Science

The milkfish fry in the Philippines is currently suffering from insufficient supply caused by high importation rate and low survival of hatchery-produced fry.

The Philippines, the world’s second-largest archipelagic nation, is at an advantage to be surrounded by about 7,600 islands and abundant with marine resources.

“I wish we had these 10 years ago,” said Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez as he was peering through the over 60 technologies that could have saved them from Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan).

The much-awaited and much-needed boon that will boost the income  of its industry partners, the upgrading to a fully-automated commercial irradiator of the Multipurpose Gamma Irradiation Facility (MIF) is now finally completed, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) announced.

The Ulat Sipag Awards once again recognized members of the media who have promoted science, and agriculture, aquatic and natural resources (AANR) through the print, broadcast and online platforms.

This October was the hottest on record globally, 1.7 degrees Celsius (°C) or 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) warmer than the pre-industrial average for the month—and the fifth straight month with such a mark in what will now almost certainly be the warmest year ever recorded.

‘Philippine cashew farmers are burdened with a low return on capital for their work. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture [Searca] and the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research [DA-BAR] partly attribute this to the underutilization of the components of the cashew fruit,” said Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. in his message at the conference themed “Advancing Cashew Industry through Green Technology” held last November 3 at a hotel in Makati.

As a springboard to cultivate the ideas of young minds and to turn them into reality, the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) fosters a culture of science, technology and innovation through the Young Innovators Program (YIP).

In recognition of the initiatives that shed light on the interplay between mental health, research and spirituality, the Healthy Pilipinas Awards for Partners 2023 conferred the Gold Award to the Mental Health R&D Program of the R&D Management Division of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on October 27.

Youths who shed light on science, technology and innovation through science communication and journalism were awarded in the Gawad Alunig x Dalumat by the Department of Science and Technology’s Technology Application and Promotion Insitute (DOST-TAPI) on October 28.

With the Filipino youth’s declining interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses, and the rapid technological advancements happening all over the world, the Philippines is at risk of technological unemployment and widening income inequality.

Director Glenn B. Gregorio of Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture is one of the world’s top 2 percent researchers from all disciplines, Searca said.

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has inked an agreement with Conservation International Philippines Foundation Inc. (CIPFI) to advance environmental conservation and management through the application of remote sensing technologies.

For as long as Jake Price has been a teacher, Wolfram Alpha—a website that solves algebraic problems online—has threatened to make algebra homework obsolete.

In celebration of the Philippine Bamboo Month, the Forest Products Research and Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-FPRDI) opened its bamboo facilities to the public last September.

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) highlighted the application of “sustainability science” and other strategic science interventions at the 2023 Global Research Council (GRC) Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting in Pasay City in October 18 to 20.

Amid the country’s various challenges is a beacon of hope: science.

DAVAO CITY—An inventor of a car wash foam shampoo goes to the Mindanao-wide round of competition after his innovation of the shampoo that inhibits the growth of bacteria causing foul odor earned him the ticket from an awed regional panel of judges.

Photographers from Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, are invited to join the 17th Photo Contest being initiated by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) with the theme “Regenerating agri-ecosystems, lowering global boiling.”

A snack food and beverage fit for the nutritional requirements of Filipino senior citizens, and the lowering of the glycemic index (GI) of rice for those with diabetes.

More than 20 Filipino inventors and innovators were feted at the “Lunduyan” ceremony led by the Department of Science and Technology-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) at a hotel in Mandaluyong City on October 2.

Scientists from the University of the Philippines Diliman-College of Science have simplified the process of making microscopic composite flowers that can neutralize the highly carcinogenic azo dyes widely used in food, clothes and medicines, the UPD-CS Science Communications said.

PARIS—The “Mona Lisa” has given up another secret. Using X-rays to peer into the chemical structure of a tiny speck of the celebrated work of art, scientists have gained new insight into the techniques that Leonardo da Vinci used to paint his groundbreaking portrait of the woman with the exquisitely enigmatic smile.

A team of nuclear researchers that found that four out of five local brands used fake honey, or completely substituted it with cheap sugar syrup, received an award from the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

BARAS, Rizal—Fossils of gastropods discovered in Masungi Georeserve’s limestones could be the “first and oldest” fossil record of its kind in the country, according to geologists and paleontologists from the University of the Philippines-National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS).

Several major disasters have struck Mindanao in the past decade. These include Tropical Storm Sendong in 2011, severe El Niño effects on 2015 and 2016, earthquakes in 2019 and heavy rainfall-related incidents in 2022. These disasters resulted in significant number of human casualties and property damage.