South America - Science topic

8ISEBE is part of a series of congresses created in 2004 at the initiative of a group of Mexican researchers, under the auspices of the association ABIAER (Association of Biotechnology, Environmental Engineering, and Renewable Energies), with the aim of: making known and sharing the latest advances in research in Biotechnology and Engineering in t...

Limited essential oil (EO) investigation has been conducted on the genus Ageratum. In particular, the annual herb Ageratum conyzoides L., which grows throughout equatorial regions of South America, Asia, and West Africa, is well-known for its many chemical components as well as its traditional medicinal applications. The EO yields form two extracti...

Premise Araliaceae comprise a moderately diverse, predominantly tropical angiosperm family with a limited fossil record. Gondwanan history of Araliaceae is hypothesized in the literature, but no fossils have previously been reported from the former supercontinent. Methods I describe large (to macrophyll size), palmately compound-lobed leaf fossils...

Milk is a fundamental food matrix that is widely consumed. Milk fat is important for producing dairy products such as butter, cream, cheese and whole milk powder. Aside from flavour, it has been linked to human health and its chemistry can be modulated by various means towards a more healthy fatty acid profile. Industry and stakeholders have differ...

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a wild cat distributed from the southern U.S. to northern South America. In the U.S., ocelots are classified as endangered, and breeding ocelot populations are only found in Texas—a state composed of mostly private lands. Ocelot recovery in the U.S. depends on successful conservation actions on private lands. Unfo...

To meet global carbon emissions reduction targets we need to adopt sustainable construction practices and transition toward a Circular Economy (CE). The present paper proposes a combination of CE-focused technologies, Circular Building Adaptability (CBA), Open Building (OB) and Mass Timber Construction (MTC) working in concert to support emissions...

The crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus) is a wild carnivore with a broad geographic distribution, randing from Costa Rica to South America. This species remains understudied, particularly regarding Sarcocystis spp. infections. This study aimed to report the first molecular detection of Sarcocystis arctica in P. cancrivorus. The roadkill speci...

Introduction: Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is a gastrointestinal disorder caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, leading to several deaths annually. Reported side effects associated with the current first line treatment for amoebiasis coupled with the evol...

Despite numerous studies on haemosporidians in wild birds from Brazil, the presence of other vector-borne agents (VBA) such as Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., and Onchocercidae filariids in avian hosts remains largely unknown. The low occurrence of these VBAs might be due to the low sensitivity of traditional molecular techniques. The microfluidic...

South America is a large continent with a wide diversity of weather and climate features, including tropical, subtropical and extratropical regimes interacting within a complex landscape. Simulations by global climate models, as well as their downscaling through regional circulation models or statistical methods, are important tools, particularly w...

Objective: We explored the relationship between COVID-19 transmission-related concerns and reduced physical activity during COVID (RPAC). Methods: We analyzed data from 2,543 participants across Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, and the USA with at least 200 participants per country. The two primary concerns assessed were: a) fear of being infec...

South America’s Cenozoic isolation led to the evolution several types of ungulate-like mammals. One of these, Litopterna, included two main families: Proterotheriidae, with relatively small (~15–70 kg), functionally monodactyl species, and Macraucheniidae, with larger (> 100 kg), tridactyl species. Litopterns resemble perissodactyls and artiodactyl...

Human activities have been transporting caprellid amphipods (or “skeleton shrimps”) across the oceans for many decades. As a result, some caprellid amphipods now are among the most widespread non-indigenous species in many different coastal regions of the world. The global spread of these species is still ongoing in some cases, such as that of the...

Yellow fever is a viral disease with historical importance since epidemics caused thousands of deaths at the end of the 19th century in Argentina. That event was associated with the presence of Aedes aegypti. After the mosquito eradication in South America in the 1960–1970 decade, no epidemic was detected related to this species but epizootics have...

Relative to research efforts in higher latitiudes, the impact of climate shifts in the tropical treeline remains understudied. Little is known about the tree growth dynamics and climate response at this treeline over the past few centuries, and at present under a rapidly changing environment. Here we provide information on recent changes in tree-ri...

This study examines present and future projections of precipitation and evapotranspiration for South America, focusing on small regions with distinct environmental and climatic characteristics. The objective is to understand future water availability across the continent and assess the role of model resolution in shaping these projections (2015–205...

This introduction shares the book’s theoretical and empirical ambitions and sets out a common conceptual ground that is employed to greater or lesser degrees by the authors of each chapter, in respect to the uniqueness of each individual case. Overall, this book is concerned with the aftereffects of hosting mega-events. It makes sense of developmen...

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China and it supports a rich biodiversity and numerous endemic fish species ( Atrilinea macrolepis , Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis , and Hucho taimen ). It is one of China’s most important freshwater aquaculture and mariculture regions, and many non-native species have been introduced into the regi...

Introduction: Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is a gastrointestinal disorder caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, leading to several deaths annually. Reported side effects associated with the current first line treatment for amoebiasis coupled with the evol...

The notion of “Responsible Digital” emphasises the ethical and responsible design and use of digital technologies. Having the knowledge and skills to navigate the digital world safely, wisely and securely becomes critical when digital literacy and access to technologies are limited and livelihood possibilities are precarious such as in the context...

Cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) are a globally distributed group of insects found in dark, humid microhabitats including natural caves, alpine scree, and forest litter. Ten extant subfamilies are currently recognised and Macropathinae, which comprises the entirety of the fauna in South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand,...

Human-induced changes, such as climate variability and escalating anthropogenic pressures, profoundly impact species distribution, dispersal, and competitive interactions worldwide. In the Neotropical region, the expansion of rice cultivation under these conditions has facilitated the spread of species within the rice stink bug complex, notably Oeb...

Silverside fishes in Chile, abundant in marine and freshwater habitats, are classified in two genera: Odontesthes and Basilichthys. Both genera have widespread distributions across southern South America, with marine origins. Despite extensive information on Chilean freshwater silversides and their overlapping distributions along a latitudinal grad...

Abstract Introduction Tobacco use is among the leading preventable causes of premature death worldwide, with disproportionate effects in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Global tobacco control efforts have shown inconsistent results, highlighting the need for innovative approaches, such as tobacco harm reduction (THR), to complement...

Air pollution has long been a public health concern in South America, now increasingly linked to climate change. In Brazil, this issue is particularly acute in smaller cities with limited monitoring infrastructure. Sinop, located in the Amazon biome of Mato Grosso, exemplifies the intersection of agricultural expansion and environmental vulnerabili...

CITATION Darkwah S, Somda NS, Mahazu S and Donkor ES (2025) Pneumococcal serotypes and their association with death risk in invasive pneumococcal disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae and its infections are a global public health concern. Invasive pneumococcal disease accounts for significant mortality...

Overly smooth topography in general circulation models (GCMs) underestimates the blocking effect of the steep mountain ranges flanking the eastern Pacific. We explore the impact of this bias on common biases in Pacific climate simulation [i.e., the unrealistic cross-equatorial symmetry of near-surface winds, sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and pre...

El artículo aborda la evolución y los fundamentos legales que rigen las patentes en el contexto argentino. El autor analiza la importancia de las patentes como instrumentos de protección de la propiedad intelectual, destacando su papel en la promoción de la innovación y el desarrollo económico. Cabanellas discute las principales legislaciones que h...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unparalleled political, economic, and social ramifications, exacerbating global food insecurity (FI). To understand the overall impact of the pandemic and how different socio-economic groups were affected, we assessed prevalence and severity of FI in a sample of 18,997 households across seven countries in South Ameri...

Tropical dry forests (TDFs), one of the most threatened forest ecosystems globally, are characterized by drought-adapted deciduous vegetation and are distributed across various continents. Despite their ecological significance, TDFs are subject to substantial deforestation and fragmentation, with less than 25% of their original area remaining intac...

This paper describes and illustrates a new Amazonian species of the lined flat bark beetle genus Dysmerus Casey, 1884. Dysmerus calicicornis sp. nov. is most similar to two species, D. curvicornis Thomas, 2009 and D. hamaticornis Thomas, 2009, sharing with them the male antennal scape apically flat, strongly deflected internally. The new species, h...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unparalleled political, economic, and social ramifications, exacerbating global food insecurity (FI). To understand the overall impact of the pandemic and how different socio-economic groups were affected, we assessed prevalence and severity of FI in a sample of 18,997 households across seven countries in South Ameri...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unparalleled political, economic, and social ramifications, exacerbating global food insecurity (FI). To understand the overall impact of the pandemic and how different socio-economic groups were affected, we assessed prevalence and severity of FI in a sample of 18,997 households across seven countries in South Ameri...

Yerba-mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a native species native from subtropical and temperate regions of South America. Its production process may influence its physicochemical composition and the final quality. In this way, this study aims to evaluate the major macro- and micro minerals present in the yerba mate, both native and cultivated, after the...

The sweetpotato (Ipomoeabatatas L.) or Irish potato is originated in tropical South America which was cultivated for its tuber production throughout the India occupying an area of 1,34,880 ha with production of 16 38,840 MT. Whereas in Andhra Pradesh, sweet potato is cultivated in an area of 530 ha with a production of 10,910 MT (NHB, 2018). In thi...

Understanding genetic population structure and connectivity is essential for effective species‐specific management and conservation strategies. The American elephantfish Callorhinchus callorynchus is targeted and retained as incidental catch in commercial and recreational fisheries in Chile and Argentina. Its wide‐ranging distribution across southe...

Alstroemeria is a genus endemic to South America, with a wide distribution in Brazil and Chile. There are many taxonomic uncertainties or species complexes that make its taxonomy complicated. This is a genus of enormous importance in ornamental horticulture and one of the most important as cultivation and cutting plants. In Chile, there are 39 spec...

Freshwater ecosystems are full of underwater sounds produced by amphibians, aquatic arthropods, reptiles, plants, fishes, and methane bubbles escaping from the sediment. Although much headway has been made in recent years investigating the overall soundscapes of various freshwater ecosystems around the world, there remains a significant knowledge g...

In America, height systems were established during the twentieth century by connecting the leveling network to a tide gauge. In 1997, the Geodetic Reference System for the Americas (former Geocentric Reference System for South America) created Working Group III, called Vertical Datum, to assist in establishing a unified vertical reference system fo...

Purpose This narrative review systematically compiles and analyzes existing literature on the use of helical plates in orthopaedic trauma surgery. By synthesizing data across various study types, it provides a comprehensive overview of the biomechanical characteristics, clinical outcomes, and anatomical advantages of helical plating. Methods A sys...

Exploratory field expeditions and herbarium research have led to the discovery of four new species of Drymonia (Gesneriaceae), distinguished by laterally compressed corollas, elongate inflorescence axes, and a nomadic climbing habit. These species, found in Andean forests of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, are unique within the Gesneriaceae for bearin...

This study investigates the historical linguistic dynamics between Cariban and Tupi-Guarani languages of South America, focusing on contact-induced phenomena, particularly loanwords. Building upon previous work by Rodrigues (1985), we both expand on, and critically evaluate the lexical evidence of previous studies. Moreover, the interpretation of t...

With increasing global demand for sustainable protein sources and growing environmental concerns surrounding conventional food systems, hillstream fish have emerged as a promising yet underutilized resource. Native to the fast-flowing, oxygen-rich rivers and streams of Asia, Africa, and South America, these fish are ecologically resilient and nutri...

Ocean warming is projected to threaten fisheries, but the extent varies greatly between models due to a poor understanding of how complex food webs respond to change. Likewise, inequalities in socioeconomic dependence on fisheries and uneven distributions of global fishing effort make it unclear how the distribution of fisheries declines could tran...

Oropouche virus (OROV) is an orthobunyavirus (Peribunyaviridae) that has caused recurrent outbreaks in South America and has recently expanded into the Caribbean, with various biting midge and mosquito species considered vectors. Recent imported cases to Europe and North America have raised concerns about the potential for local transmission in non...

Cannibalism, the eating of one’s kind, is a practice that occurs in both humans and non-humans. Some people consumed their kin to ensure that their spirits joined those of their ancestors; others ate their enemies in anger in warfare, in some cases to acquire the powers of those they had defeated; and others ate sorcerers whom they thought brought...

The traditional narrative of Europe’s first wave of democratization is that elites extended the franchise in response to revolutionary threats and reformed majoritarian electoral systems to limit rising working-class parties. This stylized account does not fit early twentieth-century South America, where democratization was driven by internal compe...

The Andean region, shaped by unique geological and climatic events, lacks comprehensive conservation data for Andean ground beetles (AGB). This knowledge gap limits effective management of these ecologically important invertebrates. Our study aims to identify key conservation areas for AGB using four different proxies and provide a framework for ta...

Background Preventing suicide is an important clinical and research priority according to the World Health Organization across lifespan. Objective: This study summarizes the prevalence of suicidal ideation, attempts, and suicide deaths among people living with HIV (PLWH) and explores geographic and sex-based differences in metaanalyses. Methods An...

The scramble to extract critical energy transition minerals creates risk of widespread negative human rights impacts. A just transition in the extraction of critical minerals must involve deep examination of the mine-community interface to gain a better understanding of the drivers of successful engagement between mining companies and communities....

As the incidence of tick-borne disease expands globally, comprehensive understanding of pathogen reservoir hosts is crucial to protect humans and wildlife. While many components are understood, there are gaps in our knowledge regarding the role of alternative, non-mammalian hosts such as birds. Within the United States, birds have been identified a...

Differences in the ecological stability of shallow lakes are reflected in the functional nature of the distinct phytoplankton communities in the Southern Hemisphere. Recent studies have highlighted growing uncertainties of the previous concepts regarding phytoplankton cosmopolitanism, suggesting these communities may be more regionally specialized....

During the late Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries there was an intense exploitation of the long-lived Nothofagus obliqua forests in the temperate region of South America due to the quality of their hardwood. This exploitation resulted in degradation of this Northern Patagonian ecosystem with severe biodiversity implications. This also has prevente...

The high incidence of arboviral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedesspp. genus poses a substantial challenge to public health. In South America, favorable climatic conditions facilitate the proliferation and geographic expansion of these vectors, thereby complicating the capacity of healthcare systems to respond effectively to outbreaks....

Solanum sisymbriifolium is a shrub native to South America and considered a weed of several important crops. Despite this, this species has proven nematicidal capacity and medicinal properties, due to its ability to produce alkaloids. Thus, the objective of this work was to adjust a reliable protocol to obtain in vitro polyploid plants of S. sisymb...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality worldwide. Understanding healthcare utilization during hospitalization for severe TBI across varied resource settings is crucial for informing improvements in clinical practice, patient outcomes, and for reducing TBI burden. We examined hospital services utilizatio...

The article describes terrorist and sabotage attacks carried out worldwide against two major critical infrastructure (CI) systems: energy supply and public transport. The selection of the events described in the article was subjective. In the section on attacks on the energy sector, the author adopted a geographical division – Middle East, Africa a...

Miconia sparsiflora is described as a new species known only from lower montane tropical forests on the Caribbean slopes of Panama. A line drawing, a distribution map, a recommended conservation assessment, and comparisons with presumed closest relatives based on morphology are provided. This species is readily recognized by its copious mixture of...

Brown recluse-spiders of the genus Loxosceles comprise 147 species and it is responsible for the most significant araneism in South America. Gaps in knowledge exist for various species, such as Loxosceles chapadensis, whose biological information is scarce and limited to its description in 2010 and a few publications that mentioned it in some way....

New records for the species Tityus (Tityus) confluens Borelli, 1899, previously known from the states of Ceará, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Piauí, and Tocantins in Brazil, are made for the state of Paraná. In addition, an updated map with these new records from Brazil is provided.

Costa Rica is located along the narrow isthmus that connected South America to North America beginning in the mid-Cenozoic. The exchange of vertebrates between the two continents has received considerable study, but paleobotanical aspects are less known. The Pacific coast "ring of fire" volcanoes produced abundant hyaloclastic material that provide...

Road networks are vital links for people and freight transportation, influencing the environment and socioeconomic development worldwide. Under restricted budgets, the sustainable management of massive roadway inventories to ensure adequate serviceability, safety, and durability has been a big challenge for infrastructure authorities. Climate chang...

The strength of the lithosphere plays an important role in understanding the deformation process of the Earth. In northern South America, the convergence of three tectonic plates has resulted in a zone of active deformation. The effective elastic thickness (Te) is a parameter that serves as a proxy for the lithospheric strength. This study determin...

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) have been consumed and revered in South American countries since precolonial times and continue to serve as both an important protein source and an economic driver for underserved and remote communities in the region. However, currently, there is limited peer-reviewed research on the welfare status of these animals in...

Rock art sites located in areas inhabited by indigenous peoples offer extraordinary opportunities for interpretation using ethnographic analogy. Nonetheless, we must examine the pertinence of a direct historical approach when dealing with sequences of rock art that may extend back several millennia. Recent decades have witnessed increasingly sophis...

The year is 1992. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, and the burgeoning globalization of the world economy had shifted the geopolitical landscape dramatically. Simultaneously, a growing awareness of endemic corruption within many national systems was taking hold, prompting international organizations and concerned citizens...

Objective: To analyze the relationship between physical activity (PA) research, monitoring, and policy indicators and the prevalence of PA in South American countries. Methods: An ecological study was carried out based on PA information from a representative sample of the adult population, through national surveys, from all countries in South Ameri...

The 20th century was characterized by intense global warfare and an accelerated degradation of tropical ecosystems. These phenomena exhibit a geographical and historical interconnection, as political tensions stemming from conflicts influenced changes in forest cover. The shortage of timber caused by the world wars and the Cold War prompted the dev...

Ageratum conyzoides, a member of the Asteraceae family, is a versatile medicinal plant with diverse traditional uses across various regions. Native to Central and South America, it has spread globally, thriving in diverse environments. The plant's phytochemical constituents, include alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, and terpenoids, contribute to it...

The amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) is a cosmopolitan pathogen with numerous distinct lineages. The global panzootic lineage ( Bd -GPL) is the most widespread and virulent lineage and is responsible for many recorded amphibian declines. Mapping the extent of Bd -GPL and other more established lineages is important for...

As one likely route by which people initially spread from NE Asia into the Americas, the West coast of North and South America warrants archaeological focus. Here, we review the earliest known lithic technological complexes of the Pacific Coast and adjacent margins from Alaska to Chile and consider their relevance for understanding the initial occu...

The influence of an oceanic ridge spreading center being subducted on the overlying plate is poorly known. At Chile's Laguna San Rafael, we collected a novel airborne light detection and ranging (lidar)‐derived topographic data set near where an oceanic spreading center, the Chile Ridge, is being subducted under South America. In these data and wit...

Objective The number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) has grown exponentially over the last decade. Race, ethnicity, and sex reporting and representation of participants as well as the geographic distribution of enrolling sites in IIM RCTs are unknown. This information can provide cri...

According to Karl Popper, democracy as a form of government was invented over two thousand years ago in the ancient city-states of Athens and Rome to protect the people from power and corruption. It was reinvented for the same purpose in North America and Europe at the end of the 18th century. Since then, it has spread to many countries around the...

Aim Climate change represents one of the main threats to global biodiversity, and such alterations are expected to induce shifts in distribution ranges and diversity patterns. We evaluate if protected areas and forest remnants in the Atlantic Forest in South America (AF) are projected to ensure the taxonomic diversity (TD) and phylogenetic diversit...

This study investigates the role of soil moisture (SM) on the initiation and organization of convective systems using the convection‐permitting ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic (ICON) model. We conduct two sets of experiments: a Control experiment with interactive SM and a fixed SM experiment (FixedSM) with invariable SM conditions. We focus on two regi...

The Southern Ocean, located between Antarctica and the southern tips of South America, Africa and Australia, encompasses an immense area across the southern Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans with no clearly defined limits. For the purposes of studying marine heterobranch sea slugs, we consider the Southern Ocean to include all ocean areas located...

The late Miocene was an important stage for the formation of modern-like ecological and environmental patterns. Proxy data from the middle to late Miocene reveal that large-scale cooling and drying occurred; however, the reasons for this climate transition remain unclear. Through a compilation of proxy data and climate simulations, our results indi...

Dengue, a febrile disease that has caused epidemics and deaths in South America, especially Peru, is vectored by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Despite the seriousness of dengue fever, and the expanding range of Ae. aegypti, future distributions of the vector and disease in the context of climate change have not yet been clearly determined. Expanding...

Existing research on public opinion towards Indigenous peoples tends to focus on the extent to which citizens hold racist and anti-Indigenous attitudes. In contrast, few empirical studies have examined the extent to which citizens support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Drawing on data from the 2021 Canadian Election Study (CES), we constru...

Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) assessing the genetic structure and its association with IBD phenotypes is needed, especially in IBD-underrepresented populations such as the South American IBD population. Aim. We examine the correlation between Amerindian ancestry and IBD phenotypes within a South American cohort and investigate the as...

The prevalence of metabolic disorders, particularly Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), is rising at an alarming rate worldwide. T2DM, a complex metabolic condition characterized by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance, remains one of the most common metabolic disorders, posing significant challenges to global healthcare systems. Traditional medicine...

Bats (order Chiroptera) are known as important hosts and reservoirs for several zoonotic viruses. To this date, most virology studies in bats have focused on RNA viruses; consequently, information about DNA viruses is more limited. Herein we surveyed the presence of herpesviruses in blood or spleen samples of three bat species of Spain (n = 31) and...

Objective To evaluate the use of continuous topical oxygen therapy (cTOT) in hard-to-heal or chronic wounds in Colombia, South America. Method This multicentre, retrospective analysis studied the efficacy of treating hard-to-heal wounds using a cTOT device in patients over a 3-6-month period. Data were collected retrospectively from patient record...

Sea-level change over Earth's history reflects the interplay of water volume and the ever-shifting architecture of ocean basins. While short-term fluctuations (103–105 yr) often trace the advance and retreat of glaciers and ice caps, multi-million-year trends (107–109 yr) arise from deep-Earth processes – seafloor spreading, subduction, intraplate...

This study highlights the benefits of using high-resolution reanalysis and climate models to assess climate change over time at the subcontinental scale for both present and future periods. The emergence of climate change over the internal variability for each AR6 region is studied by evaluating the decadal frequency distributions of the monthly no...

West Nile virus was first identified in Uganda in 1937 and remains a significant global threat to public health today. This virus is able to adapt to different ecosystems and spread geographically, especially in temperate climate areas of Europe and North America. Currently, cases of West Nile fever are reported in the United States, southern Canad...

Species richness patterns are essential for understanding how species diversity has evolved. The filmy ferns (Hymenophyllaceae) are one of the largest families of epiphytic ferns; however, a comprehensive global overview of their species diversity and distribution is lacking. In the present study, we identified the regions of greatest species diver...