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Bitcoin to the Rescue in Venezuela?
Venezuela may not have much milk or toilet paper these days, but it does boast some of the latest cutting edge financial technologies. Bitcoin, the virtual currency system that sidesteps traditional banking intermediaries to conduct financial transactions, is increasingly becoming the payment method of choice for a group of Venezuelan entrepreneurs. Is this a vote of confidence for virtual currencies in developing countries? Or desperate times breeding financial innovation in a crumbling economy? Perhaps a bit of both.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- fintech
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Peruvian Banks and Telcos Launch National Mobile Money Network
Five years in the making, Peru has launched a national mobile money network, with the aim of drawing five million of the country's unbanked into the formal banking system.
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- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Viewpoint: Gene Drives Need Global Policing
Medical and biological research is being transformed by a powerful new form of genetic editing, known by the acronym Crispr. Based on a naturally-occurring system in bacteria, Crispr enables scientists to precisely alter the genetic code of any organism they can lay their hands on – humans included.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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We Have the Technology to Destroy All Zika Mosquitoes
A controversial genetic technology able to wipe out the mosquito carrying the Zika virus will be available within months, scientists say.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Sanofi to Work on Zika Vaccine as Health Emergency Declared
Sanofi will work on developing a vaccine against Zika virus, the mosquito-borne pathogen whose explosive spread has touched off a global public health emergency.
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- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
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Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Join the Fight to Stop Zika Virus
The rapid spread of the Zika virus has raised interest in a British company that has developed a genetically modified mosquito. Oxitec has produced a genetically engineered line of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the mosquito that carries dengue fever and chikungunya. Those tropical diseases have become common in Latin America and are now showing up in Florida.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
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U.S. Launches ‘Full-court Press’ for a Zika Vaccine
The United States is pushing to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus, a top health official said Thursday, as doctors warn that the mosquito-borne disease, which causes birth defects in infants and is typically found abroad, has become a growing threat in the U.S.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Latin America
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Viewpoint: Why Is Good Governance Important?
Last week I had the privilege of participating in “The Future of the Corporation: Business for Society Conference” held in Santiago. The conference was organized by the ESE Business School of Universidad de los Andes and the International Academy of Management. This conference brought together leaders from the Chilean business, investor and government sectors, together with civil society represented by NGOs and experts on the role of business society from around the world. I’ve been to a lot of conferences in my time, but I can honestly say this was one of the best I’ve ever attended. One of the reasons for this was the commitment of Professor Alfredo Enrione to position the conference as a starting point for ensuring that the Chilean business community contributes to a Chilean society that is sustainable over the long term.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- public policy