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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 17th 2025 - 14:10 UTC

Health & Science

  • Monday, February 19th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

    Yellow fever in Brazil: extended vaccine fractionation because of lack of supplies

    Preliminary data from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo shows that 3.95 million people were vaccinated, 3.6 million with fractional doses and 356,800 with standard doses.

    The Brazilian Ministry of Health has reported that from July 1, 2017 to February 15 of this year, 409 cases of yellow fever were confirmed in the country, 183 in São Paulo, 157 in Minas Gerais, 68 in Rio de Janeiro and 1 in the Federal District. There were also 118 deaths throughout the country, 44 in Minas Gerais, 46 in São Paulo, 27 in Rio de Janeiro and one death in the Federal District.

  • Monday, February 19th 2018 - 08:59 UTC

    US scientists discover new family of antibiotics that combat drug resistant diseases

    Drug-resistant diseases are one of the biggest threats to global health. They kill around 700,000 people a year, and new treatments are urgently needed.

    US scientists have discovered a new family of antibiotics in soil samples. The natural compounds could be used to combat hard-to-treat infections, the team at Rockefeller University hopes.

  • Tuesday, February 13th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    SCAR celebrates sixty year of international collaboration in Antarctica

    Since 1958, SCAR has been central in defining the vision and goals of science in Antarctica and has facilitated the implementation of Antarctic science

    The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), has celebrated six decades of successful international collaboration. Since its first meeting in The Hague on February 1958, SCAR has grown an international network of thousands of scientists who share a common ambition to carry out Antarctic science for the benefit of society.

  • Friday, February 9th 2018 - 10:31 UTC

    National Geographic apologizes for publishing Malvinas pictures as from the Falklands

    Last January it was announced that National Geographic February 2018 would document the Falkland Islands' diverse ecosystem by wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen.

    National Geographic has apologized to Tierra del Fuego governor Rosana Bertone for publishing in Instagram pictures identified as taken in the Falklands, instead of the Malvinas Islands. According to Ushuaia reports, aware of this situation, the Environment Secretary of Tierra del Fuego Mauro Pérez Toscani, on instructions from Ms Bertone addressed the National Geographic Foundation to express disappointment and demaning rectification of the Malvinas controversy.

  • Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 20:06 UTC

    Lunar trifecta: supermoon, blood moon and blue moon; NASA livestreaming

    The moon, about as large as it can be in the sky, will turn a blood red color in the hours before dawn.

    It’s a once in a ‘blue moon’ occurrence and time for the moon to take the spotlight. Following the great solar eclipse last August, serendipity will strike on Wednesday 31 January, when a total lunar eclipse is set to occur at the same time as a supermoon and blue moon.

  • Tuesday, January 30th 2018 - 08:54 UTC

    Widespread antibiotic resistance to bacterial infections confirmed in WHO global testing

    Resistance to penicillin, the medicine used for decades worldwide to treat pneumonia, ranged from zero to 51% among reporting countries

    WHO’s first release of surveillance data on antibiotic resistance reveals high levels of resistance to a number of serious bacterial infections in both high- and low-income countries. WHO’s new Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System (GLASS) reveals widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance among 500 000 people with suspected bacterial infections across 22 countries.

  • Monday, January 29th 2018 - 06:55 UTC

    Punta Arenas reaffirms Antarctica links with two private support vessels

    Betanzos will operate as a scientific support vessel, with sophisticated equipment and a reinforced “ice-class” hull, plus accommodation for 64 people.

    Punta Arenas. Chile seems determined to remain as the main calling point for Antarctica scientific and logistics support. This month two private undertakings were inaugurated which confirmed that determination, one of them is the DAP's MV Betanzos a scientific vessel for Antarctica research, and the second in the Antarctic Warrior, belonging to the Petromar company and which has been conditioned to transport supplies and fuel to Antarctica.

  • Friday, January 26th 2018 - 09:42 UTC

    Massive vaccination, 23.8 million, against yellow fever in Sao Paulo and Rio do Janeiro

    Some 23.8 million people are expected to be vaccinated during the campaign, including 10.3 million in São Paulo and 10 million in Rio de Janeiro.

    Brazil launched a mass immunization campaign that will deliver fractional doses of yellow fever vaccine to residents of 69 municipalities in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The strategic plan for the campaign was developed with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It will be the world’s largest vaccination campaign, to date, using fractional doses of yellow fever vaccine.

  • Friday, January 26th 2018 - 09:11 UTC

    Soros blasts tech monopolies such as Facebook and Google: 'a threat to democracy'

    “The power to shape people's attention is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few companies,” Soros told assembled guests.

    Hungarian born billionaire investor George Soros has criticised tech “monopolies” such as Facebook and Google, calling them a threat to democracy. At his annual dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros warned that social media platforms were “obstacles to innovation”.

  • Thursday, January 25th 2018 - 06:39 UTC

    Macri and Putin in Moscow reaffirm Argentina/Russia strategic relationship

    Argentina is one of Russia’s leading trade and economic partners in the region and Macri is interested in Moscow’s participation in infrastructure projects

    Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, signed on Tuesday a declaration aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation during a press conference at the Kremlin. Macri told Putin that he hoped this marked the first of many visits to the Russian capital and highlighted their countries’ mutual interests.