GW Expert Available: Ecuador in State of Emergency as Security Situation Worsens
George Washington University
A five-year, $5 million grant has been awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to the UTHealth Houston Institute for Implementation Science to support research and training in implementation science, with a focus on improving cancer control efforts in Mexico and Latin America.
Over the past decades, Brazil has become the world’s leading soybean producer, as well as the leading consumer of pesticides. Despite concerns about potential public health consequences, little is known about the effects of pesticide exposure in the general population.
University of Illinois anthropology professor Lisa Lucero argues in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that ancient Maya reservoirs, which used aquatic plants to filter and clean the water, “can serve as archetypes for natural, sustainable water systems to address future water needs.” The Maya built and maintained reservoirs that were in use for more than 1,000 years, providing potable water for thousands to tens of thousands of people in cities during the annual, five-month dry season and in periods of prolonged drought.
The ivory palm tree, also known as tagua, is endemic to the Chocó-Darien region on the Pacific coast of South America. Two studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) explore the ecosystem services provided by tagua in coastal Ecuador.
A new study revealing that huge expansions of extensive large-scale agriculture is making the South American plains more vulnerable to widespread flooding should act as a “wake-up call”, say researchers.
Developing countries around the globe face a challenge that pits economic growth against environmental protection. As they expand their agricultural production, they often convert forest into cropland and pasture. But the large-scale removal of trees weakens the world’s ability to prevent further climate deterioration and biodiversity loss.
A new review shows that the soil in the cities of the ancient Maya are heavily polluted with mercury. As vessels filled with liquid mercury and objects painted with cinnabar have been found at many Maya sites, the authors conclude that the Maya were heavy users of mercury and mercury-containing products. This resulted in severe and dangerous pollution in their day, which still persists even now.
A group of researchers from CONICET and the University of Utah demonstrated that during the time of the first dinosaurs, variations in the diversity and abundance of the plant and vertebrate animal species cannot be related to the climatic changes recorded throughout its deposition, in contrast with previous hypotheses.
Study of 853 counties in Minas Gerais state finds counties that voted for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2018 election are more likely to have higher incidence and death rates from COVID-19
UTSW scientists identify key molecule produced by male parasitic worms that affects sexual maturity in females and leads to schistosomiasis
Findings suggest Incas had a different name for the site
New study Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining published in Nature Communications. An international team of researchers documented substantial mercury accumulation in soils, biomass, and resident songbirds in some of the Amazon’s most protected and biodiverse areas.
The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing 67 Centers of Excellence and 10 Affiliates in 36 countries comprising foremost experts in every class of virus causing disease in humans, and the Scientific Platform Pasteur-University of São Paulo (SPPU) announced the addition of the SPPU as GVN’s newest Center of Excellence.
A study by the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil investigated a fiscal transfer mechanism whereby states transfer part of their sales tax revenue to municipalities in exchange for the creation of environmental conservation units.
A Cornell University geochemist has helped discover solid evidence that connects the geochemical fingerprint of the Galápagos plume with mantle materials underneath Panama and Costa Rica – documenting the course of a mantle plume that flows sideways through upper portions of the Earth.
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has announced that Hospital Metropolitano in Quito, Ecuador, will be the host location of a new Global Learning Center (GLC). This is the first GLC site in South America.
President Bolsonaro of Brazil was the first head of state to address this year's UN General Assembly in New York. At one point of his speech, Bolsonaro spoke about the progress Brazil is making in terms of environmental conservation, particularly the Amazon rain forest. In his comments on the environment, we find his claim to be misleading.
Storing greater amounts of water in Brazil’s reservoirs could increase precipitation and river flow, alleviating the water and energy supply crisis in Brazil.
AstroDay–Chile’s annual astronomy education festival will take place entirely online in Spanish for the first time in 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2007, AstroDay has provided unique opportunities for the public to engage with the scientists and staff who work at the most important observatories in Chile. This year’s event takes place from 17 to 19 March 2021 and all activities are free to engage with online.
Innova Medical Group, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of rapid antigen test kits and leader in COVID-19 testing solutions globally, confirmed today that the company's SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test kits have successfully detected the several mutated strains that have become more widespread around the world in recent weeks.
Scientists have filled a gaping hole in the world's climate records by reconstructing 600 years of soil-moisture swings across southern and central South America.
This month the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) welcomed University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UPRCCC) and Cancer Center at Brown University, bringing the association’s total number of members to 102.
Mercury, algae made water undrinkable in heart of city
A new study led by researchers from the University of Bristol has shown that not all saber-tooths were fearsome predators.
Genomic research helps explain why some people with a common TP53 mutation widespread in Brazil get cancer while others do not.
A new study from the University of Delaware finds that tropical forest loss is increased by large-scale land acquisitions and that certain kind investment projects—including tree plantations and plantations for producing palm oil and wood fiber—are “consistently associated with increased forest loss.”
Costa Rica is known around the world over for its rainforests, coffee and beaches. But despite Costa Rica's reputation for safety and its recent economic growth, criminals use its strategic location for smuggling activities. A team of U.S. forensic science experts, led by two WVU professors from Costa Rica, aim to fix that.
In addition to describing the current status of implementation, the report includes comparative findings and identifies obstacles and opportunities facing Colombia’s peace process.
A Rutgers-led study in Colombia can help health care providers across the globe develop plans to improve surgical care access in their regions.
Study suggests that TV appearances by Bolsonaro led to millions more Brazilians ignoring social distancing in the days following broadcast.
Under a new agreement, the University of Campinas and the São Paulo Research Foundation will play important roles in the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, hosted by Fermilab.
In the kelp forests of Tierra del Fuego, at the southernmost tip of South America, the relative abundance of kelp, sea urchins, and sea stars has not changed significantly since 1973.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the strain of Zika that circulated in Brazil during the microcephaly epidemic that began in 2015 was particularly damaging to the developing brain.
Scientists from the University of La Serena, Newcastle University, UK, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile surveyed ranchers to find out what they thought were the drivers of conflict between people and guanacos (a wild camelid species closely related to the Llama).
‘Chan Hol 3’, like other Tulum cave skeletons, has a distinctive skull and tooth caries
Scientists published the first assessment of the impact that invasive hippos imported by drug lord Pablo Escobar are having on Colombian aquatic ecosystems. The hippos are changing the area’s water quality by importing large amounts of nutrients and organic material from the surrounding landscape.
According to a doctoral thesis completed by Nadia Valentina Tapia Navarro, victims of mass atrocities are often portrayed as disempowered, passive, defenceless and docile in discourses pertaining to international law.
People living in the southern Peruvian Amazon are being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of mercury due to a combination of their diet and artisanal and small-scale gold mining occurring in their communities.
CFR experts spotlight some of the most important trends they will be tracking in the year ahead.
With $9.7 million in funding from the National Eye Institute, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago will study the impact of chronic eye disease among Latinos.
Brazilian Butt Lift Is Here to Stay: Fat grafting to enhance the appearance of the buttocks has continued its rapid ascent in popularity. A prominent Brazilian husband-and-wife plastic surgery team has summed up their experience and insights on gluteal augmentation and received their second Best Paper Award by the leading Plastic Surgery journal by focusing on the use of the patient's own fat to safely achieve the desired cosmetic improvement.
Election fraud allegations have prompted President Evo Morales to resign with no clear successor, plunging Bolivia into political uncertainty.