News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Nov-2025 13:11 ET (9-Nov-2025 18:11 GMT/UTC)

23-Jun-2021

A new site for banana-related research

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

The Alliance-managed website MusaNet collects and shares global resources on banana (Musa) across the whole value chain -- from collecting germplasm to post-harvest qualities.

22-Jun-2021

Marine sediments explain how part of Brazil's Northeast region became semi-arid

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

The phenomenon is linked to gradual contraction of the tropical rain belt over the last 5,000 years, according to a study conducted at the University of São Paulo. Its findings can help predict the region's future climate.

Journal

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology

Funder

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

21-Jun-2021

The paths through which COVID-19 spread across Brazil

Associação Alberto Santos Dumont para Apoio à Pesquisa
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A multidisciplinary analysis by a group of Brazilian scientists, published on-line in the journal Scientific Reports on June 21, 2021, revealed that three major factors accounted for the geographic spread of SARS-COV-2 across Brazil, as well as the massive flow of people in search of hospital care throughout the country, during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.

Journal

Scientific Reports

21-Jun-2021

Poaching affects behavior of endangered capuchin monkeys in Brazilian biological reserve

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

Contradicting theories of primatologists, a study led by Brazilian scientists shows that in a habitat with high hunting pressure, the risk of predation influences the habits of these monkeys more than the availability of food. They spend less time in areas they perceive as 'more dangerous' even if plant biomass and invertebrates are more abundant there.

Journal

American Journal of Primatology

Funder

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

17-Jun-2021

First report of dorsal navigation in a flying insect

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sweat bees navigate through dark tropical forests guided by canopy patterns.

Journal

Current Biology

17-Jun-2021

Women in science propose changes to discriminatory measures of scientific success

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Scientists Advocate Shifting the Current Value System, which is Biased Against Women and Minorities, Towards a More Diverse and Inclusive Model of Science

Journal

PLOS Biology

16-Jun-2021

Immune system dysfunction can modify the association between cannabis use and psychosis

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

Brazilian researchers show that a combination of inflammatory cytokines in the blood and cannabis use, daily or during adolescence, heightens the odds of developing psychiatric disorders.

Journal

Psychological Medicine

Funder

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

14-Jun-2021

Study effects paradigm shift in the understanding of how red rot attacks sugarcane

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo discover that the fungus Fusarium verticillioides uses volatile compounds to manipulate insects and plants, promoting its own dissemination.

Journal

The ISME Journal

Funder

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

14-Jun-2021

COVID-19 creates conditions for emergence of 'superfungus' in Brazil

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

The presence of Candida auris in a hospital in Salvador, Bahia, was confirmed at end-2020 and reported in an article in the Journal of Fungi. The fungus can cause a lethal invasive disease and is ringing alarm bells because of the speed with which it develops drug resistance.

Journal

Journal of Fungi

Funder

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

14-Jun-2021

Experiments simulate possible impact of climate change on crabs

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

Fewer Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab embryos survived in a warmer, more acid environment mimicking conditions forecast for the end of this century. Given the important ecological role of this invertebrate in mangroves, the researchers warn of a potential cascade effect.

Funder

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