Cases & Voices

Mercury pollution is one of the most persistent environmental and health problems in Latin America, with significant impacts on ecosystems and communities exposed to this highly toxic metal, particularly those involved in artisanal mining. Kidney problems, neurological disorders and foetal malformations are among its most severe manifestations. Faced with this challenge, the Ecuadorian MerIA (Mercury Identification through Artificial Intelligence) project, which benefited from the capabilities of BELLA II’s Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence testbed through the Early Adopters BIO+IA programme launched in March 2026, utilised this testbed to investigate how certain microorganisms manage to resist and detoxify mercury. Indeed, the solution lies in nature itself, but the research data supporting this is so scattered that analysing it is almost a feat in itself.

Family farming forms the basis of food security in Latin America, but faces persistent challenges in terms of transparency, traceability and access to higher-value markets. Smart Agro RAF LATAM is a regional collaborative initiative which, supported by the BELLA II Early Adopters Blockchain programme – run between September and December 2025 – demonstrates how the advanced digital infrastructure of RedCLARA and the national research and education networks (NRENs) that comprise it enables innovative solutions with a direct impact on rural communities.

Now approaching its fifth anniversary and built on the foundations of a collaboration that has lasted more than 20 years – which, amongst other things, led to the creation of RedCLARA – the Regional Cybersecurity Group of the National Research and Education Networks (NREN) of Latin America and the Caribbean, eduLACSeg, is already proving its immense value. Find out more and discover how your institution can benefit from it.

Each jar of honey holds a story we rarely know: that of the families who care for the hives and of the bees that pollinate crops and support ecosystems. Today, thanks to technology, that story can be tracked from the hive to the consumer through secure and accessible records. These records allow production and origin to be verified and are ready to connect to international data networks when needed. This benefit is one of the impacts amplified by the BELLA II blockchain testbed, made available to Latin American initiatives through the Early Adopters LATAM program, driven by RedCLARA and LNET.

(Source: RNP, Brazil) October 10th marked an unprecedented achievement in the history of medicine: the world's first robotic telesurgery performed using low-cost internet technology and a non-dedicated network, during the 54th Unimed National Convention at the João Pessoa Convention Center (PB). The procedure also established a milestone for Latin America, connecting João Pessoa (PB) and Curitiba (PR) in a remote telesurgery between cities more than 3,200 kilometers apart. 

Artificial intelligence is redefining how we research, teach, and collaborate—raising new questions about its impact and its human dimension. From Chile, Dr. Álvaro Soto, Director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA), reflects on the global and regional challenges of AI— topics he will address during his keynote session at TICAL2025, taking place in Costa Rica from November 11 to 13.