Nature & Conservation: The Fritz Pölking Prize-winning photo series “Tales of the Forest Keepers” spotlights how Baird’s tapirs disperse seeds for Costa Rica’s rare Jícaro Danto tree, linking GPS-collared “Mamita” and her youngster “Julian” to rainforest survival. Restoration Ecology: A Princeton-led study revisits a 1998 orange-peel waste experiment in northwest Costa Rica, showing that 16 years later forest regrowth surged—tree diversity tripled and woody biomass rose 176% on degraded pasture. Biotech & Public Health: ILiAD Biotechnologies reports Phase 2b results in The Lancet Infectious Diseases for its live attenuated intranasal pertussis vaccine BPZE1, with a single dose boosting nasal mucosal immunity in children, including Costa Rica trial sites. Research & Risk Management: UCR approved a new Center for Geographical Research (CIGeo) to turn Earth observation and data science into tools for flood, forest/coast change, and disaster risk planning. Volcano Watch: Costa Rica’s CNE raised alert to yellow around Rincón de la Vieja after increased gas emissions and seismicity. Tech for Costa Rica: “Discover Costa Rica,” a free interactive map, launches with Spanish/English content spanning geography, oceans, culture, and scientific data. AI & Vision Science: A York University study uses a classic motion illusion to test how AI vision differs from human perception. Finance & Payments: Jeeves announces $110M equity funding and expands its stablecoin-native banking platform, including Costa Rica among new rollout countries.