News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Aug-2025 05:11 ET (18-Aug-2025 09:11 GMT/UTC)

14-Nov-2019

Protecting native vegetation on rural properties yields Brazil USD 1.5 trillion per year

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

Paper endorsed by 407 scientists in Brazil estimates the value of ecosystem services linked to nature conservation, such as pollination, pest control and water security.

Journal

Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation

Funder

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

14-Nov-2019

Is evolution predictable?

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team of scientists working with Heliconius butterflies at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama was faced with a mystery: how do pairs of unrelated butterflies from Peru to Costa Rica evolve nearly the same wing-color patterns over and over again? The answer, published in Current Biology, forever changes the way evolution is understood.

Journal

Current Biology

Funder

Smithsonian Institution, National Science Foundation, Leverhulme Trust

13-Nov-2019

Quantum transition makes electrons behave as if they lack spin

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

Combining experiments under extreme conditions with theoretical analysis, researchers pursue knowledge that could be used in the future to create a new generation of sustainable functional materials for use in quantum information devices or superconductors.

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Funder

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

12-Nov-2019

Listening to music while driving reduces cardiac stress

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

A study by Brazilian researchers suggests that cardiac overload due to the stress of driving in heavy traffic can be attenuated by listening to instrumental music.

Journal

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

Funder

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

11-Nov-2019

Study investigates a critical transition in water that remains liquid far below 0 °C

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

The theoretical model proposed by Brazilian researchers can be applied to any system in which two energy scales coexist.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

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

8-Nov-2019

New tool facilitates genetic mapping of polyploid plants

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

Available online for free, polyploid mapping system developed in Brazil helps breeders of sugarcane, kiwi, blueberry, sweet potato and forages, among other crops.

Funder

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

7-Nov-2019

New molecule reduces the aggressiveness of pediatric cancer

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

A microRNA inhibitor identified by researchers at the FAPESP-supported Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center reduced the sizes of aggressive tumors and improved survival in mice.

Journal

Molecular Oncology

Funder

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

6-Nov-2019

A novel method for analyzing marine sediments contributes to paleoclimate reconstitution

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

Researchers supported by FAPESP proposed a procedure based on analyses of quartz and feldspar grains transported to the Atlantic Ocean by the Parnaíba River in Brazil's Northeast region.

Journal

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology

Funder

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

4-Nov-2019

Extinction of lowland tapir and white-lipped peccary would impair forest diversity

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

Study suggests these two species of large herbivores have complementary ecological functions, favoring seed dispersal and growth of adult trees.

Journal

Journal of Ecology

Funder

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

31-Oct-2019

Study aims at boosting antitumoral activity of compound extracted from an Amazon plant

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

Scientists plan to develop a modified strain of U. guianensis and use its own metabolism to scale up the production of therapeutic compounds.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

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