Anna Lena Lopez Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health UP Manila Evaluation in Cameroon of a Novel, Simplified Methodology to Assist Molecular Microbiological Analysis of V. cholerae in Resource-Limited Settings. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10 (3): e0004573, 14 pages, 21 March 2016. Catchy title of research: Use of a simplified methodology for molecular analysis of Vibrio cholera in developing countries Laboratory confirmation and sample preservation in areas where cholera is a problem is difficult. To improve the ability to identify cholera and understand its epidemiology, we used simplified collection methodologies to facilitate timely molecular characterization of […]
UP Artists and Scientists for 2015-2017 named
Forty-nine scientists earned the title of UP Scientist for 2016-2018, and six artists and art scholars, the title UP Artist for 2015-2017, for productivity in their fields. The awarding ceremony was held on July 26, 2016 at the NISMED Auditorium, UP Diliman, Quezon City. One of the UP Artists named this year is from UP Los Baños, while the rest are from UP Diliman. Of the UP Scientists named this year, 17 are from UP Diliman, 20 from UP Los Baños, six from UP Manila, three from UP Visayas, and three from UP Open University. The latest batch brings the […]
SC decision on Bt eggplant brings ‘rays of hope’ to UP scientists, agri stakeholders
According to UP Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Gisela P. Concepcion, the recent decision of the Philippine Supreme Court to dismiss the Petition for Writ of Continuing Mandamus and Writ of Kalikasan with Prayer for Issuance of a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) that first stopped the field testing of Bt eggplant in 2013 brought “rays of hope” to UP researchers, as well as to stakeholders in the feed miller and livestock/poultry industries. Concepcion stated in an interview that the Supreme Court’s reversal of its December 2015 decision to deny petitions to dismiss the 2013 ruling of the Court […]
Newton Agham Programme: New calls for opportunity now open
The British Council and the Department of Science and Technology are pleased to announce current opportunities under the Newton Agham Programme. DOST-Newton PhD Scholarships The aim of the Newton Agham PhD Programme is to facilitate the capacity building of individuals, and the building of sustainable, long-lasting links between UK and Philippine institutions, through the DOST-Newton PhD scholarships. The scholarships are for full-time PhD study in the UK from April 2017 until July 2020. This opportunity is open to faculty and staff of Philippine universities or colleges. Deadline for submission of applications is on 16.00 UK time, 10 October 2016. Researcher Links Workshops Researcher Links Workshops bring […]
Fiction and public science education
Dennis Posadas is a technical consultant for clean energy projects and author of Leap: A Sustainability Fable (Singapore: Pearson, 2015). His previous books include Greenergized (UK: Greenleaf, 2013), Jump Start: A Technopreneurship Fable (Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009) and Rice & Chips: Technopreneurship and Innovation in Asia (Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007). His latest novella on biomass energy, Santander’s Revenge, hit number one early this month on Amazon.com in the green business (Kindle ebook) category. Santander’s Revenge is a business mystery-adventure short novel that discusses some of the real challenges faced by businesses as they try to adopt low carbon and renewable energy strategic […]
Water distribution in Cordillera highlands “embedded in culture”
An article on how economic activities in water distribution and exchange are embedded in the culture of indigenous communities in the Cordillera highlands of Northern Luzon appeared in the August 2016 issue of the journal Asia Pacific Viewpoint. Written by researchers from the Institute of Management in UP Baguio, it presented some of the findings of Towards Good Water Governance for Development: A Multi-Case Analysis. The program, which is now in its fourth and last year of implementation, was funded using UP’s Emerging Interdisciplinary Research (EIDR) grant. The cases of three communities “suggest that water distribution and exchange are embedded in the community’s socio-cultural spaces, but the extent of […]
Bt talong technology to proceed as SC reverses own ruling
The Supreme Court has reversed its ruling that prevented the field testing of the genetically engineered Bt talong. In a unanimous decision, the high court granted the motions for reconsideration filed by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications Inc., Environmental Management Bureau, Crop Life Philippines, University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation and University of the Philippines. The court agreed that “the case should have been dismissed for mootness” since the Bt talong field trials have been completed and terminated and the biosafety permits issued by the Bureau of Plant Industry have already expired. Thus, these “effectively negated the need […]
VP Concepcion among S&T awardees from UP
Vice President for Academic Affairs Gisela P. Concepcion was recognized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) as this year’s outstanding science administrator. Concepcion, who is a professor at the Marine Science Institute, received the award for fostering “an enabling environment for researchers in UP by providing university funds, which faculty and researchers use to carry out interdisciplinary and basic or applied research and creative work.” She was behind the creation of the Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Grant which, since 2012, has led to 62 large-scale projects covering various themes such as […]
The Mammals of Luzon Island book launch
The University of the Philippines Diliman, through UP Biology was the recipient of a donation of 1000 copies of a book through the Diliman Science Research Foundation (DSRF), chaired by the College of Science Dean Jose Maria P. Balmaceda and the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation (PTFCF) for distribution to critical stakeholders in Luzon and the rest of the country. The book “The Mammals of Luzon Island: A Biogeographic Perspective on Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation” was written by Lawrence R. Heaney, Danilo S. Balete and Eric A. Rickart, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press and released only last […]
IPA Recipients for August 2016
Laura J. Pham BIOTECH UP Los Baños “Pili (Canarium ovatum)” in Industrial Oil Crops. Thomas A. McKeon, Douglas G. Hayes, David F. Hildebrand and Randall J. Weselake (editors). London, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2016. Laura J. Pham BIOTECH UP Los Baños “Coconut (Cocos nucifera)” in Industrial Oil Crops. Thomas A. McKeon, Douglas G. Hayes, David F. Hildebrand and Randall J. Weselake (editors). London, United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2016. Wilson M. Tan Department of Computer Science College of Engineering UP Diliman On the Design of An Energy-Harvesting Noise-Sensing WSN Mote. EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 167 (1): 18 pages, December 2014. In this […]
