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A new study led by scientists at the University of São Paulo (USP) is the first to put hard numbers on how much of the recent shift is due to local forest loss versus global climate change. The researchers found that deforestation accounts for roughly 74.5% of the observed decline in dry-season rainfall and 16.5% of the warming in the biome. This work arrives just ahead of COP30 in Belém, the Amazonian capital hosting November’s U.N. climate summit – timing that [...]

A set of sauropod remains from the Cretaceous period showed evidence of a fatal disease. These findings suggest that even giants of the past were not safe from infection. Discovery in Brazil The bones were found in Ibirá, São Paulo. Researchers supported by FAPESP identified signs of osteomyelitis, an inflammatory bone disease caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or protozoa. Six individuals dating back about 80 million years displayed clear evidence of the [...]

Fertilizers are costly in much of the world, electricity is unreliable, and clean water is scarce. At the same time, most wastewater goes untreated, leading to severe health and environmental issues. The new model provides a workable solution, converting a steady stream of waste into something valuable: power and fertilizer, all while treating wastewater to make it safer. This system uses solar panels to recover nitrogen from urine – without needing a power grid, chemical plants, or [...]

Forests don’t plant themselves. In fact, the survival of many forests depends on a hidden network of animal workers that most people never think about. Birds, mammals, fish, and even a few amphibians are nature’s original gardeners, moving seeds from place to place and giving forests a chance to grow. But this quiet system is breaking down. Populations of seed-dispersing animals are shrinking. Without them, many trees won’t survive, forests will lose their diversity, [...]

A sprawling colony of brain coral (Mussismilia hispida) rings the main island of the Alcatrazes Archipelago Wildlife Refuge off the northern coast of São Paulo. A new study reveals that this coral colony stores more than 20 tons of carbon every year. Marine biologists from the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) conducted five years of painstaking work that combined underwater surveys, seabed sonar, and hospital-grade CT scans of coral skeletons. These [...]

A globe-spanning analysis led by the University of Michigan now clarifies the picture: biodiversity gives trees a noticeable growth boost almost everywhere, but the advantage is far larger in forests that receive plenty of rain. “Diversity matters everywhere we look. But in our experiments, we see it matters more in the wetter climates,” said Peter Reich, director of the Institute for Global Change Biology at Michigan and senior author of the new study. Forest trials across [...]

The African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, earned its “living fossil” nickname because its skeleton seems almost identical to fossils over 65 million years old. Scientists have pored over this deep‑sea relic for decades, assuming its anatomy was already well documented. A new study, however, shows that long‑standing descriptions of the fish’s head muscles were riddled with errors. The research suggests that correcting those mistakes reshapes how biologists [...]

Across Earth’s long timeline, extinction often seems like a silent erasure. Yet behind many disappearances lies a chain of ecological tension. Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil explored predator-prey dynamics. The results of two new studies suggest predator-prey relationships shaped extinction patterns in ancient species. Supported by FAPESP, the work focuses on predators like saber-toothed cats and their herbivore prey in North America. The [...]

While soy and pea proteins dominate shelves, scientists are exploring new, lesser-known crops. One such candidate for plant-based meat, sunflower seeds, is now under the spotlight thanks to a recent breakthrough from Brazil and Germany. In a collaborative project between the Institute of Food Technology ( ITAL ), the University of Campinas ( UNICAMP ), and the Fraunhofer IVV Institute in Germany, researchers have created a new plant-based food. The researchers are transforming [...]