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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 5th 2026 - 01:38 UTC

Health & Science

  • Saturday, February 21st 2026 - 04:27 UTC

    NASA targets March 6 for Artemis II after passing key SLS fueling rehearsal

    Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of NASA’s Artemis program and the first US crewed mission toward the Moon since the Apollo era

    NASA said on Friday it is targeting March 6 as the earliest launch date for Artemis II, the mission that will send four astronauts on a flight around the Moon and back, after completing a second full countdown-and-fueling rehearsal of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

  • Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 23:59 UTC

    Argentine court declares “king of beef” bankrupt as he remains hospitalized in Punta del Este

    On Tuesday, Samid departed from Laguna del Sauce airport on a medical flight to Argentina

    An Argentine commercial court has declared meat businessman Alberto Samid—widely known in Argentina as the “king of beef”—bankrupt, ordering broad asset restrictions and imposing a travel ban until July 3, 2026. The ruling emerged as Samid was hospitalized at the Cantegril clinic in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and he has now been transferred to Buenos Aires on a medical flight.

  • Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 12:00 UTC

    Under Antarctic ice, Earth’s deepest gravity “low” points to a 70-million-year story

    The authors report that at the beginning of the Cenozoic, the location of the maximum global geoid depression was centered over the South Atlantic

    A new study has reconstructed the evolution of the planet’s strongest nonhydrostatic geoid depression —the Antarctic Geoid Low (AGL)— finding that the feature has persisted for at least 70 million years and underwent a major shift in both position and strength between roughly 50 and 30 million years ago.

  • Tuesday, February 17th 2026 - 04:06 UTC

    US, Canada and Mexico face measles outbreaks months before World Cup 2026

    The Pan American Health Organization issued a regional epidemiological alert, urging “immediate and coordinated action” to strengthen routine surveillance and vaccination

    With fewer than four months to go before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, the United States, Canada and Mexico —the tournament’s three host countries— are reporting significant measles resurgences, a highly contagious disease that had been pushed back across the region through routine immunization. Health authorities and international bodies are urging stronger vaccination and surveillance as public trust in vaccine guidance frays.

  • Tuesday, February 10th 2026 - 04:16 UTC

    Chickenpox ruled out in President Orsi after return from official China trip

    “So far, only one case – within the official delegation – has been confirmed, and follow-up of the exposed group continues,” the ministry added.

    Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi tested negative for chickenpox after undergoing screening prompted by a confirmed case within the official delegation that returned from a trip to China, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) said on Monday.

  • Thursday, February 5th 2026 - 15:14 UTC

    Argentine scientists film rare “giant phantom jelly” measuring about 11 meters in the South Atlantic

    Researchers estimated the specimen’s total length at roughly 11 meters, a scale described in outreach terms as comparable to a school bus

    An Argentine-led deep-sea expedition has recorded rare footage of Stygiomedusa gigantea—the so-called giant phantom jellyfish—in waters off Argentina, offering an unusual look at a species seldom observed alive in its natural environment. The animal was filmed at around 250 meters depth by the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian during the “Vida en los extremos” campaign aboard the research vessel R/V Falkor (too), involving scientists from CONICET and the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

  • Monday, February 2nd 2026 - 17:58 UTC

    UK loses measles elimination status, WHO reports

    NHS is making vaccination easier, offering the second MMRV dose earlier at a new 18-month appointment to boost uptake and support elimination goals

    The United Kingdom has lost its measles elimination status, the World Health Organization has announced. The move was based on the spread of cases in 2024 when there were 3,600 suspected cases. However elimination status means there is no sustained transmission so this decision was largely expected, given the scale of the outbreaks in 2024.

  • Monday, February 2nd 2026 - 02:48 UTC

    Over 60% of Brazilians are overweight as obesity doubles in 18 years, survey shows

    Adult diabetes diagnoses increased from 5.5% in 2006 to 12.9% in 2024, and hypertension rose from 22.6% to 29.7%.

    More than six in ten Brazilians are now overweight and obesity affects roughly one in four adults, according to official health data released this week and carried by Agência Brasil. The survey estimates that 62.6% of the population had excess weight in 2024, up from 42.6% in 2006, while obesity (BMI ≥ 30) doubled from 11.8% to 25.7% over the same period.

  • Friday, January 30th 2026 - 14:16 UTC

    Falklands, Tussac restoration project to protect peatlands

    Frame by FITV.

    Dr. Nicholas Midgley, a senior lecturer and his team from Nottingham Trent University have been in the Falkland Islands for the last three weeks investigating coastal peatland and tussac’s significance for agriculture and wildlife.

  • Friday, January 30th 2026 - 03:43 UTC

    Brazil’s Lula to undergo cataract surgery on left eye after Panama trip

    The announcement comes as Lula remains active on the international circuit and ahead of a packed domestic schedule

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will undergo cataract surgery on his left eye on Friday, the presidential palace said after preoperative tests were conducted on Thursday in Brasília. The 80-year-old leader returned overnight from Panama, where he attended the International Economic Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean, and spent Thursday at the official Granja do Torto residence.

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