UNU-BIOLAC: United Nations University Programme for Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean

Scientific development of solutions for the #SDGs relies as much on state-of-the-art research as on weaving professional networks. Many parts offered by diverse people construct ideas that will face big issues. For global challenges, global partnerships start with a casual conversation and maybe a shared infusion of 𝘐𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴. Have a great course!

Are we up to the challenge? Climate action must be swift, profound, and effective. We've known this for decades, and now it's a consensus. While climate action requires the will and commitment of all, it's the national governments that must lead the charge in overcoming inertia. This is in line with the Paris Agreement, which mandates signatories to enhance their pledges every five years. The following five-year plans are due in 2025 and will be presented during COP30 in Belem. The outcomes of the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, starting on November 11, will significantly influence what countries bring to Brazil for COP30 next year. The keyword is ambition. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the documents in which each party states their commitments, must be bold, creative, and audacious if humanity is to meet its simple climatic goal: avoiding catastrophe. Everyone must pitch in to raise ambition. The general agreement is that "NDCs 3.0" must lead to clear, result-oriented sectorial action plans. We offer broad examples of the contribution of biotechnology, as there is no scientific discipline, knowledge area, or type of job that is exempted from contributing: ⚡ Energy: Harness the power of Photosynthesis. 👩🌾 Agriculture: Development of biofertilizers and biological controls. 🌲 Land use and forestry: Reduce agricultural land by creating more productive varieties. 🚛 Transport: Invention of efficient biofuels. 🏭 Industry: Bioremediation of effluents. 🏗 Buildings: New construction materials with biological traits. 🗑 Waste: Transform waste into resources with the help of biological processes. Watch UN Environment Programme's video to learn more about NDCs. The following two years will be critical to our future, and being in the loop is fundamental.

United Nations calls for national action plans on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), implying that institutions at all levels should mainstream this well-defined threat to public health into policy and funding schemes. In a declaration following the event, the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, composed of World Health Organization, @UNEP, FAO, and the World Organization for Animal Health, underscored the importance of adopting a One Health approach, as the development of resistance comes both from inadequate use in health and food systems, as well as from genetic spreading trough environmental processes, with significant impacts at every one of these compartments. The declaration also delineates a set of challenges, many of which can be faced with biotechnological tools, such as the development of antimicrobials with low vulnerability to resistance, sustainable water sanitation and waste management, and reduction of the use of antimicrobials in agrifood systems. UNU-BIOLAC remains committed to help funding the contribution of Latin America and the Caribbean through our academic activities in every one of these subjects. We thank Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, for championing the fight against AMR throughout the UN System and its member states. https://lnkd.in/eZXgY5Cv

Reducing food loss from harvest to market can help secure the right to food and leave no one behind. Latin America is betting on biodiversity to achieve this #WorldFoodDay FAO World Food Programme Proimi - CONICET https://lnkd.in/dk3_Etk5

The 2024 State of Climate review of climate academic literature paints a clear picture of the evidence favoring radical, urgent action. We figured 5 things to help with #biotechnology: Two decades ago, the climate debate focused on changing weather patterns and avoiding economic burdens to countries. In 2024, this narrative shifted to "population outside the human climate niche" and "societal collapse." The article is short and to the point: Renewables have had the same increase as fossil fuels, a simple reflection of a growing energy demand. We must urgently earn each decimal of degree that we can keep from rising. From reading the report and considering the traditional and novel areas of development of synthetic biology, we find that biotechnologists will be critical players in this enterprise in several aspects, for example: 1) The invention of sustainable fuels for transport. 2) The adaptation of food production to new conditions. 3) The production of sustainable synthetic protein sources for food. 4) The transformation of industrial processes to produce sustainably and reduce waste. 5) Protecting biodiversity by engineering resistance to adverse conditions or safeguarding genetic information. ¿Will biotechnological solutions be enough? The article seems to predict that a fundamental change in how richer societies live will be unavoidable. We believe that technology can make this shift (more) attractive and help more vulnerable countries to level up quickly. UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties 29 (COP29 Azerbaijan) will begin on November 11th in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the theme "In solidarity for a green world." The organizers have expressed that the action plan for the conference is based on two pillars: Enhance ambition and enable action. https://lnkd.in/d-vVGuKY

Transdisciplinary approaches are always crucial in disease prevention and control, but this is particularly true for Arboviruses, the broad group of viral pathogens transmitted by arthropod vectors. These vector-borne pathogens produce neglected and emerging diseases like Yellow, Dengue and Zika fevers, Chikungunya, and several types of meningitis and encephalitis. Solutions for their complex epidemiology require many types of professionals working together. As climate change threatens to expand the range of these traditionally tropical viruses, the course "New Insights in Dengue and Other Arboviruses: From Molecular Biology to Public Health" emerges as a pivotal platform. It not only provides the latest scientific advances in arboviral research but also serves as a unique forum that fosters collaboration among epidemiologists, virologists, biotechnologists, entomologists, ecologists, and public health specialists, thereby enhancing the comprehensive approach to disease control. We congratulate Victoria Pando-Robles for successfully coordinating this UNU-BIOLAC course and thank Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública for hosting it from September 30th to October 4th in Cuernavaca, Mexico. IPCC World Health Organization United Nations University - IIGH

If we could see and manipulate things at the protein level, solving humanity's biggest biology-related problems becomes simple mechanical detailing. While this is much easier said than done, the course Proteome Analysis by Mass Spectrometry has provided students with a powerful tool to elucidate the daunting volume of information a proteome entails. This technology will be instrumental in advancing the #SDGs through #Biotechnology. We congratulate Dr. Rosario Duran and her team on the successful organization of the course and thank Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Instituto Clemente Estable, Fiocruz y Universidad de la República for their support.

September's Open Call for courses and fellowship proposals was a resounding success, and we are grateful for such scientific impetus! 🙌 We received an unprecedented number of submissions. While this is excellent news for our program and biotechnology in Latin America, it does mean that the screening and selection process will momentarily require all of our resources. We are committed to upholding the regular notification dates. Pre-selected proposals that will pass on to external expert evaluation can expect to be notified by November 5ᵗʰ. We hope to be able to announce the final selection of courses and fellows for the second semester of 2025 by December 15ᵗʰ, 2024.

Applications for this open call are now closed. We've received an unprecedented volume of proposals, which is excellent news. Thank you for your scientific enthusiasm! Awardees will be announced in due time. The next open call is set for March 2025.

📢 Applications open! 🎓 Scholarships available. ⏳ Deadline: November 1ˢᵗ, 2024 🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻🧬👨💻 Learn to navigate the layers of information that conceal the genomic bases of pathogenicity by using the latest bioinformatic technology for proteomic, transcriptomic, and genomic analysis. Over recent years, there has been a tremendous drive to develop analytical technology and databases for 'transcriptomics' and 'proteomics.' Still, integrative analysis strategies for this omic data have yet to emerge. The main aim of the course is to provide tools to overcome this hurdle and allow students to truly focus on fully integrative aspects of parasite phenotypes and environmental adaptations. The practical course will focus on using bioinformatics tools in a Linux environment, assembling genomes, analyzing transcriptomic data of coding RNAs, and using specific tools to analyze and discover small non-coding RNAs.  The course's main objective is for postgraduate students to become acquainted with new technologies applied to studying pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, helminths) using whole genome data. The course will focus on theoretical concepts of the study of genomes and transcripts of organisms of different taxonomic groups and the search for biomolecules of biotechnological interest. The course will be hosted by Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, UBA Buenos Aires, Argentina, from February 17ᵗʰ through 28ᵗʰ, 2025. Visit this webpage for information and application https://lnkd.in/dV_sz297