Differences in the molecular structures explain the different colors of this bioluminescence in different species. This discovery has the potential for new biotechnological applications, such as the imaging of muscles, blood and hemoglobin-rich tissue.

Land restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean is picking up pace and scaling up projects will help the region meet its pledges under the Bonn Challenge, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested land worldwide by 2030. A new study supplies a first map of restoration projects in Latin America and shows their potential to mitigate climate change through restoring forests.

An article shows that three species of electric eel exist, not just one as previously described, and that one of them produces an electric shock up to 860 volts. The researchers were funded by FAPESP, the Smithsonian and National Geographic.

A new study conducted by Brazilian researchers found that Zika virus infects and replicates in adult human brain tissue. Scientists also found that infection causes long-lasting learning and memory deficits in adult mice. The results demonstrate that the adult brain (and not only the developing brain, as previously thought) is attacked and damaged by ZIKV, and indicate the need to investigate memory and cognitive deficits as potentially serious comorbidities in ZIKV-infected adults.

Experiments performed in Brazil show that systematic eradication of plants contaminated by cowpea aphid-borne virus (CABMV) can keep orchards producing for at least 25 months and avoid annual replanting.

Mountain range uplift, river formation and other events that occurred 30 million years ago explain the emergence of new species of the arachnid in the biome's southernmost portion, according to a Brazilian study.