News from Latin America

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-May-2025 11:08 ET (1-May-2025 15:08 GMT/UTC)

10-Dec-2024

Study reveals cause of one of the main complications of bariatric surgery

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

A study conducted by a Brazilian researcher at Harvard shows that serotonin – a hormone known for regulating mood – plays a central role in the development of postprandial hypoglycemia in up to 30% of people who have undergone surgery; the findings suggest avenues for possible treatments.

Journal

Journal of Clinical Investigation

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

10-Dec-2024

El Niño increases infestations of mosquito that transmits dengue in São Paulo state, Brazil, study concludes

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

A study by a group of scientists shows that larval infestations of Aedes aegypti in open-air disused containers increased in response to the effects of the weather phenomenon, especially mean seasonal temperature and rainfall above 23.3 °C and 153 mm respectively.

Journal

PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

9-Dec-2024

Jabuticaba peel improves nutritional characteristics of bread

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

Consumption of bread supplemented with jabuticaba peel flour, which is rich in fiber and antioxidants, lowers glycemic peaks and prolongs satiety.

Journal

Foods

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

9-Dec-2024

Study maps risk and protective factors associated with suicidal behavior

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

The study involved 2,788 participants with impulse control disorder treated at the University of São Paulo’s general and teaching hospital in Brazil. According to the authors, in these cases, health workers should assess not only explicit suicide attempts but also other kinds of life-threatening behavior.

Journal

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

6-Dec-2024

Researchers map genetic variants associated with pancreatic cancer in Brazilian patients

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

The pioneering initiative by scientists at the University of São Paulo aimed to promote early diagnosis and improve treatment of the disease, which is relatively infrequent but one of the leading causes of death from cancer in Brazil.

Journal

Scientific Reports

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

5-Dec-2024

Method to enhance solubility of pea protein favors its use in food and beverages

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

The strategy developed at the State University of Campinas consists of submitting the ingredient to heat treatment and combining it with guarana extract and vitamin D. The result could become an alternative to animal products.

Journal

Food Research International

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

4-Dec-2024

Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg takes leading role in African sustainable agricultural research efforts

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

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT is pleased to announce Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg’s appointment as Managing Director for the Africa region, bringing her leadership in food systems, social inclusion, and gender-sensitive agricultural innovation.

4-Dec-2024

Paternal weight influences baby’s size at birth, study finds

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

Researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed data from 89 mother-father-baby triads and concluded that the higher the father’s body mass index, the smaller the baby, and that this can influence the baby’s health far into adulthood.

Journal

Journal of Obesity

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

3-Dec-2024

Gourds made by Indigenous women supplied the European luxury market in the 18th century

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

The pieces, made in the Amazon, were matched with lacquer and decorated with motifs that replicated European and Asian embroidery patterns.

Journal

Heritage

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

2-Dec-2024

Partially domesticated maize is found in caves in Minas Gerais state, Brazil

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

Archeological samples of grains, straw and cobs collected from caves in Peruaçu Valley have primitive traits resembling those of the ancestral plant originally from Mexico, where the domestication process is believed to have begun some 9,000 years ago.

Journal

Science Advances

Funder

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo