Latin American science moves into the spotlight

With new incentives, some governments in Latin America are starting to increase investment in basic and applied research. Although the news is encouraging, scientists in this region still face many challenges ahead.     

Chromosome studies: Latin American Compositae

Chromosome observations reported here from 98 collections representing 91 species from 58 genera of Compositae provide taxonomically useful information. First counts for 52 species, including first counts for eight genera (Alepidocline [n = 8], Damnxanthodium [n = 12], Dyscritothamnus [n = 20 in both species], Idiopappus [n = ca. 31–33], Oblivia [n = 16], Oteiza [n = 17 + 0–3 f], Rensonia [n = 17], and Viguethia [n = 19]), may prove to be especially interesting in relation to generic alignments of the species and tribal or subtribal alignments of the genera.     

Malaria-related anaemia: a Latin American perspective

Malaria is the most important parasitic disease worldwide, responsible for an estimated 225 million clinical cases each year. It mainly affects children, pregnant women and non-immune adults who frequently die victims of cerebral manifestations and anaemia. Although the contribution of the American continent to the global malaria burden is only around 1.2 million clinical cases annually, there are 170 million inhabitants living at risk of malaria transmission in this region. On the African continent, where Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent human malaria parasite, anaemia is responsible for about half of the malaria-related deaths. Conversely, in Latin America (LA), malaria-related anaemia appears to be uncommon, though there is a limited knowledge about its real prevalence. This may be partially explained by several factors, including that the overall malaria burden in LA is significantly lower than that of Africa, that Plasmodium vivax, the predominant Plasmodium species in the region, appears to display a different clinical spectrus and most likely because better health services in LA prevent the development of severe malaria cases. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of the real importance of malaria-related anaemia in LA, we discuss here a revision of the available literature on the subject and the usefulness of experimental animal models, including New World monkeys, particularly for the study of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of malaria.     

BIO-key and Identix win Latin American contracts

Latin America has proven to be a good hunting ground for a number of suppliers over the last month as BIO-key and Identix both secured orders in the region. BIO-key International won two orders, with the first in the healthcare sector and the other in the banking industry. Identix, meanwhile, secured a contract in the Costa Rican banking sector.This is a short news story only. Visit www.compseconline.com for the latest computer security industry news