(Press-News.org)
PHOTOS: https://sandiegozoo.box.com/s/h8ne3q1md09rpor6ewp7070qvzv9k7nh
SAN DIEGO (Oct. 1, 2025) – Recent studies led by an international consortium of researchers, including scientists from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, unveiled groundbreaking findings in biodiversity conservation through in situ DNA barcoding in the Peruvian Amazon.
Measuring the earth’s biological richness in one of its most remote and biodiverse regions is no small task. The Peruvian Amazon is in imminent danger of losing species to wildfires and habitat destruction before they are ever identified.
Three recent studies—two published and the third published in the Nature journal Scientific Data today, Oct. 1, 2025—highlight the severe lack of genetic data for the region’s species, with 44% of birds and 45% of mammals native to Peru absent from major global databases GenBank and the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD) and Figshare. The numbers drop further for genetic data generated directly from Peruvian samples–from 44% to 4.3% for birds. These significant data gaps limit conservationists’ ability to monitor species diversity and implement effective conservation strategies in a region with unparalleled biodiversity.
The final paper in the trilogy aims to fill the barcoding gaps identified by generating novel genetic sequences from biobanks and capture-recapture sampling.
“Documenting biodiversity is the first step in understanding how ecological communities form and function, which is essential for developing effective conservation strategies that are crucial for sustaining an ecological balance and supporting the livelihoods that depend on these environments,” said lead author Pamela Sánchez Vendizú.
With such large gaps in genetic reference databases, traditional survey methods like environmental DNA cannot effectively assess the region's biodiversity. In response, the team created three in situ laboratories using portable nanopore sequencing technologies to document and sequence Amazonian wildlife.
“As species disappear, biologists are increasingly called on to take on the role of historians,” said Mrinalini Erkenswick Watsa, Ph.D., scientist with San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. “Traditional DNA barcoding pipelines in Peru have relied on collaborations with foreign sequencing partners or services, but our in situ system allows for biodiversity documentation without the export of a single sample. By filling gaps in global genetic libraries, we empower conservationists to generate their own data and make informed decisions to combat species extinction. These technologies equip local scientists with the tools to independently protect their ecosystems.”
From 2018-2023, researchers generated new genetic barcodes for 1,858 specimens, including the first genetic barcodes for 30 mammal and 196 bird species. This increased the representation of Peruvian species in BOLD by up to 110% for mammals and 36.5% for birds.
The project’s success stemmed from using portable, long-read sequencing technologies, which enabled real-time, rapid data acquisition and analysis. The novel approach harnessed Peruvian scientists and conservationists' pivotal role in the stewardship of their natural heritage and is vital for responding quickly to conservation emergencies, such as sudden spikes in illegal wildlife trade.
These studies offer a roadmap to saving some of the world's most beloved ecosystems before it's too late. The fate of many species may well depend on this crucial shift in how genetic barcodes are collected, who is trained in data acquisition and where the data is processed.
"This initiative enhances the capabilities of Peruvian scientific institutions to manage and utilize their biodiversity resources effectively, setting a precedent for resource-limited and biodiversity-rich countries worldwide," said César Arana, Ph.D., lead natural historian of the San Marcos Natural History Museum.
The implications of this research extend well beyond the Amazon, offering a model for conservation efforts across the globe and underscoring the vital importance of in situ genetic research in managing and preserving biodiversity worldwide.
Partnering institutions in this collaborative project include the Amazon Conservation Association, Conservación Amazónica-ACCA, Field Projects International, the Inkaterra Association, Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, and University of Oulu.
For additional insights into this project, watch Field Projects International’s video (https://vimeo.com/1028994943?share=copy) and visit the In Situ Laboratory Initiative’s website at https://insitulabs.org/.
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About San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, a nonprofit conservation leader, inspires passion for nature and collaboration for a healthier world. The Alliance supports innovative conservation science through global partnerships and groundbreaking efforts at the world-famous San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park, both leading zoological institutions and accredited botanical gardens. Through wildlife care expertise, cutting-edge science and continued collaboration, more than 44 endangered species have been reintroduced to native habitats. The Alliance reaches over 1 billion people annually through its two conservation parks and media channels in 170 countries, including San Diego Zoo Wildlife Explorers television, available in children’s hospitals across 14 countries. Wildlife Allies—members, donors and guests—make success possible.
Link includes:
Photos and video of the Los Amigos Laboratory, researchers and wildlife in the Amazonian forest END
New York, NY [October 1, 2025]—Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, Boston Medical Center, and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, have developed a software platform to help scientists more easily analyze the molecular structure of tissue in both healthy and disease states. Details on the platform, called Giotto Suite, were reported in the October 1 online issue of Nature Methods [DOI: 10.1038/s41592-025-02817-w].
In recent years, new technologies have made it possible to capture detailed maps of RNA and proteins within intact tissues—a field known as spatial omics. These ...
Even the United Nations International Year of Glaciers' Preservation has seen further massive melting of glaciers in Switzerland. A winter with little snow was followed by heat waves in June 2025 that saw glaciers nearing the record levels of losses of 2022. Snow reserves from the winter were already depleted in the first half of July, and the ice masses began to melt earlier than had rarely ever been recorded. The cool weather in July provided some relief and prevented an even worse outcome. Nevertheless, almost a further three per cent of the ice volume was lost across Switzerland this year, ...
Researchers from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and CIBER-BBN, in collaboration with teams from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute of Chemical Research – cicCartuja, University of Seville-CSIC, have discovered that long-distance charge transport between two key proteins in the mitochondrial respiratory chain — cytochrome c and respiratory complex III — is mediated by protons and superoxide ions, which are reactive oxygen species. The study was recently published in the journal Small ...
A newly described fossil reveals that leeches are at least 200 million years older than scientists previously thought, and that their earliest ancestors may have feasted not on blood, but on smaller marine creatures.
“This is the only body fossil we’ve ever found of this entire group,” said Karma Nanglu, a paleontologist with the University of California, Riverside. He collaborated with researchers from the University of Toronto, University of São Paulo, and Ohio State University on a paper describing the fossil, which is now published in PeerJ.
Roughly ...
Rochester, MN, October 1, 2025 – A study evaluating how various shift work patterns contribute to kidney stone risk has revealed that shift workers have a 15% higher risk of developing kidney stones, especially younger workers and those with low levels of manual labor. Body mass index (BMI), fluid intake, and other lifestyle factors play key roles contributing to the occurrence of kidney stones. The findings of the novel study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, published by Elsevier, indicate that kidney stone prevention efforts should extend to shift workers.
Long-term shift work, identified ...
Demand-responsive transport (DRT) is promoted as an inclusive solution to first- and last-mile mobility challenges, but little is known about the barriers to adoption among people with poor health.
Dr. Haruka Kato, a junior associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University, examined the factors shaping this population's acceptance and use of DRT in Senboku New Town, Osaka. The study applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology-3 (UTAUT-3) to assess the opportunities and challenges for using DRT.
The findings reveal that community involvement is a powerful driver of acceptance. The study showed that residents' ...
A research group led by Dr. Shinichi Furuya of the NeuroPiano Institute and Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. announced research findings that for the first time scientifically clarified how pianists’ manipulations of keys alters piano timbre.
Creativity in painting, music, and other arts is underpinned by the ability to create diverse perceptual experiences for audiences. However, whether timbre could actually be changed mid-instrumental performance, and what physical motor skills would be required to do so, remained unclear.
The research group developed a unique sensor system that can measure piano key movements at ...
Bottom Line: In a retrospective study, the 313-SNP breast cancer polygenic risk score (PRS313) blood test could predict future incidents of breast cancer in women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS).
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarker & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Author: Jasmine Timbres, clinical information analyst at King’s College London and the study’s lead author, and Elinor J. Sawyer, PhD, the study’s senior author and professor of clinical oncology at King’s College London in the United Kingdom.
Background: ...
Studying a person’s genetic makeup can predict if they will go on to develop invasive breast cancer after abnormal cells have been found in their breast tissue.
For the first time, researchers at King’s College London have shown the connection between a person’s genetic risk score and their risk of developing the disease after irregular cells have been detected.
The research, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and funded by Breast Cancer Now, included over 2,000 women in the UK who had been tested for 313 genetic changes, known as a genetic risk score.
These patients had already been diagnosed with either ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) ...
Even though many years have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of infection with SARS-CoV-2 are not completely understood. This is especially true for Long COVID, a chronic condition that can develop after COVID-19 that causes a variety of lasting symptoms. Among the most common and debilitating of these is cognitive impairment, often referred to as “brain fog,” which affects over 80% of people with Long COVID. Given the hundreds of millions of global cases, Long COVID represents a massive public health and socioeconomic challenge, as it severely ...
