aggressiveness and paves the way for new therapies

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

Developed at the University of São Paulo, the model uses protein expression to create a stemness index that analyzes the similarity of tumors to pluripotent stem cells. The article was published in Cell Genomics.

Journal: Cell Genomics
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

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