Lurking inside the crops of banana-producing-areas in east and central Africa is a disease called Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW)—and new modeling by researchers from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT has shown that if left uncontrolled, this bacterial disease could cause a 55% reduction in banana production in newly affected regions within 10 years.

Researchers at the University of São Paulo showed in mice the importance of the signaling pathway mediated by the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and its receptor TNFR1; the discovery could now help scientists develop medications for oral health.

The Smithsonian Bird Friendly coffee and cocoa certification program opened its new Latin American office at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, STRI, in Panama, making it easier for regional coffee and chocolate industries to join the global movement to produce sustainable coffee and chocolate.

A newly described coccolithophore species, Calciopappus curvus was recently found in 2020 in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda by scientists affiliated with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. This newly named species has also been observed prior to its discovery off Bermuda in water samples from far-flung locations as the North Atlantic to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean.  Formally named Calciopappus curvus, is described in a new paper published in the October edition of the journal Protist.