News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 8-May-2025 12:09 ET (8-May-2025 16:09 GMT/UTC)

13-Jan-2022

Research involving rhesus macaques paves way for schistosomiasis vaccine

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

The research found nine genes belonging to S. mansoni’s autophagy pathway to be inhibited by the primate’s immune system, preventing the parasite from multiplying and contaminating the host.

Journal

Nature Communications

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

12-Jan-2022

Study presents novel therapeutic target for treatment of sepsis

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

Researchers affiliated with a FAPESP-funded research center showed that a protein called gasdermin D is involved in septic patients’ organ lesions. The study also proved that a drug originally indicated to treat alcohol dependence can inhibit the molecule’s action and prevent complications.

Journal

Blood

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

11-Jan-2022

Treatment with injections of zika virus destroys brain tumors in mice without causing neurological damage

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

In both the mice and the organoids, cytokines (proteins that regulate the immune response) suppressed tumor growth after treatment, and defense cells migrated to the brain region affected by the tumor, alerting the immune system to its existence.

Journal

Viruses

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

4-Jan-2022

Quantum teleportation communicates the state of a single photon to a device with billions of atoms

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

The experiment, performed by Dutch and Brazilian researchers, is an important step toward the construction of a quantum internet.

Journal

Nature Photonics

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

4-Jan-2022

Gravitational action of sun and moon influences behavior of animals and plants, study shows

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

Research conducted at the University of Campinas in Brazil was driven by observations of fluctuations in autoluminescence caused by seed germination in cycles regulated by gravitational tides.

Journal

Journal of Experimental Botany

3-Jan-2022

Accidental tree wound reveals novel symbiotic behavior

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A group of high school students describe how Azteca alfari ants respond to damage to their host plant

Journal

Journal of Hymenoptera Research

3-Jan-2022

Predicting uncertain futures for tropical landscapes

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Deforestation scenarios show the importance of secondary forest for meeting Panama’s carbon goals

Journal

Landscape Ecology

Funder

Lloyd's Tercentenary Research Foundation, Stanley Motta, Frank and Kristin Levinson, Hoch Family, Working Land and Seascapes Program of the Smithsonian Conservation Commons, Lloyd’s Tercentenary Research Foundation (LTRF)

22-Dec-2021

Study points to novel method of detecting complications caused by P. vivax in malaria patients

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

A research group led by scientists at the University of Campinas in Brazil found total parasite biomass to be a better predictor of complications from malaria than parasite burden in the bloodstream. The discovery can help develop treatment and a Plasmodium vivax vaccine.

Journal

eLife

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

22-Dec-2021

New models needed for food system transformation

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

Food systems are responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, and agricultural yields are at risk from climate change. A better understanding of the related research and food-production ecosystem is critical to addressing these challenges.

Journal

Global Food Security

21-Dec-2021

Slowness of gait can predict risk of frailty in older people

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

The finding is reported in an article in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle by researchers in Brazil and the UK, who analyzed data for more than 3,000 people aged 60 and over.

Journal

Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo