Category: Brazil

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A bacterium hurting coral reefs in the Caribbean, a farmers strike in Colombia, and a tomb found in northern Peru.

ANTARCTICA

Rising water temperatures will reduce the extent of krill habitat in Antarctica, say researchers.

ARGENTINA

A robot has been created by scientists in Mendoza for watering gardens. The system uses a similar technology to that used to detect movement in video games and moves around the garden on three wheels.

80% of the Caribbean’s coral reefs have disappeared, thanks in part to a bacterial attack, says one researcher. Credit: Dolphin Discovery via Flickr.

The Argentine Council for Information and Development of Biotechnology (ArgenBio) celebrates ten years of continuous broadcasting about biotechnology. Its educational program “Why Biotechnology” has trained more than 13,000 teachers across the country and worked with public and private entities in developing biotechnology in Argentina and Latin America.

BRAZIL

The Boticario Foundation for Nature Protection has launched a campaign aimed at the general public to raise awareness about the endangered jaguar (Panthera onca) which inhabits the Pantanal (a wetlands shared by Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia).

CARIBBEAN

80% of Caribbean coral reefs have been lost for many reasons, one being the attack of a bacterium that kills the coral. Eugene Rosenberg, a scientist at the University of Tel Aviv, identified phages that can control the bacterial attack and recover reef health. Continue reading “A bacterium hurting coral reefs in the Caribbean, a farmers strike in Colombia, and a tomb found in northern Peru.”

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Human fungal outbreaks traced to Brazil rainforest

Over the past two decades, a deadly fungus previously only found in tropical and subtropical climates has begun infecting humans in other climate zones. So how has this fungus increased its reach?

In 1999, a highly infectious fungus called Cryptococcus gattii emerged on Vancouver Island in Canada. By 2007, the strain had killed 19 people and sickened more than 300 humans and animals on the island. The fungus has since spread into the United States with dozens of cases reported in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. But where had this infectious fungus come from?

Before the Vancouver Island outbreak, C. gattii didn’t exactly fit the typical profile of a fatal infectious disease for the region. It was known to cause infections in humans and animals but never at the high rate that was reported on Vancouver Island. And previously, those infections were in tropical or subtropical climates where the fungus typically resides in tree hollows. Scientists have been puzzled by where the strain had come from and how it adapted to the cold so well.

Now, a new study by a group of international researchers might have answers to both of those questions. In a paper published in the journal PLoS ONE last week, the team reported that this strain of C. gattii originated in the rainforest of Northern Brazil where the genetic diversity of the pathogen is relatively high. In addition, they believe that global warming trends might be playing a role in the fungus’s spread as well.

Continue reading “Human fungal outbreaks traced to Brazil rainforest”

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Costa Rica moves to close its zoos, coca and alcohol used in Incan human sacrifice, and Usain Bolt’s superhuman abilities.

ARGENTINA CONICET scientists have developed and field-tested potatoes resistant to Potato Virus Y (PVY), which causes losses of between 20% and 80% of the crop depending on the severity of the infection. Field tests concluded that there was no PVY infection in the genetically-modified plants, while among those not modified, the rate of infection was … Continue reading Costa Rica moves to close its zoos, coca and alcohol used in Incan human sacrifice, and Usain Bolt’s superhuman abilities.

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Argentina conducts genetic inventory of quinoa, new corals found in Chilean fjords, and Panama plants transgenic crops.

ARGENTINA Nine Argentine scientists have been honored by Argentina’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Among the recipients were the physicist James Grigera who studies condensed matter; Mariana Maccioni, an immunologist who works with proteins of the immune system; Mario Pecheny who studies research policy, sexuality and health; and Omar Azzaroni, a biochemist who investigates systems … Continue reading Argentina conducts genetic inventory of quinoa, new corals found in Chilean fjords, and Panama plants transgenic crops.

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Galapagos tortoises could have had roots in the Amazon, a new cancer vaccine in Argentina, and Ecuador’s oil spill reaches Peru.

ARGENTINA Argentina has approved the use of a cancer vaccine that complements other treatments for lung cancer, which will be available for patients in July. The National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) has approved the work that took Argentine and Cuban scienctists 18 years to complete. The vaccine stimulates the patient’s immune … Continue reading Galapagos tortoises could have had roots in the Amazon, a new cancer vaccine in Argentina, and Ecuador’s oil spill reaches Peru.

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New birds and arachnids found in Brazil, Pascua-Lama gold mine contamination and delays, and leatherback turtle numbers rebound in Trinidad.

ARGENTINA Argentina is expanding its agricultural frontier at the expense of native vegetation in semiarid regions like the Cuyo and the Northwest. A group of scientists from the National University of San Luis studied these changes and determined the rise of the water table (with the rising risk of increased salinity) and the appearance of … Continue reading New birds and arachnids found in Brazil, Pascua-Lama gold mine contamination and delays, and leatherback turtle numbers rebound in Trinidad.

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Brazil successfully clones a cow from a fat cell, great white shark research in Mexico and Peru finds more dead animals on its coasts.

ARGENTINA Only 800 hooded grebes–a bird living in Santa Cruz Patagonia–are left in the world. A science writer flies to Argentina to take a look. An Argentine researcher has published a study in PLoS ONE that explores empathy and its role in moral judgments. Read more on Eze’s blog here. Press release here. A study … Continue reading Brazil successfully clones a cow from a fat cell, great white shark research in Mexico and Peru finds more dead animals on its coasts.

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The benefits of shade-grown coffee in Colombia, tackling superbugs in Costa Rica, and deforestation in Nicaragua

ARGENTINA The Argentine company Bioceres has partnered with French biotech company Florimond Desprez to produce, initially for the Argentine and Latin America market, the first transgenic wheat crop. The product could be available for planting in 2016. The crop will use the Hahb-4 gene, involved in the synthesis of ethylene, a plant hormone responsible for … Continue reading The benefits of shade-grown coffee in Colombia, tackling superbugs in Costa Rica, and deforestation in Nicaragua

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A new dinosaur found in Argentina, researchers find Brazil’s ‘Atlantis,’ and the future of hybrid rice in Latin America.

ARGENTINA A new dinosaur has been discovered in southern Argentina. Comahuesaurus windhauseni, found in Neuquen, Argentina, is a sauropod, a large herbivore known for its long neck. The specimen, thought to be 15 meters long, was discovered by paleontologist Jose Luis Carballido. The findings were published in the journal Historical Biology. A group of scientists … Continue reading A new dinosaur found in Argentina, researchers find Brazil’s ‘Atlantis,’ and the future of hybrid rice in Latin America.

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Uruguay creates Latin America’s first genetically modified sheep, Brazil is losing its indigenous languages, and Argentina develops a melanoma vaccine.

ARGENTINA A group of Argentine institutions are developing a vaccine to prevent the recurrence of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. The researchers are currently in the final phase of clinical research for a vaccine that includes melanoma cells and an adjuvant to stimulate the immune system. The researchers hope to have the … Continue reading Uruguay creates Latin America’s first genetically modified sheep, Brazil is losing its indigenous languages, and Argentina develops a melanoma vaccine.

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An alpaca biotechnology center in Peru, combating Chagas disease in Latin America, and the effects of intensive agriculture in Brazil.

ARGENTINA The Pan American Health Organization has approved a drug manufactured in Argentina against the parasitic disease Chagas. Benznidazol will be produced by two private laboratories with additional government funding. It’s the first line of treatment for Chagas disease and cures 80-90% of cases, according to the WHO. Argentina’s Leloir Institute recently discovered an enzyme, … Continue reading An alpaca biotechnology center in Peru, combating Chagas disease in Latin America, and the effects of intensive agriculture in Brazil.

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Rare hermit crab species found in the Caribbean, obesity growing in Latin America, and Amazon indigenous groups threaten war in Brazil.

ARGENTINA A group of scientists from Argentina and the United States conducted GPS measurements to determine the new height of Mt. Aconcagua as 6960.8 meters above sea level. This research is part of an international study of the Central Andes whose main objective is to measure changes in the Earth’s crust. Certain lipids present in … Continue reading Rare hermit crab species found in the Caribbean, obesity growing in Latin America, and Amazon indigenous groups threaten war in Brazil.

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Harvard accused of illegal logging in Chile, climate change affecting Patagonian lakes, and fishermen practicing citizen science in the Galapagos.

ARGENTINA Climate change is affecting species in Patagonian lakes, according to a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology. Over two years, the researchers looked at how glacial meltwater induced a shift in nutrients for Boeckella gracilipes and Daphnia commutata living in Lake Mascardi near Bariloche, Argentina. Manure generated from livestock feedlots could … Continue reading Harvard accused of illegal logging in Chile, climate change affecting Patagonian lakes, and fishermen practicing citizen science in the Galapagos.

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Pronghorns making a comeback in Mexico, pterosaurs in Brazil, and praying for dryland in Panama.

ARGENTINA Argentina’s National University of Río Cuarto has developed an inoculant that hopes to improve sunflower growth under drought conditions. The technology consists of strains of the soil bacteria Bacillus pumilus (SF3 and SF4) and the endophytic (living in the plant) bacteria Achromobacter xylosoxidans (SF2) isolated from sunflowers under drought conditions. After fermenting these bacteria … Continue reading Pronghorns making a comeback in Mexico, pterosaurs in Brazil, and praying for dryland in Panama.

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Indigenous rights upheld in Colombia’s Tayrona Park, Bolivian farmland stressed by rising global quinoa demand, and obesity in Sao Paolo.

BOLIVIA Cultivated in the Andean highlands since 3000 B.C., quinoa is making waves in the global marketplace. With global demand for quinoa rising, countries like Bolivia are stressed to meet the rush. Bolivia is now producing 40 times as much quinoa as it did in 2000. But there are physical limits to quinoa’s growth. Last … Continue reading Indigenous rights upheld in Colombia’s Tayrona Park, Bolivian farmland stressed by rising global quinoa demand, and obesity in Sao Paolo.

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Archaeologists find Inca city below Santiago, Chile, dengue epidemic spreads into Brazil, and leaf rust attacks Central American coffee crop.

BRAZIL The southern Brazilian city of Campo Grande has declared a state of emergency due to an outbreak of dengue fever, an infection caused by a virus carried by mosquitoes. More than 8,000 cases have been reported in the city of 1 million, with 700 cases per day, according to the city’s mayor. This outbreak … Continue reading Archaeologists find Inca city below Santiago, Chile, dengue epidemic spreads into Brazil, and leaf rust attacks Central American coffee crop.

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Thursday January 3

Rio de Janeiro’s polluted waterways, protecting Peru´s archaeological sites from Dakar damage, and more Latin American science moves towards open access BRAZIL Brazil’s government has pledged more than $300 million to clean up polluted waterways in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games. Not far from the planned site for 2016’s Olympic village sits Marapendi lagoon … Continue reading Thursday January 3