An SMU-led research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth’s past – the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.
Tag: South America
Soy expansion in Brazil linked to increase in childhood leukemia deaths
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.
How local communities depend on the ivory palm tree in coastal Ecuador
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.
Young researchers win grants to work in labs in North America
ASBMB travel awards support biomedical research projects and career development for trainees from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain to work in labs in North America
Ancient DNA Analysis Sheds Light on the Early Peopling of South America
Using DNA from two ancient humans unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil, researchers have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some surprising results. Not only do they provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast – for the first time. Among the key findings, they also have discovered evidence of Neanderthal ancestry within the genomes of ancient individuals from South America. Neanderthals ranged across Eurasia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. The Americas were the last continent to be inhabited by humans.
What is the quinoa seed and germplasm collection like?
Increasing genetic diversity protects against total crop failure
Mountain high: Andean forests have high potential to store carbon under climate change
The Andes Mountains of South America are the most species-rich biodiversity hotspot for plant and vertebrate species in the world. But the forest that climbs up this mountain range provides another important service to humanity. Andean forests are helping to protect the planet by acting as a carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide and keeping some of this climate-altering gas out of circulation, according to new research published in Nature Communications.
Atmospheric Rivers Help Create Massive Holes in Antarctic Sea Ice
Warm, moist rivers of air in Antarctica play a key role in creating massive holes in sea ice in the Weddell Sea and may influence ocean conditions around the vast continent as well as climate change, according to Rutgers co-authored research. Scientists studied the role of long, intense plumes of warm, moist air – known as atmospheric rivers – in creating enormous openings in sea ice. They focused on the Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, where these sea ice holes (called polynyas) infrequently develop during the winter.
Oyster Farming and Shorebirds Likely Can Coexist
Oyster farming as currently practiced along the Delaware Bayshore does not significantly impact four shorebirds, including the federally threatened red knot, which migrates thousands of miles from Chile annually, according to a Rutgers-led study. The findings, published in the journal Ecosphere, likely apply to other areas around the country including the West Coast and Gulf Coast, where oyster aquaculture is expanding, according to Rutgers experts who say the study can play a key role in identifying and resolving potential conflict between the oyster aquaculture industry and red knot conservation groups.
Remote South American kelp forests surveyed for first time since 1973
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.