The Chilean COVID-19 Genomics Network Biorepository: A Resource for Multi-Omics Studies of COVID-19 and Long COVID in a Latin American Population.

Although a lack of diversity in genetic studies is an acknowledged obstacle for personalized medicine and precision public health, Latin American populations remain particularly understudied despite their heterogeneity and mixed ancestry. This gap extends to COVID-19 despite its variability in susceptibility and clinical course, where ethnic background appears to influence disease severity, with non-Europeans facing higher hospitalization rates. In addition, access to high-quality samples and data is a critical issue for personalized and precision medicine, and it has become clear that the solution lies in biobanks.

[Development of the EULAT eCollect application for electronic data collection within the European-Latin American consortium towards eradication of preventable gallbladder cancer - EULAT Eradicate GBC].

The European-Latin American Consortium towards Eradication of Preventable Gallbladder Cancer (GBC) - EULAT Eradicate CVB is collecting high-quality data and samples in four Latin American countries with a high incidence of GBC: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The goal is to build a unique biorepository integrated with a customized informatics platform, identify, validate, and functionally characterize novel GBC risk biomarkers, and develop GBC prediction models integrating epidemiological and genetic-molecular risk factors. We decided to develop the electronic data collection application EULAT eCollect to facilitate the retrieval of socio-demographic, clinical, lifestyle, nutritional, and sample information from the 15,000 Latin Americans we are enrolling.

Rhizospheric bacteria from the Atacama Desert hyper-arid core: cultured community dynamics and plant growth promotion.

The Atacama Desert is the oldest and driest desert on Earth, encompassing great temperature variations, high ultraviolet radiation, drought, and high salinity, making it ideal for studying the limits of life and resistance strategies. It is also known for harboring a great biodiversity of adapted life forms. While desertification is increasing as a result of climate change and human activities, it is necessary to optimize soil and water usage, where stress-resistant crops are possible solutions.

Death by massive air sac fluke (Trematoda: ) infection in a free-ranging snail kite ().

Helminths are not usually considered important pathogens for birds of prey. There is a single published report of mortality in raptors due to an air sac trematode infection. We report a well-documented death case from massive infection by an air sac trematode of the family Cyclocoelidae in a wild-caught, juvenile male Snail Kite () in Ecuador.

First detection of Leptospira santarosai in the reproductive track of a boar: A potential threat to swine production and public health.

Background: Leptospirosis causes significant economic losses and is an occupational risk in the swine industry, especially in developing tropical regions where social and geoclimatic conditions are favorable for the transmission of this disease. Although vaccination can reduce infection risk, efficacy is diminished if local genetic and antigenic variants of the pathogen are not accounted for in the vaccine. Identifying and characterizing strains hosts, and potential mechanisms of transmission is therefore critical for public health mitigation practices.