The Americas

The languages of the earliest Americans evolved in 4 waves, according to one expert.

The earliest settlers of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, appear to have had some sort of contact with people from South America as early as 1,000 years ago, a new plant study finds.

Genetically modified mosquitoes are being released in Brazil to reduce the spread of the viral infection dengue fever.

Researchers found and mapped four seamounts in the deep sea off the coast of Peru and Chile. The tallest of these new peaks rises around 1.5 miles above the seafloor.

Earth's crust once formed a dense "root" supporting Colombia's northern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, but new research suggests this prop sank into the mantle millions of years ago.

Fossils discovered on Barro Colorado Island suggest central Panama was once home to a vast mangrove forest that was preserved when a volcanic mudflow buried it 23 million years ago.

Researchers have discovered a jaw-dropping ecosystem of crystal-clear lagoons and salt plains in Argentina's Puna de Atacama desert that could offer a window onto early life on Earth and Mars.

A genetic analysis of head lice that have evolved in tandem with humans has revealed two distinct groups of lice that merged in the Americas as a result of Asian and European migrations.

Mummified mice found atop volcanoes in South America have long hinted that rodents forage on peaks as tall as 22,000 feet, but it turns out mice permanently live at these extreme heights.