The twenty countries of Latin America and the Asian giant have universities, especially public ones, committed to identifying the elements to follow the path of innovation. In this region of the world, Brazil and Mexico are leading the way. The results of a study on the production, impact, and structure of innovation research are presented.

The former academic vice-president and provost of the Universidad del Rosario, Stéphanie Lavaux, points out how the robust research ecosystem, collaborative work, and the imprint of the Universidad del Rosario that seeks “common good” allowed this institution to provide Colombians with projects that are effectively contributing with the fight against COVID-19.

In the face of large-scale events, uncertainty takes hold of people and affects their mental health in the short, medium, and long terms. After analyzing previous phenomena that have shaken the world, researchers from Colombia, Chile, and Spain go into detail about the topic and suggest some interventions.

Photos: Alberto Sierra The protests by the Afro-descendent and Embera tribal communities in favor of the construction of a hydroelectric plant in the inlet of Utría, Chocó, were one of the findings of the research work carried out by Nicolás Acosta García and Katharine N. Farrell. From this, the article entitled Crafting electricity through social protest was developed. In the article, the researchers show the importance of listening to the voices of communities without any preconceptions or paternalism.

In Ibero–American countries, as well as in other regions of the world, there is an ongoing discussion on environmental degradation. Higher-education institutions have a vast literature that we want to share with all interested parties and society at large.

It is not an animated being, but it aims to give a new impetus to what sustains us: The environment. Through the Treaty of Escazú, 24 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean committed to promote a true green democracy. Here is an x-ray of that hope.

For the first time, the School of Human Sciences of URosario was awarded the prize given by Alejandro Ángel Escobar Foundation, deemed as the most prestigious Colombian award in sciences. The merit was for professor Leonardo Ordóñez Díaz, who showed how the stereotypes of tropical forests have had a ruthless effect on the destruction of the rainforests in the region.

Coexistence between animals that live in groups is usually affected by natural disturbances and also by human activity, according to a study by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, in which Professor Adriana Maldonado Chaparro, from the Department of Biology at Universidad del Rosario, participates. This can affect some fundamental processes, such as reproduction, that, in the case of certain species, requires the contribution of each member of the group.

The effects of illegal mining on the environment are a concern at a national level. However, little is known about how legal mining in the country contributes to deforestation and substantially so: In the country, between 150 and 200 legal mining concessions result in the deforestation of more than 400 hectares of forest each, the equivalent of 500 soccer fields. This number was given in a study on the impact of mining on deforestation in Colombia, carried out by Professors Benjamín Quesada and Nicola Clerici and young researcher Andrés González.

Seen as the ugly duckling except for few species that conquered gastronomy fungi have a fascinating history to tell: they are in charge of building and shaping a forest because they have an interdependent relationship with plants. Researchers from Universidad del Rosario jointly with international colleagues found a fungus species with two subspecies. This is their story.