Mexico
Scientists at the University of Sonora are studying desert plants in order to find active ingredients that could be used for cancer treatments. They have found promising alkaloids and fatty acids in the species Argemone gracilenta and the substance is now being assessed against tumor cells.
Chile
An ultra-precise atomic clock was built for Chile’s ALMA telescope so that it can synchronize with an international network of radio astronomers. This will allow the telescope to observe the exact boundaries of the black hole located in the center of the Milky Way.
Argentina
Cardiologists at Garrahan hospital have successfully transplanted an artificial heart into a 16-year-old. He is the first pediatric patient in Latin America to have an implanted ventricular assistance system.
A partnership between the pharmaceutical company Sanofi and the Argentine science council CONICET is undertaking a campaign against Chagas disease in Argentina. CONICET will release two thousand molecules to Sanofi’s library for wider monitoring of toxicity and for trials against the Trypanosoma cruzi pathogen.
Brazil
An international team of scientists writing in the journal Science found that Brazil avoided releasing into the atmosphere 3.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide due to reductions in deforestation. Public policies, refusal to deforest by farmers and expanding protected areas have been key factorsthat, combined, have slowed deforestation.
Peru
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has registered the knowledge, techniques and rituals linked to a hanging Inca bridge named Puente Q’eswachaka.