Brazil

A dog walks through a favela in Recife, Brazil. Many such poor urban areas in the country are hotbeds for visceral leishmaniasis.

Dogs Infected With a Deadly Human Parasite Smell Better to Insect Vectors

New research suggests female sand flies that pass the protozoa that causes visceral leishmaniasis to humans are attracted to affected canines

Both sides of a shark tooth from Rio do Meio, an artifact which may have been used as a cutting tool. Archaeologists think it was bound to a wooden shaft by cord, strung through the drilled holes.

Why Did Ancient Indigenous Groups in Brazil Hunt Sharks?

New studies show that shark meat may have constituted half of their diet and that the beasts' teeth were used as arrow tips and razor blades

An artist's rendering of Ubirajara jubatus, a newly described dinosaur species featuring two sets of rods sticking out of its shoulders and a mane of fluffy proto-feathers.

With a Mane and Strange Shoulder Rods, This New Dinosaur Was Quite a 'Little Show-Off'

The chicken-sized carnivore was found in Brazil and researchers say it may have been quite colorful

Arranged in symbolically significant ways with no clear hierarchy, the villages’ circular layouts may reflect their Indigenous inhabitants’ conceptions of the cosmos.

These Amazonian Villages Were Laid Out Like Clock Faces

Scientists used LiDAR to investigate the ruins of 14th- to 18th-century Indigenous communities in Brazil

More than 580 species of bird, 271 types of fish, 174 mammal species, 131 different reptiles and 57 amphibian species known to inhabit the Pantanal.

Wildlife Suffers as Brazil’s Pantanal Wetland Burns

Fires in the world’s largest tropical wetland have burned an area double that of California’s unprecedented 2020 blazes

The Federal University of Minas Gerais’ Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden houses 260,000 artifacts ranging from fossils to folk art.

Second Brazilian Museum Fire in Two Years Sparks Calls for Reform

Authorities are assessing the damage caused by a June 15 blaze at the Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden in Belo Horizonte

Lightning flashes over Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2014. On October 31, 2018, the longest lightning bolt ever recorded struck in Brazil, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Record-Breaking Lightning Bolts Spark Excitement

Officials confirmed two 'megaflash' lightning bolts in Brazil and Argentina that struck down previous world records

The Smithsonian 2020 Folklife Festival is online (above: Reconstructing Hope: Black Religions in the Age of Black Lives Matter, June 29).

Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival Moves into Your Living Room

This year, experience the familiar smells, sights and sounds, while streaming the events online

Bioluminescent "sea fireflies," a species of ostracod crustacean, covering the rocks on the coast of Okayama, Japan.

How Studying Bioluminescent Creatures Is Transforming Medical Science

The natural light of insects and sea creatures can help doctors illuminate H.I.V. and even kill cancer cells

Electrophorus voltai, a newly discovered species of electric eel, pictured swimming in the Xingu River, a southern tributary of the Amazon.

Smithsonian Researchers Triple the Number of Electric Eel Species, Including One With Record-Setting Shock Ability

It’s literally shocking news

João Gilberto circa 1960.

Bossa Nova Became a Turning Point in Brazilian Culture. João Gilberto Helped Launch It

The musician, who died at 88, developed the understated style in his sister's bathroom, launching the cool, sophisticated sound to international acclaim

Amazon Deforestation Has Increased Dramatically This Year

In May, an area the size of a soccer field was cleared every minute

Entrance to the RioZoo

Trove of 30,000 Artifacts Found at RioZoo to Be Given to Fire-Ravaged National Museum

The artifacts date back to Brazil’s imperial period

A trio of air conditioners failed to meet manufacturer recommendations regarding the use of separate circuit breakers and grounding devices

A Faulty Air Conditioning Unit Sparked the Brazil National Museum Fire

The September 2018 blaze destroyed the 200-year-old building and reduced the majority of its 20-million artifact collection to ash

It’s likely the beached calf was separated from its mother during the humpback whales’ mass migration south

As Humpback Whales Migrate to Antarctica, One Straggler Washes Ashore in the Amazon

Scientists found the one-year-old calf’s carcass around 50 feet inland on a remote Brazilian island

The September 2018 blaze destroyed the majority of the Brazilian museum's more than 20 million artifacts

Around 2,000 Artifacts Have Been Saved From the Ruins of Brazil’s National Museum Fire

Meanwhile, search attempts, which are expected to last through the end of 2019, continue

A collapsed dam left 200 people missing and at least 58 dead, officials say. Rescuers search using helicopters.

Brazilian Mine Disaster Leaves 58 Dead, 200 Missing

Mine waste and sludge have contaminated a huge stretch of the Paraopeba River

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil Dissolves Its Ministry of Culture

The change is part of a rash of reforms by new Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro

Google Virtual Tour Preserves Collections Destroyed in Brazil Museum Fire

Back in 2016, the tech giant had begun working to digitize the museum’s collections

Federal police forensic specialists investigate the cause of the fire that tore through Brazil's National Museum in Rio de Janeiro.

Five Things We've Learned Since Brazil’s Devastating National Museum Fire

Luzia, the oldest human fossil in the Americas, was recovered from the rubble

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