The nature and scale of pre-Columbian land use and the consequences of the 1492 “Columbian Encounter” (CE) on Amazonia are among the more debated topics in New World archaeology and paleoecology. However, pre-Columbian human impact in Amazonian savannas remains poorly understood. Most paleoecological studies have been conducted in neotropical forest contexts. Of studies done in Amazonian savannas, none has the temporal resolution needed to detect changes induced by either climate or humans before and after A.D. 1492, and only a few closely integrate paleoecological and archaeological data.

Aedes aegypti dispersion is the major reason for the increase in dengue transmission in South America. In Brazil, control of this mosquito strongly relies on the use of pyrethroids and organophosphates against adults and larvae, respectively. In consequence, many Ae. aegypti field populations are resistant to these compounds. Resistance has a significant adaptive value in the presence of insecticide treatment.

Since the mid-1990s, the International Land Coalition (ILC) has been working to promote equitable and secure access to land for poor men and women in order to combat poverty and achieve food security. With more than 120 institutional members, the Coalition is committed to amplifying the voices of civil society organisations so that they can contribute to both the international debate on
land and to national land processes.

One potential impact from greenhouse-gas emissions is increasing damage from extreme events. Here, we quantify how climate
change may affect tropical cyclone damage. We find that future increases in income are likely to double tropical cyclone damage
even without climate change. Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of high-intensity storms in selected ocean
basins depending on the climate model. Climate change doubles economic damage, but the result depends on the parameters of

A multinational, prospective clinical study was carried out in South-East Asia (SEA) and Latin America (LA), to ascertain the proportion of inapparent dengue infections in households of febrile dengue cases, and to compare clinical data and biological markers from subjects with various dengue disease patterns. Dengue infection was laboratory-confirmed during the acute phase, by virus isolation and detection of the genome. The four participating reference laboratories used standardized methods.

By granting rights to Nature, Bolivia and Ecuador have subverted conventional wisdom on the use of natural resources. (Editorial)