News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Aug-2025 21:11 ET (23-Aug-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

21-Jul-2020

Invasive lionfish may be a selective predator

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The invasive lionfish has become a growing threat to the ecological balance of Atlantic waters. To gather insight regarding its impact on reef communities, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and collaborating institutions evaluated the predatory behaviors and diet choices of lionfish in a semi-natural environment. Their experiments revealed that most of them actively selected their prey species.

Journal

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

Funder

Dartmouth College James B. Reynolds Scholarship for Foreign Study

20-Jul-2020

Experimental drug reduces replication of zika and prevents microcephaly in mice

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

No adverse effects were observed in the mice treated with the AHR inhibitor, but before the treatment is tested in human volunteers the experiment must be replicated in monkeys.

Journal

Nature Neuroscience

Funder

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

17-Jul-2020

Researchers discover hybrid fungus involved in lung infections

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

This is the first time Aspergillus latus has been found in a hospital. The species is more drug-resistant than its two parents and highly dangerous. The researchers will now investigate the role of fungi in COVID-19.

Journal

Current Biology

Funder

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

16-Jul-2020

A population of asteroids of interstellar origin inhabits the Solar System

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

Discovery by Brazilian researcher reported in Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices provides clues for understanding the star nursery from which the Sun emerged.

Journal

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Funder

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

13-Jul-2020

Examine narratives to end policy deadlock, boost agricultural development in Africa, economists say

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

Impasse over dominant and counter approaches-- state-led or market-led policy-- to promote agricultural development in Africa could be solved by analyzing the one-sided narratives that shape this dichotomy.

Journal

World Development

Funder

multi-country project ''Promoting Participatory and Evidence-Based Agricultural Policy Processes in Africa', International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington D.C

8-Jul-2020

Protein involved in corn's water stress response discovered

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

The protein could help develop drought-resistant plant varieties and products that reduce losses related to climate change.

Journal

BMC Plant Biology

Funder

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

7-Jul-2020

New bird checklists from Coiba National Park, Panama

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A trip to Jicarón Island during the Coiba Bioblitz led to a published bird checklist.

Journal

Tecnociencia

7-Jul-2020

The complex relationship between deforestation and diet diversity in the Amazon

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

As increasing areas of the Amazonian rainforest are converted into agricultural land, scientists are examining how this is linked with local communities' food access. Newly published research shows that over the period of 15 years, deforestation and reduction of agricultural diversity are associated with reduced diversity in human diets.

Journal

Food Security

Funder

CGIAR Research Programme on Water, ASSETS: Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Trade-off Scenarios Initiative, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)

3-Jul-2020

Long-term consequences of river damming in the Panama Canal

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Humans have manipulated and managed rivers with dams for millennia. The number of river dam projects is predicted to rise sharply in the future, especially in the tropics where demand for hydroelectricity and water is accelerating. What are the long-term impacts of dams on highly biodiverse tropical forests? Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and collaborating institutions turned to The Panama Canal for answers.

Journal

The Science of The Total Environment

Funder

U.S. National Science Foundation, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Católica de Colombia and the Ministerio de Ciencias, Tecnología e Innovaci&oa, Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

29-Jun-2020

Protein derived from tick saliva proves effective in the treatment of equine skin cancer

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

Experiments were conducted by scientists affiliated with the Center of Excellence in New Target Discovery, a research center supported by FAPESP, involving five animals with spontaneous skin tumors.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

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