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Brazil

New Research

Is Animal Hoarding a Distinct Mental Disorder?

There are many differences between people that hoard objects and those that collect critters

Trending Today

Brazil Investigates Alleged Murders of “Uncontacted” Amazon Tribe Members

Gold miners were heard in a bar talking about killing 10 indigenous people in the remote Javari Valley

Art Meets Science

See the Sounds of the Amazon in This Mesmerizing Video

Artist Andy Thomas helps people experience nature in a new way

Gastromotiva student Luis Freire (right) preps plums at Refettorio Gastromotiva, with the dining room in the background.

This Rio Restaurant Is Using Surplus Food From the Olympic Village to Feed the Homeless

At Refettorio Gastromotiva, top chefs from around the world are cooking five-star cuisine for the poor

Rio's favelas, like Santa Marta (shown here), are no longer blank spaces on Google Maps.

Mapping Rio’s Favelas

Ahead of the Olympics, Google and a Brazilian nonprofit have been recruiting locals to pinpoint businesses and other landmarks in the city’s shantytowns

New Research

Browse Though the Amazon’s 12,000 Tree Species in This New Master List

Gotta count ‘em all

Guanabara Bay at night, Rio de Janeiro.

11 Fun Facts About Rio

It’s more than beaches, favelas and that Duran Duran song

The Brazilian rainforest faces threats beyond deforestation.

Unfortunately, Reducing Deforestation Isn’t Enough To Protect Amazon Biodiversity

Logging, wildfires and other human disturbances lead to species die-offs

Cool Finds

Spix’s Macaw, Star of “Rio,” Spotted in the Wild for the First Time in 15 Years

Captured in a backlit cellphone video, the sighting gives conservationists hope for the survival of Brazil’s little blue birds

A Kiwcha couple walk into the forest to cut timber in Coca, Ecuador.

Age of Humans

Did Deforestation Contribute to Zika’s Spread?

Evidence is growing that deforestation causes disease outbreaks by changing animal carriers’ behavior.

Researchers sort through finds recovered from trawling in the central section of the Amazon reef.

Shining Light on Brazil’s Secret Coral Reef

The massive, previously unstudied reef is unlike any other known on Earth

The museum has generated controversy over gentrification of Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Olympics.

Age of Humans

Imagining an Alarming Future at Brazil’s Museum of Tomorrow

The ambitious museum looks at where humankind is headed—and asks how they’ll live in a post-climate-change world

Local workers disinfects the famous Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26 January 2016.

Trending Today

Zika Virus May Spell Trouble for the Rio Olympic Games

U.S Olympic Committee officials suggest that athletes concerned about Zika stay on the sidelines this year

Cool Finds

In Brazil, Subway Reading Means a Ticket to Ride

These books encourage reading by doubling as subway tickets

New Research

Scientists Discover 9,000-Year-Old Case of Decapitation in the Americas

Off with their head and hands

Salgado has documented many indigenous tribes and their traditions. Here, men are decorated with feathers and paint for a reahu funerary ceremony.

Sebastião Salgado Has Seen the Forest, Now He’s Seeing the Trees

He documented human suffering around the world. But now, back in his native Brazil, the renowned photographer is healing the devastated landscape

A 2013 satellite view of a settlement of uncontacted people in Acre, Brazil.

Protecting the World’s Last Isolated Communities From Above

Advances in satellite technology mean that untouched villages can remain that way

A view from São Paolo's depleted Cantareira Reservoir.

Trending Today

São Paulo is Running Low on Water

What will happen when Brazil’s taps go dry?

Village clearings deep in the Peruvian Amazon, as spotted by a satellite.

New Research

Should We Use Satellites to Keep an Eye on Remote Amazonian Tribes?

Satellite monitoring could help keep tabs on indigenous people without invasive visits to their remote homes

Samba school Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel performs at the sambodromo during the carnival of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 03 March 2014.

World Cup 2014

Samba and Sway to These Brazilian Songs Compiled By Smithsonian Folkways

Take a virtual tour through the country’s diverse musical traditions

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