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News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Dec-2025 20:11 ET (22-Dec-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

Four years after the Mariana mining disaster in Brazil, river fish remained contaminated

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

A comprehensive analysis conducted in 2019 detected the accumulation of 13 heavy metals and other toxic substances, advising against consumption due to risks to human health.

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

Potentially toxic elements in bananas grown in the Mariana disaster region exceed FAO limits

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

The study also assessed the risks of consuming cocoa and cassava grown in Linhares, a municipality in an area affected by the Fundão dam collapse in Minas Gerais, Brazil, ten years ago. The research group warns that continued consumption of food grown in contaminated soil may pose a carcinogenic risk due to the long-term accumulation of potentially toxic elements in the body

Journal: Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Latin American research indicates a lower prevalence of a type of head and neck cancer

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

After analyzing over 1,400 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, the study found that more aggressive histopathological variants occur at a rate of 4.6%. Previous estimates pointed to a rate of up to 15%.

Journal: Annals of Diagnostic Pathology
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Bromeliads promote plant diversity in the forest by enriching the soil with nutrients

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

Water accumulated in the tanks of these plants living high up in trees has much higher concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, and iron than rainwater. Plants irrigated with this nutrient-rich water produced almost twice as many leaves.

Journal: Plant and Soil
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

The COVID-19 virus manipulates host cell RNA to shut down the immune system

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

A study by the Federal University of São Paulo describes how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the RNA of infected lung cells in an unprecedented way. The results may guide the search for new treatments and vaccines.

Journal: NAR Molecular Medicine
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Obesity and inflammation may accelerate lung aging and increase the risk of COPD

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

A study of nearly 900 adults indicates that although smoking is still the main risk factor for lung function loss, systemic inflammation and obesity also increase the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Journal: BMC Pulmonary Medicine
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Abdominal obesity and muscle loss increase the risk of death by 83% after age 50

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

A study of more than 5,000 people over 12 years showed that simple measures to assess the two conditions can facilitate the diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity without complex tests, such as MRI and CT scans. This finding expands access to treatment for older adults.

Journal: Aging Clinical and Experimental Research
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Eight sessions of non-invasive brain stimulation improve postural response in people with Parkinson’s disease

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

A study conducted at São Paulo State University indicates that the non-invasive technique provides lasting benefits by reducing the risk of falls. The study involved 22 volunteers with Parkinson's. disease

Journal: Gait & Posture
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Smallholder farms maintain strong pollinator diversity – even when far from forests

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

A new analysis shows that most smallholder farms are not facing pollinator crises, unlike many industrial farms. The results hold up even when farms are far from forests or other natural habitats. Researchers said the findings suggest that on-farm plant biodiversity - even in fragmented landscapes - may be behind the findings. The research may hold lessons for industrial farming facing pollinator crises.

Journal: Ecology Letters

Transfusing blood from old mice accelerates Alzheimer's progression in an animal model

MELISA Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study demonstrates that factors present in aged blood can accelerate the accumulation of amyloid proteins and influence behavior in an experimental mouse model of Alzheimer's.

Journal: Aging-US

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