News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2026 05:15 ET (30-Oct-2026 09:15 GMT/UTC)

17-Aug-2017

 

Study of nervous system cells can help to understand degenerative diseases

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

A collaborative research by Brazilian and Dutch scientists shows that many of the genes that are expressed by microglia are different between humans and mice, which are frequently used as animal models in research on Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The findings will be important for studies of the gene expression profile of normal microglia during human aging.

Journal

Nature Neuroscience

Funder

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

17-Aug-2017

   

Smithsonian manatee count informs policy recommendations

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Smithsonian scientists use sonar to estimate Antillean Manatee populations in the murky waters of Panama's internationally protected San San Pond Sak wetlands.

Journal

Wildlife Society Bulletin

Funder

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

16-Aug-2017

 

Magnetic resonance is used to evaluate food quality

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Business Announcement

A Brazilian company has developed a low-field nuclear magnetic resonance device that takes a few seconds to perform chemical and physical analyses of fruit, grains, olive oil, milk and meat, among other products.

Funder

Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

16-Aug-2017

Molecule increases pregnancy rate and number of offspring in cattle

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

Researchers at Inprenha Biotecnologia and the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, have discovered a molecule that can increase bovine pregnancy rates and reduce early embryo loss. The discovery gave rise to a product that enhances reproductive efficiency in domestic animals such as cattle and horses. Product was patented in nine countries and in the European Union.

Funder

Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

16-Aug-2017

   

Comparing the jaws of porcupine fish reveals three new species

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and colleagues compared fossil porcupine fish jaws and tooth plates collected on expeditions to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil with those from museum specimens and modern porcupine fish, revealing three new species.

Journal

PLOS One

Funder

Colciencias

9-Aug-2017

 

A portable DNA sequencer enables researchers to monitor the evolution of Zika virus

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

Article in Nature describing the analysis of 54 new whole genomes suggests that Zika virus arrived in Brazil in February 2014 and spread silently through the Americas for at least a year.

Journal

Nature

Funder

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

2-Aug-2017

Software helps industry to design lighter, more efficient parts

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Business Announcement

Recently launched, a topology optimization software has already been licensed to advanced research departments of major multinationals and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, one of the world's leading research and education institutions.

Funder

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

31-Jul-2017

 

Study reinforces the Amazon forest's importance in regulating atmospheric chemistry

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

Airborne measurements show that the Amazon rainforest emits three times more isoprene than was previously estimated. Isoprene is one of the main precursors of ozone and indirectly influences the balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

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

31-Jul-2017

 

The undertaker's census

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama tested a new technique: recruiting carrion-eating flies to detect mammals. This new method surpasses standard techniques, detecting more species than researchers could count along trails or photograph with hidden cameras.

Journal

Molecular Ecology Resources

Funder

US Department of Education Math-Science Partnerships Project, Gregory E. Willis, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and others, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

26-Jul-2017

Company innovates by using magnetic resonance to evaluate food quality

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Business Announcement

A Brazilian company has developed a low-field NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) device that takes a few seconds to perform chemical and physical analyses of fruit, grains, olive oil, milk and meat, among other products.

Funder

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